Gramma Ray's Blog

The hub wanted me to create a written record of our financials in case anything happens to me.  Until now, he primarily has made the money, and I have managed it.  I have a fairly detailed process, but everything is on my computer - he prefers a notebook that we can keep in our safe.  I decided this was a GREAT opportunity to get him more involved with how finances work so that we can hopefully dial in the monthly budget a little more. I found a budget book with pages for listing our accounts, log in information, monthly budget and a register to show how money is being spent and which bucket the money is pulled from.  June is our starting month.  The reason this is so timely is that, just as I had a 5 year plan in place before I retired, the hub is now coming up on his final 5 years for working at his current job.  I want to make sure we are both savvy on the ebbs and flows of our finances and that we are dialed in and able to live within the anticipated monthly budget.

My hope is that this will alleviate those unanticipated wants being an expectation each month.  I will update progress as we go!  Fingers crossed.

Since I will be focused on tracking and explaining expenses, I plan to reduce our food costs as much as possible.  This past week, I used both the hubs and my rewards memberships at our two local grocers to purchase steaks that were discounted.  Each membership also included a $5 discount on top of the digital coupons used.  We got ribeye and tbones to last through the summer for about $60.  😀  Our freezer is stocked with chicken and pork already.  I make our bread, so much of our budget will be juices, fruits, veggies and spices.  I went shopping today and picked up several generic brands to see if there was much of a quality or taste difference.  So far, so good.

I receive my first social security check in August.  I am fortunate in that I have started working very pt for a company that provides care for the disabled and my "clients" are two of my daughters foster sons.  So my work is in her home, helping her care for them about 15 hours a week, which is just under the maximum I will be able to make and draw my social security.  Honestly, this doesnt feel like 'work' at all.  And, this augments the income nicely.  All of my pt earnings go into a vacation fund so that we can still splurge on occasional travel.  Since we have been living within a budget that includes only the hubs paychecks, the SS payments will start paying down our remaining mortgage faster, which will help pay it off by the time the hub retires.

The hub is continuing to contribute to his 401k until he retires.

And that's where we are currently at.  Hope all is well with everyone here!

Hello friends.

2022 was a fairly turbulent year for me.  Medical issues, family hiccups, a new puppy and just life.  I took a break rather than constantly blogging about the blah of the year.

I am happy to say, 2023 is off to a much better start.  Ive already gone on two vacations to Mexico- the first was a Christmas present from my son and DIL, the second a cruise with DD1 and her family.  Both were fantastic, and for me, fairly frugal.  (My final invoice on the cruise (which does not include the cost of booking the cruise, but did include all the on board expenses, was $43)

I did our taxes yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that we are getting a nice refund that will help replenish some of the emergency savings we spent last year.  Teeth repairs, DD3's wedding plans (she was just 14 when I started this blog and is now 31 and getting married in Sept!) and misc home and car repairs all significantly chipped away at the emergency fund - so it will be nice to add to it again.

I had my annual exam yesterday and all those numbers from blood work are MUCH BETTER than they were last year.  Its crazy what stress can do to your body.  But I am thankful my numbers are all better, most within the numbers theyre supposed to be. 

It snowed here today, so I have a nice toasty fire in the wood stove while I finished all my laundry from vacation. Im looking forward to catching up on everyone's blog!  

Its crazy to think I am in month 9 of my retirement!  As I reflect on these months, a few thoughts come to mind that I wanted to jot down!

1.  Taxes - we got a refund this year for the first time in years and it was significant!  With pre-retirement earnings, we never qualified for any of the stimulous money (since they continued to use our prior years earnings, we didnt receive the stimulous that was available earlier in 2021).  When we filed this year, we qualified and received an additional $5700!!  We also received a good refund aside from that!   1/2 of the money went to our final emergency fund savings which now is $100k.  The other half is in savings for upcoming expenses this year.

2. House payment - I regret not paying off our mortgage before I retired, but we are now paying an extra $1000 per month to the house payment (plus any extra income over budget).  I am finally looking at extra money as $$ to pay on the mortgage.  I wasnt comfortable doing this until I got the emergency fund up to our current level.  

3.  Food - while the hub is away working, I eat as inexpensively as possible.  I found a great recipe that I love using black beans and brown rice, both of which I buy in bulk.  Many meals cost pennies rather that dollars!  Thankfully, FD loves it too...she also loves ramen, eggs, pasta and salads!  When the hub IS home, we have a well stocked freezer of meats to pull from.  As meats come on sale, I stock up!  I also started stockpiling last year during holiday food sales - so we have lots of canned/frozen veggies, and other items we use regularly.

Black beans in the Instant Pot  (cook brown rice separately and combine with cooked beans as desired.  we make a lot of burritos with them)

1lb black beans, 5 cups water, 1 smoked hambone, 3 bullion cubes, 2 TBSP taco seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 onion diced and sauteed.  I cook for 1 hour and natural release for 25-30 min.

Silly frugal me, puts the hambone back in the freezer and then reuse it for a second batch before discarding it. 

4.  Can/bottle returns - this is new for me.  Previously, I gave our cans/bottles away.  Now I have an account to return them myself and get extra $$.  I am using the $$ to help FD set goals and find ways to save towards the goal.  She really wants a pair of birkenstock sandals this summer, so she is saving her change, helping with the cans/bottles and realizing a little planning helps make a goal come true!  So far she has $35 in can/bottle money and $16 in cash. 

5.  Gasoline - holy gas prices!   Living 15 miles outside of town, we def plan trips to town to cover all errands for the week.  Thankfully, we have the stockpile and rarely have to run to get something outside of our weekly trip.   I generally go once each week to watch my youngest grandaughter and another day to take FD to her appts and all the other errands. 

6.  Airline tickets - Costco offered a great deal of 10% off airline gift cards at Christmas time.  Since the hub travels so much, I bought 10 - $500 gcs for $4500.  This will last us pretty much all year.  I hope Costco does this every year!  I have saved enough to buy another 10 (which is the max allowed) this year!  The mileage he earns goes for fun trips or vacations.  In May, DD1, her newly adopted daughter (13), me and FD (17) are flying down to California for a long girls weekend to celebrate the adoption.  Price for travel: $44 thanks to miles!

7.  Camping - because I am retired, and FD does school online, we can camp anytime we want when the hub is home.  A state perk for foster families is that we can camp for free at any state campground.  Weekends are often booked, but again, our flexibility allows us to camp during the week when spots are more readily available.  We have a beautiful 5th wheel that we paid off before I retired which we enjoy as much as possible.  However, gas prices will likely reduce the number of trips we take this year.

8. Part time job for me - I had thought I would need to return to work part time to be able to have "enough".  However, that has not been the case.  We are making it just fine as is and can still afford to pay house quicker Fostering a trouble teen is pretty much a full time job, especially with the hub gone 3 weeks at a time.  Between appointments, parenting, teaching her independence skills, and helping her feel safe and secure (something she has never had) I am "on" 24/7.  Thankfully I have this flexibility to be a full time parent and friend for her.

9. Time Management - Days can get away from me.  I have enjoyed the freedom to use all this time as I want.  That will not change....but time is finite, not infinite.  I am working on being more intentional with my time, while enjoying not having a schedule.    This continues to be a work in progress.

10.  Enjoying life - YES I DO!

2021 has been a year of significant change in our household.  

1. Fostering - It's been a full year and without a doubt, fostering an at-risk teen is the hardest job Ive ever had.  Initially, there was a period of adjusting and our FD tried hard to prove that we were like all the others, that we would give up on her eventually, so why not push all the buttons to prove herself right.  Well, we arent like all the others and loved her through all the yucky stuff, sticking to our resolve that we were committed to being her last placement.  The next phase was settling, where she became more comfortable and started to feel like this was her forever home.  Late Q3 and Q4 she was reintroduced to in-person school and peers.  This would be our toughest test yet.   Ill just say, kids can be so mean.  And when youre already an at-risk youth, it doesnt take much to kick the inner demons into action and the subsequent self harm landed her in the hospital for a few weeks.  We brought her home just before Christmas and I have been her constant reassurance that this too shall pass ever since.  DHS of course had to put a solid safety plan into action, which I understand, but its wearing me out.   I am still 100% committed, I am just tired and it doesnt help that I caught a cold just before Christmas and have had little extra energy since.  DH is away at work until next week, so tonight FD and I will ring in the New Year ourselves.  Just what we both need IMHO.

2. Jobs- The hub was unemployed the first 5 months of 2021, which was a blessing actually as he was here to help with the fostering adjustments and to share the load of parenting.  He went back to work just a couple of weeks before I retired.  I had written a 5 year plan, 6 years ago and we managed to check off every box necessary for retirement to work.  The first couple of months were unnerving because we encounted a few unexpected expenses and we blew through more of our savings than I was comfortable with.  But thankfully, that turned around by the end of August and we have replenished the savings to where it was by year end.   Retirement is wonderful.  I am loving the freedom it allows. 

3. Health - Covid.  Got the shots, got the Covid and now considering boosters.  Covid continues to wreak havoc on everyday life.  Not much else to say. 

3.  Goals - I have so many things I want to accomplish - such as minimilizing clutter, traveling on a budget, and starting a garden.  2021 was not condusive to accomplishing these goals, so I am starting 2022 with plans to tackle all three.

And finally, I dont know about you, but I am BUMMED Betty White got this close to the big 100 and didnt make it.  I am a huge BW fan and am sad by this news.  RIP sweet lady.  

Happy New Year friends.  Looking forward to seeing what 2022 brings!

I had an experience today that made/makes me extremely cranky.

I stopped at a discount grocery store to pick up blueberry scones.  This seems to be the only store in our area that carries them, and I usually pop in once every week or two to buy a package as a treat to have with morning coffee.  They dont always have them, so when I saw that they did have them, I nabbed two containers.  I also wanted to pick up some cornstarch.  I headed down the baking isle and was looking for it when I heard a very curt - "You need to leave your backpack at the checkout counter".  I carry a backpack as a purse because I can distribute the weight across my back and shoulders while leaving my hands free for other things.  My backpack was indeed on my back.

I glanced at the young employee who was staring at me.  I told her that I kept everything, cash, wallet, meds, car keys, etc. in my backpack and had no intention of leaving it at the counter.  She said, that was their policy.  So I handed her the scones and she mistook that to mean I would pull off my backpack and when she reached out for it I said "no thank you, I wont leave my backpack with you"  - her look told me she wasnt budging, so I turned to leave.  As I walked away, she said "Sorry, store policy".

I let it rattle me more than I probably should have.  I could have easily gone 'Karen' on her.  But didnt.   

Reflecting, about this, I am shaking my head.  I had WAY MORE value in my backpack that a rogue employee could have taken - I couldnt  have stolen enough to cover what I had in my pack.   I would be able to steal way easier with a purse, than with a backpack on my back.   What would the store do if I claimed anything of value was missing from my  pack if it was in their possession?  What if my bag had a concealed carry?  To add to the mix, this area has daily reports of theft from vehicles.  Leaving my backpack and its possessions in my car is NOT an option. 

I get that the store is probably dealing with theft - and possibly some comes from folks who may use a backpack.  But did they really think this through?

Ultimately, I saved $7 on the scones and will save my blood sugar the extra carbs and sugar.  But my blood pressure took a direct hit from this one.  WWYD?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Ours was blessed with family and grandkids.  Two of my daughters each hosted a meal - one at 3pm and one at 6;30pm.  Both meals were fantastic! Needless to say, after playing with grandbabies all day and enjoying two delicious meals, I was tired and full when I got home!!   We spent yesterday at home relaxing and enjoying some quiet time.   We pulled two steaks out of the freezer and the hub bbq'd them for dinner, so yummy!

Today was much the same.  FD is spending the weekend with her older sister, so it is just the hub and me.  (A welcomed break!) We watched the new episodes of Yellowstone, went out to lunch for some yummy taco salads, and now just planning on another relaxing night.   If we have dinner, it will be leftovers or a sandwich.  I plan to work on a puzzle, get in a little housework, and wrap some Christmas presents.

With the hub working 3/3 rotations, paydays dont always align with a monthly budget, which is why I budget a month in advance.  This month, the rotation created enough overage that I was able to pay back the $4500 I borrowed from savings to buy the airline tickets that I got on sale.  woo-hoo!  This means that the money I normally would pay towards travel for the next 10 months can go into savings!  We are def noticing a difference in the grocery budget having the stockpile.  I plan to set aside our extra grocery money to continue to stockpile on sales so that we are always well prepared!!  It is such a nice feeling to know we have a full freezer and pantry...I dont want to go back to weekly grocery planning if we dont have to!

With our weather turning colder, I decided to make a big pot of chili for dinner a couple nights ago.  It turned out great and fed us a couple of meals.  Last night I turned the leftovers into 10 chili bean burritos and tucked them into the freezer.  These are a favorite go-to when I want a quick, easy lunch or dinner.  I used leftover hamburger for the meat, and canned beans/rotel that I got on sale - so the cost was around $10 for 14 servings!  

I pulled a steak out of the freezer and am going to try making beef broccoli for the first time tonight.  The recipe looks easy enough - so we shall see!  I am using a steak because all of my other meat is frozen in family size portions and a single steak will be enough for FD and I both.  If it turns out, the next time roast comes on sale I may get one and cut it into small portions for meals like this.

I have started researching ideas for some of the work I am doing for my son's business.  The first will be an onboarding checklist for new hires.  The business is growing so quickly that there is much opportunity for formalized processes.  They started as a two person business and have now grown to15 employees with the plan to add another 8-10 in the coming months!

All of FD's pay it forward bags are done.   She is super excited to hand them out.  We will be delivering just after Thanksgiving.  The school resource officer is on board with donating a few more items to the bags and going with her/us to help keep her safe.  I am excited to see her realize this goal.  I think this is the start of something bigger for her!!  

I went online to make an extra estimated tax payment and the Oregon Kicker calculator was available.  To my surprise we are scheduled to get a $2600 tax credit on our taxes this year.  Um, YAY.  So I decreased what I would have paid by $1000 to hopefully still leave a buffer but take advantage of the kicker news!  Since our income drastically decreased this year, and some of the hubs unemployement wont be taxable, I am fairly confident our tax liability will be gentler on us this year.  In any case, I will leave the extra money in the tax account just in case and not consider it extra until taxes are filed.   Finger crossed.  I am no tax expert by any means, but am simply guestimating based on prior years results. 

Our local store put roasts on sale 50% off.  I picked up 5 at about $10 per roast, and put 4 in the freezer.  I made a Mississipi roast a few days ago, which made 4 hearty meals.  This morning I shredded the rest of the meat and made eight roast/bean burritoes for the freezer - quick, easy lunches.  I have a little left over juice, which I will use a few drops for a flavor treat for dog's and cat's food.  Probably very unhealthy, but they enjoy the occasional treat.

Ibotta added a number of free after purchase rebates recently, so I purchased them to donate to the family thanksgiving dinner.  Stuffing mix, gravy packet, cream of mushroom soup, fried onion topping, and a few others I cant remember right now.  I typically use the app to save on things I would normally buy to save a little.  This last shopping trip was $71 and I got just under $15 back.   Ive been using the app since April and have gotten $56 back.  Every little bit helps.

FD was talking at school about her pay it forward gifts for the homeless and the school resource officer asked if he could contribute a couple of items to the bags - how very sweet.  He is a retired police officer and offered to go with her to deliver the bags to make sure she stays safe.    I just love our community.  I am not sure we'll be venturing into dangerous territory, but when the time comes, if his offer still stands, we will probably take him up on it and buy him lunch as a thank you. 

Today is cloudy cold day, I am enjoying some Christmas music on Pandora and just enjoying a stay home and putz day!!

I recently posted about the Alaska airlines gift card offer at Costco - $449 for each $500 gift card.  I had originally bought 6, but the limit was 10 per membership.  I decided to buy the additional 4 gift cards to get the full benefit of this discount.  Since the hub flies roundtrip  to Anchorage every 6 weeks, it made good sense to save on as many gift cards as possible.  I pulled the money out of savings to pay for the cards.  10% return is way more than I am getting in interest.  Ill just pay our monthly travel budget back to the savings account and will have this paid back by 2022 year end.  I paid for all the gift cards with my Amazon CC- which will result in an additional $50 in Amazon dollars.  I will use this $50 to buy handwarmers and other goodies for our homeless gifts for Christmas.  (Win-win).

Also, I received $30 in Kohls cash for the blankets  for the homeless that I bought.  Tomorrow, my 30% discount kicks in for Kohls, so I will use the Kohls cash and 30% off to buy something(s) on the Christmas list.   Another win-win.

I have been attending a foster class for several weeks, and each week receive a $25 gift card for attending.  Our last class is tomorrow and the gift card total will be $350.  The store they are originally to is a higher end grocery store.  But thankfully, they sale gift cards to Amazon.  I will trade the cards in for $350 in Amazon gift cards and use them for essentials in the coming months.  (Another win-win)

And finally, I am going to start working part time from home for my son's business.  They could use additional administrative help - and this will provide us a small additional income.  Any money earned will go towards vacation for us.  I dont forsee this being  more than $1000 a month, but that will augment our vacation fund nicely.  And, I will be able to help my son's team with expertise in fields I am well versed in.  (My final win-win)

Needless to say, I am feeling pretty good about these small wins!!

My son and DIL are at a conference this week, so they asked if I could come house, kid and pet sit while they are away.  Being retired means a big fat YES.  Even better, with the hubs mileage plan, me and FD were able to fly here for $11!!  I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with my Cali babies!!  Mom and dad come home tomorrow, and we fly home on Sunday.  It's been such a rewarding week.  I LOVE having the freedom to do stuff like this!

While the hub was home this last rotation, we bought an upright freezer on sale and stocked it full of meats and quick meals.  Now I will watch for sales and keep it stocked while taking advantage of good prices.  With all the turmoil going on in the world, we felt it was a good idea to do a little stockpiling just in case.  I have to say, it feels great to know we are prepared.  I also saw a sale on canned goods and stocked up on canned veggies.  I already had a stockpile of beans.  I still have several 5lb food storage buckets and plan to use those to store flour and sugar. 

The first few months of retirement was a period of adjusting to our new budget.  We were hit with a fair share of unexpected expenses (well repair, tires for our trailer, etc) but thankfully, things have settled down and we are back to living on our budget and having money left over for savings.  

Earlier this week, Costco had a flash sale on Alaska Airline gift cards.  $500 for $449.  I bought 6 of them, which will last use most of 2022!!  I generally budget $500 per month for the hubs travel expenses, so I will have savings paid back in 6 months for the gift cards.  

I took advantage of Kohl's Black Friday sale today and bought 10, good quality, warm fuzzy blankets at $8.50 each.  FD and I will add hand warmers and other goodies and hand out to homeless later this month.  I am budgeting $150 total for these or about $15 each.

I hope all is well with everyone.  I am looking forward to catching up on the blogs!

I am so thankful that fall is here! With the hot, smoky summer behind us I can get out on our deck more and enjoy the hummingbirds and sunsets again! We have had some rain, which is awesome and the skies are back to blue.

Now that school has started, my days are getting into a nice routine. I am able to focus more on stretching our food budget by using coupons, sales and aps like Ibotta. I am enjoying the challenge of feeding us as budget savvy as possible! (A much easier feat when I don't have a teen with me at the grocery store slipping in all the extras!!)

I watch my youngest granddaughter (20 mos) every Monday. I love our Monday's together - she has so much energy and curiosity. This last Monday we went on a walk and found all the flowers and talked about the colors. She discovered some ornamental frogs in one yard and thought they were funny and pointed out an airplane overhead. I came home exhausted, but had such a happy heart by the end of the day.

Thankfully, the cash outflow has slowed down and we have stayed more within the budget this past several weeks- a trend I hope continues for as long as possible. It is much less stressful when the unexpected outputs aren't hitting regularly...which gives me time to breathe and rebuild the buffer account! I definitely feel more in control financially when the hub is working his three week rotation and the teen is in school.

I am also finally getting back to minimalizing our home. Its been months since I have even had time to think about this but I am pulling it off the back burner now and creating a plan to use my free time to get some traction on this goal!

I talked to all the kiddo's about Christmas this year and how our budget looks much different now that I am retired. I think everyone was fully on board with scaling back. With all the bio's, adopted, foster and inherited grandkids, we are at 17. My brain hurt thinking about even one gift for each. Instead we are transitioning to a family gift. Much more doable and kinder to my sanity. Instead of opening gifts, we will focus on games, food, crafts and making memories. Something we should have done years ago, actually. I don't have a clear picture of what this means, but I am excited about it none-the-less.

August was a blur.  I got sick with Covid, even being fully vaccinated - slept lots, drank lots of water, lost all taste and smell and lost 15 lbs in two weeks.  Thankfully, I am on the mend, symptoms are very mild at this point and I have now tested negative.  I can honestly say, even fully vaccinated, Covid sucks - but thankfully mine stayed upper respiratory and I didnt have to deal with lower respiratory issues.  The whole family got it at about the same time, all 17 of us.  4 were fully vaccinated and still got it, none of the cases became anywhere close to life threatening. (thank goodness).

Things are going great with FD.  We are planning to adopt her and her CASA is pushing for adoption to finish by Christmas.  That is crazy fast if they can pull it off.  FD turns 18 in July, so the clock is ticking.  Even tho she will be 18, she wont finish high school until 2024- so she will continue to receive some services until then.   In any case, the adoption is moving forward now and we are all excited to make her a permanent part of our family!

Financial wise, this has been more of a struggle than I anticipated.  The hub is not allowed extra overtime at his new job, which is something we counted on from his previous job.  In addition, the foster money has been cut by 2/3 since last April.  These two factors leave a deficit in the budget each month of about $800-1000.  Add to that all the extra expenses we have encountered, (water well, tires on our trailer, jacked up airline expenses, and several other unanticipated costs) and we have blown through much more of our emergency savings than I anticipated.  I am considering working for my son part time to help supplement the deficit.  But I am holding out to see how finances go once FD starts school.  The hubs job is also saying more OT is coming this winter.  Thankfully, we still have a nice cushion, but I dont want to deplete it anymore than we have above the current deficit.  

Otherwise, aside from Covid, retirment life has been great.  I LOVE the options that the extra time allows.  Its been a good summer.  Altho we have had a consistent heat wave all summer added to very hazy smoke filled air.  I am so ready for FALL and more energy to enjoy it.  

The hub is heading back to Alaska to work!  And the job has really good health insurance!  Check and check!  Now I can fully retire with peace of mind.  I am a happy camper. 

The girls started back to in-person school today.  The first time in a few years for them, so I am remaining cautiously optimistic things will go well.  We opted to keep them in a very small charter school (under 200 kids), rather than trying one of the larger, closer high schools (1500 kids).  Theyve been attending the charter school since theyve been in our care, and Ive been pretty impressed with the staff and how well they work with higher needs kids. Fingers crossed that this goes well.

My last day at work is June 4, but with the hub leaving, I will need to use up my PTO between the time he leaves and my last day to take care of all the shuffling with the girls.   I am really looking forward to this new chapter!

This past couple of weeks has been a whirlwind of doors opening and closing.  

I mentioned in a previous post that my retirement was going to be pushed back while I continued to work part time in order to keep my health insurance.  However, my job was not able to offer me a part time position. (door closed)  So, I looked into maintaining COBRA insurance and while it was expensive, it was full coverage that I was willing to pay for. (door open) However, the same afternoon I learned this, the hub got a call from a large company on the slope (Alaska) about an interview. (door open?) If this works out, they have a great insurance plan, which eliminates my need to carry COBRA. (door closing?)   The interview is this afternoon.  My fingers are crossed, as my last day at my job is June 4. 

The girls (foster daughters) are going to try in-person school starting next week for the remainder of the year.  (door opened).  They havent attended in person school in a couple of years.  Theyve worked really hard to get their grades up to As and Bs this term, so I am more comfortable letting them dip their toes back into in person school.  Hoping all goes well with this decison.  It is a small, charter school and the teachers all seem to be well plugged into the students.  Again, finger's crossed. 

I am getting dose #2 this afternoon for my covid vaccine.  Hopefully the effects will be gentle on me.  Tomorrow will tell, but regardless, I am relieved to have this will be done!!

And finally, I recently added the girls rooms to our current cable TV account.  I knew it would add an additional $20 to our monthly plan, which was already ridiculously high, but I saw this is a financial trade off that allowed the girls a means of relaxing in the evening.  A loyalty ambassador for the cable company stopped by the day of the install and gave me a special phone number to call about getting our bill reduced.  I called the number and sure enough, they cut our bill to only $56 a month for the next year....a savings of $120!!!  This definitely helps with the budget as I leave employment.  They said to just call back each year and ask for this reduced rate....  I will believe it when I see it, but for the next year I am VERY thankful for that discount!!!

Now, to see how this interview goes with the hub....🤞

Life is busy and a little stressful.  Balancing full time work (from home), two teens in school (from home), and all the appointments that come with high risk foster kids, there isnt a lot of free time to just relax.  We were looking at in-school learning for the remainder of the year, but last night the school closed to in-school learning again because of a COVID outbreak.  I consider this a blessing in disguise, since I do not want COVID.  I am still a week away from the second dose of my vaccine, so I am still staying fairly safe and cautious. 

The hub is still looking for a job.  He has lots of applications out, but hasnt found the right one yet (he needs to secure insurance for me if possible).  Thankfully unemployment was extended until the end of August, so we have time. In the meantime, he is the primary "teacher and appointment manager" Because of his continued unemployment, I cant fully retire as I had hoped.  Health insurance is a big concern.  My boss is working to secure me a part time position so I can remain insured, but I wont find out if that is an option for a few more days.  If it works out, I will work about 20 hours a week (2.5 days), and have the other time to help the girls and perhaps see (watch) my youngest grandbaby more.  The department I work in will continue to work from home for quite a while (2 years?)

The girls are doing great.  We certainly have bumps in the road, coping and calming skills are a work in progress, but they have settled into a nice routine and are a real joy 90% of the time.  It is rewarding to see them finish childhood together!  (They turn 17 and 16 this summer)

Our plan this summer is to camp a lot more.  With the hubs freedom and my (hopefully) relaxed work schedule, we should be able to go as often as we would like for long weekends. 

I was really saddened to read of Ima/Julie's passing.  I enjoyed her posts and her inclusiveness with the challenges ($20 challenge, stair step challenge, etc.)  Rest in Peace sweet friend.  You left an impactful mark here at SA.  

The girls are adjusting to living together again.  I am glad we planned for each to have her own room and space, as its not been easy nor at times fun for them.  They have been through so much, and triggers are easily pulled, feelings easily hurt.  But for the most part, this past week was a success in my book.  We are still getting initial appointments made for our newest sister - dentist, doctor, therapist, etc.  We celebrated Valentines Day this morning, and it was such a blessing to have youngsters in the house again.  The rest of this day has just been what I call a pj day.  Everyone is just doing their own thing, reading, napping, snacking, etc.  I needed a mental break day.  Thankfully, its been a very calm day with the girls. 

The hub is still drawing unemployment.  He received a letter this week that his unemployment will be expiring soon, (why they dont give an actual date for "soon" is frustrating) which seems really fast.  He is going to call on Tuesday to find out what exactly that means.  He doesnt have to go back to work until I retire in June, but it helps to have the extra from unemployment to sock away.  I am hoping that soon is a few more weeks at least. 

I received a nice 4.5% merit increase after my annual review.  It feels so crazy to be walking away from my salary, but I am just so ready.   

My son asked me to assist with a write up this week for his website.  He was struggling with the flow of the information he was trying to present.  I spent about a half hour on it, and thankfully, he was thrilled with the result.  This is the type of PT work I will be doing for him in exchange for a small salary, which will be enough to cover my health insurance.  

Otherwise, time marches on.  Life is very good.  I hope all is good for all of you as well. 

We received an expedited certification today and are now official foster parents.  The step was taken to push this through because FD1's sister will be here on Friday.  So the next leg of this journey begins.  Part of the process includes a safety home inspection - which happened this morning.  In order to prepare for it, we decided to downsize and re-organize a couple of our current storage rooms.  (30 years of stuff can add up!)  Of course, decluttering is one of my goals this year so we made significant progress on tossing and donating things we no longer need or use. 

We also now have 2 fire extinguishers, and 4 smoke detectors in the house.    

Tomorrow, I am leaving for the weekend on a pre-planned annual girlfriend trip. (Who doesnt need good girlfriend time right now???) While I am gone, the girls will be staying with DD2.

We had to complete a plethora of paperwork...one of the sheets was our financial position.  It was fun to fill out our expenses....house payment, car insurance, utilities and food.  No car payment, no RV payment, no CC payments...  And compare it to our salary.  Over half of what we make, even with the hub on unemployement, is considered 'discretionary income'. 😎 We also had to list our net worth, and after adding in everything they suggested, we ended up with two commas!! I knew we were close, but it really felt good to see it on paper!

So, it's now official... FD1 made a social media post a few days ago telling her world that our family has changed her life.  Honestly, I dont need anything more for this service than that...

The unemployment office actually called the hub back yesterday and fixed the issue.  Apparently being RIF-ed twice in the same year is confusing. (RIF= reduction in force, aka laid off or termed) But now it is all figured out and his first $370 unemployment check should hit our account any day.  I decided not to have flex spending taken out of my paychecks for the few months I am working in 2021.  That bumped my paycheck up another $300 per month, which we can certainly use.  As it is, I am carrying over $500 in prepaid medical that I need to use up before I leave.  I plan to get all the annual stuff done between now and then so the $500 will hopefully be easily spent before then.

Today was productive.  I put on a pot of pinto beans and am making a loaf of bread.  This will be meals starting tomorrow, as tonight we are going to DD3s to visit with the baby and will pick up pizza on the way.  The hub cut more wood for our working supply, which we keep stacked on the front porch.  We just finished stacking it, and now we are ready for at least the next month.  We definitely are burning more wood with everyone being home all day and with this cold weather we've been having.  Thankfully the wood is basically free and it really helps to keep our electricity bill down!

I worked on my puzzle a little this morning, did a load of laundry and swept/vacuumed the floors.  I also started reading a new book, which I think I am going to enjoy.  Tomorrow I will take down the Christmas decorations and dust off for the new year.  

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!  Ours was different this year, thanks to Covid, but still very, very nice.  This was our foster daughters first with us, and actually her first in an actual home in 2 years.  (Her last two were spent in residential facilities).  I believe she had a nice one in spite of being in a system she doesnt want to be in and being a 'new to us' placement.  We tried to include some of her traditions into ours, and she seemed to enjoy ours as well.  We were able see all of our local kids and grandkids at some point during the day, which was really nice.

The hub is on the phone this morning with the Alaska unemployment office.  Who knows how long he will be on hold, but apparently something in our filing has held up his claim...and until he speaks to someone, it cant be approved and funded each week. Sigh.  At least he has plenty of time on his hands to sit on hold today.

I am on vacation this week.  Another staycation, which is fine with me.  I am perfectly content being home and putzing around.  So far I have read a book, am about halfway done with a puzzle, have continued to declutter and clean, worked our new budget out, and am making all the plans for 2021.  All things I enjoy without the risk of exposing myself to Covid.  

I am ready to send 2020 on its way, and see what 2021 has in store for us.  Hopefully a better reality and a little less stress- but who knows.  After this last year, I am not making any assumptions on what tomorrow may bring...rather, hoping for the best, but bracing for...[whatever]. 

So true to 2020, the hub is now unemployed as of midnight tonight. The company he worked for sold, and the new company is not keeping the employees.  He will be shipping all of his tools home (thankfully the company is paying to ship - otherwise this would have been about $5k for us) and will fly home tomorrow.  He will likely work local for the forseeable future.  Easy come, easy go.

Thankfully, he will be able to draw $370 a week unemployment, and with my earnings we will still be bringing in about $2500 - 3000 more each month than we need for bills and livings expenses.  Thank goodness we paid everything off this year and have continued to live a fairly frugal lifestyle.  We have over a years expenses saved in our emergency funds.

I had not given my notice at work yet, so I can continue to work until June or beyond if need be.  Hopefully, the hub will find something he likes between now and then so I can still retire as planned.

2020, can you please just go away...and 2021, PLEASE be a kinder, gentler year - as we are all worn out. 

The hub is smoking a turkey today.  Since we didnt cook for Thanksgiving, or have any leftovers to enjoy, we decided to make a turkey and all the trimmings today for us, our new foster daughter (A), one of our soon to be adopted granddaughters, and our neighbor- who is like a surrogate mom to all of the grandkids.   

A is still adjusting to the transition.  She, understandably, has some deep rooted trust issues and we are giving her lots of space to figure out her place here while reminding her she is safe.  The hub and I are re-introducing ourselves to parenting a teenager and figuring out our role in her life.  This is new for all of us, so we are taking it slow. 

We are going to start a 1000 piece puzzle this afternoon.  This is something we can do together that is relaxing and provides an opportunity to visit at will.  It is also something all us girls like to do... the hub, not so much.  haha.

I have REALLY enjoyed this staycation week.  It was kinda like a trial retirement week, and I am very much looking forward to this pace when it gets here.   My house is clean, meals were homemade, I found a little time for me and my hobbies...and got in quite a bit of grandkid time.  Everything I love in life. 

The hub got a call from work that he will be returning to his 4/2 rotation when he returns this month.  Meaning, he will work 4 weeks, and be home for 2 weeks during the remainder of the winter (May-ish)  This will increase his monthly pay significantly and provides additional income I didnt budget for.  I will likely put most of it towards our mortgage, since that is our final debt.  I would love to have the mortgage paid off in 5 years, but since my income will decrease quite a bit by June, I am not sure how realistic that might be but it is something I am going to pencil out and see how we might get there!

DD2 called last night and said there is young girl who needs an emergency foster placement.  (This is such a recurring event here locally). Both DD1 and DD2 are at capacity, so she asked if we would be open to meeting her and possibly taking her in for a while.  If she still needs a placement today we will go and meet her.  She is older, 16.  I want to find out exactly what the situation is before considering this as an option.  I have a 3 bedroom house, and could easily take a child in, but it would have to be a good fit.  I guess we will see how this plays out.   

I am putting the finishing touches on my Christmas decorations today and making a couple loaves of bread.   The hub is going to make a pot of chili.  I am finishing off the last of the split pea soup. The hub doesnt like split pea soup, so he is eating sandwiches for lunch. 

My containers came for food storage.  I washed one of them out and will fill it with pinto beans today.  I want to keep a few pounds stored in gallon bags in the kitchen for easy access and then will put the rest in a second storage container.  

In preparation for retirement, I knew I would need a laptop - since the one I currently use belongs to my job.  With today being 'cyber-monday' I went on the HP website and they had a few door buster sales.  I really dont understand the different types of laptops, but know my basic needs (which are very basic) and found one that I felt would work.  Total cost was $550 after upgrading a couple of options and adding on Microsoft 365 and 3 years of antivirus.  I am happy with the price, so long as the darn thing works for 3-5 years!  It won't get here until the first of the year, but I am not in a rush to get it so long as it arrives before I retire (which right now is somewhere between March and June).

The hubs 25 year old truck, which has 326k miles, may need some repairs soon.  The nice thing is that the hub is a mechanic and can usually get parts at a discount and do the repairs himself.  (Hense the reason the old truck is still plugging along).  He estimates about $1500 for the parts.  But he will do a thorough check of everything first, to make sure that's really what it needs.  This is a very small price to pay for the work that ol truck continues to do.  I shudder when I see replacement cost on a similar truck...  That is one expense we will eventually face and are planning for...but I am all for keeping this one running as long as it can!!

Today would have been our day to travel to the vacation home...a little bittersweet, but still so thankful my family is all healthy and we can re-plan at a future, hopefully safer, time. 

There is something so rewarding about creating delicious comfort food for a fraction of what you would spend otherwise. I made a fresh warm loaf of bread this morning, and pulled a bag of leftover split pea soup out of the freezer. I heated up a bowl of the soup, added a few spices, cut off a nice crunchy end piece of the bread, added some butter, and WOW, lunch was served for under $.50. Food on the cheap!

The hub is on a road trip today with DD3 and the grandbaby to see his dad, so my dinner will be a repeat of lunch. Another $.50 and what an inexpensive day it was for me! (I am sure the hubs day will include gas, lunch, dinner...so much more expensive than mine.) I am spending the day with a nice fire in the wood stove as I decorate the house for Christmas, do some laundry, and watch some TV. My kinda day for sure.  I am on vacation this next week, so I am not moving as quickly as I normally would on this Sunday. What I don't get done today, I can finish tomorrow!!

A dear friend's hub has covid, and is really not doing well. He has underlying conditions and is fighting for every breath, very weak. He is not in the hospital, they are saving those beds for the most critical situations... I sure hope he pulls through. So far, no improvement. But today he isnt worse than yesterday, so maybe he made it past that tipping point.

I didn't buy a single thing for black Friday this year. That is a FIRST for me.

Happy Thanksgiving friends.   I hope your holiday is blessed and filled with all the yummigoodness!

A few days ago, I was about to pour out the last little bit of coffee from the carafe and decided instead to pour it into my big pot of pinto beans.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  The flavor kick it provided was a nice rich one.  I maybe added a half cup, maybe 3/4.  But I will probably always add a little coffee to my pinto beans going forward!

Two of my daughters are in new homes this year, and both are anxious to host holidays.  So tomorrow, we will go to one house in the morning for breakfast/coffee and the other in the afternoon for dinner.  It is a nice change from the days when I cooked for a few days to have everyone over to my house.  I kinda like this!!  I am helping with food costs, but dont have to do all the work!!  

Today is my last work day until Dec 7.  Even though the family trip got postponed, I still want the time off from work.  I have pushed myself the last few weeks to get my annual work goals to near completion, so I can really relax while I am off.  I plan to use the week off to check off as much declutter/clean as possible.  Since the hub is home, I can use his help on the heavy stuff, which will be really helpful.

We plan to go to the coast on Friday.  Our friends are camping for the weekend, and visiting them will be a nice day trip away.  The weather is supposed to be nice (high 50's) which will be perfect campfire weather.

Again, best wishes to you all for a fabulous day tomorrow!

We picked up a 50 lb bag of dry pinto beans today.  I usually pay $1.18 per pound, but buying in bulk brings the per pound cost down to .46.  Now, I just need to figure out how to store them so they are still good when I get to the end of the supply.  I am looking into food storage tubs.  I figure I will need 2 - 5 gallon tubs.

I am also looking for bulk flour, to see if I can bring my per pound cost down as well.  The best I have found recently was $2.29 for 10 lbs.  I am keeping an eye out for holiday sales and other sales in bulk to see if I can do better.  I have a good set up for 10 lbs, but if I get much more, I will likely need another 5 gallon storage bin for flour.

The bins are an expense up front, but will be offset if they help preserve shelf life and are still in good condition for future batches.

I am a newbie to bulk buying/storing and would LOVE ideas that some of my more seasoned frugal friends may have to share!!  Do's, Don'ts and anything in-between is welcome!

Update:  I found 6 food safe 5-gallon buckets with lids on Amazon.  I used some points that I had, and my final out of pocket cost was $20 for 6.  This will give me a few extra containers for other bulk buys.  Of course, trying to minimalize - buying extra made me twitch a little, but I am confident these will come in handy as I strive to drive food costs down. 

The bloggers on this site are so inspiring and supportive of each other.  THANK YOU for indulging me in my last pity party post rather than beating me up.  I am happy to say, it was a very short-lived tantrum, and life is back to whatever normal means. 

The rental company of the house I reserved initially was kinda nasty about my postponing the trip.  I get it.  But when there is a statewide mandate of no more than 6 people from 2 households allowed, and our plans were 20 people from 3 states and 5 households, I would think they might be a little more understanding.  Alas, the next day they called and gave me a full refund travel voucher for use at a later date, which is all I wanted.   So we can re-plan the trip anytime before May 31.

I had bought the grandkids each a big throw as a side gift for Christmas.  (The trip IS still the GIFT).  I have asked parents to please explain that the trip is STILL the GIFT from gma and papa.   They will get their blankets at Christmas and we will enjoy time together as we can until the trip!

Having the hub home is a little challenging on my frugal plans, as I suspected it might be.    But I give him credit for at least trying.  Our grocery bill was much highr than what I have been spending- but we also have more options, which I know make him happier.  I will plan to stay more frugal during those weeks when he is gone for work.  It's all about balance and marital bliss. 

First, I am going to start with I know I have SO MUCH to be greatful for.  I get it. And I know it. 

But I am allowing myself a bit of down time this afternoon.

1.  I had to cancel our big family trip.  With everything going on right now, it was not feasible to pull our huge family together for a full week.  I would much rather help be part of the solution, than the problem, so I pulled the plug.  But it still sucks.  We will push the trip back to spring or fall and hopefully be able to fully enjoy a safer trip at a better time.

2. The hub is still not home.  He was due home last Friday, but because of his alternate has Covid, and then weather causing flights to be cancelled, he still isnt home.  Hopefully tomorrow, but again today the weather is iffy, and we still arent sure.  The bright side of course, is that he has earned several extra days of pay during the delay, but again, this is my pity party.

3.  Our trip was my Christmas for the kids and grandkids.  I dont have a plan B.  I hope everyone understands that the trip will still happen.  CHristmas from Gma is just delayed a few months. 

My family continues to be safe, everyone is healthy, and the hub and I are still employed.  I have so much to be greatful for.  

This too shall pass. 

My pity party will be short lived, but GAH, this sucks.  Covid sucks.  2020 sucks.  

Ok, vent over.  I will reset shortly, but for this moment, I am just sad. 

Yesterday I pulled out one of the half chicken breasts from the Costco frozen chicken.  They are huge.  A 10lb bag of chicken yields 9-10 half chicken breasts - so about a pound each.  I baked it with some seasonings, lemon juice and butter and made some quinoa.  So good.  I was able to cut the breast and quinoa into thirds, and made 3 meals out of it.  Since this made 3 meals, I calculated dinner at $.90!

For breakfast, I made a scramble using 2 eggs with ham (leftover from the slab for the split pea soup) and a little cheese.  I toasted some of the crusty bread and for about $.54 had a nice breakfast sandwich.

For lunch I had some split pea soup, which cost about $.50 per serving. 

I also snacked on some of the cheese and salami leftover from my girlfriend day last weekend.

And finally, I had a single very ripe banana that I needed to do something with.  So I made a tiny batch of banana muffins.  Flour, sugar, egg, banana, baking soda and powder and a little salt...and popped 5 muffins in the oven.  This will make 5 yummy snacks from something I almost tossed (and historically would have)!

Today will be much of the same, as I use up the leftovers. I am having fun with this micro-budgeting on my food expenses.   

I also stopped at the dollar store yesterday and picked up some storage bins.  I spent the afternoon organizing what is left in my closet.  I am still not 100% happy with the results.  I intend to go back through whats in those bins and downsize even more in the coming weeks.

I have a big pot of split pea soup in the crockpot today.  I love this soup.  It ended up costing about $3 to make.  I used half the ham slab that I picked up for $2.99.  (The other half I will use with my eggs to make a nice breakfast scramble the next couple of days).   I added the usual veggies - onion, carrot, celery, garlic and some spices.  This will make 8-10 servings. I finished the last of the pinto beans last night.  I didnt need to freeze any, as they were yummy right up until the last bite.

Tomorrow is Veterans day - a huge shout out and thank you to all Veterans for their services! 

My job is closed tomorrow, so I have the day off.  It is also the first of a 14 day step-back period for our county, and several counties in our state.  They are hoping to slow the Covid cases as we have had a significant increase in the last several weeks.   I wont really need to change anything for this period, since I stay home unless I need groceries or visit one of the kids homes.  I need to go by the dollar store to get a gift bag for a baby shower gift.  The shower is this Saturday, I will likely drop the gift off and, if I cant social distance adequately, wont linger long.  I don't want to risk exposure to someone who may not know they have the virus.  I am high-risk and risking getting it is just not worth it to me. 

I have been using our wood stove exclusively for heat.  The hub has had a wood yard for years and our wood is primarily free.  He works on log trucks in exchange for free wood.   Being home FT, I have learned the settings to heat the house without overheating our upstairs. 

I have also successfully trained my brain to turn off all lights when I am not in a space that needs lighting.  Overall, I am making the mental shift to living frugally and it feels great!

I am also finding our home much less chaotic with the decluttering efforts.  I still have a long ways to go, but the spaces I have finished are staying very clean and organized - and are actually calming to be in. 

All in all, super happy with progress - the hub rotates back home for a month starting on Saturday.  We shall see how well I can maintain everything while he is home.    Stay tuned!