What I Spent All I spent this week was $33 at Safeway. It was an inadvertently frugal week; I did pull most stuff from the pantry/freezer, but I hadn’t even planned for that. I had an accidental pantry/freezer challenge, I guess. What We Ate Saturday Zoe was at work and I ate a sandwich for dinner (because, of course!) Sunday I made some chicken quesadillas, and we had watermelon on the side. Monday Zoe was out with a friend, and I made myself a tuna melt. Chiquita was very, very interested when I opened that tuna can. And she was trying to get at my sandwich until it was gone. ? Tuesday I ..read more

Unnecessary picture of Chiquita to start us out: This week I am thankful: that my poppy seed consumption did not screw me over So yesterday morning I knew I had my health screening/drug test for my student nurse job. I went to the gym, worked out, came home and made some breakfast, headed to the hospital, and when I got there, I was like, “OH NOOOOO. I PUT EVERYTHING BAGEL SEASONING ON MY EGGS.” And we all know that has poppy seeds in it. the worrying poppy seeds Because I have almost no experience with drug screenings, I immediately started panic-googling to see if that small amount of pop ..read more

1. My neighbors and I did some yard cleanup When I moved into this house two years ago, there was a big pile of tree branches and brush on one side of the parking pad. And in the time since, I’ve added some to the pile (there are a lotta trees in this yard, and they are always dropping branches and sticks!) I have thought about hiring someone to come chip them all up, but of course, that would not be cheap. Well, when my sweet neighbors Hank and Donna were helping me do some spring yard cleanup a few weeks ago, they offered to help me get rid of that pile, along with one on the other side of ..read more

It’s Memorial Day here in the U.S., so I didn’t want to put a Meet a Reader post up today. I know the authors of these posts enjoy reading comments from you all, and there will just be fewer people online today. So, I’ll just write some miscellaneous stuff because I get chances to chat with you all on the regular…so if fewer people see this, it’s totally ok by me. ? Grocery prices went slightly down in April The Consumer Price Index showed a 0.2% decrease in grocery prices, which yes, is not a huge. But it’s way way better than a continuing pattern of increasing! Interestingly, in the last y ..read more

What I Spent I thought I might feel slightly more relaxed than I do, but somehow my week still felt kind of full. I think it’s from catching up on a bunch of stuff that got tossed to the side during the semester (plus all the logistical work of getting signed up for my nursing job. SO MANY FORMS AND RECORDS.) I spent: $30 on a Hungry Harvest box $43 at Safeway $40 on a dinner out with Zoe So, $113. What We Ate Saturday Zoe was at work, and I ate the last of the broccoli soup, plus a bowl of sauteed green beans. Sunday Zoe and I went out for dinner to celebrate the end of the semester for b ..read more

Don’t worry; I’m not giving up my blogging job. ? But I DID get an offer letter for the student nurse job that I interviewed for, and I accepted. me pretending to be fancy for the interview I teared up a little when I got the email…it’s the same feeling I’ve had at intervals all along the way, like when I went to my first nursing school orientation, or got my first scrubs. I feel a little bit of disbelief, like…”Whoa! I’m really doing this!!” Almost exactly a year ago, when I tried on my sample top at the uniform store! The tears aren’t sad at all. They’re more like the tears you shed when ..read more

Off-topic post ahead, that has basically nothing to do with frugality! Also: it’s gonna be a little rambly because I am figuring this out as I type. You’ve been warned. ? You know how on Friday, I mentioned something in passing about my grades, and about how I was wondering if I’m being prideful about them? I read all of your sweet comments on the topic, and I’ve been mulling over that whole topic, trying to figure out what is the way that I want to think about this. I felt happy on Thursday when grades came out, and then on Friday morning when I woke up, I felt really down. Not about the se ..read more

As you know, my semester is done now, and I know that’s going to allow for more in the way of frugal activities for me. But I am only a few days into my break, so I feel like I don’t have a lot to share with you at this point! 1. I canceled a trial membership on time I said yes to a trial membership to take advantage of a free delivery, and as we all know, this is a bit risky. It’s so so easy to lose track of a free trial and then boom, you are charged for a year! I put a reminder in on my phone as soon as I started the free trial, though, and so I cancelled it with plenty of time left. Whew ..read more

This past weekend, WilliamB sent me a Washington Post article about a TikTok trend called “loud budgeting“. (Here’s another article about loud budgeting, not behind a paywall.) Basically, people are doing away with any shame related to their penny-pinching, and they’re talking publicly about their money-saving efforts. So basically they’re doing what I have been doing here since 2008. ? And what Amy Dacyzyn did in her Tightwad Gazette days. (though I must say, Amy’s openness is more impressive than mine because frugality was decidedly uncool back then!) I have rarely felt ashamed of my fruga ..read more

Hello friends! My semester is officially over and….I got a 47/50 on my final exam yesterday. Sooooo, I finished the semester with my 4.0 still intact. I know this does not matter in the long run, but still, there is a part inside of me that is very pleased that I managed to get A’s for at least half of nursing school.   Maybe it’s a little prideful, maybe I need to be knocked down a peg or two at some point, but regardless, I feel happy right now. ? Prepare for a less school-centric blog for the next couple of months! What I Spent I spent: $10 on pizza $20 on other takeout $25 at Safew ..read more