Menu Plan

 Another week with plenty going on, as we help Nick get ready to go back to school.

• Friday - mostly from Trader Joes: teriyaki meatballs, soyaki sauce, peanut salad slaw, and then leftover rice
• Saturday - grilled chicken + rice
• Sunday - Nick & I are having dinner with one of his friend's mom, as a thank you for us hosting her son many times. Which is super sweet. No idea what's on the menu. I asked what I could bring, but was told no. I will probably bring flowers, as I'm not sure she's a wine drinker. 
• Monday - ground beef tacos
• Tuesday - leftover grilled chicken + rice
• Wednesday - leftover tacos
• Thursday - any remaining leftovers
• Friday - I'll be in Boulder with my mom, Nick, my BFF & her family. I will pay for takeout or something at my BFF's house, as a thank you to her for storing Nick's stuff all summer, and letting us crash at her place on Friday night. 

That's it from our side. What's on your menu this week? Are you trying anything new? 

Saturday Happenings

I'm looking forward to a productive day today, and I got to sleep in a bit this morning, which is always a treat! I've had a lot of early work mornings this week, so I appreciated the extra time to catch up. 

After being out of town last weekend, our house is most definitely not clean. Nick was also home alone for most of that week, if that gives any clue about its state. ;-) 

I'll be meeting a friend for a workout later this morning, and M is in charge of dinner tonight. Hurrah.

Here's what else I'm going to get up to today:

• Clean the house
• Workout class
• Laundry
• Pick up prescription + use CVS rewards before they expire
• Drop off an Amazon return
• Freeze the leftovers of the chicken & rice dish I made

That will probably take up the majority of the day. What about you? What are you up to today? 

Frugal Friday

 Combining a few weeks, as we were at the beach last Friday. 

Travel planning/savings

• I'll post more about this trip in the recap, but my sister, parents & I are planning a trip to Palm Springs in the fall. I'm trying to keep costs very low all around. Neither of my parents had enough Alaska miles to cover the flights, so I creatively booked two one ways out of one account, and one out of another. Alaska doesn't allow for free miles transfers, or a cash + miles option that would have made this entire process easier! Nonetheless, it saved a bunch of money. I also booked the hotels using Hyatt points, so it should end up being a reasonably budget trip. 

Saving on things we buy

• Went to the dermatologist for a yearly skin check (good for everyone, but extra important as I'm both pale, and the medicine I take makes me even more sensitive to the sun). This is making the list of frugal wins, as I've already hit my deductible for the year, which means I may as well squeeze in as much as possible. 
• Uploaded receipts to Fetch & iBotta ($.05 cash back offer that they run semi regularly). 
• Picked up a prescription at CVS & rewards to offset the cost of sunblock (one for me, one for Nick, who burns & is working outside a lot this summer). The "retail" value was $15/each, and I paid $10.75 for both, after the rewards & coupons. I wouldn't have paid $15 for sure, but the actual retail (according to a quick search is around $12-15).So, a good deal on something we needed. I try not to be enticed by the frequent CVS offers they send out, but if I'm already there to pick up a prescription, and we need things, I can usually do much better than a sale price. 
• The reasonably priced wine I like to keep on hand was on sale at Costco. If I buy at case at the grocery store, and it's on sale I can get it for around $14. It was $6.99 at Costco. I bought two cases, as it doesn't go bad!
• I filled out some mileage updates for our car insurance, and our policy dropped by $550. Note that Nick also dropped out of the under 18 category for most of the year, which also helped a bit. Insuring the boys is very pricey!
• I bought a large canvas print of my BFF's daughter's engagement photos with her fiance, as an engagement present. I used a 50% off Shutterfly coupon, clicked through Rakuten & also used a free shipping coupon, bringing the price down quite a bit. 

Earning money

• Just my regular check, plus the boys working their standard summer jobs. 

Avoiding spending

• Met a former coworker for lunch, and she invited me to the office cafe, which is free. It was a real flashback to be back at my former office!
• Bought iced tea for myself + my sister on our way from the Oregon coast to my parents house. I used expiring Starbucks stars & a gift card for the rest, so no out of pocket spending. 

Eating what we have

• Made chicken curry for dinner, using up a bag of rotisserie chicken from the freezer. That's not what the recipe called for, but it turned out great & made the recipe even easier. Yay! Included the last of a bag of snap peas that were leftover from a veggie tray during the World Cup finals. 
• Made lunches for the boys when they were around, in use it up mode. 
• While we were at the beach, we went through quite a bit of food, but my sister & mom were able to take home all of the leftovers, which is awesome. No waste!
• Had the curry (above) for dinner the following week. It was in the freezer, so still good! M made rice.
• M picked up the Costco street tacos for dinner on Sunday, when we got home from our trip. Next time we will just buy the prepped chipotle chicken meat, vs the taco meal, as the sides aren't worth the value. However, still cheaper than takeout for sure. Sam & I had the leftovers for a second lunch. 
• Turned the leftover sides from the street tacos (plus some rotisserie chicken meat that M also bought on Sunday - we knew it would be a lazy cooking week) into this easy Southwest Chicken skillet. Bonus points that it used up chicken broth (freezer), diced tomatoes & black beans (pantry) & green onions (garden). 

For others

• Had a call with one of Nick's friends who is going through a breakup, and doesn't have a lot of other family support. Nick also brought her flowers & made her brownies to cheer her up. 
• Referred a couple of folks for roles at my company, connected with two other people on LinkedIn (through coworkers), who are job searching. It's a tough market, so I try to help out where I can. 

What about you? Any wins to share? 

August Goals

 Let's hope August is a bit more stable than July, because I'd really like to make progress on a few things, and work on my overall fitness. Here's what I would like to accomplish this month.

Financial:

• Stay on top of food waste by using up 3 pantry or freezer items
• Continue to track net new savings for 2026
• Finalize part time adjustment & exit date
• Make $100 in side hustle
• Find one expense to optimize
• Adjust post work budget & plan, depending on exit date/benefits
• Determine whether it makes sense to switch spending to a different credit card through EOY (evaluate ROI)

Family:

• Continue to help the boys navigate college & life
• Get Nick moved in & have fun with my mom. Minimize cost
• Monthly date with M
• Continue planning for our next big trip (M's 60th)

Fitness:

• Lose 3 lbs
• Research & finalize medicine selection
• 10 strength workouts
• Track nutrition
• Average 13,000 steps/day
• Sort out any medical appointments before EOY

Personal:

• Make list for part-time schedule (to dos, fun, etc)
• Declutter 50 items
• Get together with friends
• Try something new/say yes to adventures
• Get to know our neighbors
• Try a new recipe

What about you? What are you hoping to accomplish in August? 

July Goals Recap

Buckle up, because July was a wild ride! I was in Lake Tahoe for the 4th, work trip to Tokyo, got cellulitis (a foot infection) & couldn't work out & was sick. Then I was at the Oregon coast. I also started a new drug for lupus that had quite an impact on my energy level.

Financial:

• Stay on top of food waste by using up 3 pantry or freezer items - we had our very hungry house guest & used up some stuff, but I didn't track it at all.  
• Continue to track net new savings for 2026 - yes, this has continued
• Give notice at work & set an exit date - YES!!!! This is done
• Make $100 in side hustle - I made $0 in July, as I had eBay largely shut down due to being in & out of the house & not consistently in town. 
• Find one expense to optimize - yes, our car insurance. Filled out some low mileage forms & got that submitted. We are saving over $500 this year (take that with a grain of salt, because insuring the boys is extremely pricey). Some of the discount is due to the low mileage, but likely more of it is due to Nick turning 19. 
• Finalize post work budget & plan - yes, more details on this to come. 

Family:

• Continue to help the boys navigate college & life - yes. As always, plenty to do here. 
• Finalize Nick's move back plans - this is sorted, and my mom asked if she could join last week, so I've added her to the trip. Should be fun. She wants to spend as much time with the grandkids and kids as she can while she's still able to comfortably travel. 
• Monthly date with M - we had several in Lake Tahoe
• Reschedule family dinner - we've had a few more impromptu dinners lately, which has been really nice.
• Continue planning for our next big trip (M's 60th) - lots of discussions, but nothing booked. Depending on another friend's 50th birthday trip, we may do the Dolomites in September. 

Fitness:

• Lose 3 lbs - I'm exactly the same. Not exactly shocked, as I was unable to work out for much of the month & super low energy due to my new medicine. 
• 10 strength workouts - 3/10, and I'm definitely feeling out of shape.
• Track nutrition - yes, I've continued to do this. 
• Average 13,000 step/day - 12,638, which is not too shabby given for almost a week I couldn't wear shoes.

Personal:

• Do well at Japan external event- session went extremely well. Getting a foot infection was a lot less fun. 
• Declutter 50 items - 21/50
• Get together with friends - went for a hike with a friend
• Try something new - Rented a house for the family & planned out Oregon trip + some work excitement in Japan
• Say yes to adventures - pretty much same as above. Added my mom to Nick's move out trip, which will be a bit of an adventure
• Get to know our neighbors - we tried hard to find a date to get together with our neighbors before our kids both go back to college, but couldn't find options that worked. We are getting together for dinner after school starts. 
• Try a new recipe - I honestly can't remember? 

How did you do with your July goals? 

Cost for a family trip to the Oregon coast

We've been trying to get back to the Oregon coast with my family since we sold our place. It's taken a while, and it was definitely hard to get all of the cousins together. We ended up with a great group, and finished it off with a family party at my parents house over the weekend. We were there for 5 nights & 6 days, total. 

As we left the airport yesterday, Sam said it was one of his favorite family trips, which was so nice to hear. My dad said something similar. All of the boys/cousins are at an age where they are adults & very enjoyable to spend time with, plus they all get along great. 

The Oregon coast, on a stunner of a day (Wednesday, I think)

Flights: $301.72, for four flights

All of the flights were broken up a bit, to use some United credits. Why were they all different costs? No idea. Mine is slightly lower likely due to a company discount I can use for personal travel.

• My flight ($556), completely covered by a United credit, from the time United stranded me overnight in London, and then dropped me from business class to a middle economy seat. Good times. ;-) Bonus, I got upgraded to first class on the flight from SFO to Portland, which was an unexpected treat!
• Sam's flight ($566), completely covered by a United credit, because Sam had originally planned to go to family weekend in Boulder last year & then couldn't make it due to work.
• M's flight  ($611), completely covered by a United credit, leftover from my London debacle. 
• Nick's flight to Seattle ($264), used Alaska miles. Paid $5.60 for taxes. Nick flew to Seattle on Friday, hung out with friends & then his friend drove him to my parents house. 
• Nick's flight home ($353), covered partially by a United credit. Outstanding amount we paid = $296.12 

Transit: $434.88

• Pre-paid parking at SFO airport - $96. Unfortunately, we had to fly in & out of SFO to use our United credits (United doesn't fly that route from our closer/preferred airport), and the cost to get to & from the airport is higher. I did research, and this is the cheapest option, by quite a stretch. This is also the "far away" parking, that requires 20-30 minutes of transit. Our flights were at reasonable times of the day vs late at night or super early, which made the less convenient parking more appealing. 
• Car rental in Oregon - $228
• Gas - $38.91 + $71.97

Food: $362.60

• Groceries = $102.59 + 97.01+ 1.50 + 4.29 
• Pizza = $120
• Airport meal for the boys - $16.51
• Beer - $13.05
• Ice cream - $7.65

Lodging: $2443.32

I paid for a very large house on the Oregon coast, & covered the cost for everyone (family, plus my BFF + her daughter). This was much cheaper than finding hotels, which are in limited supplies on the Oregon coast, or finding several smaller, separate houses. We had a total of 11 people & spent 3 nights at the beach. 

Activities:

• Walks on the beach
• Meals out (largely covered by other folks)
• Family party
• Poker games
• Happy hour on the back patio

Total spent for the trip = $3,542.52

Considering how many people we had, I think it was a pretty great deal! Of course, not captured here are the food costs everyone else spent, lest you think anyone went hungry. ;-)