Score Discounted Hoops Tickets As basketball season gets underway, remember that faculty and staff receive up to 20% off season tickets (depending on the seats) for both men's and women's games. Go to www.cubuffs.com for complete information.

Gasoline prices, heating bills, holiday shopping — it's the time of year when we try to make our dollars stretch as far as possible. To help with this endeavor, the Department of Human Resources provides a web site containing a list of businesses that offer discounts to CU employees. Discounts are available on everything from restaurant meals to child care, from transportation to sound systems.

"Certainly there are businesses that offer us pretty good discounts, especially at the holidays," said Ana Johnson, coordinator of Work Life Benefits. "And it's a challenge to get the word out." New employees are given a packet of discount information, but the rest of us must check the web site. "We are careful not to endorse any of the businesses," she said. "Whatever arrangements made are between the employee and the provider."

Two categories of discounts are listed on the site, University of Colorado discounts and State of Colorado discounts. For discount purposes, all CU employees are also considered State of Colorado employees. State of Colorado discounts are available in many categories, including sporting and seasonal events such as the upcoming National Western Stock Show.

CU's assistance is offered on a variety of important items from tuition to bus passes to child care. Johnson's next mission is to help employees with elder care resources. "It's complex," she said, "because so many of our parents and families are not local."

Johnson suggests that if you are getting ready to make a purchase, take the time to look on the web site to see if a discount is offered. "With all the big money that we make," said Johnson with a smile, "we want to stretch it out as much as possible."

Complete information about employee discounts is available on the newly updated web site, http://www.colorado.edu/humres/advantages/.