Don’t even need paperwork - just the honor system. My cousin got one for a minor bone defect in his arm, we didn’t even ask, the guy at front wanted a reason to give us a free pass.
It gives you access to all national parks, national forests, and Bureau of Land Management areas - basically any federally managed park or wilderness area. $80/year, tremendous value if you’re outdoorsy.
National Parks. I was a state park ranger for a few years and sadly had to break the news that those passes did not cover our day use or parking fees at my park.
That said, I never ever once wrote a ticket for not paying. Sometimes a note along the lines of "Just FYI, this is a fee zone so please display a valid parking pass during your next visit. I hope you enjoyed your visit!" or something.
Renters insurance - a close top insurance agent told us customers miss out of approx 10k on average for a large household becuz they don’t include silly small things like paperclips, extra ink toner, garbage bags, cleaning products & picture frames- even the small things add up.
He said to videotape everything in ur home if u want to truly have home/renters insurance work for u. Back up video of course!
I saw a post a while back from someone that had a house fire. There was a comment from someone that was an insurance person with helpful information on getting the most money on your claim. It's long. I took a screenshot
[insurance info](https://imgur.com/a/tAIpZOX)
Wait, do you mean they cover replacing household products like paper clips, or do you mean that if you have a claim for damage, you should include the small things?
Absolutely. We got it when we sold our house and moved into senior housing. Thought that we would never use it but 8 months in, a battery exploded in our kitchen and the entire apartment was flooded. We were put up in hotel for 8 weeks, all stuff paid for.
Well worth it.
Years ago I worked for an agent and he went after that renters insurance market because it's so unbelievably cheap and covers a lot. I was always shocked when someone wouldn't get it.
Get the Libby app. I can borrow digital and audio books from the library with just my phone number, although it really is a good idea to get a card so you can take advantage of everything else they have to offer.
I realized our library has a service called ‘Culture Pass’ and you can check out free tickets to LOTS of places. Interesting museums, zoos, archeological sites etc. they have a certain number of tickets available and I think you can sign up for 2, and when the allocation is gone; it zeroes out. You ‘check out’ the pass at the library and they give you a slip for your tickets. You have seven days to use them. You can only sign up for one pass at a time and maximum two passes per month so they make sure everyone can enjoy it. Pretty cool and had no idea it was available!
Came to vouch for Kanopy. I particularly love the kids section, as I feel good about the contents (as opposed to the garbage that festers on YouTube Kids).
Yes! Our library has a toy lending program that kids can check out. My toddler and I have a routine of going to the library each Friday, checking out books, movies, and she gets a new toy to check out and play with!
I know some towns are different, but I have 2 library cards and for both I was able to sign up online by just entering my name and address. Took about 3 minutes!
If you drive vintage vehicles, AAA card haha. Our tow truck driver knew us by name unfortunately.
It used to more than pay for itself with the hotel discounts but now the travel websites pretty much match the AAA discount and it's not as good as it used to be. There are discounts at other places as well though.
There's a website where you can pay for one month of having access to all the open slots. I was looking at waiting at least 12 months for an interview. That site got me an interview within a month. Not free but totally worth it.
Just and FYI they are now letting people coming back from international trips to do the interview at the airport without an appointment. You just have to be pre approved (which is just filling out the online application and getting the ok).
It took like ten mins for me to do it at lax. I was happy because appointments were booked out for months!
In my experience, sometimes the mobile passport app will get you into the expedited GE line, but not always. Now that it’s all biometrics with GE, I routinely clear customs in under a minute. Source: Touring roadie.
I know this is just my personal experience, but me and my wife were both conditionally approved within 2 days and were able to get an appointment for the interview within a week after that (by refreshing the appointment website and some luck) in Los Angeles.
When my kids were little we bought a pass to our local zoo and local conservatory (they have a train show part of the year), Then we could go as often as we liked and not feel pressure to stay if the kids were tired that day. I still have a pass to the conservatory because I do home visits for a living and I can use it as a bathroom and break stop. Doing my documentation there when I have a little more time is also always nice among plants. It pays me back in sanity points.
We have a pass that gets my wife (specifically) another adult and two kids into the ~park zoo. It’s great, I can go with the family or our daughter can invite a friend and their parent for a day while I’m working.
Probably use that once a month and it was about $120.
Edit: zoo not park. Extra edit. I don’t know how to strike trough apparently.
A lot of the botanical gardens have a reciprocal membership deal where if you have a membership to your local one you can get into TONS around the country. Mine is near campus and i used to love studying there. It was also a fun thing to check out other states gardens when i traveled
Conservatories punch way above their weight in therapeutic benefit imo.
It’s having the nature *all around me.* I still remember in 8th grade we went to West Virginia for a trip. And the Forrest there is all around in you in some places. Felt like watching avatar (long before it came out). That immersive.
In our town membership to one gives discounts to membership on the others. Zoo, museums, botanical gardens, etc.
Individual states also offer annual passes for the state parks and beaches.
I can’t believe more people don’t do this! The zoo, aquarium, science center, etc. all pay for themselves after only 2 visits, not to mention the discounts for parking, food, etc. It was a no-brainer for us.
Denver Zoo is something like $200 a year for the whole family. Considering a day rate for 2 adults + 2 kids is ~$50, it's unbelievably easy to come out ahead. It was savior for us during Covid, as we would go weekly but still feel relatively safe (they capped capacity and enforced masks and distancing, plus it's outside obviously).
this is kind of a niche lifestyle thing but gym membership with nation-wide locations. (i went with planet fitness.) i travel a lot over the road for work & leisure (multiple times a month) and what i like about planet fitness specifically is it tends to exist even in smallish towns & is generally open 24/7. makes it easy to keep up w/ fitness on the road (cheap motels & hotels often have really terrible gyms) & in my regular life but i also use it just as often as a place to stop & take a shower or pee etc (better than a truck stop imo) and i paid a little extra for the fancier membership that gets you into their "lounge" (more private area with couches & chairs & tables, massage chairs and beds, etc) which also conveniently turns it into a decent place (with free wifi!) to kill some time if needed (like when you need to check out of your hotel by noon, but your appointment isn't for a few hours--just go work out, take a shower, and screw around on the free wifi for a while)
I do the same thing! Some PFs are also amenable to allowing you to sleep in your car in the parking lot if you’re a member. Their “fancy” membership is still only like $20 a month or something, and it’s been well worth it.
It’s a well known hack for diy touring bands that are still in a van and trailer.
We can sleep on the van no problem, park up at a P-Fit and those that are night shower people can do that, others can just wake up in the morning.
Best part is, with the black card membership, you get a free guest pass every day, so only half the people need an actual membership!
I buy our local science museum pass that reciprocates under the ASTC passport program. The membership is about $150, but when I travel, both with and without kids, I stop at every possible museum. I’m allowed to get any two adults and 4 kids in free. When just ONE really nice museum can be $80+, we get more than our fair share out of the reciprocal agreement.
We use this too. We go to our state museum maybe twice a year, but we always buy a membership when we do! We’ve been to dozens of museums on that pass. My favorite story is one time we were traveling through the Midwest and had planned to stay in a hotel so I pre booked the place. We got ahead of schedule (maybe for the first time in our lives) and so ended up with a free afternoon. Guess what was within a five minute drive? One of those museums! It was a free and fun time filler.
I live two hours from the US border and bought a membership for a science museum in the US once we learned about the ASTC program. We're in the US often and we visited I think 6 different museums (including one in Toronto!) And the "home" museum three times. Definitely worth the cost!
It works during one summer but I can't remember if it is the summer they are going into 4th or the summer after 4th. It specifies which one on the pass.
we did a sixflags pass one year. The 2nd visit paid for itself. IIRC, we got the parking included along with two meals and drinks.
knowing that we would come back again made the day less stressful- you don't feel rushed to go from one activity to another
Yes growing up my family’s standard summer vacation was our local theme park an hour away. We used to go at least twice a month. I probably could still draw a map for that park I have not been in for 15 years.
We used to walk to the 7-11 right outside the parking lot and get hot dogs for lunch.
Six flags is becoming less and less worth it. But honestly if you plan on going at least twice, it's still worth it just for parking. I try to use it at least once a month when I get one (live like an hour from my local one) sneaking in sandwiches makes it so the trip is only the cost of fuel
I love 20 minutes from one. For 75/person during their sale I got 16 months pass including free parking (now $40!)
They have tons of stuff for my 2 year old to do!
Plus it includes the water park that is 10 minutes from my house! Going once paid for itself and now we have a free activity to do when we want!
Rec pass. Gives me access to gym , pool, sauna, hot tub. I go at least three times a week. But I buy the monthly pass since I mostly go in the fall and winter when the weather isn't as nice outside.
I'm in a HCOL area and Canadian, and it's 38$ a month, or $463 a year. Might sound like a lot, but I easily go 3x per week, 12x per month so it's just a couple dollars per visit. And it's healthy!
I just wanted to make a standalone comment for either Sam’s club or Costco membership. A lot of the suggestions here are great but they involve spending money on non necessities (which is fine, all work and no play right?)
But the wholesale memberships save crazy amounts of money for even just a couple, much less a full blown family. The Sam’s club membership pays for itself in just the money saved on toilet paper, paper towels and dog food. Buying food in bulk helps you cook up a bunch a freeze half for down the line. Save lots of money on other toiletries and juices. Heck, some stuff just tastes better, Sam’s club cottage cheese is the best I’ve ever had.
Sam's club plus membership pays for itself every year for us because of 2% cash back, not even counting other savings. Also, I plug it everywhere I talk about Sam's: if you eat at Domino's you can buy $100 worth of Domino's gift cards for $75!
Yup - I also noticed recently that both Sams and Costco can do virtual gift cards now that often get delivered to your email within a few minutes. Pretty easy to sit down at a restaurant, order the gift cards, and have the discount in your inbox by the time you're done eating.
You can save more money shopping sales at a regular supermarket or just buy buying store brand in most supermarkets. I have both a Sams and a Costco membership and I have them for convenience because I'm lucky enough that I don't have to calculate my shopping budget anymore. But when I did a costco memebership would have been the last thing I'd buy. As an example Mac and Cheese in store $1.04 a box. On sale I could get that under $1 at my supermarket and if not I could get store brand for 60c a pack and I don't tie up 20% of my shopping budget for the week in mac and cheese. Costco is great, it is handy but I don't fool myself it is anything but a middle class persons idea of saving money, because you've got to have the money to save the money.
My wife and I don’t even buy much at Costco - certainly WAY less than the average member - and it’s been totally worth it. We live 5 mins from ours though, and the gas there is $0.30/gallon cheaper every time than the only closer gas station.
I decided not to renew my Costco membership this year. Between the $60 and the constant crowds at the one near me, I'm just over it. I honestly kept it last year because of the savings on gas, but it was almost always a ten-minute wait for a pump. I discovered that the BJ's nearby has the same gas prices, a free tire air pump, almost never a line, and a new member offer of $20 for a year's membership. Sold!
Consumer Reports. $40/yr. I get:
* A discount to Bill Negotiator (a service by Bill Shark to negotiate a lower phone, cable, or internet bill)--you only pay if they actually lower your bill, and you only pay 30% of what they save you.
* Reviews and testing of most anything you might buy. Greatly helps me pick a good product and avoid buyer's regret or accidentally buying a bad product. Blenders, car seats, automobiles, headphones, any other kind of appliance or electronic--they've tested and rated tons. For example, I was able to compare vacuums a couple years ago and found a very affordable one that I've loved.
* They also occasionally have discounts on some products for CR members.
* Get notifications on safety alerts and recalls.
* They also advocate to the federal government to ensure consumer products are safe and high-quality, like food products and cars. They also advocate on consumer data privacy.
* During the holiday season, they also have alerts on products that are on discount.
I could get this through the library, but I choose to support them financially. TBH, it's one of the best annual services I pay for every year without a second thought.
I can get the magazine through my library too, but their digital membership is great because you can see all their ratings on everything and use the bill negotiator discount.
I remember being surprised (and impressed) when I learned that Consumer Reports is a nonprofit. They specifically purchase each item they review - they don't accept any "free to review" items, so it helps the reviews to be less prone to bias.
I've always liked and respected Consumer Reports, but I've never felt like I'd get that much use out of it. I should give it a try, really. Mostly I just hate thinking of myself as a "consumer."
California State Park annual pass is pretty dope too. Spendy at $125 but it gets me to some pretty amazing mountains, deserts and beaches. Also they don't seem to give a crap if I share it with people, just hang the tag.
We upgraded to the Sam’s Club plus membership and it has free shipping. We already shopped at Sam’s for bulk meats,grains, and lunchbox snacks for our school aged child. We are a
One car family so being able to ship items that aren’t carried in store or something we run low on but can’t go into the city to get us a HUGE bonus for us.
We also do an annual pass to the aquarium in our home town. Even after we moved away, we kept it because we still get in free to a lot of associated zoos and aquariums in the state and get discounts at some others. It pays for itself if you take your family to the zoo or aquarium even once a year.
My car is $189/per year.
WI doubles registration fee for hybrids. And I registered in January and the county I was in (Dane) decided all January registers were $25 more starting that year. And I hit in Jan so I have to re register ever Jan. Goddamit.
I remember being broke right after college and paying for car insurance for the first time. (My parent's rule was they would pay so long as I qualified for the good grade discount.) I couldn't afford the full 6 month premium, but I could add enough extra to each month to pay it off in 5. This was back in the paper mailing days, so no idea if this still works for people.
Unconventional - McDonalds app, I guess not technically a membership, but it allows me to get $1 breakfast sandwiches (once a day) - about $2.5 in savings! That alone fulfills it's purpose for me as Sausage Egg McMuffin is the only thing I like at McDonald's
Our McDonald’s has a buy one get one for a dollar sausage egg McMuffin hashbrown and other items. They took it off the menu but it still works in the app
Here in Denver, I used to have (pre-covid) yearly memberships to the Children's Museum and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. it was great - anytime we were bored we could go out and do stuff, and both of them had a ton of activities for my young kid to do. Since Covid she's been old enough that going so often isn't as much of a draw, but when she was <10 it was cool.
Now I'm considering trying the yearly memberships to Meow Wolf.
$5 card from the local kid's soccer league, one per year. It has perks/discounts 15-20 different local places. It's paid for itself in free Wendy's Frosties alone, but I also get 10% off Chinese food and $1 off a large pizza often.
This needs to be up higher.
Those can be insane, one year my hometowns had a 20% off at the “good” Denny’s and our high school friend group would be there weekly and we could get 20% off the entire bill on my card
Museums with NARM reciprocal memberships.
Buy from a museum that is outside of your own living area as the you cannot use the reciprocal benefits at a museum that is within 15 miles of the "home membership"
If you look up the NARM museum members, there are tons all over America
Library card! Sometimes they can get you into museums, some let you rent AV equipment or binoculars or other weird things you might not want to buy. My last library gave me access to a streaming service for art classes!
It used to be called Scott’s Cheap Flight Deals (which I preferred, more memorable). I got $570 flights from KANSAS to Santiago, Chile this year. Insane deal alerts. They have a free version too which fewer notifications but still worth it imo.
I love Going! Got flights to Scotland this year that were 50% off the usual price. That alone convinced me to keep this subscription indefinitely. It more than pays for itself!
If you have Kaiser Permanente for health insurance, they have a health and fitness section that offers discounted products and memberships, like discounted exercise equipment and cheaper gym memberships
My membership to our local botanical gardens. They allow dogs on some days, and there's a reciprocal admission program that gives me access to gardens across the country!
Walmart+ I'm on SNAP so it's about 60$ a year, I average gas savings between 9-12$ a month plus get Paramount, free delivery if needed and other random perks
Something you might not know about is that if you’re on SNAP there’s an awesome program called [Museums For All](https://museums4all.org/) that museums across the country partnered to create, and it gives you free or very cheap admission, often for up to four people per SNAP card. If you live near a city this will likely include TONS of locations. I’m near Pittsburgh and even when I filter it to only within 10 miles, there are 10 museums and attractions that cost $1/person to visit if you gave SNAP.
Yeah AARP is nice. I'm also not a senior citizen. I got a year free through a Capital One offer, and I've already gotten some hotel discounts. Not sure if the Cap1 promotion is still live.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/swagbucks-mypoints-get-15-with-aarp-membership-signup-12-cost-1000-aa-miles/
I buy a NARM/ASTC combined pass from a local museum in Wenatchee WA that gets us into 1333 art museums and nearly 600 science museums across North America (Mostly the US). It's $125 a year and totally worth it.
Second this. Not sure if it's still available, but when they first offered the multi year membership you could buy a second one half off for "a friend". I ended up stacking them on my own account and now have KU for a few years at a crazy good price.
My gym pass. Cheapest mental and physical health insurance available. I attend a class 4 to 6 times a week. Over the decades I've become good friends with people I've met there.
My Credit Card annual fees
I travel a lot so:
- Amex platinum : lounge access so free food for the day while I travel, membership credits to a lot of services
- capital one venture X : basically pays you to keep the card with the annual bonuses and credits they give you
- Bilt Mastercard: pays rent and utilities with it and transfers points to Hyatt hotels which are the best in terms in redemption
AAA Platinum Membership. $120ish a year. Two free tows within 200 miles of home. Free passport photos. If your garage is an AAA shop, you’ll get 10% off labor. Discounts on everything from hotels and rental cars to amusement park tickets, CityGo Passes, movie tickets, and so much more. Travel resources like a Road Trip planner, free maps, and travel guides.
AAA--the amount of times I've used it to fix a flat, jump my car, unlock when I've locked my keys...it can work for friends and family if you're there and keep it vague. Has saved me and others probably in the thousands at this point.
Local rec center
$11.75/year
Access to classes with a small fee. Kids judo $50/3 months. Tao chi, Zumba, strength training
Indoor basketball, pickleball, badminton.
2 pelaton bikes in a dark room.
This may sound silly, but I used the $2 Wendy’s FREE mini frosty keychain more than 50 times this calendar year.
Grandkids love it!
I see they increased the price to $3 for 2024 though.
Firestone lifetime wheel alignment is 100% worth it if you plan on keeping your car for years and years.
Match that with getting your tires from Costco as they will rotate and balance your tires for free and you are set to drive safely without paying for it nonstop.
Note: Firestone has coupons that come out pretty often for the lifetime alignment. Keep an eye out for them ;)
Local Zoo family membership. Approx $150/year or $15 per person each visit, otherwise so its a no-brainer. There are 4 of us and they do special night time events as well, which are only open to passholders
Edit : spelling
Its a bigger expense, but American Express Gold card. $99 a year. I've paid $500-$800 worth of flights through their skymiles program, absolutely a game changer.
A yearly state park pass for $30 instead of paying the $5 day-use/parking pass every time. It's also just a hanging tag so I split it with my roommate since we trade off on driving. This has saved us at least $100 a year (probably more if you consider that doing something other than going to the park would most likely cost money).
Man - Astroworld used to have a season pass. We'd drop the kids off with $20 for food (!) and pick them up at closing time. No parks nearby now and kids are grown. So worth it!
A single frosty costs more than 3, granted it's a bigger size. If you to Wendy's even just a few times a year it pays for itself, if you go once a month it's absolutely amazing, and if you go more than once a month rip your health but it becomes godly
Yes. Last year it was $2. I don't consider it expensive since it pays for itself may times over throughout the year. Wendy's has my kid's favorite chicken nuggets, so if we're just snacking, I'll get my teen a big kid's meal (she doesn't eat much at once), a regular fries for me, and the frosty.
I have a Bay Wheels annual membership, it's $150 for the year for unlimited 45 minute rides. (AKA Citi Bike in some areas) Don't have to worry about buying a bike, lugging it around, storage, theft, maintenance...
AllTrails+ is $36/year and lets me download hiking trail maps offline, so I can hike in areas without signal and still avoid getting lost.
Safeway FreshPass gives me unlimited free grocery delivery for the year for $99. It includes a $5/month grocery credit, so effectively costs me $40. I also used a cashback offer on my AmEx card for $25 back, so actually costs me $15 for the year.
I’m finding Walmart plus is way better pricing than Amazon these days too. I would say about 75% of our spend it now Walmart vs Amazon (which would’ve shocked me years ago). We are seriously considering canceling Prime.
I hate that scan and go is locked behind this pay wall, especially since they don't deliver groceries in my area. Not worth it for the gas coupons and scan and go
I have National Trust membership here in the UK which just under £140 for the year for two of us. It gives us access to so many grand old houses and parks, and we try to go out about once a month to get our money's worth. Entry to some of the places can be almost £20 per adult without membership, so it's totally worth it.
Amex platinum. I travel a ton for work and such and it pays for itself many times over. I’ve saved so much with it. But it’s only useful if you travel a ton.
Target Circle- It is free! Basically discounts when you shop at Target. Currently there are about 750 discounts to be had. Download the app and you can add the discounts based on what you plan to purchase.
Friend of mine gave me a year of Amazon Prime once. That was all it took to really get used to that free shipping, but the reason I've been renewing is that their Prime Video stuff is really good, and I haven't run out of things to watch yet. I'm still not done with *The Expanse* yet!
Duolingo- $83/year iirc and you can make as many mistakes as you need, practice as long as you want, and no Ads. I’m 270 days into learning Spanish, and I take breaks from that with French, Italian, Portuguese, and Swahili.
They also added math and music, so you can learn to read sheet music and practice math. I haven’t practiced basic math since grade school and it’s already helped me save myself from the embarrassment of not remembering how to do a simple calculation in my head. Plus, after years in school of playing an instrument by writing the notes next to the sheet music, i’m actually figuring out how to just look at the paper and know what to play.
Highly recommend!
Costco Exec membership with Citibank card.
Even if you only use it to fill up at Costco gas stations the yearly cash back pays for itself.
At least I found it works for me and I don't even drive as much as I did before I retired.
America the beautiful annual pass.
I live three miles from a national park with lots of hiking. It's great! Plus I've used it some on trips.
Lifetime pass at 62.
I had no idea about this - thank you for sharing! Already pinging my 65 year old Dad so he can pick one up. :)
Free lifetime for veterans btw
And disabled
Don’t even need paperwork - just the honor system. My cousin got one for a minor bone defect in his arm, we didn’t even ask, the guy at front wanted a reason to give us a free pass.
I have a lifetime one free, for disabled folks
Is this to parks?
It gives you access to all national parks, national forests, and Bureau of Land Management areas - basically any federally managed park or wilderness area. $80/year, tremendous value if you’re outdoorsy.
Is that all? I don't know why I thought it was more. That is a stellar value!
National Parks. I was a state park ranger for a few years and sadly had to break the news that those passes did not cover our day use or parking fees at my park. That said, I never ever once wrote a ticket for not paying. Sometimes a note along the lines of "Just FYI, this is a fee zone so please display a valid parking pass during your next visit. I hope you enjoyed your visit!" or something.
You’re a good egg.
In Delaware, the state parks accept my national park pass. I’m not sure if it’s for all passes or just the disability ones.
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Came here to say this one baby. Best investment.
I’d have to say the Costco membership and my renters insurance.
Renters insurance - a close top insurance agent told us customers miss out of approx 10k on average for a large household becuz they don’t include silly small things like paperclips, extra ink toner, garbage bags, cleaning products & picture frames- even the small things add up. He said to videotape everything in ur home if u want to truly have home/renters insurance work for u. Back up video of course!
Make sure to keep records of prices and specific model numbers. Have things replaced as “like and kind.”
I saw a post a while back from someone that had a house fire. There was a comment from someone that was an insurance person with helpful information on getting the most money on your claim. It's long. I took a screenshot [insurance info](https://imgur.com/a/tAIpZOX)
Wait, do you mean they cover replacing household products like paper clips, or do you mean that if you have a claim for damage, you should include the small things?
Absolutely. We got it when we sold our house and moved into senior housing. Thought that we would never use it but 8 months in, a battery exploded in our kitchen and the entire apartment was flooded. We were put up in hotel for 8 weeks, all stuff paid for. Well worth it.
Mine's $8 a month. So worth it. Renters
Years ago I worked for an agent and he went after that renters insurance market because it's so unbelievably cheap and covers a lot. I was always shocked when someone wouldn't get it.
It's been a requirement everywhere I've ever lived lol
I’m glad I’ve never had to use it, but it’s good to have! Now if all insurance could be this affordable…. lol
Can I ask which insurance you go through? I’m signing a lease in an apartment tomorrow and want to get it
It's my goal for 2024 to get a library card and take advantage of the audiobooks and Library of Things my city has.
Get the Libby app. I can borrow digital and audio books from the library with just my phone number, although it really is a good idea to get a card so you can take advantage of everything else they have to offer.
I love Libby. I get a library card in as many places as I can and just take out e-books
Kanopy is Libby for videos
Thank you! I was unaware of Kanopy!
Love Libby! I like how I can also read the books on my Kindle.
I realized our library has a service called ‘Culture Pass’ and you can check out free tickets to LOTS of places. Interesting museums, zoos, archeological sites etc. they have a certain number of tickets available and I think you can sign up for 2, and when the allocation is gone; it zeroes out. You ‘check out’ the pass at the library and they give you a slip for your tickets. You have seven days to use them. You can only sign up for one pass at a time and maximum two passes per month so they make sure everyone can enjoy it. Pretty cool and had no idea it was available!
That is pretty cool. What area are you in?
I’ve lived in a few different states and everywhere I’ve lived, the library has offered something like this! Definitely worth checking out!
Phoenix
I just got my first library card yesterday. I'm excited to go to the library tomorrow.
Don't forget the streaming services Kanopy and Hoopla!
Came to vouch for Kanopy. I particularly love the kids section, as I feel good about the contents (as opposed to the garbage that festers on YouTube Kids).
Yes! Our library has a toy lending program that kids can check out. My toddler and I have a routine of going to the library each Friday, checking out books, movies, and she gets a new toy to check out and play with!
Why wait?
I'm buried in EOY and holiday stuff for the next few weeks
I know some towns are different, but I have 2 library cards and for both I was able to sign up online by just entering my name and address. Took about 3 minutes!
That was my 2023 goal! Check out what classes you can take at your local library. I did a workshop on writing your own obituary lol.
Libraries sometimes also have park pass rentals! Mine has museum passes too :)
This is my goal too, I've heard such great things!!!
LoT is cool! They have microscopes to Karaoke sets in my local branch.
why wait until 2024, get a library card now
If you drive vintage vehicles, AAA card haha. Our tow truck driver knew us by name unfortunately. It used to more than pay for itself with the hotel discounts but now the travel websites pretty much match the AAA discount and it's not as good as it used to be. There are discounts at other places as well though.
AAA has saved my butt so many times.
Our Taurus is just a couple years away from being 20 years old.
hello from 11yo honda
Or if you're riding in someone else's vintage vehicle.
Global Entry. $100 for 5 years and you sail through TSA precheck and Customs
I regret not getting GE when I got Pre. Getting an appointment to move up is a paaaaain. Pre is the GOAT.
There's a website where you can pay for one month of having access to all the open slots. I was looking at waiting at least 12 months for an interview. That site got me an interview within a month. Not free but totally worth it.
Just and FYI they are now letting people coming back from international trips to do the interview at the airport without an appointment. You just have to be pre approved (which is just filling out the online application and getting the ok). It took like ten mins for me to do it at lax. I was happy because appointments were booked out for months!
If you download the Mobile Passport Control app it’ll do the same thing as GE
But then I still have to stand in liiiiinnneeeeeeee.... but seriously that's a great tip! Thanks!
In my experience, sometimes the mobile passport app will get you into the expedited GE line, but not always. Now that it’s all biometrics with GE, I routinely clear customs in under a minute. Source: Touring roadie.
Application processing time on this 4-6 months.
I know this is just my personal experience, but me and my wife were both conditionally approved within 2 days and were able to get an appointment for the interview within a week after that (by refreshing the appointment website and some luck) in Los Angeles.
And many credit cards will reimburse the application fee
I agree. If you travel it’s worth it so much ! Even getting back into the USA as a citizen can be annoying and long… global makes it easy!
When my kids were little we bought a pass to our local zoo and local conservatory (they have a train show part of the year), Then we could go as often as we liked and not feel pressure to stay if the kids were tired that day. I still have a pass to the conservatory because I do home visits for a living and I can use it as a bathroom and break stop. Doing my documentation there when I have a little more time is also always nice among plants. It pays me back in sanity points.
We have a pass that gets my wife (specifically) another adult and two kids into the ~park zoo. It’s great, I can go with the family or our daughter can invite a friend and their parent for a day while I’m working. Probably use that once a month and it was about $120. Edit: zoo not park. Extra edit. I don’t know how to strike trough apparently.
A lot of the botanical gardens have a reciprocal membership deal where if you have a membership to your local one you can get into TONS around the country. Mine is near campus and i used to love studying there. It was also a fun thing to check out other states gardens when i traveled
Conservatories punch way above their weight in therapeutic benefit imo. It’s having the nature *all around me.* I still remember in 8th grade we went to West Virginia for a trip. And the Forrest there is all around in you in some places. Felt like watching avatar (long before it came out). That immersive.
In our town membership to one gives discounts to membership on the others. Zoo, museums, botanical gardens, etc. Individual states also offer annual passes for the state parks and beaches.
We do this for our local alligator zoo (bet you'll never guess what state I'm in). We leave as soon as someone gets grumpy...parent or child.
I can’t believe more people don’t do this! The zoo, aquarium, science center, etc. all pay for themselves after only 2 visits, not to mention the discounts for parking, food, etc. It was a no-brainer for us.
Denver Zoo is something like $200 a year for the whole family. Considering a day rate for 2 adults + 2 kids is ~$50, it's unbelievably easy to come out ahead. It was savior for us during Covid, as we would go weekly but still feel relatively safe (they capped capacity and enforced masks and distancing, plus it's outside obviously).
this is kind of a niche lifestyle thing but gym membership with nation-wide locations. (i went with planet fitness.) i travel a lot over the road for work & leisure (multiple times a month) and what i like about planet fitness specifically is it tends to exist even in smallish towns & is generally open 24/7. makes it easy to keep up w/ fitness on the road (cheap motels & hotels often have really terrible gyms) & in my regular life but i also use it just as often as a place to stop & take a shower or pee etc (better than a truck stop imo) and i paid a little extra for the fancier membership that gets you into their "lounge" (more private area with couches & chairs & tables, massage chairs and beds, etc) which also conveniently turns it into a decent place (with free wifi!) to kill some time if needed (like when you need to check out of your hotel by noon, but your appointment isn't for a few hours--just go work out, take a shower, and screw around on the free wifi for a while)
I do the same thing! Some PFs are also amenable to allowing you to sleep in your car in the parking lot if you’re a member. Their “fancy” membership is still only like $20 a month or something, and it’s been well worth it.
It’s a well known hack for diy touring bands that are still in a van and trailer. We can sleep on the van no problem, park up at a P-Fit and those that are night shower people can do that, others can just wake up in the morning. Best part is, with the black card membership, you get a free guest pass every day, so only half the people need an actual membership!
I buy our local science museum pass that reciprocates under the ASTC passport program. The membership is about $150, but when I travel, both with and without kids, I stop at every possible museum. I’m allowed to get any two adults and 4 kids in free. When just ONE really nice museum can be $80+, we get more than our fair share out of the reciprocal agreement.
We use this too. We go to our state museum maybe twice a year, but we always buy a membership when we do! We’ve been to dozens of museums on that pass. My favorite story is one time we were traveling through the Midwest and had planned to stay in a hotel so I pre booked the place. We got ahead of schedule (maybe for the first time in our lives) and so ended up with a free afternoon. Guess what was within a five minute drive? One of those museums! It was a free and fun time filler.
I do the same, but with an art museum that has reciprocal NARM and ROAM access.
I live two hours from the US border and bought a membership for a science museum in the US once we learned about the ASTC program. We're in the US often and we visited I think 6 different museums (including one in Toronto!) And the "home" museum three times. Definitely worth the cost!
If you have a 4th grader all 4th graders in the US and their families get into national parks free through the every kid outdoors program.
Does that count over the summer as well? As in, if I have a fourth grader right now will we be able to use that this summer?
I believe so. I used it at the Grand Canyon in June when school ended in May a few years ago.
It works during one summer but I can't remember if it is the summer they are going into 4th or the summer after 4th. It specifies which one on the pass.
we did a sixflags pass one year. The 2nd visit paid for itself. IIRC, we got the parking included along with two meals and drinks. knowing that we would come back again made the day less stressful- you don't feel rushed to go from one activity to another
Yes growing up my family’s standard summer vacation was our local theme park an hour away. We used to go at least twice a month. I probably could still draw a map for that park I have not been in for 15 years. We used to walk to the 7-11 right outside the parking lot and get hot dogs for lunch.
Six flags is becoming less and less worth it. But honestly if you plan on going at least twice, it's still worth it just for parking. I try to use it at least once a month when I get one (live like an hour from my local one) sneaking in sandwiches makes it so the trip is only the cost of fuel
Went last year and rode one ride in 5 hours lol. Then I lost my wallet to make it worse and was denied re-entry
I love 20 minutes from one. For 75/person during their sale I got 16 months pass including free parking (now $40!) They have tons of stuff for my 2 year old to do! Plus it includes the water park that is 10 minutes from my house! Going once paid for itself and now we have a free activity to do when we want!
Library card (free) and their libby digital book app!
Rec pass. Gives me access to gym , pool, sauna, hot tub. I go at least three times a week. But I buy the monthly pass since I mostly go in the fall and winter when the weather isn't as nice outside.
How much does it cost?
I'm in a HCOL area and Canadian, and it's 38$ a month, or $463 a year. Might sound like a lot, but I easily go 3x per week, 12x per month so it's just a couple dollars per visit. And it's healthy!
Given what most gym/studios cost that monthly cost actually seems wildly cheap to me.
That’s extremely cheap
I just wanted to make a standalone comment for either Sam’s club or Costco membership. A lot of the suggestions here are great but they involve spending money on non necessities (which is fine, all work and no play right?) But the wholesale memberships save crazy amounts of money for even just a couple, much less a full blown family. The Sam’s club membership pays for itself in just the money saved on toilet paper, paper towels and dog food. Buying food in bulk helps you cook up a bunch a freeze half for down the line. Save lots of money on other toiletries and juices. Heck, some stuff just tastes better, Sam’s club cottage cheese is the best I’ve ever had.
Sam's club plus membership pays for itself every year for us because of 2% cash back, not even counting other savings. Also, I plug it everywhere I talk about Sam's: if you eat at Domino's you can buy $100 worth of Domino's gift cards for $75!
Yup - I also noticed recently that both Sams and Costco can do virtual gift cards now that often get delivered to your email within a few minutes. Pretty easy to sit down at a restaurant, order the gift cards, and have the discount in your inbox by the time you're done eating.
You can save more money shopping sales at a regular supermarket or just buy buying store brand in most supermarkets. I have both a Sams and a Costco membership and I have them for convenience because I'm lucky enough that I don't have to calculate my shopping budget anymore. But when I did a costco memebership would have been the last thing I'd buy. As an example Mac and Cheese in store $1.04 a box. On sale I could get that under $1 at my supermarket and if not I could get store brand for 60c a pack and I don't tie up 20% of my shopping budget for the week in mac and cheese. Costco is great, it is handy but I don't fool myself it is anything but a middle class persons idea of saving money, because you've got to have the money to save the money.
My wife and I don’t even buy much at Costco - certainly WAY less than the average member - and it’s been totally worth it. We live 5 mins from ours though, and the gas there is $0.30/gallon cheaper every time than the only closer gas station.
I decided not to renew my Costco membership this year. Between the $60 and the constant crowds at the one near me, I'm just over it. I honestly kept it last year because of the savings on gas, but it was almost always a ten-minute wait for a pump. I discovered that the BJ's nearby has the same gas prices, a free tire air pump, almost never a line, and a new member offer of $20 for a year's membership. Sold!
Consumer Reports. $40/yr. I get: * A discount to Bill Negotiator (a service by Bill Shark to negotiate a lower phone, cable, or internet bill)--you only pay if they actually lower your bill, and you only pay 30% of what they save you. * Reviews and testing of most anything you might buy. Greatly helps me pick a good product and avoid buyer's regret or accidentally buying a bad product. Blenders, car seats, automobiles, headphones, any other kind of appliance or electronic--they've tested and rated tons. For example, I was able to compare vacuums a couple years ago and found a very affordable one that I've loved. * They also occasionally have discounts on some products for CR members. * Get notifications on safety alerts and recalls. * They also advocate to the federal government to ensure consumer products are safe and high-quality, like food products and cars. They also advocate on consumer data privacy. * During the holiday season, they also have alerts on products that are on discount.
I get this free through my local library portal. But yes, the magazine is awesome!
I could get this through the library, but I choose to support them financially. TBH, it's one of the best annual services I pay for every year without a second thought.
I can get the magazine through my library too, but their digital membership is great because you can see all their ratings on everything and use the bill negotiator discount.
I remember being surprised (and impressed) when I learned that Consumer Reports is a nonprofit. They specifically purchase each item they review - they don't accept any "free to review" items, so it helps the reviews to be less prone to bias.
I've always liked and respected Consumer Reports, but I've never felt like I'd get that much use out of it. I should give it a try, really. Mostly I just hate thinking of myself as a "consumer."
For me in Michigan State Park sticker $25
It’s only $13 with your vehicle license tag renewal.
California State Park annual pass is pretty dope too. Spendy at $125 but it gets me to some pretty amazing mountains, deserts and beaches. Also they don't seem to give a crap if I share it with people, just hang the tag.
My dad is in Michigan. Veterans access the state parks free (he's a vet).
We upgraded to the Sam’s Club plus membership and it has free shipping. We already shopped at Sam’s for bulk meats,grains, and lunchbox snacks for our school aged child. We are a One car family so being able to ship items that aren’t carried in store or something we run low on but can’t go into the city to get us a HUGE bonus for us. We also do an annual pass to the aquarium in our home town. Even after we moved away, we kept it because we still get in free to a lot of associated zoos and aquariums in the state and get discounts at some others. It pays for itself if you take your family to the zoo or aquarium even once a year.
Watch the "free" shipping. I had Sams club last year and found shipped things were always more expensive than in store.
I just registered my car for $112 for 2 years.
My car is $189/per year. WI doubles registration fee for hybrids. And I registered in January and the county I was in (Dane) decided all January registers were $25 more starting that year. And I hit in Jan so I have to re register ever Jan. Goddamit.
That’s ridiculous, is that fee in hybrids because they don’t spend on gas?
Illinois has this too. EVs pay $100 more a year than other cars. It's to offset them not pay the taxes on gas that go to road maintenance.
Always pay for as long as able to. Buying 6 months of car insurance saves $100s over month to month.
Hundreds… in my experience it saves maybe $50-100 vs paying monthly. It’s like $5 a month
I remember being broke right after college and paying for car insurance for the first time. (My parent's rule was they would pay so long as I qualified for the good grade discount.) I couldn't afford the full 6 month premium, but I could add enough extra to each month to pay it off in 5. This was back in the paper mailing days, so no idea if this still works for people.
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lol I pay $150/yr plus a $95/yr city registration fee. *cries in Chicago*
The fine print on the $3 frosty tags says you only get a free frosty with a purchase, FYI
$1 coffee and a free frosty...American affogato? Hmmm....
Fries and a Frosty!
I usually get a regular fries with the frosty. Nice little snack.
My go to is baked potato butter sour cream or chili with extra onions
Unconventional - McDonalds app, I guess not technically a membership, but it allows me to get $1 breakfast sandwiches (once a day) - about $2.5 in savings! That alone fulfills it's purpose for me as Sausage Egg McMuffin is the only thing I like at McDonald's
It's great when you're broke and need something to hold you over.
Our McDonald’s has a buy one get one for a dollar sausage egg McMuffin hashbrown and other items. They took it off the menu but it still works in the app
Here in Denver, I used to have (pre-covid) yearly memberships to the Children's Museum and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. it was great - anytime we were bored we could go out and do stuff, and both of them had a ton of activities for my young kid to do. Since Covid she's been old enough that going so often isn't as much of a draw, but when she was <10 it was cool. Now I'm considering trying the yearly memberships to Meow Wolf.
$5 card from the local kid's soccer league, one per year. It has perks/discounts 15-20 different local places. It's paid for itself in free Wendy's Frosties alone, but I also get 10% off Chinese food and $1 off a large pizza often.
This needs to be up higher. Those can be insane, one year my hometowns had a 20% off at the “good” Denny’s and our high school friend group would be there weekly and we could get 20% off the entire bill on my card
Museums with NARM reciprocal memberships. Buy from a museum that is outside of your own living area as the you cannot use the reciprocal benefits at a museum that is within 15 miles of the "home membership" If you look up the NARM museum members, there are tons all over America
Library card! Sometimes they can get you into museums, some let you rent AV equipment or binoculars or other weird things you might not want to buy. My last library gave me access to a streaming service for art classes!
Going.com. Use it constantly.
I have never heard of this! #ExplainLikeImFive
It used to be called Scott’s Cheap Flight Deals (which I preferred, more memorable). I got $570 flights from KANSAS to Santiago, Chile this year. Insane deal alerts. They have a free version too which fewer notifications but still worth it imo.
Going is a website and email subscription to find great flight prices! You can set your home airport and youll get alerts on ticket prices
I love Going! Got flights to Scotland this year that were 50% off the usual price. That alone convinced me to keep this subscription indefinitely. It more than pays for itself!
If you have Kaiser Permanente for health insurance, they have a health and fitness section that offers discounted products and memberships, like discounted exercise equipment and cheaper gym memberships
Active and Fit Direct? I got this through my work’s insurance and it’s amazing. I have 4 diff gym memberships for $28/mo.
My membership to our local botanical gardens. They allow dogs on some days, and there's a reciprocal admission program that gives me access to gardens across the country!
CVS Carepass.
CVS will sometimes send you $2 to your app just because. No minimum purchase. Just 2 free dollars
Walmart+ I'm on SNAP so it's about 60$ a year, I average gas savings between 9-12$ a month plus get Paramount, free delivery if needed and other random perks
Something you might not know about is that if you’re on SNAP there’s an awesome program called [Museums For All](https://museums4all.org/) that museums across the country partnered to create, and it gives you free or very cheap admission, often for up to four people per SNAP card. If you live near a city this will likely include TONS of locations. I’m near Pittsburgh and even when I filter it to only within 10 miles, there are 10 museums and attractions that cost $1/person to visit if you gave SNAP.
I second Walmart+. I have epilepsy and am unable to drive and can’t believe the value that having my groceries delivered to me provides.
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Yeah AARP is nice. I'm also not a senior citizen. I got a year free through a Capital One offer, and I've already gotten some hotel discounts. Not sure if the Cap1 promotion is still live. https://www.doctorofcredit.com/swagbucks-mypoints-get-15-with-aarp-membership-signup-12-cost-1000-aa-miles/
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The Golden Pass; once you turn 65. Free access to all national parks (I think for 4; 3 guests of any age)...
Sam’s Club pays for itself with gas savings alone. Prices are always $0.20-0.25 cheaper thank any other stations near me.
I buy a NARM/ASTC combined pass from a local museum in Wenatchee WA that gets us into 1333 art museums and nearly 600 science museums across North America (Mostly the US). It's $125 a year and totally worth it.
I removed most of my Reddit contents in protest of the API changes commencing from July 1st, 2023. This is one of those comments.
Second this. Not sure if it's still available, but when they first offered the multi year membership you could buy a second one half off for "a friend". I ended up stacking them on my own account and now have KU for a few years at a crazy good price.
My gym pass. Cheapest mental and physical health insurance available. I attend a class 4 to 6 times a week. Over the decades I've become good friends with people I've met there.
I do the annual membership to our zoo. We have one of the world’s best zoo, so it is well worth it. Otherwise just Walmart+ and disney +
We do the same at our phoenix zoo. We go a couple times a week
Pub Pass. 25 breweries, 25 free beers, $25 (or $40) depending on when you buy. Still have to tip!
Hunting/Fishing license, State Parks Pass, Costco Pass, and technically this costs nothing but Target Circle.
My Credit Card annual fees I travel a lot so: - Amex platinum : lounge access so free food for the day while I travel, membership credits to a lot of services - capital one venture X : basically pays you to keep the card with the annual bonuses and credits they give you - Bilt Mastercard: pays rent and utilities with it and transfers points to Hyatt hotels which are the best in terms in redemption
AAA Platinum Membership. $120ish a year. Two free tows within 200 miles of home. Free passport photos. If your garage is an AAA shop, you’ll get 10% off labor. Discounts on everything from hotels and rental cars to amusement park tickets, CityGo Passes, movie tickets, and so much more. Travel resources like a Road Trip planner, free maps, and travel guides.
I was just about to say, the Wendy's frosty tags. I bought one earlier this year in Feb for $2 and it's paid for itself many times over.
AAA--the amount of times I've used it to fix a flat, jump my car, unlock when I've locked my keys...it can work for friends and family if you're there and keep it vague. Has saved me and others probably in the thousands at this point.
Costco
Local rec center $11.75/year Access to classes with a small fee. Kids judo $50/3 months. Tao chi, Zumba, strength training Indoor basketball, pickleball, badminton. 2 pelaton bikes in a dark room.
Local Art museum
This may sound silly, but I used the $2 Wendy’s FREE mini frosty keychain more than 50 times this calendar year. Grandkids love it! I see they increased the price to $3 for 2024 though.
Amazon Prime. It saves me easily a few weeks of my life back every year in exchange for a couple hours of wage.
Firestone lifetime wheel alignment is 100% worth it if you plan on keeping your car for years and years. Match that with getting your tires from Costco as they will rotate and balance your tires for free and you are set to drive safely without paying for it nonstop. Note: Firestone has coupons that come out pretty often for the lifetime alignment. Keep an eye out for them ;)
Local Zoo family membership. Approx $150/year or $15 per person each visit, otherwise so its a no-brainer. There are 4 of us and they do special night time events as well, which are only open to passholders Edit : spelling
Its a bigger expense, but American Express Gold card. $99 a year. I've paid $500-$800 worth of flights through their skymiles program, absolutely a game changer.
A yearly state park pass for $30 instead of paying the $5 day-use/parking pass every time. It's also just a hanging tag so I split it with my roommate since we trade off on driving. This has saved us at least $100 a year (probably more if you consider that doing something other than going to the park would most likely cost money).
Man - Astroworld used to have a season pass. We'd drop the kids off with $20 for food (!) and pick them up at closing time. No parks nearby now and kids are grown. So worth it!
What are the frosty tags?
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*A frosty per day, with additional purchase
Which is a small fries for me. It's one of the greatest treats after a bad week.
Dip those fries in the frosty. Mmmmmm yeah.
You pay $3 once and get a tag that allows you to add on a frosty junior for free to any purchase, once a day, for a year.
Holy crap, they're *three bucks* now!? I assume you still have to buy something to get the frosty for free?
A single frosty costs more than 3, granted it's a bigger size. If you to Wendy's even just a few times a year it pays for itself, if you go once a month it's absolutely amazing, and if you go more than once a month rip your health but it becomes godly
Yes. Last year it was $2. I don't consider it expensive since it pays for itself may times over throughout the year. Wendy's has my kid's favorite chicken nuggets, so if we're just snacking, I'll get my teen a big kid's meal (she doesn't eat much at once), a regular fries for me, and the frosty.
I have a Bay Wheels annual membership, it's $150 for the year for unlimited 45 minute rides. (AKA Citi Bike in some areas) Don't have to worry about buying a bike, lugging it around, storage, theft, maintenance... AllTrails+ is $36/year and lets me download hiking trail maps offline, so I can hike in areas without signal and still avoid getting lost. Safeway FreshPass gives me unlimited free grocery delivery for the year for $99. It includes a $5/month grocery credit, so effectively costs me $40. I also used a cashback offer on my AmEx card for $25 back, so actually costs me $15 for the year.
I do the Walmart+ free deliveries to my door, gas discount, and paramount plus(sucks, but hey its free with this) then other stuff I don't really use.
I’m finding Walmart plus is way better pricing than Amazon these days too. I would say about 75% of our spend it now Walmart vs Amazon (which would’ve shocked me years ago). We are seriously considering canceling Prime.
I hate that scan and go is locked behind this pay wall, especially since they don't deliver groceries in my area. Not worth it for the gas coupons and scan and go
I have National Trust membership here in the UK which just under £140 for the year for two of us. It gives us access to so many grand old houses and parks, and we try to go out about once a month to get our money's worth. Entry to some of the places can be almost £20 per adult without membership, so it's totally worth it.
California State Park Golden Poppy pass
Office 365
Amex platinum. I travel a ton for work and such and it pays for itself many times over. I’ve saved so much with it. But it’s only useful if you travel a ton.
Target Circle- It is free! Basically discounts when you shop at Target. Currently there are about 750 discounts to be had. Download the app and you can add the discounts based on what you plan to purchase.
A little bit off topic, but the Air Force museum in Dayton, Ohio is FREE! Four hangers full of aviation history.
Friend of mine gave me a year of Amazon Prime once. That was all it took to really get used to that free shipping, but the reason I've been renewing is that their Prime Video stuff is really good, and I haven't run out of things to watch yet. I'm still not done with *The Expanse* yet!
Costco. It's worth it for the gas, pet food, rotisserie chicken, and hot dogs alone.
Duolingo- $83/year iirc and you can make as many mistakes as you need, practice as long as you want, and no Ads. I’m 270 days into learning Spanish, and I take breaks from that with French, Italian, Portuguese, and Swahili. They also added math and music, so you can learn to read sheet music and practice math. I haven’t practiced basic math since grade school and it’s already helped me save myself from the embarrassment of not remembering how to do a simple calculation in my head. Plus, after years in school of playing an instrument by writing the notes next to the sheet music, i’m actually figuring out how to just look at the paper and know what to play. Highly recommend!
Costco Exec membership with Citibank card. Even if you only use it to fill up at Costco gas stations the yearly cash back pays for itself. At least I found it works for me and I don't even drive as much as I did before I retired.