Saving money on things we buy
- I bought flights to pick up the kids from Disneyland this summer (my parents are taking them), & went through Rakuten -> Raise to buy discounted Southwest gift cards. It was save me about $10 off the purchase price
- Emailed customer service about a $2 reward that was used towards a freebie. The rewards program on the earning side is good at our local store, but their technical redemption side is terrible. I'd say I email about 2/3 of the time. They are always very friendly & resolve it quickly, but... also, the in store people can't help. Has to be an email to their IT team.
- I flew a partner airline from my preferred domestic airline, in an attempt to earn status this year. Having status means I accrue more miles, but also reduces costs if you need to change or cancel a flight.
- I always make sure I stay at a hotel where I accrue points, which eventually saves us money when we redeem for free travel.
Earning money
- I had a last minute ask for a friend of a friend to use our vacation house. We don't charge much, but no one was going to be there (unusual), so we were able to rent it out, making $150. It's more like $130 or so net utilities.
- I paid for the work hotel expense on my credit card, and will be reimbursed by work. I earn 3% in cash back from my credit card.
Avoiding spending:
- I left the boys a gift card to a salad place, and ensured we had plenty of quick meal options for the week, which means no (additional) money was spent on dining out.
That's it from my side. How about you? What did you do to save money this week?
"Emailed customer service about a $2 reward" How much in dollars is your time worth per hour? Surely your time could be more better spent financially (such as figuring out a further reduction of the mortgage) rather than chasing inconsequential gains, Roderick
ReplyDeleteSince I can't decide if you're serious or trolling, I'll take the bait & reply. How do you think I should be getting a further reduction of the mortgage vs "chasing inconsequential gains"? Our financial strategy is a combination of multiple things - focusing on the big picture (income generation & taxes), while ensuring that our expenses stay in check.
DeleteMy personal belief is that it's foolhardy to not chase down refunds or look for small ways to tweak expenses. I certainly don't focus on the tiny things at the expense of the bigger picture. We do both. I also try really hard not to fall into the trap of our high earning peer group, and to assume expense management doesn't matter & we shouldn't waste our time on the small stuff. That strategy doesn't work well over an extended period of time.
It can take less than 30 seconds to see you didn't get the reward, and less than another 30 seconds to send an e-mail. That's a tax free return on time investment of $120 an hour, $249,600 annually. Even in real cash, if you spent under a minute "chasing down" a cumulative of say three $2 issues a month, that's enough to pay for soccer gear for one of the kids, a couple take out dinners when you really don't have a minute to spare, or even yes, just pop $70 towards the mortgage. I too question sometimes if I am being silly or practical when it comes to small savings, until I step back and do the math on 101 small things, year after year, and now I can send kids to college and own my home outright.
DeleteI agree 100% with your response to the troll. That is my thinking also. Those dollars all add up!
DeleteA penny saved is a penny earned! Better to spend time chasing $2 than watching tv!
ReplyDelete