Friday, November 20, 2020

Frugal (ish) Friday in Retirement

I confess, ladies and gents, that I pretty much hurt all over this afternoon. After putting the strength portion and such of my exercise routine on hold from packing day until two days ago, my little muscles are hurting after two days of forty minute weight training. Even with a day in between. Hopefully it won't take me too long to adjust to the lifting and raising and bending!

Trying to get back into the saddle of normal blogging (I am sure there will be some move related things to share more often than not as well), so while this may not have been the most frugal week ever, here are a few frugal-ish things happening around the little retirement homestead this week:

1. I thought I had mentioned this before, but one of the very elderly gals in the community moved onto the next level and her family put everything out in the little courtyard in front of her house that was usable and asked people to feel free to take it. We offered them money but they were happy to have it gone so I ended up with three plastic storage units and some shelves to use in the craft studio   a side table and a lamp. As an aside, I've come to realize there are two kinds of movers/downsizers-the ones who bring everything that they can possibly bring from their previous homes and stuff it in any which way you can, and those of us who have homes that are positively sparse, compared.

2.  I just did the math and realized that I easily have more than two full weeks of dinners and lunches and stuff, with no upcoming expenses except for produce and perhaps milk. Although, the variety is not what I would like. My buying up three or four multi packs of meat and dividing up sounded good at the time, but I need more variety in a month.  So in the future,  I'll probably get smaller amounts even if that means getting them at the butcher counter.  We learn as we go, and no matter how you look at it, the grocery budget is getting smaller and more streamlined now that the big purchases are out of the way.

3. I need (as in need and not just want), a laptop and a television (I'm using my sons teeny tiny very old television temporarily and my only method of getting on the Internet or doing anything else is by manual typing on the screen of a Kindle Fire these days. I have put off the laptop for way to long, settling for this teeny tiny screen and teeny tiny virtual keyboard, lol. To date, the best prices for both have been..........wait for it............a local superstore of furniture called Nebraska furniture. Buying two tech things in one month is not actually a frugal move post cross country trip as such. But the good prices and the fact that they have no interest for one year has pushed me into that direction. If I'm gonna be mainly housebound for another six months, I'm gonna do it in some semblance of comfort. And now that I've come to an end of the moving expenses, I've fully reached my "life is cheaper and easier" moment in time.

4. After doing the research I've definitely moved from full coverage on my ten year old car to the basics.  At a five thousand trade in value, it makes sense for now. Especially as the absolute longest I've driven recently is ten miles to family, and I park immediately in front of my place underneath lights. I'll add the monthly insurance to my car sinking fund, and I can change that choice at any time if I feel the need.

5. I made my quarterly list of everything I can think of to do that mainly doesn't cost money (somethings require minimal expenses),at home, near home, and so on. It might sound as though just being home during the pandemic would save money, and in some areas it does. In other areas, it's easy to justify more craft and art supplies for my amusement, clothes because of the change in climate, and restaurant carry out because of boredom.  I'm rarely bored and easily amused with what I have on hand, when I know everything that is on hand, so hopefully this will keep me on track.

6. I got rid of Hulu and Disney Plus.  One can only watch so much television even during a pandemic, so I'm just keeping my Amazon Fire stick and access to Netflix. As for all the European shows, I'm doing oen of them at a time, watching what's there and then moving to another one the next month (or few months). Right now, my monthly subscription is to PBS Masterpiece, and then I'll move on to Acorn.

7. I discovered that my library system offers access to some free subscriptions like Craftsy and the Great Courses and a magazine reading website just by virtue of my library card. Not sure I need anymore than I have in terms of entertainment, but nice to know that it is there.

8. And lastly (boy the list is more than I thought it was), my local Olli (senior college location) has lowered it's price to fifty dollars during the virtual sessions while the Colorado location was at $150. I will happily pay the freight to take multiple classes but it's nice to know that they made this adjustment during Covid.

11 comments:

  1. One of the senior communities around here does something with furniture others don't want. They have a couple of stalls in underground parking where you can put or take what you want.

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    1. Its a wonderful idea. I dont need much except for craft storage and a night stand but I can see how people would.

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  2. You did well this week. I could not do without a computer or television.

    God bless.

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  3. Whew. That's a lot of work! We too have Netflix and Amazon. That's enough.

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    1. More than enough! Even for a serious binger.

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  4. You've been busy and productive. I'm sure the storage units will come in handy for craft supplies and the like. Having cleaned out my parent's home I can say I wish we'd done something similar with much of their furniture.

    Take care and stay well!

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    1. Hi, for storage units i actually meant shelves with drawers to go in the craft room. Guess I should clarify that!

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  5. I did the Hulu/Disney/Espn combo so we could see Hamilton. I was going to cancel it the month after, but now I am getting "watch" assignments from my granddaughter, so we can watch shows at the same time (more or less) then have FaceTime discussions about them. TheHub is balking at letting ESPN go right now so I guess I will suck up the 12.99 for the next few months.

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  6. Love your frugal(ish) list, Barb. Doing much the same here. There is a local university on Vancouver Island that is putting on (now virtual via Zoom) classes called ElderCollege. Relatively inexpensive and on a wide variety of subject matters and interests. I'm really enjoying them.

    Deb

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  7. There’s a Nebraska Furniture Mart in Texas? I love that place. I’ve bought lots of my furniture there over the years. Great selection and prices. Their original store in Omaha is huge. Glad to hear you’re settling in. Moving is exciting and exhausting!! Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear from others, and I also love to hear all points of view.. Just leave the profanity and insults at home, OK? Thanks!!