Thrifty Thursday-Really Trying to Up My Frugal Game

Happy Independence Day, United States. I'm pre-writing this one as I am not sure of our plans but will include a cocktail or two, grilled foods, and water fun. I love the 4th of July-always has been a nice day to kick back, even when it is sandwiched between two work days. I could have taken Friday off, but so many in the office are, and we need someone to be available. I'll take a day off here an there on a Thursday when DH and DD2 are off. With the new month of July, I'm back focused on saving dollars on the everyday stuff of life. We will be buying texts books in a few weeks and then first semester tuition and room and board are due August 15th. Yippee! Nothing below is monumental, but every bit helps towards saving while still living our best lives.

• I get a relatively low per diem that barely covers an inexpensive meal, but in cities like New Orleans where everything seems even more so, I really could have done some personal damage. Instead, not only did I manage to keep my out of pocket costs that are not reimbursable to under $30. I typically estimate $20 a day, so for this trip budgeted $100 of non reimbursable costs, saved myself $70. I saved the company money as well as I made due with the sponsored reception for dinner one night, and chose under per diem lunches and dinners all but one evening. It was just so hot, I did not feel like alcohol or excessive food. 
• I may not be able to use this voucher due to company policy which I need to check, but for the repeated delays on Thursday, I received a $100 credit for a future Southwest flight. Using it without checking company policy isn't worth potentially losing my job, but it's a possible win. 
• One of my row companions, the other was a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader in the 1980's (don't know how that came up), had a whole coupon packet of drink vouchers. He shared his bounty so a nice complimentary glass of wine was enjoyed between New Orleans and Chicago. Not really a savings as I would not have purchased a drink, but a nice bonus. 
• For my sisters retirement party, I still had an entire four compartment/flavors, unopened tray of hummus, dated August 19. I brought that along with a $1.00 bag of carrots, and a $1.00 box of crackers to help with the food buffet. My niece and nephew provided the pulled pork and buns and assorted  deli sandwiches and the cake, and sisters and friends trimmed out the rest, which became a feast. It was held in an Eagles club, so all just bought their own drinks. It was a lovely party with her friends and family.  
• We had borrowed my sisters been a bag toss game for the party, and one of the red bags went missing. I was able to find a replacement set, with free delivery for under $10. I wasn't happy that the bag went missing on my watch, but now she has a full set of extras. She and her husband are very generous sharing their toys with others, and I can guess bags may go missing in the future. 
• We received a refund of $14.25 from DD2's school lunch account. We'll deposit and that's $14.25 towards her meal plan. 
• I compared options using several websites and direct booking, and got a traveler high star (4.5) recommended hotel for $8 less than planned for DD2's college open house trip in July. It has a pool, which might be a nice way to settle after exploring the city the day before, plus a free hot breakfast so we won't need to stop before her 9:00 Monday start time. I'll call this a thrifty trifecta of low rate for the room, free entertainment with the pool, and time and money savings with breakfast. 
• Spent nothing to enjoy the car show with DD2 and DH last Saturday night. Well, they each had an overpriced ice cream cone,but I won't hold that against them since it was over 90 degrees.
• I think it is still fine, so continued to enjoy the remaining wine from the wine boxes. I'm bringing the last of the red with fruit, juice, and soda water to make sangria for the weekend. Why not?

Other things I am back to doing this week include meal planning and not over buying and intentionally planning leftovers into meals. I'm line drying clothing as much as possible and battling DH with the  air conditioning, wining some times. Though in all honesty, it has been so hot that I succumbed as well to turning it on lower before going to bed. I'm reading books I already own and DD2 has checked out a few movies frpm the newly renovated county library. We are making efforts to spend very little, but have summer fun. It's in what we are not doing that I hope to see the savings accumulate. like not going out for dinner, not drinking our savings in the bar but have drinks at home, and eating lunches at home or packing them for the office. How about you? Any wins or forward progress in the frugal area? Does anyone else have different room, air preferences than their family members?