Four Years In!

 

Today marks the completion of four years of retirement and the first day of year five.  So far, so good!  It has definitely been a journey, but a journey well traveled.  I am settling into retired life rather nicely, learning a lot about myself and enjoying my own company on the regular while I make my way through each day.  It has been a rather remarkable time in my life.

 

In reviewing my finances I was pleasantly surprised to see that my overall net worth has changed a bit from where I was when I retired in 2022 and for the better!  With careful spending and adhering to a budget I’ve been able to live rather well with the proceeds from my very part time job which has allowed me to continue investing and growing my wealth.  Hip, hip hurray!  By working an average of fifteen hours a week at my dream job I have been able to pay the utility bills, buy my groceries, clothing, fill my vehicles with fuel as well as maintain them and have some fun too.

 

I had a certain amount set aside to cover my expenses these first years while I waited to turn 62 and start collecting social security this year in September.  I also have an emergency fund, which I am fortunate not to have needed to touch.  I was able to use some of the extra money leftover from my retirement funds to buy the Subaru and complete repairs, pay my annual insurance payments each year, plus have a tree service come and remove a dying maple tree and prune my big sycamore.  By reinvesting other funds I have made enough to cover those expenses and then some so as of today I have not just broken even, but I’m ahead.  Because I have been doing so well, I was able to increase my Fun & Leisure budget this year and I am able to be a little more generous with my grocery spending as well.

 

Some of you have questioned the wisdom of taking Social Security at age 62 and suggest I wait, but I can assure you that the numbers have been crunched and I’ve met with my financial advisor to ensure this is the right decision for me, especially as my “break even” age is 79¾.  The pros far out way the cons.  Remember, finances are different for everyone and decisions in that regard need to be structured for each individual.  My plan is to wisely invest those funds and continue to grow my wealth so I am very comfortable with this decision.

 

Currently I do not have any big travel plans, but I do have some smaller scale ideas I am working on.  I plan to do more entertaining and going out with my friends this year too.  Other than that I imagine it will be business as usual.  I am rather pleased with how well things have been going.  With all of that in mind I am definitely ready for year five.  Time to get busy!

 

This Month's 2026 Grocery Spending - March

 

The grocery ads this past month were absolutely abysmal.  There wasn’t much in the way of good deals to stock up on for myself.  I did buy some boxed macaroni & cheese as well as a few bags of cereal for my donation shelf.  I used a Kroger gift card I had earned to pay for most of those expenses.  Other than that I stuck to only buying what I needed replacing items I was using to make my meals.

I added mac & cheese to the emergency/donation shelf in my LTFS

I made lots of healthy and delicious salads this month

My local Winco supermarket allowed me to pick up the bulk of my groceries, fresh produce and some dairy, for decent prices.  Trader Joes the following week allowed me to pick up a few more items to add to the pantry and LTFS plus a bag of carrots and a package of green onions.  I used my Christmas gift card to pay for my Trader Joes purchases.

 

Costco haul!

I'm excited to try these 😋

I made my monthly trip to Costco to finish out the month and picked up a short list of items.  I added a bag of onions that wasn’t on the list because the price was too good to turn down and I do use onions quite a bit.  They can also be diced and frozen so they make a great item to add to my deep freezer for quick meal preparation.  I was happy to add a flat of V8 juice to my LTFS.  I haven’t had that for a long time and I really do enjoy it.  I also added a box of fudge bars to the freezer.

 

Yum!

The only nonfood items I picked up this month were a box of the snack size food bags at Winco  and a box of organic lip balms on sale at Costco.  Admittedly, the lip balm was not a need, but I wanted to try it.  I also can use some of them as gifts if I choose.  Total spent on nonfood items was $14.27.

 

My total spent on food was only $87.53 and I was rather pleased with that.  The gift cards and Costco rewards helped out a lot too.  Did you have any good sales at your stores?  Were you able to stock up on anything this month?

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 208

 

Last Friday was an absolutely lovely day.  With sunshine and warm temperatures I enjoyed a relaxed morning because I didn’t need to go into work, if you can call it that, until 4:30 in the afternoon.  When I did show up for work, it was to take a group of seniors out to dinner and then to the theater for a live performance of Austenprov.  It was rough, let me tell you.  Not!  To add some drama to the drama however, our bus doors had a switch malfunction which I had to sort out on the fly.  I managed to outfox the faulty switch and get the doors to close.  My group of seniors was rather impressed with my killer improvisation skills and they let me know.  It made me feel pretty darn good, I must say.

 

I carefully created a short list of needed items for yard work and gardening this year and instead of wasting fuel and going to Wal-Mart (which I hate) I did an online order with FREE shipping.  In less than twenty four hours my items arrived and I was able to get right to work.

 

I have pulled A LOT of weeds!

Saturday and Sunday were just as lovely as Friday and I enjoyed the weekend by puttering about the house tackling small tasks, doing a mini meal prep for the week ahead and taking loads of time to enjoy my fur and feather babies.  I was able to get my fruit trees sprayed before the leaf miners and tiny moths take hold and lay eggs.  I dug up another big pile of weeds for the chickens too.  I spent a fair amount of time outdoors, which I love.

 

Chicken salad 😂😂

Monday and Tuesday I worked for a few hours in the afternoon.  Sadly, it seems the toxic one is struggling to keep her $h!t together.  My “heart to heart” talk with her the previous week seemed to do absolutely no good and to be quite honest, I wasn’t expecting it to.  At the end of the day I know there is little I can do and it is completely up to her to make the changes necessary.  I am just going to sit back and wait to see what happens.  Thankfully, this month I am scheduled to work very little with the toxic one and next month she has several vacation days scheduled.  Whoo hoo!

 

In order to maintain my sanity and still get to work at my dream job I have been strategically plotting out some much deserved time off and got those days scheduled off.  Along with that my supervisor has been scheduling me to do more senior activities with less time with “you know who”.  I think I’ve come up with a good healthy plan for me to personally deal with this situation.  Boundaries have been established and I am holding the line.  The cost of holding the line, however, is putting up with her increased frustration.  I do believe, in the long run, it will be worth it.

 

One of the things I’ve been enjoying when I stop and take a break or come home from work is the television show The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah.  I watched the original series back in the day and wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy this newer one, but it turns out I really do.  I love when I can discover a new to me series I can sit down, relax and enjoy.  It feels like a big reward.

 

Because I am focused on cutting back this year I got resourceful with a little repair project.  My beloved Pampered Chef egg slicer I’ve had for nearly thirty years broke.  The little plastic nubbin that is part of the hinge broke off so it made it hard to operate with just one hinge.  My initial thought was to hop on eBay and see if I could find a replacement, but then I got the idea to go through my can of miscellaneous screws and see if I could find a short stubby screw.  I drilled a small hole and after screwing in the stubby screw it created a new “nubbin” and now my egg slicer works perfectly once again.  Money saved, nothing added to the landfill, I used up a screw that had been lying around in the garage, but more importantly I’m back in business!

 

With the change in weather I am still able to keep the main heating off in the house.  I didn’t even need the fireplace, but one morning to take the chill off.  I also layered up when it was chilly in the morning, but for the most part the house has been quite comfortable.  I’ve been able to open the doors and windows and let the fresh air in on several occasions.

 

Grilled tuna sandwich (low carb sourdough bread) 😋

It was a really good week.  I was able to get some good sleep, keep up on my housekeeping and laundry, eat good healthy food and accomplish quite a few tasks around the house.  I was conservative and resourceful bringing in far more money than what ended up leaving.  I call that a win!  Have any of you done some conserving of your resources lately?  Have you done any repairs or fixes to avoid having to replace something?  I’d love to hear about what you are doing around the house these days.

 

What's In My Bag?

 

When I retired I stopped carrying a purse or a bag and opted for a backpack instead.  A backpack fits my new on-the-go lifestyle perfectly.  So what do I carry in my backpack?  Well, let me tell you.

 

First aid kit including some blister pads since I do a lot of walking

Inhaler & lip balm

Snacks!  Some for me and some to share if I come across someone in need

My backpack is five years old.  I bought it on clearance at Wal-Mart for $3 and as it turns out it was money well spent.  It still looks like new and I’ve used it a lot since retiring.  Not only is it my daily use bag it also is also my travel bag.  I’ve hauled my lunch, groceries and even my undies, toothbrush and extra clothes in it.  Remarkably, it holds a lot of stuff.

 

Bus schedule

Sunglasses, tissues, hand sanitizer, pill box with aspirin & nail clippers

When I need to pack a lunch this one fits inside perfectly

In order to keep it in good shape and looking new I launder it regularly and hang it up to dry.  Once it is dry I look it over really well and repair anything that needs it.  I’ve re-stitched the straps at the top when the threads began to wear and pull loose.  This time I sewed up a tiny hole in one of the mesh side pockets before it had a chance to get any bigger.

 

Shopping bag & my wallet

Laundered, repaired and ready to reload

All of this fits inside compact, neat and lightweight

Even though I only paid $3 for this backpack I still want to take care of it so I can use it for a good long time.  Taking good care of my stuff, regardless of what it is, makes it last so much longer.  Having this backpack allows me to live the life I enjoy and have all of the things I need to get me from Point A to Point B.

 

Not Waiting

 

I have never been one to just sit by and wait to see what happens - the what-ifs, maybes, most likely to happen, probable events.  To be quite honest I’ve been on guard ever since this president was re-elected because I’ve never trusted him.  Everything I said would happen, has.  My BFF told me it was uncanny just how accurate my predictions were, but more specifically the order in which things unfolded and how quickly.  I knew he would make a big mess of things, but what I didn’t expect was that congress would be so agreeable to let him.

 

Once Iran was bombed and the strait filled up with oil tankers I knew gas prices would shoot up and in one week they did here by 60¢ a gallon, now it is over a dollar higher.  Gas prices affect everything, especially the cost of goods and services because everything needs to be transported.  Our already high prices will begin to rise further based on oil prices, including heating our homes, trash removal, etc.  Our bottom line will be affected.  To survive this next round of craziness conservation will be crucial.

 

A couple weeks ago I parked the Subaru and started taking the bus to work again and I’m actually happy about it.  I need the fresh air and exercise and I know it is really good for me.  Admittedly, I was getting a little bit lazy so it feels good to be my former active self once again.  My plan is to only drive to work when I do the senior activities that run outside of the regular bus schedule which doesn’t happen very often.

 

I’m picking up my groceries en route as well so I don’t need the car as much for that.  I am able to walk from work to a Winco supermarket and also Trader Joes.  I have an Albertsons along the bus route to my home so I can stop and get off, do my shopping and then catch the next bus home.  I can walk a little further up to the airport and catch a different bus that will take me to Fred Meyer or Home Depot.  I am also within walking distance to my bank.  I can take the bus to my doctor too.

 

I’ve aired up the tires on both of my bikes and charged up the battery on my E-bike.  I fixed the flat tire on the cargo trailer so it is ready to go if I need to do a bigger bulkier shop.  I can ride my bike to the bank, many stores, including two different feed stores and even Home Depot if I need to.

 

On the days I do need to drive to work my plan is to make it really count by running an errand either on the way to work or on the way home.  Once a month I plan to be doing a Costco run and will pop into Wal-Mart or Grocery Outlet and the feed store while I’m at it (only if I need to) as they are located nearby.  Other than that, the plan is to acquire what I need by other means.  Because my fuel will not be used as much I’ve added fuel stabilizer to my tanks to help keep it from going foul.  I should only need to do this about twice a year.  I’ll be interested to see just how long a tank of gasoline lasts me now.

 

Along with the transportation changes I’ve made I also plan to make sure that nothing I currently own goes to waste, especially when it comes to consumables.  If I feel I need or want something I first must make sure that I truly do need to have it and then determine if something I already own will fit the bill and can I make do.  Is it something I could make?  If so, I will get to work and make something.  With food, I want to make sure I don’t waste anything and make more budget stretching meals, like soup, so my groceries last longer.  The same goes for toiletries and household items.  Just use what I need to get the job done and no more.

 

Like I said, I am never one to sit idly by and become complacent.  By making changes now I am preparing myself to better handle what will most likely happen in the not too distant future.  Conserving my resources, making do, adjusting habits and making wiser choices about spending and consuming will help me along the way.  What is something you can do to help yourself?

 

 

Healthy & Delicious Meals From My Pantry #3

 

In February I cleared out the stash of freezer meals I had in there so I was in need of a good meal prep session to get some more meals made up and tucked back in the freezer.  I have been super busy the last two months and having something made up and ready to pop into the microwave when I get home is super handy.  Now that I am riding the bus to and from work again it is a lifesaver having those meals ready for me when I get home hungry and tired.

 

Salisbury Steak dinners

Spaghetti with meat sauce

Chicken Lo Mein

I pulled out some meat and vegetables from the deep freezer, as well as some canned goods form the pantry, and was able to make up a lot of create some delicious components for making meals.  Taco meat to make tacos or taco salad with, a small batch of spaghetti and a really good teriyaki chicken stir fry with jasmine rice was first up.

 

Home canned chili (I added a sliced hotdog) 😋

Taco meat with black beans

Eggs & sausage for hash or breakfast burritos

To go with a salmon fillet and a NY strip steak I put together a cauliflower bake using sour cream, cheddar cheese and green onions.  Delicious!

 

Low carb cauliflower bake

My homemade dill sauce

I made some condiments – salad dressing, dill sauce for fish and a salsa and sour cream sauce to go on taco salads.  I also pulled out some home canned chili, soups and meat options.  Using a can of chicken breast I made a scrumptious curry chicken salad for sandwiches.

 

Teriyaki Chicken with rice

Curry chicken salad

In one meal prep session lasting about four hours I was able to add quite a few good options to the freezer as well as a nice line up for the week ahead.  I made a meal plan that me set up and kept me well fed for the month without much effort.  In the process I was able to use things I already had on hand, which works really well to save me a lot of time as well as money on my overall grocery bill.  I had fun with doing my little meal prep and have enjoyed every bite!