8 Ways to Save Money in Portland, Oregon

A trip to any city can be expensive, and this holds true for Portland, Oregon. I highly recommend watching for coupons and deals when you know ahead of time you will be visiting somewhere.

8 Ways to Save Money in Portland, Oregon

1. Ebates – Ebates is a website that will give you a percentage of what you spend back. For example, if you use their site and book a hotel through Travelocity you get 6 – 14% back. They send it back to you through PayPal.

2. LivingSocial – Every day is a new deal and they sometimes offer vacation packages in and around Portland, Oregon.

3. Make Your Own Meals – If you are staying somewhere that has a kitchen you can make meals instead of spending money eating out. Amazon Fresh will deliver groceries around Portland.

4. Restaurant.com – My favorite website to get restaurant gift certificates. Sign up with them and they will give you coupon codes to use so you end up paying $2 for a $25 gift certificate.

5. GoldStar – GoldStar has heavily discounted tickets to shows in Portland. They even offer free admission to some shows and events.

6. Costco – Buy gift cards to local restaurants at Costco. For $75 you will get $100 worth of gift cards. They have gift cards to places like El Gaucho!

7. Hit Happy Hour – Portland has an epic happy hour scene. Many restaurants offer happy hour multiple times a day!

8. Use a Vacation Planner – Now this may sound crazy, but travel agents often have access to deals that no one else can access. This means it’s more than worth it to get a free quote. Fill out this form for a free quote, just for Mommy Travel readers!

Find Free Things to do in Portland

There are a lot of free things to do in Portland. Here are 22 free things to do in Portland to get you started.

International Rose Test Garden – always free

Lewis & Clark College Hoffman Gallery Free – always.

Museum of Contemporary Craft Free on the first Thursday of every month.

Oregon Historical Society always free for Multnomah County residents.

Oregon College of Art & Craft Galleries always free.

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry offers $2 admission the first Sunday of every month.

Oregon Zoo – offers $4 admission on the second Tuesday of every month.

Pacific Northwest College of Art Philip Feldman Gallery always free.

Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts always free.

Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center free on the first Thursday of every month from 4 – 7 PM.

Peculiarium if you wear a costume they let you in for free.

Portland Art Museum free on the first Thursday of every month 5-8pm, $5 Fridays 5-8pm, always free for ages 17 and under, and is free first full weekend of every month if you are a Bank of America Card Holders.

Portland Institute for Contemporary Art Resource Room always free.

Portland Children’s Museum free on the first Friday of every month 4-8pm, first full weekend of every month for Bank of America Card Holders.

Portland Community College Galleries always free.

Portland State University Galleries always free.

Reed College Cooley Gallery always free.

Safety Learning Center & Fire Museum always free.

University of Portland BC Gallery always free.

Vacuum Museum always free.

Washington County Library Cultural Pass always free. Plus, WCCLS library card holders reserve free admission passes to Portland area museums.