Frugal Friday

 Saving on things we buy

• Sam asked if he could join ski club in college, and wanted a season's pass for Christmas. I was able to get the college discount ($60 off) pretty easily. I also review my credit card offers regularly, and found a 20% cash back reward for the pass, which will save another $211! That is a huge savings. I've never seen the season pass credit card offer, and typically skip over the "entertainment" category of rewards, but this reminds me to explore all options. 
• I chased down our orthodontia claim with our dental insurance, and finally got a hold of someone who could help. We received a reimbursement check of $2300. 
• Noticed that the local airport was running a holiday parking sale (if you pre-book), so I was able to book advanced parking for our trip to Portland over Christmas. I saved $12 by booking early. 
• I was very close to clicking "buy" on Southwest flights for my parents to visit in April (when we are going to Spain - they will be looking after Nick - the last trip where we will need to fly anyone in for "child" care purposes!), but decided to check Alaska. Alaska hasn't been competitive vs Southwest in at least 18 months, but today they were $400 cheaper! I also assumed I'd used the wallet credit I had in my spreadsheet, but nope, I also had a $300 travel credit, which saved almost half of the cost of the flights. My parents prefer Alaska vs Southwest, so they will be thrilled. 

Earning money

• I found $81 in my Paypal account (a combination of Rakuten cash back + a survey payment), and transferred that over to my bank account. 
• I had a small gambling budget for my night in Las Vegas, and won money, which is always a really fun treat! 

Avoiding spending

• Saved around $1800 on spring club soccer fees, as Nick is playing school tennis instead. Last year he needed to do both to keep his soccer skills high enough to make the high school team, but this year is his last year of club soccer & we've just completed the fall season! We've had 2 kids in club soccer for 11 years, and then one bonus year with just Nick. It's been a lot of soccer!!!
• Chatted with the family about ways to reduce holiday spending, now that 5 of 6 "kids" are adults. We are moving into an exchange vs gifts for all, which will cut off two folks from everyone's shopping list. 

Eating what we have

• Defrosted the remaining beef & broccoli for an easy dinner this week. I tend to not use much broccoli in the first prep of the dish, knowing we will have leftovers. I then warm the beef, and add fresh broccoli & allow that to just barely steam, and then serve. It keeps the broccoli fresh, and makes the leftovers very tasty. 
• Made (an extra hungry) Nick popcorn as a pre-dinner snack. All of that school soccer is increasing his appetite.
• Made Nick various lunches from items around the house, when he was home between high school & college class. I used up the last of our bread & cheese to make him a few grilled cheese sandwiches this week.
• We had the leftover white bean & chicken sausage skillet leftovers for a dinner, and then I had the rest for lunch, along with a piece of toast and a banana. 

For others

• Hiking friend from last weekend & I previously worked for the same company. She received a very senior promotion offer from them, so I helped her negotiate the offer & come up with a list of questions, prep for the offer call. As I'd previously worked at the company as well, she appreciated having someone she could discuss it with who knew the compensation. 
• Had a call with one of the students I'm mentoring, and reviewed her college essays. 

What about you? Any wins to share?