This Month's 2025 Grocery Spending – September

 

After a successful two month pantry challenge in July and August I approached my grocery shopping this month with a carefully crafted plan – a list!  I had my list mapped out by the stores I planned to shop at and with winter readiness in mind as well.  I was ready!

 

During the past two months I had made a few dents in the deep freezer.  The kitchen refrigerator and freezer were looking pretty good too.  I had used up a few items that had been languishing, gave away and donated some food, did some meal prepping along the way all to make sure and stave off as much potential food waste as possible.  At the beginning of this month the crisper drawer was pretty empty as I had run the refrigerator down to the bare minimum.  The chickens are keeping me well supplied with eggs now so I had that well handled, but the dairy choices were getting pretty slim.

 

Needless to say, I was craving a Costco rotisserie chicken in a very big way, but vowing not to make any meat purchases this month I put that idea on hold.  It made it much easier when I got to Costco and discovered they were doing some remodeling so there were no rotisserie chickens to be had anyway.  Bullet dodged!  However, straight out of the chute and without even thinking, I picked up a package of uncured pepperoni for pizza (oops!) as well as some diced canned tomatoes I found at a very good price (50¢ per can) at Grocery Outlet.  I put the tomatoes in the LTFS and used the pepperoni for meal prepping pizza for the freezer.  I also grabbed a jar of mayonnaise on sale for $2.99 at Fred Meyer to add to my LTFS replacing one I had removed from there to use for potato salad and macaroni salad as well as some salad dressings I made this summer.

 

I forgave myself for the pepperoni purchase and got busy next by refilling the kitchen freezer and the deep freezer with a bonanza of frozen vegetables I bought on sale at Albertsons for 99¢ a package!  I picked out fifteen packages of various veggies that I really enjoy eating – peas, corn, green beans, vegetable blends and a lot of broccoli florets.  After refilling the veggie bin in the kitchen freezer I repackaged and vacuum sealed the rest and tucked them away in my deep freezer.  I was super happy to get that buy on vegetables.  Loss leaders for the win!

 

Costco haul!

During the past two months I had put together quite a list for Costco so that ended up being my next shopping trip.  I wanted to get one of their large bags of frozen berries for my smoothies which I ended up dividing and using my vacuum sealer to repackage the majority of and put away in the deep freezer.  I was able to get almost everything on my list, but some items were not available as they had a little less inventory on the floor while they are updating the store.  I had priced facial tissues at the stores so when I got to Costco and discovered their large 240ct Kleenex boxes were on sale (10 boxes/$16.99) I couldn’t pass that up.  I had initially hoped to add four boxes of store brand 160ct to my stock whenever I found a good deal, but the ten pack with more tissues per box at Costco was exactly the price I was looking for so I snapped it up.  I should be well supplied far into 2026 before I’ll need to buy more.

 

Digital coupon offers led me back to Fred Meyer to pick up a bag of delicious plums as well as three jars of peanut butter for 99¢ a jar, haven’t seen that price in a good while, and two 80 count boxes of unscented dryer sheets for $1.99 each.  I put the peanut butter away in my LTFS as I tend to give it away to anyone in need and I didn’t have any on the shelf for that purpose.  I put the dryer sheets away in the linen closet and shouldn’t need to buy anymore of those for at least two years.

 

My next trip a week and a half later was Winco for fresh dairy and a couple produce items as well as a couple jars of green olives, one for now and one for later.  I don’t consider green olives a “need”, but I do enjoy them especially on my salads, so since I had wiggle room in the budget I restocked.  The subject of nachos had come up one day so I also picked up a large bag of tortillas chips that were on sale.

 

We also found that Albertson’s is now stocking and selling Hero low carb bread products and they are really good.  They are expensive, but the quality ingredients and the taste are enough for me to justify the cost.  I stopped in at Albertson’s on my way home from Winco and picked up a loaf of bread as well as a package of the hamburger buns and a package of the bagels to try out.  I was given a $5 OFF digital coupon for my birthday so I used that to help take the sting out of the overall cost of these items.  Moving forward I plan to just buy one item at a time so I don’t blow my grocery budget.

 

My nonfood purchases came in at $20.97 and right now I can’t think of another thing I need so, unless I come up with something, this might be the last of my nonfood spending in 2025.  My total spent on food came in at $133.83 and I still have money left!  Considering I did a shop at Costco and splurge on the Hero bread products I was amazed.  I’ll be rolling over $75.74 to add to next month’s budget which will set me up to do some more stocking up and holiday prep shopping.  I’m pretty pleased with the end results and very glad I did the two month grocery challenge in July and August which allowed me to do this bigger shop and restock.

 

Are you doing any winter stockpiling or holiday food shopping yet?  Any great deals you just couldn’t pass up?

 

My Tireless Retirement – Week 182

 

I was fresh off a successful camping trip and my batteries were fully recharged.  Admittedly, it was hard to pack up and come home this time, but I had to work all day on Friday and again on Saturday morning when I took a group to Potato Days being held in the next town over.  I had never gone before and we had a fun time.  The rest of Saturday and all day Sunday were mine and with such wonderful weather I started pulling the leggy spent flowers out of my pots and dumped the spent potting soil into the raised garden beds.

 

Sunday morning I woke up feeling a touch worn out.  Looking at my dayplanner I realized that I had something going every single day the previous week so it was no wonder.  I took the day to just relax with the only big task on my list being laundry and putting fresh sheets on my bed.  Then it was back to work Monday and Tuesday afternoons.  To maximize my time and fuel use in the car I ran errands on the way home in order to completely free up my Wednesday which is my typical errand and shopping day each week.

 

With errands taken care of I got busy Wednesday morning by baking a batch of pecan cranberry pumpkin muffins, tucking most of them away in the freezer and leaving out a half dozen for this week.  They are delicious and something I always look forward to in the Fall.  I also did a little bit of meal prepping.

 

Pet supplies

Camping equipment

Next up was to finish organizing and putting away all of my camping equipment on its shelf in the garage and it all fits perfectly and looks amazing too.  I’m rather proud of that shelf.  While I was out there I also pulled out all of the pet food bins and swept out the cobwebs and leaves that had may their way back there.  Before putting the bins back into place I refilled them with some of the feed and cat food I had purchased last month and then took inventory to see what I need to buy next.  It looks like cracked corn for the chickens and wood pellets for the bunny’s litter pan is now on the list.

 

Camping mode

Back to zero

Thursday found me outside cleaning up the inside of my car as I have decided that camping season is over for me.  It is getting darker earlier and colder temperatures overnight.  Plus with hunting season starting up I don’t really need to be out in the woods this time of year.  I removed my bed from the back of the car and gave the Subaru a good scrub and vacuum.  

 

Ready for everyday life

Another fabulous week of retirement is officially in the books!  I hope you all enjoyed a blessed and productive week.  I expect next week to be another busy one for me as I already have some things planned and in the works.  Let me know in the comments, what has been keeping you busy lately?

 

Decluttering Saves You BIG $$

 

One of the most surprising things that has happened since I began to really declutter my home is how much money I have saved in the process.  I’ve even made a little bit too when I sold some of my things, but mostly I notice that I’m not buying or spending as much money on stuff as I once used to.

 

The biggest and most obvious reason I’m not spending money on stuff is because I am really focusing on not filling my home back up with crap I don’t need.  I’m also not buying more stuff because in the decluttering process you find things you bought and planned to use, for instance a dryer vent cover I replaced on the exterior of my house this past summer.  It had become buried in the garage.  Or extra paint brushes because you discover you already have some.

 

As I decluttered, cleaned and reorganized my home I took inventory of what I was keeping and now I’m able to use up those things before I go out and buy something else.  I found I had plenty of most of the items I need and use and sometimes more than enough so I shared what I had too much of, like bags of pasta, canned green beans and bars of soap.  Now I can manage my inventory so much better.

 

Once all was said and done I was able to really see what I have and realize just how much of each item I actually use and now I can work on using those items and replacing them as I go rather than stockpiling.  I’m now in the phase of life where I no longer need to stockpile and have moved into more of a use and replace stage.  That is a good place to be, but I have to remind myself that this is where I am at when I see a good sale at the grocery store.  “I don’t need a case of tuna, I only need a couple of cans.”

 

I no longer feel a sense of urgency to replace items I am running low on right away.  I can estimate how many scoops of laundry detergent or count my dishwasher tabs and figure out how long that item will actually last and then put it on a future shopping list in my dayplanner for replacement.  Doing this also allows me time to wait for a good sale so I can save even more money on that purchase.

 

Having a use it up mentality allows me to look at things a bit more differently.  I can look at a pile of scraps after a sewing project and see more projects that are made into gifts.  After making a quilted table matte for my dining room table I used the leftover pieces to make padded candle mattes to place a jar candle on.  Food scraps get turned into delicious broths for soups and to go into recipes.  Leftovers get eaten so nothing goes to waste.  I have pantry challenges to use up items I may have overstocked or have been hanging around for a while.  All of these things save me money in the long run.

 

I was never one that cared much for shopping.  I don’t shop for entertainment or out of boredom.  If I wear the same shirt three times in one week I really don’t care so obviously I’m no fashionista.  Having a small wardrobe that contains only items I actually wear is much more satisfying and manageable.  I can easily find something appropriate to wear on any given day and this is perfect.

 

I will mend any clothing item that may need it and if something becomes too worn then I just replace that one item rather than go buy a bunch of stuff I don’t end up wearing.  I keep just enough tops, pants, socks, pajamas, undies and bras on hand that if one item is too worn I have another one I can wear while I seek out a replacement piece, preferably on sale or clearance.  I’m never in a rush to buy a piece of clothing and that saves me money.

 

By keeping a smaller inventory of clothing and linens I spend a lot less time in the laundry room.  On average I do a load of laundry about every six days.  I keep one set of flannel sheets for winter and one set of cotton sheets for summer.  I wash my sheets and put them right back on the bed fresh out of the dryer so I only have to fold my sheets when I switch them out seasonally.  I count that as a win!  I have three bath towels to get me through the week and that is plenty.  I use my towels twice and I usually wear my pants and tops twice before laundering.  Less laundry saves me money on detergent and utilities.

 

In the past year as I’ve been decluttering my home again I find that my shopping lists are getting smaller and I’m easily able to manage what I have.  I’ve let go of a lot of the things I’d squirreled away in the closets and cupboards and it has really lightened my load.  It has lightened my mind as well.  I have a lot less anxiety about what is behind that door and now I find I actually enjoy opening a cabinet or a closet and seeing what I have.  It has freed me up so much and the unexpected bonus is what it has done to my wallet as well.

 

The Subaru Has Come A Long Way!

Since purchasing Cecil the Subaru in January I would say this car has really come a long way.  The previous owner was good about regular maintenance and took care of whatever needed to be repaired, but as far as keeping this car clean or dent free they definitely came up a bit short.  For many of us a car is usually the biggest investment we make after our house mortgage and nowadays a lot of people have car payments equal to a mortgage payment or their rent.  The average car payment for a new car is $745 to $1,075 and most families have two vehicles they are paying on. With that in mind I am often amazed at how a lot of people will treat their vehicles.  They don’t do regular maintenance or take care of repairs and even more shockingly is how they will trash the interiors making them into a dumpster on wheels.

 

When my friend received this car from her niece after she drove it from New York state to Idaho it became her responsibility to do something with it.  I know some, but I don’t know all of the details about how this all came to be and I don’t need to.  What I do know is that my dear friend apologized to me repeatedly over the condition of this car when I bought it.  She had already removed the first layer of grime by taking it through the carwash and then using their vacuums to remove a lot of the debris and mud that covered the floor and seats.  The smell inside that car was entirely something else.  It wasn't something you could really describe, just a collection of odors that had accumulated over the years I suppose.

 

Ouch!

Because of the condition of the car, how dirty and stinky it was, some fender dents and the mechanical issue that caused the car to vibrate if you drove it over 35 miles an hour the original owners had suggested the car should be scrapped, but my friend was hesitant.  Knowing I’m a bit of a “gear head” as she likes to say she wanted my opinion first before she did that.  After driving it and climbing underneath, looking under the hood and reading up on all the maintenance and repairs that had been done over the years I told her I thought it still had life left in it and shouldn’t go to the scrap yard.

 

Long story short, I ended up buying the car and because I was willing to fix it, drive it and love it they really wanted me to have it.  The price they wanted was the scrap value of the car - $1,000.  I was shocked, but it was put to me that they had been very blessed as a family and they wanted me to have the car at a price that would make it so repairs would be affordable and something I’d be willing to do.  Before I handed over the cash I think I asked her a half dozen times if she was sure about that price and she never wavered.  In fact, to this day she and her family are thrilled not only that I have the car, but with everything I have done to it.

 

Even though it was freezing outside the first thing I had to do was start cleaning the interior.  I sat inside with the car running, the heat on and a bucket of hot soapy water, some rags, brushes and a magic erasure.  I vacuumed out the entire car then scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed.  After four hours I called it a day and headed inside.  The next day I took the car to the mechanic who rebalanced all the tires (I was hopeful that was the issue) and oddly enough that made a huge difference in the vibration, however it didn’t take care of it completely and it didn't take long for it come right back to how it was.  Not surprising, I'm rarely that lucky.

 

I began going through every nook and cranny of this car to discover whatever might be wrong with it.  I wanted to drive it just enough to make sure the transmission was good with no slipping, no exhaust leaks or a bad head gasket, etc. etc.  I also wanted to make sure I wasn’t loosing fluids or burning oil.  Just really vet out any problems.  As it turned out it was just the U joints that needed to be addressed and because it had been driven so far, New York to Idaho, on bad U joints I also had to replace the driveshaft.  That didn't surprise me either.

 

Before

After

While vetting out potential issues I also started to work on the dents and exterior.  The headlights were refurbished too.  Once the weather was warm enough I got back into the interior, vacuuming and scrubbing it for a second time and then shampooing the upholstery and carpets.  That made a huge difference with the odor in that car as I had hoped it would.

 

Headlights refurbished - Pretty!

Engine cleaned

New battery

I have also changed the oil, replaced the air and cabin filters, topped up all of the fluids, fixed the broken mount for the wiper fluid and cleaned the engine. After the U joint/driveshaft repair was completed and the A/C was serviced I replaced the engine battery.  I had one more project on the list.

Interior cleaned & shampooed

I replaced all of the floor mats

I scraped and wire brushed the very rusty receiver hitch and found it is still in very good condition.  After coating it in rust reformer to protect it from rusting again it looks like new.  With that project completed I was officially done with everything on my list.  I enjoyed every bit of the time and effort I put into transforming this car, in fact I was a little sad when I finished.  It was a great project and kept me busy doing something I happen to really take pleasure in.

 

Before - a rusty, crusty receiver hitch

After!  😘

Buying a car was not even something I was considering this year, it just kind of fell into my lap.  Fortunately, it ended up being a very affordable unplanned expense.  With my initial $1000 investment (I mean $999.86,  I found 14¢ while cleaning the car) plus I have spent a little under $1,800 dollars on repairs and upgrades bringing the total cost for this car to just under $2,800 which has netted me a reliable daily driver and adventure mobile.  I couldn't be more pleased with the end result.  I’m thinking money well spent.