Happy official beginning of spring! It’s starting to warm up around here (the last of the frosts should be behind us now), and we’re seeing more sunshine.

I’ve been out in the garden more as it’s time for planting and the perennials and overwintered crops are starting to emerge in earnest. The world might be – very – rocky right now, but there is peace and hope in spring.

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Friday’s Frugal Five

1. The chickens are also responding to spring and the longer days – we’re getting six and seven eggs most days now, with a few days at eight (and none fewer than five). They’re young chickens, and it shows by how many eggs we’re getting on the regular.

The dandelions and other weeds are also in full spring sprint growth, and I’ve been picking them when on walks to bring back to the chickens. Having them get so excited about weeds being tossed over to them has given me a different perspective on the prolific plants.

2. Our roommate’s birthday was this week, and the kiddo spent some of his own money on a small pack of Magic cards for him since they play together. We encourage him to be careful with how he spends his money, but I love that he decides to spend some of it showing his love for others.

We’ve had the same roommate for almost a decade now, and he’s really a part of this household at this point. We travel with him some, and when we don’t, he’s there to hold down the fort. He’s game for hanging with the kiddo often, and has become an extra uncle to him. While not every roommate situation works out so well, we’ve been lucky to find ours.

3. The husband grilled some chicken earlier in the week and it was absolutely delicious. Then again, most of what he grills is really dang good.

He cooks more than half our meals during the week, for which I’m very grateful. I do love cooking, but part of why I love it is because I don’t have to do it every single night. Sharing cooking duties also keeps our take out dinners to a reasonable level, since neither of us is usually totally over wanting to cook.

4. Bob was over on Monday, and after work we went for a run with the kiddo. I might miss the gym, but as the weather gets better, it’s also more fun to work out outside.

The gym was only $18 a month, but perhaps I should specifically put that money in a separate account now. It’s so easy for dollars to just get consumed elsewhere when an expense is dropped, but then again, with inflation what it is, perhaps it’s best to just not worry about it and know it will get used since even the basics are so much more expensive now.

5. One of our WPF Insiders was in town for a conference over the weekend, and we made plans to meet up in Bellevue for a walk and dinner. It’s funny – and awesome – how connected you can be to someone you know only virtually, but it’s true.

As content creators, I think more of us experience that to some degree, but WPF Insiders is something extra special. Another local Insider joined us after dinner, and it was a really wonderful evening. When we talk about WPF – and Insiders especially – as a community that extends well past money, we mean it.

Ps – Regina and I hosted Chelsea Brennan from Smart Money Mamas on a Facebook Live in Women’s Personal Finance on Tuesday. We talked about women, budgeting, and the legacies we want to leave our kids around money.

She has an event coming up next month, Mamas Talk Money: The Legacy You Leave, and we dig into the details of the virtual live long weekend. Unlike previous Facebook Live events, we uploaded this one to YouTube, so you can check it out there if you aren’t in the WPF Facebook group. We’re probably going to start sharing more content there as well, and we did upload a few other videos so far.

Exercise Update

Friday, Saturday, and Tuesday were walk days. Monday was the run with Bob and the kiddo.

Wednesday I actually got to get on the elliptical at parents for twenty minutes at the end of my work day (I work from there when the kiddo is there for his homeschool dah with them). Thursday was a stair running day, and I managed to squeeze in a few more rounds in the same time than the previous.

How do you feel about spring? Does it bring hope?