Frugal Friday - the ski trip edition

 We've been off having fun in Utah, and boy is it chilly there! The Californians are not used to the weather, but the snow is fantastic!

Saving on things we buy

• I noticed that Alaska was having a big sale on flights to Hawaii, so I cancelled my flight for our June Mom/Daughters trip (celebrating my Mom's 70th birthday) & rebooked, saving $200+. 
• We bought groceries & booked a condo with a kitchen for our ski week, to keep costs down. We don't have Winco in our area, but there was one near the airport we flew into. Wow - prices are really low there! 

Earning money

• I paused my eBay listings, so didn't earn any side hustle money

Avoiding spending

• Had our credit card reward direct deposited into our account (a new feature this year), which eliminates the risk of us splurging on something unnecessary when we would (previously) go to the store to redeem.
• We are going to a formal wedding in May, and I've been attempting to find suits & dress shoes for the kids. That's an adventure unto itself. The boys are pretty lean in the waist, but have muscular thighs due to soccer, so they are unusual & hard to fit sizes. I *think* I've found options for both. For the shoes, each of the kids own three total pair of shoes: soccer cleats, slides, & sneakers (although, in full disclosure, I just had to order Nick a pair of "tennis shoes" (not sneakers, but actual shoes for the courts). They own zero dress shoes. I ordered a couple of inexpensive pair, and then realized that M & Sam are the same size, and M has multiple pair of black dress shoes. I was able to return Sam's shoes, and am down to just one pair for Nick. Hurrah. 
• I packed sandwiches and snacks + Gatorades in M's ski backpack, so we didn't have to stop for lunch, saving quite a bit of money. We also skied back to the condo one day and had lunch there, & then the boys headed back out for a few more runs. 

Eating what we have

• Sam had leftovers from his birthday dinner one night
• I finished off the last of the chocolate almond milk in a smoothie for the kids
• Likewise, finished off a container of apple juice in smoothies
• Used up quite a few freezer bananas, as bananas are a smoothie staple for us, and we didn't go to the store before we left for our trip
• I had an eclectic lunch on Saturday before we left (leftover chicken for breakfast & the remainder of the kids mac & cheese), in an attempt to avoid food waste. Fruit & veggies were also eaten, so it wasn't quite as nutritionally bad as it sounds

For others

• There are many opportunities to help people when you are skiing. Picking up lost gear, towing a snowboarder with your pole on a cat trail, helping kids with their gear, encouraging newbies, letting people go ahead of you when they are trying to board a lift together, etc. 
• I also shared a recommendation with a neighbor, helped out a coworker with a quick reply to save them time (I knew the answer, and they are covering for me while I'm out.)

What about you? Any wins to share this week?