Life Challenges - I Accept!

 

Life always comes with its ups and downs regardless of what is going on in the world outside our door.  For some, it may feel difficult to step out our doors and face whatever life has to offer on any given day.  You just never know what might happen.  It is important not to lose hope and be willing to face whatever comes our way and meet it head on.  Much of what we face every day is far beyond our control.  Prices are rising at a rate most of us have never seen in our lifetimes and it affects everything – food, utilities, education, travel and transportation, goods and services, medical care and even our entertainment.  To meet these challenges I am happily becoming more resourceful.  Even more importantly, I am choosing to become more resourceful.  

 

Daily Transportation 

Instead of worrying about how I can afford to fill the gas tank on my car and truck I am choosing instead to figure out ways to purchase less fuel.  I am walking, riding my bike and taking the bus and using my car for just a weekly trip to run errands.   When I do go to the gas station I will only need to purchase five or ten gallons of fuel at a time instead of needing to fill the entire tank.  To save even more I will fill up at gas stations that I can use my rewards points for discounts and pay with a credit card that gives me 4% cash back on gas purchases.

 

Food & Health 

Food and my health are interconnected.  I am focused on eating good quality nutritious food as that is going to be my fuel to keep me going each day.  Making sure I have plenty of protein in my diet to keep my muscles in good shape is important so the bulk of my grocery dollars are spent on the best quality meat and seafood I can afford.  Fresh and frozen vegetables, a little bit of fruit and some dairy is next on the list.  To make sure I can best afford this I take advantage of coupons, digital store offers, sales and markdowns.  I have also adjusted my spending in other areas to free up money for these important purchases.

 

I make simple meals.  I cook at home from scratch, I make most of my own condiments and salad dressings, I plan my meals based on what I already have on hand, I batch cook or meal prep and make my own convenience food and freezer meals.  There are no quick trips through the drive thru for this girl, in fact it has never been one of those things I was ever prone to do.  Eating out has always been viewed as a treat, never a necessity.

 

Consume Less 

For the most part, I stay out of the stores and shop a whole lot less online.  I tell myself “I have plenty” and it is true.  If I think I need to go out and buy something I push the pause button and really give that purchase a lot of thought.  Nine times out of ten I can find something I already have in the house to do the job.  I make do with what I have and I take care of it too.  I make repairs or mend items to make them last longer.  I keep things clean, protected and well maintained.  I do as much as I can, and do it myself, to avoid costly repairs or replacements.

 

Find FREE 

There are a lot of ways to do things and enjoy life that doesn’t cost anything.  I like to go for a bike ride with a packed lunch, stop at a park and eat it and then ride back home.  Our city offers a ton of free activities so I keep a watchful eye on the community calendar.  Several of our churches offer a free dinner once a month which is a great way to go out to eat and meet new people.  If I’m hankering for a movie night I can pull out one of my own DVDs or find something on Youtube, pop some popcorn (in a pot on the stove) and settle on in.  In the summertime our city offers free movie nights in some of our parks where you can spread out a blanket, bring your own food and enjoy the movie on a giant screen. 

Check Facebook Marketplace for FREE items when you are in need.  Clothing swaps are a great place to get used clothing at no cost.  The Bicycle Project can get you bicycle or help you repair yours and it costs you nothing.  If you are low income you may qualify for free bus passes.  Our county has a program for eligible seniors to receive a monthly food box delivered to their home.  Meals On Wheels delivers hot prepared food to seniors Monday through Friday.  Once a year there is a community health fair offering free screenings, immunizations and other resources to help people.  We also have free medical and dental care clinics available to those in need.

 

Our food banks and various food pantries throughout the area can help bridge the gap when things run low and payday is still a ways away.  There is no shame in accepting help from one when you need it.  Our city provides a list of them to assist people in getting what they need.  Many of these pantries can also provide toiletries, hygiene products, dish soap and laundry detergent.  The university here has a beautiful food pantry for their students that offers pretty much anything they might need.  If you want to give back you can donate money, items or your time by volunteering.

 

Embrace Community 

We’ve become a society that doesn’t necessarily interact well with others.  Many of us don’t even know our neighbors.  I encourage you to find your tribe.  Touch base with your friends and relatives and form a group.  Each of us has something we can bring to the table to help each other out whether it is knowledge, a skill or even a tool that one can share with others - trade labor, trade goods, trade advice and ideas.  Help each other rake leaves, paint, work on vehicles, or whatever needs to be done.  Connect with each other and form bonds so you are not alone.

 

As we age I think it becomes even more important for us to stick together and help each other out.  Aging comes with its own struggles on top of everything else we have to deal with.  Having good companionship can go a long way in helping us navigate the bumps in the road.

 

I want to encourage you to take a look at things with a different lens and to become better prepared and more resourceful as you move forward.  By being better prepared things will be easier in the long run, and by that, I think we become less fearful.  I want you to feel empowered to take things on and to be successful at it.  We can do this!

 

Simple Super Thrifty Meals That Still Work

 

Having a list of healthy and super thrifty meals on hand while raising my family helped me so much to stick to my extremely low grocery budget.  By using thrifty meals it also allowed me to purchase and serve up more expensive meals like steaks, salmon and shrimp, which we really enjoyed.  Now that I am retired this principle helps me to continue to work with a low spend budget, but because I am no longer feeding multiple mouths on a regular basis I can now improve those meals with better quality ingredients.

 

Macaroni & Cheese 

Early on as a parent I would purchase store brand mac & cheese at 18¢ a box and later as I became a more experienced cook with a bigger budget I switched to making it from scratch.  Now that I’m retired I keep a stock of Annie’s brand mac & cheese on hand simply because I like it.  To make it more of a meal I will often add sliced all beef hotdogs or a can of drained tuna and some peas.  Diced ham or some ground beef is really good too.

 

Soup & Sandwich 

Homemade, or canned soup I would buy on sale, was and is still is a common budget stretching tactic for me.  Nowadays all of my soups are homemade as the ingredients have radically changed over the years.  They are more watery and often contain GMO food in them.  By making my owns soups I saved a ton of money which allows me to better afford low carb breads to make a nice sandwich to go along with.  I no longer buy lunch meats preferring instead to make my own sliced chicken, turkey or beef, as well as tuna, chicken, ham or egg salads, and my very favorite – the grilled cheese.

 

Eggs 

Eggs on toast, a pancake or a waffle, is one of my favorite go-to’s for brunch, lunch and even supper.  I make my own pancakes and waffles from scratch and I keep chickens so I have a steady supply of eggs.  Omelets, quiche (using up leftover meat and veggies), breakfast hash, breakfast burritos, egg scrambles with veggies, sliced hot dogs or diced ham, the list goes on and on.  Eggs continue to be a very versatile and affordable protein option.

 

Dinner Salads 

I really enjoy a good dinner salad.  I take a nice bed of greens and add on a minimum of three items.  Proteins – sliced steak, grilled chicken, tuna, taco meat, sliced egg, etc.  Vegetables – grated carrot, diced tomato or cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, marinated artichokes, etc.  Fats - grated cheese, olives, nuts or seeds and salad dressing.  Packed with flavor, nutrients and fiber these are my warm weather go-to.

 

Casseroles 

Casseroles are a great way to feed a crowd or, for me now, to meal prep and help curb food waste by utilizing leftovers.  Lasagna, pasta bake, taco pie, cottage pie, tuna noodle, tater tot, chicken or beef enchiladas, again the list goes on and on.  I’m not a big casserole consumer, but every now and then a good casserole really hits the spot.

 

Baked Potatoes 

Every once in a while I still enjoy a good ol’ baked potato, especially when it is stuffed with all kinds of delicious goodies.  One of my favorites is to top my potato with steamed broccoli and cheddar cheese.  Taco meat or chili and grated cheese with a bit of sour cream or the loaded baked potato with crumbled bacon or diced ham, grated cheese, sour cream and sliced green onion.  So good!

 

I hope you enjoyed this walk through my list of thrifty meal ideas.  Do any of these meals land on your table at all?  What is your favorite go-to?

 

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 210

 

Spring is my favorite season and I am enjoying it so much right now.  The temperatures are on the rise, trees are leafing out, things are blooming and my yard is filled with colorful tulips and daffodils.  I absolutely love this time of year as the earth is waking up and filled with life.  My walks to and from the bus are keeping me feeling light and invigorated as every day there is something new to see and admire.

 

This past week I spent a great deal of time outdoors in the yard and making preparations for my gardening projects.  I am only a month away from the bulk of my planting and I am starting to get a little bit excited about it.  As I’ve mentioned before I am not much of a gardener, but I want to keep trying.  I have raised garden beds that have been amended and turned once already and I’m hoping the earthworms have been busy doing their job as well.

 

I worked all day Friday, Monday (the TTO took the day off) and then again on Tuesday taking a large group of seniors on a picnic and to a hot springs.  Now I am in the midst of a long five day weekend and thoroughly enjoying the time off.  Taking more time off, now that spring is here, and with summer up ahead, is a big priority for me so I can enjoy my retired life and do more of the things I dreamed about doing in retirement.

 

Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day with temperatures reaching the high sixties.  In preparation of Easter Sunday I baked a Hot Milk Cake that day, made some deviled eggs and a macaroni salad to go with the London broil I marinated and grilled the next day.  It was nice to have a few things made up ahead of time so Easter was more relaxed and enjoyable.  I love to use this cake any time I make shortcake.  I used last year’s rhubarb and some frozen strawberries to make a compote to top the cake and then some whipped cream.  Strawberry shortcake is truly the taste of spring, in my opinion.

 

In the afternoon I walk to the bus stop and rode down to Albertson’s just to pick up two jars of my favorite blue cheese salad dressing.  It was on a special offer as part of my rewards card so I didn’t want to pass that up.  Right now this is the only salad dressing I purchase at the store as I make my own from scratch most of the time.  I also picked up five packages of Knorr pasta sides and five of the Knorr rice sides on sale for 10/$10.  When I got home I added them to my emergency/camp/donation shelf.

 

Easter was a wonderful day spent alone and relaxing.  The only task to tick off my list was to wash all of my bedding and give my bedroom a bit of a spring clean.  I prepared my holiday dinner and it was so good.  I watched TV later on and reflected as I wrote in my journal.  Life is very good, for the most part, and I am incredibly grateful.  Despite life’s challenges I will continue to thrive.

 

Wednesday I walked down to the bank to take care of some financial business and then walked back home.  The weather was perfect for a morning walk with plenty of sunshine.  I propped the back door open later that day opened the windows to let in the fresh air while I puttered about the house and yard.  Thursday was much the same.

 

To save money last week I did not turn on the heat at all, not even the fireplace was needed.  I didn’t need to drive anywhere and took advantage of public transportation and walked to get where I needed to go as gas prices rose yet again another 20¢ per gallon.  I kept my spending to a minimum and did a lot to secure my financial future.  It was a very good week!

 

Do What Makes YOU Happy

 

I love sharing parts of my life and what I do in retirement with all of you.  In no way do I expect you will think like me or do things like I do.  We are all different, which is the beautiful part of life.  If we were all the same I think it would make things very dull.  I heartily encourage you to do what makes you happy.

 

What makes me happy would probably bore the hell out of most people.  I love to economize and live a thrifty and resourceful lifestyle.  I love to cook my own food.  I love home canning projects.  I love having and maintaining a long term food storage.  I thrive in that with meal planning, meal prepping, researching recipes and looking for grocery deals.  In fact, the only shopping I truly enjoy and look forward to is going to the grocery store.  I also enjoy a good budget challenge.

 

I love to do things for myself as much as I possibly can.  I am weird enough to enjoy working on my own car, changing the oil and doing minor repairs.  I thoroughly enjoy home improvement projects and making repairs.  I think it is fun to grab a chainsaw and trim a tree.  I’m not very good at landscaping, but I do enjoy trying.

 

Not everyone enjoys camping or hiking, but I sure do.  I love wading in an icy cold river or creek and smelling like a campfire when I climb into my sleeping bag at night.  Fresh air and exercise is like tonic to me.  I crave sunshine, mountains and the smell of pine trees.

 

I love to sew and do a variety of craft projects.  Paper crafting and making my own greeting cards, day planners, journals and even bookmarks fills me with pure joy.  Creativity is my therapy and a huge part of what I do on a regular basis.  I love to make things that are pretty and useful.

 

Another thing that fills my tank is service work.  I have really enjoyed my part time job working with seniors, taking them on adventures, pouring them a cup of coffee or just listening when they need someone to talk to.  Donating to the food bank and providing food and other items to people in need is also a high priority for me.  I am grateful to be able to be of service to others.

 

I like to keep a clean, tidy, well organized and uncluttered home.  I am constantly cleaning and decluttering while I work to streamline my processes and make them more efficient.  With that comes peace and tranquility.  It may not be for everyone, some enjoy being surrounded by more stuff, but for me I find that less is much more calming.

 

It is important to do what makes each of us happy.  It is also important that we are all able to do these things unencumbered and without criticism.  Likewise, we need to allow others to do what makes them happy without passing judgment or being critical.  We are all different and that is completely okay.  Do what makes YOU happy.

 

My Simple Thrifty Closet

 

Four years into my retirement journey I am so very happy with my decision early on to downsize and simplify my wardrobe.  I keep a limited number of items and it makes it so easy to choose what I want to wear and get myself dressed each day.  My wardrobe is setup to be multi-seasonal meaning I start out with the basics and in cooler weather I simply add layers.  Super easy, no fuss, no stress!  Love, love, love it!

 

My closet in my bedroom runs the entire length of one wall and has a section of shelving to act as a linen closet.  Several years ago I took down the original closet rod with overhead shelf and built in a closet organizer system with rods at various heights, additional shelves and a set of drawers which eliminated my need to have a dresser in my room.  It made for so much more efficient and usable space.

 

My routine has been to purchase one entire new outfit each year, a pair of athletic shoes and a new bra.  I also plan for replacing any worn out underwear, sleepwear and socks.  Once I’ve made these purchases I pull out anything that is worn out or is something I no longer enjoy wearing and toss or donate those items as is appropriate.

 

Downstairs in my laundry room I keep a shoe organizer that holds the shoes I wear the most.  I also keep a bin to hold my socks so they are handy when I get ready to put my shoes on to leave the house.  Above the shoe rack is the coat rack where I hang my jacket, backpack (I don’t use a purse anymore) and my lanyards holding my keys and work ID.

 

In the hall closet I hang my winter coats.  They don’t get a lot of use as our weather is rarely that cold so these items don’t need to be on the coat rack in the laundry room much.  It is nice to have this space to keep them since they are bulkier and take up more space.  These coats will last me for years, to be sure, so I have no plans to purchase replacements any time soon.

 

Having a simplified wardrobe has not just saved my sanity but it also saves me a lot of time and money because I hardly shop for clothing at all.  For me that is a true blessing because I am one that really doesn’t enjoy clothes shopping.  Another unexpected bonus of a simplified wardrobe is how much it has streamlined my laundry process.  I typically get by just running a load of clothes about every six or seven days, I can get it all done in a short amount of time and I save on both the electric and water bill, not to mention, my laundry supplies last so much longer too  Win-win!.

 

New Recipes! Salisbury Steak & Carrot Potato Mash

 

Homemade Salisbury Steak is one of those meals that is perfect for Sunday dinner, company or as an option for meal prepping.  I’ve made it a variety of ways over the years, but my most favorite is like this.

 

I finely chop up some onions and button mushrooms to mix into a pound of lean ground beef along with some garlic, salt & pepper, Worcestershire sauce and dried parsley.  

Once I’ve combined all of these things into the meat until it is well incorporated I evenly divide the mixture into four portions to pat out into patties.  

I let them sit until the meat is room temperature and then pan fry them until each side begins to brown.  

I remove them from the pan to rest and then in the remaining drippings I sauté some sliced mushrooms.  Once the mushrooms are done I sprinkle a heaping teaspoon of flour over the top and then stir and cook the flour for about a minute before pouring in two cups of beef broth.  

I love to stir in a tablespoon of dry au jus from a packet into the broth to boost the flavor. 

I will stir it until it begins to bubble and thicken.  

The patties go back into the gravy and simmer for about ten minutes.  Be sure to add in all the yummy juices too.

 

I love to serve Salisbury steak with my favorite mashed potatoes.  

I boil three or four peeled and cubed russet potatoes along with a peeled and sliced up carrot.  

Once they are fork tender I drain and mash the vegetables adding in a few tablespoons of butter and some whole milk to the perfect consistency.  

Perfect for meal prepping!

Then I serve them alongside the steak with gravy over the top.  Scrumptious!