Discounts on lift tickets!

Skiing and snowboarding are expensive hobbies. A daily lift ticket can cost $60-$80, depending on the resort. Let's say you want to go 12 times/season, and you've quickly spent close to $1,000. However, there are a few discounts to be found. For example, buy 10 gallons of gas at any Shell station and receive a coupon for one free full-price lift ticket with the purchase of another. You can only use one at a time, but you can use the offer as many times as you want. The offer is available at ski resorts along the West Coast including Whistler Blackcomb, Summit at Snoqualmie, Crystal Mountain, Mt. Bachelor, and more.

The only downside is that most of the resorts limit which day of the week, or certain parts of the season it can be used, but it's easy to work around. I love taking the occasional day off from work to snowboard when the slopes aren't so busy--especially since I am still learning.

Bottom Line: Assuming you needed to buy gas anyway, you'll save $60-$80 when you and a friend head to the mountain. The Mr. and I are headed up to snowboard next week. Check out the website for details about the restrictions at various resorts here. Don't forget to have the gas station attendant stamp your receipt. Enjoy the snow!

Winter Weeknights

Who says all the fun has to be saved up for the weekend! Here in the Northwest, this time of year, it's dark by 4:45 pm. If you don't want to be relegated to nights on the couch and constant TV/movie watching, it's time to get creative. 

We call these Middle School Dates--bowling, ice skating, museums, etc. But instead of spending your Friday or Saturday night at these places (after all, we discovered that Saturday night is "teen night" at our local ice rink--yikes!), why not make a mid-week event out of it. Check out your local bowling alley or skating rink's weekday prices. You'll be surprised how much money you'll save. Come on, your bowling skills don't magically improve just because it's the weekend.

Bottom Line: Our local bowling alley has $3 games, $3 shoe rentals, and $3 beers on Tuesday nights. We spent a total of $12 each. Had we gone on Friday or Saturday night, it would have been $30/hour per lane, $4 for shoes, and $5.50 for drinks, for a grand total of $24.50 per person. Going on a Tuesday saved us roughly 50%. 

Winter is Coming!

I've never been good at skiing. I never got good at it, and I hate being cold. However, winter is long, cold and rainy here in the Northwest, and I decided this year is the year to embrace the winter--so I'm going to learn to snowboard. We're surrounded by ski resorts, the closest only being 45 minutes away.

Snowboards are expensive...really expensive. However, a few weekends ago I found a store called Next Adventure, in Portland. Oregon. This store is super legit. Not only do they have an actual "bargain basement", but this time of year, it's full of used ski and snowboard gear.

I picked up a board (pink and girly!), super nice bindings, and Salomon boots, all for $165.

Bottom Line:
Snowboard: $90 (instead of $300 plus)
Boots: $50 (instead of $250)
Bindings: $25 (instead of $150)

Total Savings: $535

Snowboard rentals at the mountain are between $30 and $50 a day, so as long as I go snowboarding at least 5 times this season, I'm in the clear, and will have the new gear for years to come.

If you are interested in learning a new sport, find a local used sporting gear store near you. Make sure you like the sport before investing a lot of cash into first-rate gear.

Now I just need to learn how to snowboard...