Category Archives: frugalism

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, California, frugalism, reading, simplicity, Uncategorized by

I added up our grocery receipts so far for the month and it looks like we’re coming in @ $425. We still have a week and a half till the new budget starts (Jan 23). That’s really good for 4 people. I am planning Costco soon so that will take us over 600 I’m sure. Still, planning and meal prep does make a huge difference in keeping the budget in check.

Our electric bill is still slated to be very high. I know that Dec, Jan, and Feb are our high months and since we have a balanced plan it helps keep it moderate. PGE is due to increase rates and I’m sure that will affect us. This time of year we use space heaters in the bedrooms and of course, there are more lights on.

Since I haven’t been driving to the pool or gym regularly our gas bill has gone way down so that’s a plus. I did check at the front desk at the gym about suspending my membership but they don’t do that so I’d need to cancel and then resign up. I’ll wait a bit as I think if I can do upper body weights I’d like to keep that going.

I just finished these 2 books. The ‘Murder Uncorked’ is fun and takes place in what I’m guessing is St. Helena or Sonoma?? The author calls it something else but she does reference local areas. The ‘Someone Always Nearby’ is amazing. It’s based on the woman who helped Georgia O’keefe build the Ghost Ranch and Abiqui. O’keefe was quite selfish and narcissistic. Quite interesting and well worth reading.

2024

Posted in California, camping, cash envelopes, cooking, decluttering, frugalism, minimalism, Pantry, simplicity, social security, travel, Uncategorized by

I’ve said before that I don’t make resolutions for the new year but I do like to have some goals to work toward. First, be frugal and work within our limited income from SS. We only have so much and although it does cover all our basics including our mortgage it doesn’t leave a lot for projects. I have added cash envelopes that are for projects so that will help when I can add to them.

Second, find a new to us RV resort that we can go to within a 3-hour drive. I think we like Napa so much because it’s close and it’s a beautiful area. There are lots of trails, restaurants, wineries, shops, etc to explore. Plus we like just hanging out in the RV park because we can read, nap, do crafts etc. From the park we an walk to historic Napa and even Oxbow.

Third, besides our regular Rubi trips, we’d like to visit a National Park that we haven’t been to. We’ve been to a lot of National Parks west of the Missisippi but not all. We’d probably keep it in California so that might be Sequoia that we haven’t been too.

Of course, keeping up with healthy eating, walking, doing weights,swimming, all goes without saying as important.

Practice gratitude daily. I think being grateful for whatever it is you have keeps the desires away especially when you realize you have everything to be happy and content right now. We all need shelter, food, warmth, clothing but on what level is for each individual to decide.

Continuing to be minimal and do regular declutterings. Right now I’m going thru each room and deciding what things I want to maintain and take care of. I’ve bagged up 3 grocery bags already. I also decluttered my budget books from 2023 that I don’t need anymore. I’m working on going thru my pantry and getting a bag of things I haven’t used for the food bank. If I haven’t cooked it or have a recipe for it I’ll give it to the food bank.

So a few goals to work toward. What about you? Any ideas?

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, frugalism, minimalism, swimming by

I think we’re on track with no spend/low spend even with groceries. With me not going out 3 days a week, it cuts down on driving/gas and I don’t go to the store.

I know we bought some wine for Christmas but I think that was it. B went into Target to buy 4 different sliced cheeses as we were out and Target’s brand is quite good and the price very good. Plus I needed Weimans stainless steel wipes too. I think that added up to $42. Since those are essentials they don’t count as extra buying.

I added a few more dollars to some cash envelopes, like $20 for car maintenance, $50 for DMV registration, and some other misc. ones. So I’m quite pleased with how it’s going. It may take a while to fully load these as our income is limited so no extra is coming in.

I wrote up as I always do our Minimalist Christmas dinner and gifts. I think I did really well not overdoing anything. Each person got 4-5 gifts and nothing too expensive. B got his garden Berkies and my daughter got a nice organic cotton PJ set from Garnet Hill. I got my son a Burberry scarf from eBay. I was concerned it was a knockoff but it’s pretty nice and doesn’t have any of the telltale signs of a fake. ( I guess the red stripe is blurry on the fakes.)

Today is another home day on Dex for me. I’ve done my morning routine, swish and swipe the bathroom, LR zone with windows washed, everything tidy and I’m making an apple pie filling crumble with oats so S can have it instead ofminimal pastry. The apple pie filling is what I made at the beginning of the month with apples a friend of my son gave us from their trees.

Tomorrow I plan to swim although it will be shortened as I don’t want to be set back again with my leg. I need to get gas at Costco and then stop in TJ’s for gluten-free bread for S. I had bought her the gluten-free madeleines and she said they were very good so I’ll get them again too.

Gus sitting in the cat tower on the winter solstice.

Friday Things

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, frugalism, meal planning, Pantry, swimming, Walking by

It’s been one of those up and down weeks. Overall, a good week but still some down time. Maybe because my routine with swimming and walking being interrupted, I felt out of sorts.

We did a walk this morning and it was very nice. No one there and it was just light so no stars to speak of. I got around twice so I’m pleased with that. Tomorrow I plan to swim although it will be short, I’m thinking 20 minutes to see how my knee feels after that. Next week being Thanksgiving will also change things up.

Frugal-wise, I’ve been home more so less gas in the cars being used. Plus we’ve doubled up going to Costco with my infusion shot so that saves gas too.

Costco was $400 but that included B’s case of Sierra pale Ale and about a $100 in nonfood. So actually pretty good. I bought extra holiday things like smoked salmon, biscotti on sale, extra butter, and a lovely English cheddar that I plan to make Welsh Rarebit with, and I can’t remember the other stuff but it was a good haul. I also went to Winco to get 2 gift cards for my son and his friend for Christmas. Food wise I spent $18 on some ramen, chocolate, and boxed stuffing for Thanksgiving.

Other than that no other shopping. B and I are going out this morning to get a few plastic pots so I can repot some houseplants, and then to Target to get shower curtains, and then over to Panera for a coffee date.

I’m planning on making a pizza tonight and then the rest of our meals this week will be out of the pantry or freezer to make room. We have a lot in there. On Tuesday I used one of the shelf stable chicken chili verdes for burritos and it was delicious. I aslo had Ranch Gordo Pinquitos on the side. The food pantry is getting used and that’s a good thing.

We have rain on the way tonight and for all tomorrow but I think we’re ready for fall to kick into high gear with cooler temperatures and rain. So far it has been a glorious fall.

Friday Things

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, frugalism by

It’s been mostly a frugal week. I didn’t do any grocery shopping but tomorrow I will stop in Trader Joe’s for some things to take with us to Napa and for home. Mostly whatever we need we’ll go buy there. The TJ’s in Napa is one of the largest we’ve been in and a flagship store. There were lots of things that we hadn’t seen in other ones.

My monthly budget is almost set. I want to factor in Christmas money and figure out gift cards. We don’t really have family to send gifts to but I give my brother cash, and my brother-in-law ( Heidi’s husband) a gift basket. Last year I did Point Reyes Cheese which is a women-owned co-op. Their cheese is amazing. Heidi always loved charcuterie boards and I figured Richard probably will too. So I’ll do that again this year. Other than that, the kids get gift cards, cash, and some small things.

For Thanksgiving, I already have a Diestal turkey I bought last year after Thanksgiving. I’m debating whether to just buy their turkey breast as it would be easier to cook. Since Thanksgiving will be on a Dex day I told everyone it’ll need to be super easy for them to cook. I’ll think about it. I’ll have simple side dishes that they can put together too. My son likes to cook so it shouldn’t be too difficult. The other option is to do Thanksgiving on Sunday and then whatever on Thanksgiving Day.

I’ve put together a new binder of rotation meals that we eat often and recipes for them. The idea came from Rhonda over at the Down to Earth blog. She talked about having 40 meals in rotation and the recipes. I liked the idea since we basically eat the same things like tofu in some form, pasta, chicken in some form, beans, rice, etc. She is now alone as Hanno died a few years back but she is an inspiration of living simply. She does have 2 adult sons who live nearby. She’s in Australia BTW.

Today is just a home day. I plan on making a no-knead sourdough boule. It needs an overnight rise so I’ll bake it tomorrow. Tonight is homemade pizza. I need to wash a few inside windows in the sunroom and just do an overall tidy-up.

Frugal Friday/ or is the world devolving into violence and killing of innocent people.

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, frugalism, meal planning, swimming by

First, I’m not an expert on Middle East politics but what Hamas has done is unconscionable and cruel. How someone can just kill children, women, babies, anyone is just beyond my mental capabilities. It is horrible and I do hope that some resolve can occur. Will it ever change the minds of men in Hamas? No, I don’t think so. What is the answer? I have no idea.

Onward to my little corner of the planet. This was Prime Days week and I bought some things I needed. Two pillow forms for covers that didn’t have pillows, on sale. Thermacell refills on sale. ( for mosquito repellent). Not on sale were plastic slips to put recipes in and clear plastic envelopes for cash savings. I also bought the breadmaker,KBS not the Zojurushi as it was 35% off and came in at $135. so It was reasonable for me to get and I think it’ll work well for the dough cycle for both regular bread and sourdough. So not a frugal week in terms of Amazon but most were necessary.

I haven’t been to the store this week except into Nugget for a sandwich after seeing Dr. L . Then just this morning I put in a small food order at Tartget that Barclay will pick up. Why? Tillamook has just released a new mac and cheese and Target is carrying it. Plus Momofuku noodle packs are also new there. So I ordered 2 of each and 2 Target frozen pizzas as back up food.

I decided to skip the gym this morning as I still had some dex effects ( red face) and a little jittery. I rarely deviate from my schedule so there’s that. I will swim tomorrow though and then go into Winco. At Winco, I need salad stuff, veg oil, oat milk, eggs, and I wanted to get some bulk spices. I’ll bring cash fro that. The Target food I’ll use a virtual cash envelope so that I get the 5% discount.

Other than that, not much new. I did make some yummy spinach crepes for dinner yesterday. There’s a little left over for lunch. We always try and eat last nights dinner as lunch the next day.

I’m working on a new recipe binder with my most used recipes on rotation. Rhonda over at Down to Earth blog was writing about just that. She says she always works from her rotation meals and I do too but I haven’t organized it the way she recommended so that’s what I plan on working on today.

Frugal Friday

Posted in California, canning tomato salsa, frugalism, plants, Uncategorized by

The trip to Costco ended up $150 for food and $100 for alcohol/non food including a very fancy bottle of Veuve Clicquot at $55.00 and B bought beer and then the rest was nonfood.

We haven’t opened it yet since we had the Taittinger champagne.

Our lunch out was a splurge at $80 including tip. At the nursery, I bought an Eucalyptus tree in a 5-gallon pot for $15 and a very large fiddle Leaf fig at half price of $18 which is an incredible price. I’m not sure what like it likes yet but I have it by this window.

I also bought some plastic pots to repot 2 of my indoor plants.

Overall, all of it was worth the splurge. Next week, I probably don’t need anything from the store and I’ll try and keep it a no spend week.

I’ve ordered some fat quarters of Japanese fabric to make a small lap quilt. Actually, I’m not sure I’ll quilt it but will probably do some Sashiko embroidery on it.

This was my latest Sashiko. I like how meditative it is but my stitches have a long way to go. Oops looks like I got some dinner on the upper corner. 🙂 I also didn’t do the outside stitching right as you’re supposed to iron the seams first and then sew thru both pieces of fabric.

Orchids are one of my favorite flowers because they last so long. B got this one for an anniversary present.

This is a Swedish Dala meant to bring good luck. This was an ‘our’ gift even though I’ve wanted one for a while. Actually, I’ve been looking for a white and blue one but they are hard to find.

Some of the last sunflowers from the garden.

I’m hoping to walk at least one round tomorrow. I’ll use my walking stick.

Tonight is homemade pizza. Yesterday I made another salsa but this one I roasted the tomatoes, peppers onions, and garlic. The skins come right off the tomatoes. I then whizzed the peppers,onions and garlic in the food processor but not the tomatoes. I ended up with 4 pints. The flavor was excellent.

So next week, no falling off step stools, and getting back to my regular routine albeit slowly. I will not do any leg stuff with the weights until my knee feels 100% better. i can do all the arm stuff though.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, frugalism, seasonal things, swimming, Uncategorized by

Let’s see, this week was ok. I went to Winco for more Ball jars. They seem more expensive than the last time I bought them, but what isn’t. They were $15 plus change. I bought pint and quart ones. Winco is still the cheapest around for jars.

I used 6 of the pint ones already for the salsa so I’ll need to get another case of those. i like the pints as they are perfect for 2-3 people.

Last night I made black bean burgers( my home canned black beans) at the request of B. I used the Pioneer Woman recipe but added some oatmeal since I like that texture. They came out delicious. We had beautiful thick home grown tomatoes and my refrigerator pickles on top.

B and I had a ‘date’ to the new co-op. Wow, sticker shock!!! But I price check some things and also picked up a few things I was looking for. Organic coconut flakes, Redmond salt and some organic pumpkin seeds. It’s a beautiful store and the deli will probably be what brings in the money. Lots of sandwich choices.

I filled up the Santa Fe this week at Costco. That should last me till next week. I do plan to go to the Rec center this morning but I won’t swim tomorrow even though I’d like to. I need to be reasonable about how much I’m driving and the cost of gas.

I don’t need anything from the store till next week and even then it might just be a few things. I plan to keep working on the freezer/ pantry challenge and eat down both till the end of the month. I don’t want to use up my ‘winter’ store but some things need to get used.

I did my budget for September. Fall is when our next annual bills come in and lots of money goes out:( There’s car insurance, house insurance , and property taxes. The house ins. with the California Fair Plan is still an unknown as to how much it’ll go up. Well, not much we can do about it anyway.

Frugal Friday

Posted in California, cooking, frugalism, Pantry, Uncategorized by

I canned 8 pints of pintos. So if I figured it per jar maybe .25. Maybe less, but I figure a 2lb bag at Winco to be @ $2.00. Now I buy my beans in 25# bags so I don’t know what the breakdown would be. So right now I’m set on beans as I just did black beans. I had done cannolini and garbanzos.

I didn’t need to get gas in the Santa Fe today so I’ll need it next week on my next gym day.

All our meals were eaten at home except for a lunch date with B at the Thai place. That was under $20. I would like us to do one lunch date every week or two. Our meals have been garden inspired. Lots of tomatoes: so caprese salad for 2 nights, a shrimp salad with shredded cabbage, thinly sliced raw tofu with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and Italian herbs. Another night grilled Greek lemon chicken with salad( tomatoes of course).

Unfrugal, Barclay needs a crown to the tune of $1500 so that will have to go on a CC and be paid next month or sooner depending on cash flow. Well, you got to take care of your teeth at our age, well, any age really.

Here’s my latest obsession: Sashiko Japanese embroidery. It is very meditative and I absolutely love indigo blue.

My stitches have a long way to go to be more even but that’s not the kind of thing I worry about or stress over.

I plan on putting a piece of canvas cloth between the layers and using this as a hot pad of sorts or maybe just on the table.

I ordered another one from Etsy and I think the quality is much better. If you want to try your hand at it go to Etsy there are lots of designs.

Today is a yogurt-making day which is a huge money saver. I can get 2 qts of yogurt for about $1.00 each. Now partly that’s because I’m buying the organic milk from Costco so it’s about 3.50 for a half gallon.

Going to the gym in Auburn is free through Medicare supplemental so that’s always a win. The equipment isn’t as nice as the Rec centers but is adequate.

I’m starting a pantry/freezer challenge to use up some bits and bobs of things. I don’t want to use my winter prep pantry stuff but I do have a lot of misc food stuff that should be used. So since it’s almost the middle of the month I’ll plan on that for the rest of August.

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, California, cash envelopes, cooking, frugalism, Walking by

This has been a frugal week overall. I only went to Winco for King Arthur WW flour, a few condiments, wine, and some eggs. ( $40) appx. We’re having to supplement our eggs with organic eggs from the store. We’ve lost half of the white leghorns to water belly disease which this breed gets and there’s nothing you can do.:( I’m more than ready to be done with chickens. I dislike paying for store eggs but there are plenty of good options as long as you don’t mind the price. Trader Joes’s has good prices on eggs but Costco is probably the best for organic eggs.

I got gas in the Sante Fe and that was $41 and Barclay took both the SF and Buggie to the car wash. I have a cash envelope for car washes so he used that.

Dinners were all homemade with some leftovers like the chicken. Tonight is pizza night and I made the dough yesterday. I’ll keep it simple with cheese ,olives, peppers, and some basil I still have from the farm. I’m going out to the farm later mostly for lettuce. I still have a bag of spinach from last week so I need to use that up.

I’ve been making a few pot holders and another washcloth. It’s just something to do. I didn’t get any books from the library as I felt I needed a break from reading.

The pool was cool again this morning but ok. I started out with a lane of my own but then someone showed up later. I was back home by 8:10. I’ve been tidying around the house and moving a few things around. Nothing major just a few things changed.

I won’t swim tomorrow even Saturday has been my favorite day. The hours are different and I’m guessing it’ll be busier. I’ll walk and then go the Auburn gym Sunday.