Just a quickie update and a savings advisory.
Hosts with the most (chilling out)
My cousin Alison arrived on Sunday, and we’ve been trying to be good hosts. Luckily, she’s mainly interested in relaxing — she’s enjoying the relative quiet of a household without two boys under 16 — but we’re trying to make sure she has a little Phoenix fun.
She wanted to see the zoo, so Tim took her yesterday morning. They had to get a bit of a move on because the zoo here is only open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. I assume it’s weather-related, but that’s still really weird, right?
She also wants to go to the botanical gardens, which she and Tim (I’ll be working) can do for free. Our library lends out Culture Passes to several local attractions. (Not, unfortunately, the zoo.) So the day she’s ready to go I can just look up which branches have the botanical garden pass in stock, and they can go admire plants without an entrance fee. Hooray!
Water water everywhere
Then Tim asked if she wanted to go to a water park.
Unsurprisingly, water parks aren’t really a thing in Alaska. Heck, there was only one (rather mediocre) one in the Seattle area. But there are about four options within 30 miles of our house.
Alison grew up in New Jersey, so she kind of misses having that option. She usually takes the boys if they go back to visit relatives in the summer.
Still, I assumed the temperatures would make it a no-go. Especially since she’s as pale as I am. And did I mention summer Phoenix temps?
But we’re having a cooler couple of days — by which I mean it’s supposed to get up to only 97 degrees — so she was excited by the prospect.
I went over to Groupon through Mr. Rebates, of course, and found $17 tickets. It’s a park we’ve never been to, but the rides look comparable to the one we’ve visited before. And this one doesn’t charge for parking! That and the waaaay better deal (the other Groupon was $64 for two people and parking) makes it worth the extra 20-mile drive.
We’ll still have the locker rental and inevitable food and drink, mind you, but it should still be a relatively affordable day. And even if it isn’t the cheapest… Well, it’s fun and we an always fall back on the excuse of being good hosts.
Gift card savings
The only other item of note is that I’m about to stock up on a whole bunch more gift cards. CardCash is having another sitewide 5% off sale.
If you haven’t already joined CardCash, I highly recommend it. It has a sitewide sale at least every eight weeks, which means you can get an extra three to five percent off any available GC.
I use it to stock up on Walgreens GCs. Walgreens is only a mile away, meaning that it’s our main source of the overabundance of candy we eat. Plus, it’s our go-to when we’re out of toilet paper, a skincare product or (if we’re not well enough to make it to the grocery store) milk.
Unfortunately, CardCash isn’t on any cash back sites, nor can you get Granny Rewards through GiftCardGranny. But the relatively routine sitewide sales make it more than worthwhile.
I’m going to get more Walgreens gift cards — we’re down to, gasp, our last $30 in GCs — and nab some Quick Trip ones too. We normally fill the tank at Circle K, but but QT GCs (try saying that five times fast) will be at least 8.26% off with the sale.
If I don’t mind buying a larger denomination, we can get up to 11.46% off. I just prefer smaller dollar amounts so that, if we lose one while out and about, we’re not taking as big a hit.
I’m probably going to get a few Netflix cards too, since they’ll be 8.16% off. Kroger GCs will be 5.5% off, so maybe I’ll pick up a few of those (if there are any left when I go to buy). I’ll try to brainstorm other places we frequent too. Maybe some AMC gift cards are in order as summer blockbusters hit.
The sale ends on Thursday, so make sure you take advantage soon!
Do you use discount gift cards? Are you a fan of water parks? Do you think there’s any chance I’ll make it out of the park without a severe burn?
Mrs. Picky Pincher says
Bahaha! Smear on the sunblock at the water park for sure. 🙂 I absolutely hate water parks myself, but I know a lot of people (like Mr. Picky Pincher) really love them. I just don’t like the crowds and how I inevitably get gross water up my nose. Bleh.
I have delicate freckly skin, so I feel y’all on the sunburn worries. Wear a long sleeved shirt or sarong if you can and get a big floppy hat!
Mrs. Picky Pincher recently posted…79 Ways To Have Fun For Nearly Free
Money Beagle says
I’ve never used a site like that but getting gift cards for places you go anyway makes sense in a lot of ways. We use reward credit cards and a lot of them have bonus cash back categories, so we’d have to make sure that any card bought would end up a greater reward percentage than using the card.
Money Beagle recently posted…Bagged Mulch Or Bulk: Which Worked Better?
Femmefrugality says
Sounds like a good time! I’m going to have to check out that library pass thing…I feel like I knew about that a while ago, but the “lines” for them were so long I shelved the idea.
Femmefrugality recently posted…Around the World in 80 Books: Austria & Mali
Tim Kim @ Tub of Cash says
I’ve only been once. Waterpark that is. It was ok, but never really had much of an inkling to go again. Not a big water guy 😛
Tina in NJ says
Not a big fan of amusement parks period. They’re usually heavy on roller coasters and I’m afraid of heights. Our library has museum passes and we used one to go to the Stickley Museum (Gustav, the furniture and house guy). According to the info we had, there was a certain percentage off in the gift shop with the pass, but they had changed the policy. Fortunately for us, they honored the discount, but it’s not like we bought the expensive coffee table book.
Kat says
I used to like water parks but the older I got, the more I preferred swimming laps. I know it sounds weird but part of what I like about being in the water is that it can be calming and sort of meditative. So, it’s the pool for me. Fortunately, we have a few indoor ones around here so I don’t need to buy SPF 50 in bulk.
With the gift card quandary, there is a solution to the fear of losing one while you’re out. Apple Pay allows you to load gift cards onto it. So, if the place you’re going accepts Apple Pay, there is no need to take the physical gift card with you.
Donna Freedman says
Just occurred to me: Was the “relatively” affordable fun an intentional pun?
Donna Freedman recently posted…This, that and summer.
Practical Parsimony says
Many years ago, there were no water parks in this small town. However, my children lived at the pool, so I did, too. Now, I don’t care about water parks or the pool. We also have no passes to anywhere at our library. I am 50 miles from a zoo or large museum. So, a guest here would have to settle for smaller venues which sometimes are still spectacular…like a farm that still farms they way they did 150 years ago. Fresh-pressed apple juice is amazing. And, free.
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