Free stuff on your birthday

• Go to the beach. This is Florida, it’s required. The county oversees some beaches. Others are at state parks.  Some municipalities operate beaches.
• Live jazz at MOCA. At 8 p.m. on the last Friday of every month, music lovers gather on the plaza outside the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami. Concerts are free and the museum is open by donation.
• Farmers markets. Even when you don’t need locally grown organic vegetables, these markets are great places to people-watch or pick up non-food items, such as jewelry and accessories. Some offer music, exercise classes and more.
• Viernes Culturales and Big Night in Little Haiti.  These monthly street festivals showcase some of what gives this area its fascinating multicultural identity. Big Night in Little Haiti happens on third Fridays. The following week, head across town to Little Havana for Viernes Culturales or Cultural Fridays. Both offer live music, vendors, arts and crafts, food, children’s activities and more.
• Free museum visits. The Miami-Dade Public Library offers free passes to local museums. The passes, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis, allow up to a family of four to check out the Miami Children’s Museum, Zoo Miami and others. Click here for details.
• Free movies at Soundscape. . They’re shown outdoors on the Soundscape screen at the corner of 17th Street and Washington Avenue in Miami Beach. Click here for the schedule.

Local Dines

The usual discount is 50%, but occasional Blue Plate Specials take the cost even lower. If the restaurant doesn’t demand a printed coupon, you can buy one on your phone while you’re dining and show your waitress the code.

Find Local Dines deals here.

Restaurant.com sells discounted dining certificates for local restaurants, and if you understand the rules, you can eat well on the cheap. Here’s how to make sure you get the best deal:

• A certificate worth $25 is normally $10, for example. But never pay regular price, because those certificates are always on sale.
• Certificates are frequently offered for 50% off (or $5), 60% off (or $4), 70% off (or $3) or 80% off ($2). The ad above is automatically updated to tell you about the latest sale price and the promo code you need to get it. If you click on our ad to buy your certificate, we’ll receive a small commission.
• New certificates are added once a month, usually at the beginning of the month, and popular restaurants may sell out fast.
• Most restaurants require a minimum purchase to use the certificate, some restrict how often you can dine at a discount and others have other rules. Be sure to read the fine print before you buy.
• Restaurant.com sometimes is late to find out when a restaurant has gone out of business, so you might also want to make sure the restaurant is still around. If a restaurant goes out of business after you’ve bought a certificate, Restaurant.com will let you exchange it.

-- Teresa Mears