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!

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 209

 

Hello my friends!  It was a lovely and very busy week for me.  I worked, I did some canning, I went to the No Kings Rally, I meal prepped, I ran errands, I hung out with a friend, I celebrated my 4^th Anniversary in retirement and I worked outside in the yard.  I feel very accomplished!

 

It felt really good to spend some quality time in my kitchen this past week.  I canned beef and chicken for my LTFS shelf and also some taco meat.  I even had enough taco meat leftover to make myself a nice taco salad.  Salads have been a big part of my meal plan lately as the weather is warming up.

 

I was able to leave the heating off all week and still feel very comfortable, even in the early morning hours when it is chilly outside.  Later in the day I was able to open windows for fresh air, which I absolutely love.  When I propped the back door open last weekend Stella was kind enough to bring a near dead mouse into the house.  Sadly for her, I promptly exited her houseguest.  She wasn’t very happy with me.

 

I worked Friday, Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday and Thursday were spent canning and getting caught up on household tasks.  I also managed to get outside between rain showers and pull some weeds.  I cannot believe how prolific the milkweeds are this year, but the chickens are sure enjoying them.

 

It was a super awesome week this past week filled with a variety of different tasks and experiences.  I am super grateful for all I was able to.  What were you able to accomplish?

 

Narcissism

 

Narcissism is a personality disorder (NPD) that affects nearly one in six individuals meaning that we encounter people with NPD far more often than we might realize.  For the most part these encounters are fairly benign, but for some of us they are far more impactful.

 

I was raised by a narcissist, have worked with narcissists at various times throughout my career and had the misfortune (luck of the draw) of raising a narcissist.  Being raised by, and having raised, a narcissist is the most difficult thing to wrap one’s head around because of how much you love them.  Despite everything my parent put me through during my childhood and well into adulthood I still love that person very much.  However, despite my best efforts, even with the help of a therapist, that relationship ended about fifteen years ago.

 

Having a child with NPD is the hardest because you love them so much and you know that they will struggle their entire lives to navigate their way while they leave a wake of emotional destruction in their path.  Upheaval they don’t intend, broken relationships, missed opportunities and difficulties getting along with others are often their future.  Even harder is the fact that there is nothing you can to do to help them or fix it and you have to accept that.

 

I have found this book tremendously helpful

Radical acceptance is the only way to survive NPD, but once you do you are able to effectively move forward with clarity, understanding and the tools to love and deal with that person.  It is a lot of work, but it is possible.  Having a good therapist with NPD experience is extremely helpful.

 

When you work with someone with NPD you have options.  You can either gather the tools and use techniques to be able to work with them and accept all the bumps along the way or you can change jobs and get away from them.  Because of the varying degrees of NPD, moving along and changing jobs is typically the only way to survive a narcissist in the workplace.  Family members and spouses however, make it much harder.  That is where professional help becomes even more important.

 

Narcissists can be absolutely brutal.  They are highly manipulative and emotionally abusive.  Some are physically abusive too.  One thing I can tell you is that dealing with and recovering from NPD abuse requires outside professional help.  It really isn’t something we can do on our own.  You also need clarity about what narcissism really is.  Once you have clarity you are better able to make practical decisions.  From there you can also begin to heal.

 

It is completely okay to say “I can’t continue to be in this situation anymore”.  It is completely okay to maintain minimal contact.  It is also completely okay to accept our limitations and to walk away if that is what needs to happen.  It is okay too, to still love that person.  It is hard, very hard, but at the end of the day we need to make sure we don’t sacrifice ourselves.  We need to make to love ourselves too.  I will all my best to those of you that find yourselves in this same situation.

 

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?