Watch Your Wallets: The Toys Are Back in Town

As a mom of a 3-year-old (and a ‘90s kid myself), I’m probably a little too excited to see Buzz Lightyear and Woody back on the big screen in “Toy Story 5.”

Combine the nostalgia of the famous movie franchise featuring the voices of Tim Allen and Tom Hanks with a new original song by Taylor Swift, and movie fans are prepared to shell out millions.

All signs point to a record opening for the animated franchise. Predictions put this weekend’s expected sales at $150 million, according to Deadline. And that’s just the tickets.

I was scrolling Instagram the other day — and the algorithm knew what to serve me. A reel came up featuring a carousel of new movie-inspired product releases. (I have my eyes on the Pizza Planet oven toy that I know my daughter would love.) The caption? “Anybody else broke with all of this new Toy Story stuff coming out because same.”

But what if you don’t want your “Toy Story” spending to stretch to infinity and beyond? Here are a few ways to enjoy the film while reining in spending.

Skip the merchandise trap. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of apparel, toys and accessories. Hey, I get it. This is coming from someone who ordered a mini “Toy Story” backpack with the new Lilypad character on it for my daughter. Learn from me: Try to set a spending limit — or restrict yourself to just one or two keepsakes that’ll last.

Map out your ticket strategy. You may already know that going to a movie theater in the morning or on a Tuesday can score you cheaper tickets at certain chains. But did you know you can buy movie theater gift cards for less than face value from warehouse stores like Costco?

Wait for streaming. If you can hold out a few months, wait to watch the film until it comes to streaming — especially if you already have a Disney+ subscription. You won’t have the movie-theater experience, but you’ll save on the price of tickets and snacks for the whole family.

About the author

Courtney Neidel is an assigning editor for the core personal finance team at NerdWallet. She joined NerdWallet in 2014 and spent six years writing about shopping, budgeting and money-saving strategies before being promoted to editor. Courtney has been interviewed as a retail authority by “Good Morning America,” Cheddar and CBSN. Her prior experience includes freelance writing for California newspapers.

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