Tightening Up My Circle

 

This year my word is Focus.  I chose this word because I want to really focus on what is most important to me – my faith in God, my ethics and morals, the quality of my life, my happiness and contentment.  What doesn’t fit, has to go.

 

I have decluttered” the stuff” from my life that no longer serves me and enhances my life and I continue to do that on a regular basis to make sure I maintain that.  I carefully pick and choose what I listen to, read, watch on television and participate in.  I meet with my therapist once a month to make sure my mental health is intact.  I am focusing more on taking good care of myself.

 

One of the things I’ve also felt compelled to do is to tighten up my circle of friends, family members and associates.  If people in my life do not fit within my set of principles or are damaging to my overall wellbeing I no longer wish to spend my time with them.  If they do not enhance my life or cause me to feel uncomfortable I am going to avoid them.  If they degrade me in anyway because they don’t agree with my way of life or how I feel and think, then I don’t need them to be in my life.  The world is full of hate and ugliness so I don’t need to invite that into my inner circle.

 

I only want to surround myself with really good people.  Not to sound like a bible thumping holy roller, but if you follow the teachings and examples of Jesus Christ, then you are in with me!  He was kind, patient, loving and generous and that is how I try to live my life as well.  I have zero tolerance for racism, hateful thoughts, statements and behaviors, greed and corruption, the total disregard for the rules of law and our United States Constitution.  It is ugly and it is WRONG on more levels than I can count and if anyone is okay with any of it I don’t want to associate with that person.  It’s that simple.

 

I know we all have the right to think and believe what we choose to, however I don’t have to accept all of it into my life.  I have a criteria that must be met in order for someone to have a relationship with me.  I’m tightening up my circle and it feels right and just and better.

 

Stop Buying Crap!

 

There are multiple reasons for me to stop buying stuff with the first being purely financial.  Every time I spend money on something it means I have less money overall and this year I want to be much more mindful about the money going out.  Now when I go to make a purchase, any purchase, I ask myself what I plan to do with it, why I feel I need to make this purchase and how exactly is this going to benefit me in the long run?  The other things to take into consideration is where am I going to store it and how often do I think I will realistically use it?  Do I really need this?

 

The next thing to consider is whether or not this purchase warrants upgrading to a better quality item.  For instance, with clothing I want durable and long lasting, but I also don’t want to overspend.  I don’t necessarily need my clothing to be brand specific or designer labeled.  With that being said, if it is something I use or wear often, like shoes, and I need them to be both comfortable and really hold up, a specific brand may be my better option.  In that case I am willing to spend the extra money to get a better product.

 

As I am working on living with less these days I also think in terms of more replacement purchases rather than additional.  In most cases I am replacing the items I use or wear out.  If I find I want something different or better then I try to consider first what item can leave the house in order to accommodate that purchase?  And again, I also want to ask myself if this purchase is even necessary or is what I already have adequate to meet my needs?

 

Lastly, I want to make sure any purchases I make are affordable.  Is this something I can afford to pay for without incurring any debt?  If so, will this purchase affect my finances in the long term?  In other words, is this purchase risky?  Right now, so many people are going into debt to buy things they want or think they need.  Sadly, more and more are going into debt to afford their basic necessities.  I am very grateful not to be a part of that statistic.

 

Keeping my financial future secure is extremely important so I don’t want to go out and just buy something to buy something.  It needs to serve a viable purpose, be of good quality and must be affordable.  If it doesn’t meet those criteria then I’m not going to buy it.  What are your thoughts?  How do you decide if something is worthy of purchasing and serving your needs?

 

Vintage Cookery - Spreadable Butter

 

With the current prices of groceries on the rise I thought sharing this WWII tip for “stretching the butter” might be a really good idea.  When butter was rationed smart housewives had to figure out ways to make the most of what they had.  Butter was one of those rationed foods that was a bit hard to come by so when it was advised to stretch it with some evaporated milk I thought that was brilliant.

 

Using your electric mixture you take a pound of softened butter and whip it on low speed while adding a can of evaporated milk to it one tablespoon at a time.  It is a bit tedious and requires some patience because if you add the milk all at once it just makes a soupy mess.  The most important part of the process it to take your time and slowly add the milk to the butter, scraping down the sides of your mixing bowl as needed, until it becomes a big fluffy incorporated bowl of goodness.  Once it is done you simply transfer all of butter mixture into an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator.  It is nice and spreadable even when cold, melts like butter and even more importantly, it tastes like butter.

 

It takes a pound of butter, 2 cups, and turns it into four cups of whipped butter so if that seems like too much at once, simply cut it in half and only use a cup of butter and half a can of evaporated milk.  I’ve not tried freezing this, but it seems like it might work.  If any of you try this and try freezing it let me know how that works.  Do you think it would be worth doing?

 

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 200!

 

Hello Friends!  How is everybody doing?  I hope all of you that have had storms and ice are okay and thriving.  My prayers went out to so many people over this past week as things have been a bit topsy turvy.  I pray a lot for peace and quiet too.

 

I worked a ten hour shift at the senior center on Friday starting at noon late into the evening as I escorted a full busload of wonderful people to a restaurant for dinner and then to the theater for a live performance of Four Old Broads.  It was fantastic!  I think I’m becoming quite the theater buff.

 

With the weekend off my intent was to relax and recharge on Saturday.  I was so sad to hear of another shooting in Minneapolis and it literally made me cry.  I am absolutely heartbroken and fearful, especially for my children’s safety as they could be at risk some day if this does not stop.  I refocused and did some writing, got my income tax returns done and filed and then had a friend over for drinks, appetizers and a nice visit.

 

I made a delicious cottage pie

Sunday morning I hit the ground running with laundry, some housekeeping and a meal prep to keep me going throughout the week.  Monday I worked a full day and then had the next two days off which I spent getting some more things done.

 

Bingo prizes for the senior center and some food donations

Tuesday I ran a couple errands and picked up some sales items using up coupons (about to expire) to purchase things I can share and donate.  Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday I was doing more paper crafting because this girl loves it so much!  I even managed to get a gift made and put together for a co-worker that is going in for knee replacement surgery next week.

 

These were so much fun to make!

Thursday I was back to work in the afternoon and with that my 200^th week of retirement came to a close.  200 weeks!  Hard to believe it has been that many weeks already!  It just gets better and better too!

 

This Month's 2026 Grocery Spending – January

 

This year I am prioritizing the bulk of my spending toward food purchases while I keep all other spending relatively low.  One of the choices made was to take advantage of a Black Friday deal and get myself a subscription to Butcher Box because, as it turns out, I am better able to get good quality grass fed beef for less money than I can at my regular grocery store.  Buying a half or quarter cow has crossed my mind, but realistically I don’t have the freezer space to store that much beef at one time and after researching my options locally I discovered it wouldn’t really save me that much money.  Right now, simply put, beef is expensive!

 

My first Butcher Box subscription order arrived at the end of December so I put it all away in the deep freezer out in the garage to wait for the new year to arrive.  Along with my grass fed beef choices I included a package of wild caught salmon.  My “freebies” are the package of uncured bacon and two rib eye steaks that I will be receiving in each box throughout the year.  I have since updated my cart for next time by replacing the salmon with more steaks as I am well stocked with salmon now along with four extra packages of ground beef on special offer.

 

This month I really didn’t need much so I began my in store grocery shopping by cherry picking the best priced items in the sales ad to purchase only what I need and use on a regular basis.  I went to two grocery stores, Albertson’s and Fred Meyer, and then back to Albertson’s for a three day digital offer on cream cheese and whipped cream at 99¢ per package.  At that price it was worth the extra trip.

 

I didn’t shop again for two more weeks as there was nothing worthy in the store ads and instead made my way to Winco, the best priced grocery store in my area, to pick up a short list of some dairy and fresh produce essentials as well as six bags of frozen vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower and green beans.  The frozen vegetables went into the chest freezer and I am now fully stock with veggies.

 

Next up was to go to Costco.  I hadn’t been there in months so I was excited to get back in there and see what all I could get.  Surprisingly, I did not go in there with a list although I did have a mental list of items I wanted to check out and pick up.  My primary reason to go there was to check out and hopefully get a few pieces of clothing, which I did, and a package of their boneless, skinless chicken breasts and some low carb yogurt cups.

 

My plans for nonfood purchases this year is to only buy what I need and use keeping up my current supply without adding to it – pull and replace.  I picked up a bottle of laundry detergent on sale ($3.25) to replace the one I pulled out of the linen closet and am currently using.  I had imagined I would likely need to buy some toilet paper at year end, but a really good sale on TP (12 double rolls for $3.99) at a price I haven’t seen in a good long while made me go ahead and pick that up too.  It is the first time I’ve bought TP since 2020 and if my calculations are correct I shouldn’t need to buy anymore this year.  My total nonfood expenses this month came in at $7.24, so not too shabby.

 

My total spent on food this month came in higher than what I typically do spend at $201.88, which is still a rather low spend and significantly under the Thrifty Food Plan budget.  That being said I still got quite a bit, I think.  The Butcher Box subscription I will be getting every two months is being paid through my Fun & Leisure budget so I am not including that in my regular grocery tally until the end of the year.  I am trying a no budget-budget this year to only buy the items I feel I need, so it will be interesting to see how things go.  Will my super thrifty shopping habits change much throughout the year?  To be honest, I kind of hope they do, but we shall see.

 

My BIG Goal Update #1

 

As many of you know I am planning to downsize and move sometime within the next five years, give or take.  As I have mentioned in previous posts I want to wait until I no longer have pets to care for and therefore that is going to establish my actual timeline.  I will also need to take the economic climate into account when that time arrives.  With that being said however, I have a lot of options as far as how and where I want to eventually land.  I might go with a condo, a tiny home or I may go transient for awhile and then decide where and how I want to establish my next home.  Right now, as I sit here typing, I am pretty sure I will be going transient for awhile and that has me extremely excited!

 

My hope is to find a minivan, possibly a Dodge Grand Caravan or a Chrysler Town & Country, I’m leaning toward the Town & Country, in nice used condition with low miles and the stow and go seats.  I know it will take me some time to find exactly what I am looking for, but I happen to have plenty of time so I’m not worried, however I’d like to have it at least a year in advance so I can put it together and make any necessary repairs or upgrades it may require.  I also want to test it out before I hit the road for good.

 

I’ve started round four to continue decluttering my home.  In the process I’m collecting items I already have that will work for the van.  I plan to see if I can reuse the twin mattress and bed frame in the guest room so I’ve set aside some bedding, a sheet set and a blanket, for it in a zippered vinyl bag.  I’ve also set aside a comforter and a quilt.  Eventually I will add a pillow or two.  I’m thinking two so I can prop myself up in bed and read or work a crossword puzzle.  I will try to also reuse the bed frame, but if it won’t work I plan to build one that will.  Either way I hope to be able to utilize the space underneath the bed to store a lot of my things.  That will be important.

 

In the meantime I’m going to be upgrading my camping gear with van life in mind.  That notion kind of drove most of the Christmas gifts I got from my BFF which included a pop up shower tent with a collapsible potty and a super cool wind break for my camp stove.  I was so excited when I opened these and I’m even more excited to test them out this summer.

 

Also, as I go through the house, I’m collecting items that I will be selling in a final “estate” sale once I’m ready to launch.  I’m pricing these items at very reasonable prices with the goal to sell as much as I can and then donate the remainder which I hope is very little so I don’t have to load up a bunch of stuff and haul it somewhere.  I’m storing the sales items in the downstairs bedroom as it will be the perfect place for me to work on this process.  Everything will be clean and in good usable order too so people will want to buy stuff.  By the time all is said and done it should turn out to be a good sale, I think.  And!  I plan to never have another sale like this ever again in my life!

 

This year I’m also planning to do a low spend year so that I can save as much of my money as I can to put toward the van and getting it ready to roll.  I plan to invest all of my extra money I accrue and allow it to grow as much as possible prior to buying the van.  I want to focus my money in the direction of travel rather than on buying a bunch of crap I don’t need and will only end up having to get rid of later.

 

That brings you up to speed on where I am at as far as my next big adventure is concerned.  God willing I will make it happen and I am super excited about all of the places I will be going and all of the things I’ll get to see and experience.  It will be worth the wait and all of the preparation I will be doing ahead of time.

 

Low Carb Living

  

I’ve been living a low carb lifestyle for quite a while now and I must admit I feel so much better when I limit the amount of carbohydrates I consume as opposed to when I indulge and eat a lot of them.  Carbohydrates are the sugars in the foods we eat that once consumed get stored as fat until our bodies require them for energy.  As one that isn’t overly physical on the daily (I’m no athlete) it doesn’t take long for those carbs to stack up and accumulate where I don’t want them to.  I also find that when I eat too much starchy foods or sugar it leaves me feeling sick and sluggish.  I don’t digest them well and it often results in heartburn or an upset stomach, which is rather unpleasant at best.  Limiting my carbohydrate intake makes me feel better.

 

Low carb doesn’t mean no carb.  What constitutes a low carb lifestyle is different for each person.  Some want to keep it Keto or Atkins low, consuming less than 35 grams per day while others are quite happy if they keep it under 100.  I tend to do well if I keep it between 35 and 50 grams per day.  Sometimes I go over that, but I try not to go over 100 grams if I can help it.

 

The carbohydrates I tend to consume are in the form of simple natural foods like rice, oatmeal or potatoes and low carb breads (Hero) with really clean ingredients.  On occasion I’ll enjoy a bit of pasta or some homemade bread or muffins.  I really limit the pasta and no longer buy regular bread products at the store because most of those foods aren’t the best quality and have a lot of processing and unnatural ingredients.  I seem to tolerate these ultra processed foods less and less.

 

For the most part I try to stick to plants and animals.  My plate usually contains a nice serving of protein and a lot of vegetables.  I do eat a lot of salads, cooked or raw vegetables and some fruit, mainly berries, that I will put in my smoothies, plus bananas, apples and oranges.  My smoothies contain a bit of organic milk, all natural organic yogurt, about a third of a banana for a little sweetness, some berries and a good handful of raw spinach.  I also add in a scoop of unflavored organic collagen powder.  The more variety of healthy and nutritious foods I consume, the better I feel.  The collagen helps me with joint pain and has the added benefit of healthier hair and nails.

 

With a brand new year it is always a good time to look at what we’ve been eating and look for ways to improve our nutrition.  We can always make better choices, especially after all of the holiday indulgences.  I am constantly looking for a variety of better quality, fresh foods with clean ingredients.  I find my meals taste better and are far more satisfying.  I also find that I am less hungry after a good meal and less apt to snack or overeat.  My body responds better and I have more energy too.  I really like this healthy and low carb way of eating so I will be keeping it up this year.