Food and Drink

#1 – Bars like Iron Horse have great selections of beers but they don’t serve food. Problem right? Absolutely NOT. By DC law, you are allowed to bring in your own food. This also applies to other bars that don’t have kitchens, like the Boardroom in Dupont.

#2 – Did you know that you could order a bottle of wine at a restaurant, have 1 glass, and have the restaurant cork it to bring home?

#3 – Add apps like ScoutMob on your smart phone. It’s like Groupon & LivingSocial, but it’s free discounts. Most places are 50%!

#4 – There are multiple opportunities in D.C. to get free food and drinks. Frequently visit websites like ours, Gregslist, and WAPO’s Going out Guide to know where to go for events, receptions, and more.

#5 – For those who don’t have the luxury of owning a car to go grocery shopping, one way to make it easier to haul your loot home is to attach a Carabiner (with grip) through your bag handles to carry multiple bags at once without losing a finger.

#6 – On the top floor of the National Portrait Gallery lies a small room with free tea and coffee. Good for those looking to hydrate in the Chinatown area.

Transportation

#7 – Setup your metro card for auto-reload. The first time you barely make the train because you didn’t need to reload your card, you’ll thank us.

#8 – If your Metro card is broken or you have run out of money on it (see rule 4), take the bus. You can pay with cash or a lot of times the bus driver will let you slide and ride for free. DC bus drivers seemed to be trained to wave you through to keep the bus on time and to get you safely seated before they pull away from the bus stop. Don’t abuse it. Side note:

#9 – Get a transportation tracking app BusTrackDC or DC Metro and Bus app.

#10 – You can opt to walk through a metro station on a hot or freezing cold day (especially from one end of Chinatown to the other, 7th and H to 9th and G on a DC summer day can feel like a marathon). Is it worth roughly $2 in turnstyle fees to stop sweating before a big meeting or staying warm during the cold months? We think so.

#11 – You can absolutely negotiate flat rate fares with cabbies late at night, as long as you come to an agreement before they start the meter. One of our contributors admitted to successfully bartering 3 cigarettes and $6 for a ride to Virginia. Mileage may vary.

#12 – Never pay full price for a new Capital Bikeshare or Car2Go account. There’s always a free code plus extra mileage.

#13 – Never ever use K st, M st or NY Ave in rush hour. Especially when you’re in a cab. You’re welcome.

Entertainment

#14 – To save money on purchasing a movie ticket at the Regal Cinema in Chinatown, spend $7.50 pre-tax at California Tortilla across the street and buy a movie ticket voucher from them for $7.00. Now you’ll have dinner and a movie for the same price as a regular ticket.

#15 – There’s a free shuttle bus between Kennedy Center and Foggy Bottom metro.

#16 The Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center has a variety of free shows every single day at 6pm.

#17 – Mostly everyone is gone in August and December. This is the perfect time to finally get a reservation at that new restaurant and actually finish that “to-do list” of museums or monuments to visit.

#18 – All monuments are better at night.

We hope you liked our DC life hacks. Feel free to comment below some of your own and share on Twitter and Facebook!