That being said, I pretty much threw my budget out the window the day the sun showed up (somewhere around July 4th, the official start of summer here in the Pacific Northwest.)

I didn’t do it on purpose! But I also didn’t realize what I was doing.

……….Ok fine, I wasn’t paying attention!

It rains a lot here in Portland. Like, all the damn time. Literally 9 months of the year. So when it starts to warm up, and we see the sun for the first time in months, we Portlanders immediately bust out our shorts and flip flops and bask in it! Even though in all likelihood it’s probably only 50 degrees that day. But I digress….back to the less than stellar budget keeping skills that ensued.

Summer to me means warm evening drinks on the patio, days at the river, nights with all the windows open, early morning dogs walks, music festivals, and general excess. When we finally all emerge from self induced hibernation we are all desperate for human interaction. Here are some of the things I did this summer that definitely didn’t take my budget into account:

-I saw a lot of live music (some of this is free, most of it is not)
-I wandered around new-to-me neighborhoods as I love wandering, and stopped in any and all new coffee shops to try all the delicious cold brew coffee offerings
-I spent many hours strolling the isles of my local book stores to escape the mid afternoon heat
-3 of my close friends had birthdays so obviously celebrating was in order
-backyard barbecues and potlucks, every weekend
-air conditioning. ’nuff said

Summer for me is about spending time with my friends and I tend to ignore the costs associated. This brings me to tacos. My groups of friends and I are full blown obsessed with tacos. We were on a quest this summer to find the best tacos Portland had to offer. Instead of trying to perfect a recipe at home we traipsed all across the city trying all the awesome taco restaurants we could find. Did we find the best tacos in the city? Maybe. But at what cost?

Here’s the thing, I really want to be one of those people that always values experiences over things. And I really try. For friends’ birthdays I would rather go to a show or try an escape room than get them something they will quickly discard. The same for me personally, I’d rather someone take me to try a new restaurant or just DO SOMETHING instead of getting me something that I will then get rid of immediately. (The one exception may be my mom who has amazing taste and knows exactly which shoes I love, however has no idea what kind of show I might want to attend.)

But here’s the thing, experiences can just as easily ruin your budget as tangible things. For me, this means concerts.

I love live music, always have. I love it all, from an unknown jazz band in a dive bar to top 100 artists selling out stadiums. I love every second of it. And I have a really difficult time saying no to going to said shows. I will justify it like “I can’t buy that $35 sweater because I need to buy such and such tickets next month”. This is not an inexpensive habit people. And I truly struggle to pass on such opportunities. “when will they ever play in Portland again?” “I have loved them since I was a kid!” “Oh it’s my current favorite band!” I can come up with any and all excuses. And let me tell you, that shit adds up!

Let me give an example. The local radio station in Portland does a holiday series of concerts that benefit local charities each December. I usually go to one of them, and they always have an assortment of artists to choose from. They perform at a really cool local venue, and it’s always a good time. This year, I literally like the entire line up. All TEN shows. The ticket prices range from $17 each to over $200 for VIP tickets for one show (The Killers!) So, obviously, I can’t buy all the tickets. But I did have to make a quick decision as to which shows were most important to me so I could get the tickets I really wanted. Can I do this all year long? No. Do I put aside a chunk of change year round in order to buy these tickets teach December? You betcha!

So who DID I get tickets to go see this year? I bought tickets to three shows (hold on before you get up on your high horse and judge me!) I got Killers tickets (a bucket list band of mine that I have never seen before. They rarely tour and who knows when I’ll get this chance again.) Weezer (one of my all time favorite bands. I have seen them twice at HUGE arenas but this is a really small venue so I was happy to shell out for these pricey tickets to see them again.) and Alice Merton with SYML (these were only $17 each, and my roommate and I are currently OBSESSED with SYML so this seemed totally worth it to me. Alice Merton is on the up and up and I suspect she is going to be selling out major venues before too long. It’ll be a fun night and I am not worried that this is going to break the bank.)

So what’s the damage Heather? I don’t have the numbers on me but close to $300 total for 3 sets of tickets. I will likely take my roommate to two of the shows as her holiday gift but hopefully someone will go with me to Weezer and reimburse me for the ticket. If not I’m not fretting as I have budgeted for such expenses. I put a few dollars away here and there all year so that I can attend these shows each winter. Everyone has their priorities and mine happens to be concerts! If you don’t plan accordingly however, it can totally wreck your budget. Did I just have $300 lying around that I didn’t know what to do with? Hell no! I planned for this year round. But it could easily have ruined my budget (or required rent money) if I didn’t think about this in advance.

My point is, experiences can just as easily ruin your budget as things can. You need to decide what is worth it to spend your hard earned money on, and what isn’t. Bands that I don’t really care about just to hang out with a boy? Probably not. It’s just not worth it. But planning ahead to have a memorable experience with those that I love that WILL last a lifetime? That’s totally worth it to me!

What experiences are you willing to spend money on and what do you pass on?

This is a picture of my beautiful best friend Lizzi. She is the most amazing mom, friend, sister and daughter. She is fighting the battle of her life and I couldn’t be more proud of her. She is beautiful, kind, funny, compassionate, patient, loving, silly, resilient. I love her more than words can possibly describe.

I don’t tell you these things to make you feel bad for her, I tell you this because I want everyone to realize that life is so short. One day everything is fine, and the next the rug is pulled out from under you. Hug your family, tell your friends you love them, snuggle your pets a little longer. Take nothing for granted.

This leads me to the things I spent money on last month that were worth it and a few that weren’t.

The things that weren’t worth it:

-Unhealthy snacks from Grocery Outlet $17 (You know how you are not supposed to go shopping hungry? Ya, I was hungry. I ended up with a bunch of stuff that was full of sugar and just generally yucky. Most of it went in the trash within a week so that was a total waste!)

-Decorations for Halloween/Dia De Los Muertos $23 (I feel really guilty about this one. As you may or may not know, this is my favorite time of year. I keep skeletal decorations out year round. So this is when I typically scour the stores for new pieces to add. Did I need that garland? No. Did I need those little sculptures? No. Le sigh. I really wish I had taken the time to think out each purchase ensuring that I picked things I really love.

The things that were worth it:

-Decorations for Halloween/Dia De Los Muertos $16 (Confused yet? Ok, so though some of the things I purchased were less than stellar, I got a couple things that I really love. I got a small wooden coffin with a skull carved in it, LOVE IT! I also got some paper decorations to hang in our kitchen, and a hand carved and painted box for little treats. I love them. So these decorations I definitely don’t regret!)

-Indian lunch from a cart $6 (My good friend from high school and college was in town and she had never been to Portland before. I decided one of the best ways to show off our city was to get lunch at a food cart. The Bombay Chaat House is one of my absolute favorites, and they have a $6 lunch special that totally fits the bill. That lunch will definitely feed me at least 2 meals, maybe three. It’s huge! If you live in Portland and haven’t tried this particular food cart, you should definitely check it out. Each meal is vegetarian, though can be served vegan, and contains rice, naan, a cup of chai and 4 different “entrees”. Trust me, you’ll love it!)

-A bag of snacks from Trader Joe’s $32 (As mentioned before, my best friend Lizzi is fighting cancer, for the second time. She spent about a week in the hospital while recovering from brain surgery and I went to visit her daily. Though the hospital food was just fine, I thought a bunch of yummy snacks might lift her spirits. Who doesn’t love peanut butter stuffed pretzels!?! I was right. The bag of snacks was a big hit and lifted her spirits. I will never regret a single cent spent on helping those that I love in some way. She is home now recovering further, and I am so glad to see her improving.)

There was definitely some other superfluous spending but I can’t seem to find it at the moment (that’s probably part of the problem right there!) That’s okay, I will do better next month.

What did I learn? I have always been a big fan of spending on experiences rather than things, and I think this list definitely demonstrates this. The money spent on time with family and loved ones was never wasted. What did you spend money on last month? Was it worth it?

Here are a few frugal things I have been up to lately (and an adorable picture of our dogs just for good measure!)

1) Today I went to Target and Fred Meyer for some groceries as well as a couple of house hold necessities (Nature’s Miracle people, look it up if you have pets) and I didn’t buy a single Halloween decoration. If you know me, you know this is a big deal. I love all things Halloween, and even more so, I just love all things skeleton related. Basically, Halloween decorations are my favorite thing ever, I decorate my house with them year round, so for me to walk out of both stores empty handed was a major victory!

2) It has been brisk the past week or so in Portland, which is a welcome change from the incredible heat we experienced all summer. It was a hot one. Too hot. We’re over it. But I digress…..The cooler weather means I have been craving soup, all the soup. So at least once a week I have been making a pot of soup with whatever I have on hand, and freezing it in mason jars. Each mason jar is one meal so it’s a perfect, self contained meal. I fill the jars about half an inch below the rim and freeze with the lid off, securing them when the jars are safely frozen. So tonight I added two more jars to the freezer, and I ate the remaining cup or so for dinner. Delicious and will provide me with dinners for a few evenings in the future when I don’t feel like cooking.

2 1/2) Speaking of cooler weather, we used out A/C this summer, a lot. It was so miserably hot and our bedrooms are on the third floor. So from July to late August, we practically ran the air 24/7. But about a week ago the weather took a chilly turn. It has been down in the 40’s or 50’s over night and barely hitting 60 during the day. This means we have had all our windows open, letting the house air out. We bundle up in sweaters if the house gets chilly, but we are not turning on the heat. It has been such a lovely change of pace! Not only are we saving money, we are actually enjoying the cool weather, best of all the smell of rain! (We get a ton of rain in the Pacific Northwest, and we relish the smell of rain!)

3) I worked from home. This is frugal for a couple of reasons. One being I’m making money, obviously a good thing. And two, if I’m home I am less likely to stop for food. See, if I’m working from the office it’s so easy to think “oh I’ll just go grab tacos for lunch” or “an ice cream cone sounds perfect right now”. However, if I’m home, I am way less likely to make a trip out just for food. I will make something at home. See, I have dogs, three of them. The process of getting them out to potty, in their kennels, provide entertainment, and leave them is a bit of effort. Then they will bark, at last for a few minutes, which has potential to annoy my neighbors. So I will almost always just stay in with them and make something to eat from the fridge or pantry.

4) I unsubscribed to a bunch of promotional emails. As so many people do, I sign up for ALL the emails. I buy shoes, I sign up for their emails. I order dog food, I sign up for the emails. And so on. So today I did an over haul of my inbox. I went through the past three weeks worth of emails and un-subsubscribed to all the promotional emails. Hopefully this will lead to less temptation to look at the pretty things, and buy all the pretty things.

5) I walked my dogs. A lot. As mentioned, my roommate and I have three dogs. One of our dogs in a foster (who will be staying forever) but right now he is evidence in a court case. Because of his background, he is intact (not neutered) and was never house trained until he came to live with us. Or I should say, we are still in the process of house training. This means a lot of walks. Like, all the time. Why is this frugal? Because I used to shell out thirty bucks a month to go to a gym to walk on a treadmill for thirty minutes at a time. Now, I walk my dog at least 6 times a day for 15 minutes or so per walk. It adds up. And that’s only one dog! The other two get regular walks, but not quite as many as they are in fact house trained. Since bringing my foster pup home, I cancelled my gym membership because I get plenty of walking time with my boys!

These were all relatively small steps, but every little bit counts right? My bank account certainly appreciates each and every little frugal step I take. What about you, what frugal steps did you take today?

So I did something different last week: I kept a detailed food budget diary.

Some background: one of my favorite websites, the Kitchn, asked me to write about what I ate and spent on food for the week. I’m not going to lie, I was SO excited to get that email! I kept detailed notes on what I ate and what I spent. It was interesting and definitely will be helpful for my budget.

My problem is that I don’t always take into account the random grocery stops I make during the week. I would stop for two things and it would cost $12 or so but I never included that in my weekly budget. I would wonder where the money was going, so this was a really helpful exercise for me! Knowing how much I spend is the best way to keep said spending in check. I may only spend $40 up front at the beginning of the week, but if I stop 3 different times spending $12 each that’s another almost $40.

I can so easily blow my entire food budget. The easiest way to keep track of the money going out is to definitely write it down. For me, a spread sheet is helpful but I often forget to fill it out. I’m big on just keeping a running list.  I have a planner that I keep with me at all times, and it’s the easiest way to  quickly write it down.

As soon as I hear any information about when it might be published I will let everyone know. So excited!!

So I have been obsessed lately with the blog www.frugalwoods.com and for good reason. She is sweet and funny and very insightful. Mr. and Mrs. FG live in rural Vermont on their homestead with Babywoods and Frugal Hound. And thought their life is totally different than mine, I am entirely jealous. I am definitely a city girl, but I read the blog and all I want is to move to a homestead in the middle of nowhere. Now, I’d probably go stir crazy after a few weeks, but in my head I would LOVE it.

You guys, I have a new favorite snack, or meal, let’s just call it a food choice. Take some rotisserie chicken, shred it up, smash up an avocado with it, and serve atop a cracker of your choice (my favorite are La Panzanella’s Garlic flavored crackers). And I’m obsessed. Not only is it healthy (protein, healthy fats) it’s filling and fairly inexpensive. Now, I realize that you can’t get avocados easily everywhere and often they aren’t cheap. But if you shop seasonally you can get them for thirty cents a piece sometimes. Buy all the avocados. Seriously.

This is so delicious. Let me explain: how many of you like chicken salad or tuna salad with mayo? It’s the same concept, but using avocados (good fat) instead of mayo (less than ideal fat). And I PROMISE it’s delicious! Allergic to avocados? Ok you’ve got me there, best not to try this. Vegetarian? Smash up a half an avocado with some chick peas, equally delicious and filling!

See, I try to eat 4 or 5 times a day. I don’t eat a lot at each sitting, just something small so I never get especially hungry. This prevents me from over eating and getting full (because I LOATHE feeling full. Weird, I know.) I snack, all day long. But I do sit down for almost regular size meals at least three times a day. If it were really up to me, I’d have a small breakfast, medium snack around 11am, another medium snack around 2pm, light snack around 4 or 5pm, and dinner by 7pm. I realize that’s a lot of eating for some people, but again, it’s not a big meal. We are talking less than a cup of food, sometimes less than half a cup of food. (I am actually eating my smashed avocado and chicken combo right now, at 4:15pm!)

Speaking of food, whilst out on deployment for work, we get lunch catered daily (I think I’ve mentioned this before). I mention this because today we had sandwiches delivered. I love sandwiches. I mean, it’s basically bread with toppings. Drool. But fairly recently I have discovered that not all lunch meat is created equal, and most additional toppings don’t sit well with my delicate Crohn’s riddled body. So I don’t eat many sandwiches, unless I know exactly what is in them. So while I moaned and groaned over my inability to partake in delicious looking sandwiches, I noticed two jugs of tea. One marked as sweet tea (we are in the midwest after all) and the other unsweetened. I had a glass jar which contained lemonade until about 30 minutes ago, so in went some unsweetened iced tea and bam! Free, delicious tea for the whole afternoon. I will of course be adding ice as it’s a balmy 87 degrees here with 70% humidity (bleh).

But I digress, yet again. Go have a snack guys, you’re probably hungry. And consider adding avocado to some

I don’t always win. Especially when it comes to being frugal. I have my moments where I fall off the proverbial wagon and royally f*ck up. And that’s ok. We all make mistakes.

However, I was super pleased with myself yesterday as I flew cross country for work. I packed bagel chips, goat cheese, and olives for my trip. Oh, and a bagel with shmear to eat as breakfast. See, my flight took off around 6am and for those who don’t know me I am most definitely NOT a morning person. I ate my bagel shortly after takeoff and enjoyed free tea and biscuits from the airline. I landed in MSP (Minneapolis St. Paul) and had two hours to spare. My company reimburses my expenses that occur during my time, so I quickly stopped to pick up LARGE cold brew coffee (in order to stay awake) for a whopping $2.50 and I have never loved anything more. It wasn’t fabulous, but I REALLY needed coffee.

Then on to my next short flight and I landed in my destination (can’t tell ya where that is, we are working on an active case.)

I landed 30 minutes before my coworkers were due to arrive back at the hotel. So I got all checked in (had my very own fancy king size room for the night) and went to the grocery store with my colleagues. I love that we have mini fridges so I can store snacks and other things while away at work. We are allotted money to eat out every night but I still hate waiting to be reimbursed. Our breakfast is at the hotel daily and our lunch is catered.

You know what I did today? I picked 6 lbs of strawberries. Aren’t they pretty? And it cost me all of $14 (which for those keeping score at home is WAY cheap! Especially since these are the famous Hood Strawberries, only available for a few short weeks each year. Best. Strawberries. Ever.)

Any who, I went to Sauvie Island, my fave, and enjoyed an hour or so of pleasant berry picking. I got a little dirty and a little wet (because it rained, in Oregon, shocker) and it was super cheap! They do offer cardboard baskets you can fill, but I came prepared with my own tupperware for my pickings. They weight it before you go out into the fields, explain their new system of flags (super clever btw guys!) and off you go! I plopped my tupperware and backpack in one of their big wheeled wagons and off I went!

This is something I enjoy doing at least once a year. It’s a beautiful piece of land, always a lovely time, and I walk away with a ton of fruit. Usually I make jam, but since I already made a batch this year, I decided to freeze these berries. Roomie and I make smoothies regularly, and now we won’t have to buy frozen berries for probably a good 6 months, maybe even a year. I definitely call that a win!

I make stock (of the chicken and vegetable variety) all the time. Like, at least once a week. Why you ask? For a number of reasons.
1) iI’s super good for you. The nutrients you can get from drinking stock are fantastic, and easier to absorb. I personally have a hard time getting proper nutrition (thanks Crohns!) So I try to drink a cup of broth daily.
2) It’s way tastier than anything store bought. Store bought stock is traditionally a faint yellow color, where my stock is a deep brown. It’s so beautiful! And tasty, so much more tasty.
3) It’s inexpensive. To buy the amount of stock I can produce in my crock pot would cost me about $10, on the low estimate. However, it costs me less than a dollar. I have the chicken bones anyway, as I roasted the chicken and saved the bones, and the veggie scraps are from whatever we have eaten and produced through the week. Usually a few carrots, celery stalks, and half an onion or so. I use stock to cook with all the time (soup, rice, risotto, meat dishes, pasta, everything) so I would spend a small fortune on stock if I didn’t make it myself. If I save minimum ten bucks a week, that’s over five hundred bucks a year. That’s a nice chunk of change!

So really, if you aren’t making stock, you’re doing yourself a disservice. It’s beyond easy (put all ingredients in the crock pot, cover with water, and cook for 24 hours. Leave it alone, it’ll take care of yourself).

After it’s all cooked, I use tongs to pick out the large pieces, and then strain the stock (don’t want tiny little bits of bone floating around in there, do you?) Then I use a ladle and my canning funnel to put fill some jars, let them cool at room temp on the counter, and put in the fridge. You can also freeze it. I like to fill ice cube molds and freeze a few batches as it keeps longer that way. If I don’t have a plan to use it within a week, I will definitely freeze it.

Tonight I knew I was going to make posole for dinner (chicken and hominy soup) so I didn’t freeze it. Simply put in jars for a few hours and it went into my soup this evening. I think there are two remaining pint jars in the fridge for me to drink throughout the week. Yum! (What, am I the only one who drinks chicken stock from a mug? I really recommend it, give it a try!)