Category Archives: The Everyday

No Spend Challenge And Shoe Buying

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When I talk about doing a No Spend Challenge, people often dismiss the idea and tell me that I’ll just run out and buy a bunch if things when it’s over. I’ve been doing this every winter since 2018 and can honestly say that it has never worked that way for me.

I think that’s because I use this time to work on habit and mindset changing rather than just on not spending money.

January was pretty strict but February allowed for a some spending including for Valentine’s Day and my mother’s birthday. I had to eat out a couple of times and spent $25 on a congratulations present for myself after receiving good news at work. Otherwise, I bought groceries and paid bills as planned.

Last night I bought a pair of shoes for work that wasn’t budgeted for but was needed. There’s actually a story behind this.

I found myself at the office one day this week wearing a pair of dress boots that look fine but that are worn out. Foot health is important so I’m a firm believer in good shoes.

Yet, there I sat wearing painful shoes all day long.

I started thinking about how many times lately I’ve had sore feet and how I have a couple of other pairs of shoes that need to go. I am not a poor person and I can afford to buy what I need. So I went to the shoe store last night with a list. I was in the market for dress shoes, dress boots and walking shoes. I found one of the three and was glad for it.

The problem is that the selection in stores isn’t that great and what they have often isn’t made that well. I hate to keep buying shoes that will wear out in no time.

As I stood in a sea of shoes that I didn’t want, I thought about all those people who told me I was wasting my time because I would just overspend later. Even when I need l to spend and have an excuse to do so, I just can’t seem to pull it off.

I’m continuing the challenge into March with a budget line item for shoes. As part of this process, I’ll be decluttering the shoes in my closet.

I’m trying to think of anything else I might need to budget for this month and am coming up dry. I have a trip planned for late April so I’m hoping to carry the challenge through the end of March or perhaps mid April.

It seems to me that the habits I wanted to change are in good shape. I’m cooking most meals, solving food waste issues, cutting impulse buys, and changing how I look at the excessive amount of badly made stuff in stores.

That’s pretty darn good, if you ask me. Best of all, the money saved now will fund things I value later this year. Adventure season will be here before we know it!

Are you doing a No Spend or Low Spend Challenge? I would love to hear about it.

Noisy Place

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This world is an awfully noisy place for a quiet soul. I am constantly reminded of this to the point I wonder if the world ever gets tired of its own nonsense.

If you ever wonder how I’m doing there are two ways to tell – the regularity with which I’m writing in my free time and the state of my refrigerator.

If I’m writing every day and my fridge is reasonably clean, I’m doing great. When I go missing from this space and the fridge is out of hand, send help.

There’s nothing wrong other than my inability to time travel or to add hours to most days. Everything is fine but my work and volunteer commitments have been demanding enough that any kind of creativity or even reading has been too much to ask. Even poor Scout has been deprived of attention.

I tell you that to say this.

Life happens in seasons. This part of the year is challenging because it needs to be. Another six weeks or so and life will go back to normal.

Maybe your season is even more challenging than mine. Maybe you don’t know when it will end. Maybe you fear it never will.

I bet it will if you give it time.

Personally, I have shifted out of the winter cocoon of reading and soup into a kind of survival mode where dinner is sometimes cheese and crackers while I watch the Andy Griffith Show. It’s fine. Everything is fine.

Easy and gentle, steady as it goes. The only way out is through. This season won’t last forever. Last night I cleaned out the fridge. Today I write. Tomorrow maybe I’ll read. In a month or so I’ll start planning some spring adventures.

Difficult seasons won’t last forever. Give yourself some grace and do what you can. Everything is going to be fine.

And when the world is too noisy, be sure to protect your quiet soul.

Around Here- February Edition

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Around here, we are solidly in winter and it’s a real winter unlike some recent ones where there’s been little snow. It’s cold AND snowy right now. I like the snow but dislike waking up on these subzero nights to run water so it doesn’t freeze. Keeping the bird feeders full has been something of a project as well. My feathered friends are desperate for nourishment in our frozen world.

Around here, work is keeping me occupied and is occupying my thoughts outside of work hours too. It’s that time of year and I have to remind myself that this too shall pass. Consequently, I’m throwing all my energy into protecting my own mental health.

To that end, I’m spending a lot of time curled up with a blanket and a book. In fact, I’m about six books ahead toward meeting this year’s reading goal. Don’t be impressed though. I’ll soon start falling behind. When the weather warms up, I’ll be out adventuring instead of home reading. I’m savoring every word and every page right now, grateful there are so many smart people out there who write good books.

I am thoroughly enjoying my reading and quiet as I chip away at the book stack that’s now occupying a good chunk of my dining room table. It’s a visual reminder of all the amazing books awaiting my attention and a reminder of how much I enjoy the written word.

Around here, I’m also enjoying the sixth season of All Creatures Great and Small. This is not a reboot of the original tv show but a reimagining of the amazing stories written by author James Herriot. Set in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales in the years leading up to (and now at the end of) World War II, this show is quite literally the only thing I look forward to seeing. It is a tragically short season of just seven episodes. It’s one of those shows that I will watch and rewatch because it’s simply that well done. I once heard a critic refer to it as slow tv, an annoying but apt description as the show focuses on the people and animals rather than explosive one-upmanship like so many other modern tv shows.

Around here, slow tv is a welcome part of my attempts at slow living. Those slow living efforts are made easier by the continuation of my No Spend Challenge. This continues to go well and be fun but I’m suddenly very tired of deciding what to cook and feeling like doing dishes is my full time job. I know this is just a phase but I sometimes think how delightful it would be to just order pizza.

Around here, Scout has been cozying up in the strangest places, finding warmth and comfort wherever he can. He’s a funny guy and a good little companion who is thrilled to have me home more this winter.

Around here, I’m snug and happy in my snow globe world, thankful for my job and all the comforts it brings to my life -even if I’m in the midst of a rough patch.

And as always, I believe that having things to look forward to is a key to happiness so I’m working on making sure that I have plenty to anticipate including a weekend away with my Pittsburgh pal this spring.

Around here, life is pretty good.

No Spend Challenge Month One

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Scout is always watching.

Today is January 31 and technically the end of my No Spend Challenge. I started on December 30 so I’ve had a pretty good run so far. This isn’t the end though. I’m just going to recalibrate and keep going for a while longer.

This month has been great. I accomplished some goals but still have some work to do. This challenge isn’t about saving money so much as it is about changing habits. I’m not fighting urges but still need more time because the world is a rough place when you live in such a consumeristic time.

It’s amazing to me how much advertising and suggestion we are exposed to in a day whether you’re out walking around, home watching tv or scrolling on your phone. Even when watching a tv show with no commercials you are being sold products and lifestyle.

Social media has rebranded overconsumption as cute, organized, chic or simply the thing that everyone is doing. If you see videos of people unpacking Walmart hauls, redecorating their homes with new furniture every year, or decanting their prepackaged snacks into cute little containers that make their pantry look like a store you know what I mean.

It’s no wonder Americans are so wasteful with money and other resources. We see it modeled everywhere we look.

Meanwhile, I’ve cooked most meals this month using mostly things I already had. Bills are paid and my budget has been obeyed this month. Mind you, my challenge these days isn’t nearly as strict as it once was. For example, I allowed myself to keep the Book of the Month subscription. My job took me to a bookstore for a writing assignment and I bought two books while there because I couldn’t go representing my job and leave empty handed.

These things were budgeted but the budget was for the amount of books, not the cost of them. Remember, I’m here to change habits and buying books is a hard habit that I don’t want to break but do need to harness.

I’ve barely been inside a store since last month and haven’t been tempted by any online shopping. Life in my snow globe using what I own has been pretty awesome.

Last night I combined a can of tomato basil soup with half a bag of frozen cheese ravioli to make the absolute best and unexpected comfort food. The leftovers will be amazing. I intended to use half the contents in my refrigerator freezer this month and probably have. It’s not nearly as full even though I’ve added a few leftovers for later.

Mt craft room is as organized as it has been in years. I still need to vacuum in there. Some shelves need organized better and I have two containers to sort but I’m gonna go ahead and start celebrating the fact it’s safe to open the door and let Scout explore.

Plus, I have read twelve books this month.

I’m calling January a success.

Next month, I have budgeted for a birthday gift for my mother and a Valentine’s Day excursion with my fella but will otherwise continue with the January rules.

I know people whose No Spend Challenges are extremely strict. Mine were in the beginning years too but I’ve found over time that it’s more productive to plan for life’s extras rather than pretend they don’t exist. I’m not going to say no to our Valentines tradition just because it involves spending a little money when it’s something we both enjoy and delaying it a month sounds silly.

If you’re thinking about trying a challenge like this, I want you to know that saving cash is a wonderful side effect but that’s temporary if you go back to your old ways as soon as the challenge ends. In my world, there is no list of things to go buy when it’s over. That wouldn’t contribute to habit change at all.

My goal is to learn my own triggers and find ways to combat them in the future. And yes, the past has taught me that I will eventually fall back into some bad habits.

That’s why I do this every year – to reset and improve. I am human after all.

If you’re considering a No Spend Challenge, February is a great month to try because it’s the shortest. It’s only 28 days!

Snow Day Hits And Misses

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It’s no secret that introverts do well on our own. So a Level Three snow emergency that keeps me at home is basically something I have spent a lifetime training for.

I was awake some Saturday night checking out the snow so I slept later than normal yesterday. After a shower and fresh pjs, I went stomping around in the snow for a while and fed my birds before settling down to work on a new puzzle.

Then I flipped on the television for some noise and found myself captivated by a show called The Last Wright House. A mother/daughter duo had purchased a Frank Lloyd Wright residence in northern Ohio and it came with plans for a second home on the same property. These plans were for the last home that Wright designed and were on his table when he died.

That was over sixty years ago and the home never got built.

The show follows this unlikely duo as they attempt to build the house true to Wright’s specs and preferences. He was notoriously particular about literally every detail.

This was quite a chore in this modern world where building codes and materials are drastically different than in the fifties when the house was designed. Asbestos boards didn’t make it past the modern code enforcement board.

You see them agonize over materials, tour other Wright homes, and even chat with the 100-year-old original owner of a Wright home. It was fascinating, sometimes painful to watch, and absolutely inspiring that they really pulled it off.

You can stay there and I’m desperate to do it. Tragically, it’s far outside my budget and not something I’ll be doing unless I hit the lottery – not a big lottery – just a really big scratch off ticket and I feel like treating myself.

Sigh. Someday.

Next I watched Samantha Brown on PBS as she traveled on Route 66, toured the World War II Museum in New Orleans, explored Michigan’s lower peninsula and hit some of the highlights in South Dakota.

I have been desperate to visit that World War II Museum and am sort of dying to go back to Michigan. I didn’t want to leave Petoskey, Michigan or Sleeping Bear Dunes or really anything else I saw there a couple of years ago.

Touring these places with Samatha Brown didn’t help this at all. My feet are now miserably itchy and I am months away from being free to travel.

Sigh. Later.

In my quest to use up some things that are languishing in my freezer, I got the bright idea to make a breakfast casserole using a sad bag of frozen blueberries. A while back, I picked up a boxed protein pancake mix that was positively awful. I typically like Aldi brand products but these appear to be the knock off of Kodiak brand protein pancakes. They’re also awful.

But everything can be dressed up, right?

Wrong.

I used the mix as a base for the blueberries, some maple syrup, peanut butter, vanilla and just a smidge of stevia. I mixed it well and baked it in a 13×9” cake pan thinking it could be paired with scrambled eggs for breakfasts this week. I knew I couldn’t use it all but figured leftovers could be frozen for another day.

Friends, I’m not convinced that I want to preserve the leftovers. It’s not terrible, exactly. It just doesn’t taste good enough to enjoy.

Honestly, I’m not sold on this notion that protein needs to be added to everything and am especially not sold on the value of so many processed foods in the first place. If I want pancakes, I have a wonderful, easy recipe that uses real ingredients and nothing that can’t be pronounced.

I don’t know what possessed me to try this mix other than blind optimism and a flash of stupidity.

We learn.

So now I have a pan of questionable something-or-other and a desire to pack a bag and point myself south to New Orleans. North to Michigan would be a terrible idea in all this snow.

But, I will stay put and enjoy the solitude of my snow globe world. There are puzzles, books, and kitchen experiments in waiting!

Slow Day Before The Snow Day

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It’s nine degrees here on the ridge this morning. I slept late because I was awake a few times in the night, running water to make sure it didn’t freeze.

The birds are now fed. The backyard is still snow covered in places and I was especially conscious of the sound my shoes made with each step. Crunch, crunch, crunch as I swung my metal pail full of seed.

There’s a pan on the stove, cooking up a modified concoction of something I saw on Instagram this morning. A guy I follow who has given me some good recipes in the past showed something that uses up a product from my freezer as well as a couple of pantry items that have been sitting here too long. If it works well, then I have a new recipe for the future. If it doesn’t, well, we have to learn somehow.

I like these mornings of gentle productivity. No rush or stress. No one making demands other than Scout wanted his breakfast. My phone hasn’t buzzed once this morning.

The last I checked, we are squarely in the ten to twelve inches range for snow plus some ice. Of course, that still depends on which meteorologist you listen to but that’s enough to keep me cozied up inside this weekend. Books and a puzzle await me.

For now, the sun shines but it feels like the calm before the storm.

Wherever you are today, I hope you are warm, fed, and safe from the very real dangers this world may throw your way.