We headed down to Portland last weekend to visit with That Frugal Pharmacist and her family (namely, the kiddo and her son Uriah got to hang out). We hadn’t gotten a chance to go south and see them since Uriah’s birthday party in March, so we found time to squeeze in a short Saturday morning – Sunday afternoon trip down there.
Purple hitched a ride down with us, and then we set up a meet up with some other local Portland bloggers on Saturday while we were there. It was a short trip, but a super fun one, and I’m so glad we had a chance to get another weekend down there. Uriah was feeling a lot better than the last time we saw him, and both boys are a bit older, and they played together super well all weekend. They are buddies and totally heart melting together.
Friday’s Frugal Five
1. When we reached out to the Portland bloggers to plan a meetup for Saturday, Joe from Retire By 40 offered to host and cook us lunch. Which really is only fair since he shares some pretty delicious looking meals on social media, including this one, which is what he and his wife cooked for us. I can report back that indeed, the food he shares online is as good as it looks.
Bethany from His and Her FI also joined us for lunch, and then Mr Burrito Bowl showed up afterward with his wife and daughter. We had originally planned to go to an indoor kid play area that serves drinks after lunch, but the weather turned out to be pretty decent, so we changed plans last minute and just hung out at the house for longer (with the three boys playing together) and then walked over to a park nearby. It was just as fun, and it was free.
2. Frugal Pharm also brought a box of her clothes she was planning to donate for me to dig through first, and I headed home with a new shirt and a new sweater. I wore the shirt to work on Monday, and I felt pretty fabulous in it. It’s leopard print, and not something I necessarily would have picked out for myself, but I love it on me. I’m finding that I’m wearing – and loving – some hand me down pieces I would never have looked at twice otherwise.
We also brought down a box of hand me down clothes and shoes from the kiddo for Uriah, so we each left with some new things and a few things decluttered that were otherwise just sitting around our houses. So much of the stuff in our homes become useful things again once they go to a new one.
3. I had a late meeting on Tuesday, so I made the most of a break in between to get in a good workout. The gym I go to is a chain, but the only one somewhat in the direction of my last meeting is a Signature Club, which means I would have had to spend an extra $5 for a drop in fee to work out there.
Instead, I decided to run outside at work and then lift in the small gym there, even if it doesn’t have all the equipment of the big gym. I also saved the gas to drive to a separate location and the time it would have taken.
4. We’ve actually been – gasp – meal prepping a little bit around these parts. I know, I hardly believe it either. And not just buying things over the weekend with general ideas of what we might make with them, but pre prepping ingredients so they’re ready to go to throw together later in the week. And we’ve been double batching – and then eating – at least once a week.
You know, for as long as it’s taken us to get here, I think I’m sold. We will never have a pretty, super organized grocery list with exact meals planned out for each week with ways to use the same ingredient four different times, but the level we’ve at sure has made a difference. I think we’ll keep this new weekly routine.
5. I showed up at my parents’ house after work to the the kiddo getting a haircut trim with my mom. I hadn’t really noticed, but he had gotten a bit shaggy again since she cut his hair a while back.
She cuts his hair and mine, and my husband does his own at home, so we haven’t had to pay for a hair cut in a long time (ten years for my husband, at least three for me, and not once for the kiddo). We may spend a good deal on food, travel, and our pets, but the selective frugality of skipping things like fancy haircuts, new cars and regular tech upgrades means we can still save quite a bit overall.
Exercise Update
We walked around Portland on Saturday after hanging around at the park, and the three of us (me, Frugal Pharm, and Purple) traded off taking photos of help wanted signs for Jobspotter, with the husband pointing them out for us. The kiddo was pretty tired and I carried him around in a Tula, so I feel like this was an extra workout with forty pounds on my back.
Sunday was a walk to the park in the rain with the kiddo, pointing out how the droplets sounded on the trees. Monday was forty minutes on the elliptical because I didn’t plan ahead and bring running gear, and then squeezing in a forty minute YouTube yoga session while the kiddo stayed and hung out nearby (or on me).
Tuesday was a half hour run followed up with lifting and stretching. Wednesday was another half hour run first thing in the morning and then a good walk and long stretching session in the afternoon. It’s been a long time since I’ve stepped my exercise up to the level of this week, and it feels really, really good.
What does selective frugality look like in your life?