Greece, a very non-frugal trip

I'm trying to create more trip recap reports, and it's important to me to show the splurge ones as much as the frugal ones. The frugal trips enable me to spend more flexibly on the splurge trips. We went to Santorini, Naxos & Paros.

Some things to note:

• The trip was a shared 50th birthday celebration for myself + my BFF, with my sister
• I paid for my sister's travel expenses, so my cost is for two people
• We originally had a fantastic deal on flights, using British Airways miles, but they changed the flights & they no longer worked for our group, which was frustrating. We then had to buy revised flights & they cost quite a bit more than they did when we originally priced them. The original flight cost was around $1800 total, so seeing the end number really hurt. 
• This trip had A LOT of logistics. M & I have agreed that Greece, while incredible, is challenging to get to from our location & we don't love a trip where we have to move around a lot. Hence how this made it to the girls trip list. 
• My BFF had a very limited set of dates available, so we had minimal flex on timing to save on cost. She's a school principal & can't adjust vacation days. We ended up needing to adjust our flights & shave a day off the last stop (Paros), as my sister found out that her SIL was getting married the day after we returned. 
• If you've ever traveled with 3-4 people in Europe (and, many places in Asia), you know that finding a room that can comfortably fit that many people is a challenge. There is either an option for a suite, or two rooms, and this is expensive regardless. 
• We were shocked by how expensive transit was, and should have done more research. We booked a hotel on the quieter part of Santorini, and they offered a shuttle service, but it didn't run during the majority of the day. Uber was more expensive than the hotel transit (they arrange for a driver to come & get you). We would still not decide to rental a car, as none of us would have been remotely comfortable driving, but the transit was the biggest area I hadn't budgeted enough for. 

Hotels - $1094.73 (remaining costs covered through Chase rewards)

• We split this up by having me book & pay for two of the hotels (Santorini & Paros), & my BFF paid for the other hotel. 
• $637.09 - food & transit booked with Santorini hotel. I didn't bring home a receipt to break out the transactions that were a few meals eaten at the hotel vs lots of transit around the island.
• $457.64 - food & transit booked with Paros hotel. Same as above, I didn't bring home a receipt to break out the transactions that were a few meals eaten at the hotel vs lots of transit around the island.

Transit - $270.96

• We had two ferry rides, to get between the islands. For two, the ferry costs were $260.72
• We also rode the ferry from Paros to Antiparos, which was a whopping $10.24 (three round trip tickets)
• See above, as the majority of this is captured under Lodging

Food - $190.75

• While we mostly ate at lounges for our airport transit days, I bought drinks for the flight from Munich to SFO (from a vending machines) to carry on the flight ($6.27) & coffee for all of us at the Frankfurt airport, ahead of our flight to Athens ($23.78)
• Dinner in Naxos- $134.44
• Gelato in Paros, x2 - $14.3+11.96
• The majority of the rest of my food was covered by my sister when we ate out, and we had few meals at the hotels (covered under Lodging, as I didn't get the receipt to split out transit costs & food). 

Activities - $243.60

• We booked a cooking class - cost for two was $243.60 
• We also did a distillery/winery two at a Citron family owned business, which was super interesting. My sister paid for my ticket. 

Flights - $10,613.44

• I flew my sister to/from Portland, so we could be on the same flights from SFO & reduce logistics. I normally do a really good job optimizing, but we had fixed timing & airport/airline requirements that complicated things. This flight was insanely priced at $665.23. 
• We also paid for flights to/from Athens to islands, & my cost was for two of those tickets. - $623.55
• Moving on to the big ticket items - two round trip flights from SFO to Athens. The flight class varied a bit - we were in Premium Plus from SFO to Frankfurt, regular economy (I think?) from Frankfurt to Athens, business from Athens to Munich and business from Munich to SFO.  - $9324.66

Travel insurance - $96

• At my previous employer, health insurance was international, which means I didn't need to buy a policy when I traveled. My current company policy only provides coverage for international work travel. I did not need travel coverage for delayed flights & the like, as that's covered by my travel credit card. I used Allianz insurance - $96

Other - $630.97

• Gifts from M + the boys, two pair of hand made sandals, some stunning pottery from a local vendor in Paros & a necklace for my mom 

Total spent = $12,917.65 for two people (or $6,458 & change per person). All in all, no regrets on the spending except for the flights, which as noted above, was originally supposed to be largely covered by British Airways miles. Hopefully we will get a chance to use them soon. 

Naxos to Paros and home again

I  left off with our last day in Naxos, so I'll pick up with our ferry adventure from Naxos to Paros.

Wednesday 6/24 - Naxos -> Paros

• Grabbed breakfast & coffee near the hotel
• Made our way to the ferry port in Naxos Town
• Because we knew what to expect, this ferry adventure was a bit easier. Both ferries we took were delayed, but I got the sense that's kind of the norm. We met a couple in line behind us from Oregon, and gave them a lot of tips on how to navigate the ferry process. The ferry we boarded was quite large (1,300 people), but the number of folks boarding in Naxos was much smaller than Santorini. There was still a ton of chaos with the boarding process, and baggage, so that was an adventure. We had great seats, however, that put us right near the exit ramp & made grabbing our bags during the chaos much easier. Oh, and no one checks your ferry tickets until the boat is well underway. On our ferry from Santorini to Naxos, we stopped at Ios, well known for a younger party crowd, & picked up a few hundred folks. Maybe 15 minutes after we were underway, they were going around scanning tickets, and a large group of folks from the island were on the wrong ferry. No idea what happened from there, as they gathered them all together & went to find a supervisor. This is one of the challenges when you have a chaotic boarding process, and don't scan tickets upon entry. Just no way to know. ;-) 
• We got picked up at the Paros terminal by our hotel & made our way to our final destination. And, it was so incredible. We were originally supposed to have one more night at this hotel, but needed to shave one night off so my sister could attend a wedding for her partner's sister back in Portland. I'm so bummed it was a night in Paros that got removed, because this was my favorite island by far & we had an amazing time, but didn't get to see everything. 
• Our room wasn't quite ready when we arrived, so we sat by the pool & enjoyed our welcome cocktail, and shared a lunch. The weather on Paros & Naxos was much warmer than Santorini (just down to a weird mix of weather patterns, I don't think that's typical), so we were able to get in the pool & enjoy that as well. 

• Checked in, enjoyed a snack from the hotel & got ready for dinner.
• We went to Naoussa, which is a town that is exactly how I envisioned Greece would be. Gorgeous cobblestone streets, cats everywhere, and amazing views everywhere you look. We had our best meal of the trip that night at Mare Nostrum, where we had a sesame/honey/feta dish that I will attempt to find again, a shrimp pasta dish & of course, Greek salad. We took lots of photos & did a bit of shopping, wrapping up the evening with gelato before we got the shuttle back to the hotel.

Thursday 6/25 - Paros

• Got up & had breakfast & coffee at the hotel. Breakfast was good, but couldn't beat the breakfast options at the Santorini hotel. Quite a step up from the Naxos hotel, however.
• Took the ferry to the very nearby island of Antiparos. This ferry ride was one of my favorite parts. It costs about 1.50 Euros each person, per trip & you just walk on. It's a gorgeous 10 minute ferry ride to Antiparos, which was my favorite part of the trip. (Views from the ferry, below).
• Antiparos was gorgeous, tiny, and we spent some time talking to a local pottery shop owner. He & his wife have been making pottery for 40 years and have incredible pieces. I'm not one for a lot of souvenirs, but these were so lovely and worth bringing home, so we could remember a bit of Greece. We had lunch at a lovely restaurant & finished off the trip with a gelato, running to catch a ferry that was about to take off.
• We came back & hung out by the pool, where I finished the last of my books (that includes all of my Kindle library books, 2 paper books I picked up from the hotel's "free" counter, and a book from my friend). I ended up buying a very expensive book at the Munich airport, to see me through the rest of my trip. My Kindle is extremely finicky to connect with wifi outside of my house, so getting new library books wasn't an option. I tried, and failed, repeatedly. Met a really nice woman at the pool & gave her some tips on Santorini, where she was headed next.
• Had dinner in Parikia, and celebrated our last night on the island. 
• Packed up & had an early night, as we had to be up at 5 for our flight. 

Friday 6/26 - Paros -> SFO

• Got up at 5 to finish packing & get ready for our 5:45 car service to the airport. Checked out of the hotel.
• Got to the very small & jam packed airport (one gate, one terminal) for our 7:00 am flight, which was delayed. Flight itself was uneventful & short.
• Got to Athens, picked up our bags & dropped them off at the respective luggage counters. We then had to say goodbye to my friend, as her flight left from a different terminal, and coming with us would require her to deal with security/etc twice.
• Hung out at the lounge in Athens, as we budgeted quite a bit of time for security and the like. Flight from Athens to Munich was around 3 hours, and went smoothly. We were fed a nice lunch.
• Got to Munich, bought a book, cleared a very long immigration line. We were eventually pulled out to use the automatic machines, which got things moving quickly. Went through another security check at our gate.
• Flight from Munich to SFO was 11 hours, and we were in Lufthansa business class, which was really nice. I'd heard it wasn't comparable to United or British Airways, so I had low expectations, but it was actually really great. Service, food, space, etc. My sister had never flown business, and was completely thrilled with the space. Dozed, read my book, watched two movies, ate some dinner.
• Landed on time at 7 pm in SFO, breezed through immigration with Global Entry, but then waited an hour for my bag. Sad goodbye to my sister, as she was carrying on to Portland. M picked me up, I came home & immediately fell asleep!

Friday was a super long travel day, but the trip was so much fun. Lots of adventure, lots of memory making, lots of chats you don't get if you don't see your friends often. Gorgeous scenery, incredible meals, and met some really lovely people. Travel logistics aside, you can't ask for much more than that!

Santorini to Naxos trip details

When I left off, we had just finished our last full day in Santorini. Caveat, entire trip was filled with laughs, experiences & memory making, so absolutely worth doing, but I'll share the highlights & the lowlights. 

Sunday 6/21 - Santorini to Naxos

• Got up in the morning & had breakfast at the hotel & packed up
• Headed to the port for the ferry, which was ... an adventure I won't soon forget
• The thing about the ferry is it's so much chaos without any organization, and 1200 people attempting to board a ferry while workers are shouting in Greek. That would maybe be okay if everyone was going to the same island, but the ferries from Santorini go to numerous islands, and you need to leave your luggage in the designated area for your destination, Cue an absolute insane amount of chaos, dragging your bags up an enormous ferry ramp, trying to sort luggage, sirens going off, whistles being blown & just... a lot. ;-) I would not repeat the ferry experience unless absolutely mandatory. (This is specific to Santorini. We also took the ferry from Naxos to Paros, and combined with the fact that we knew what to expect and the much fewer number of people boarding, it was easier to navigate, although still...chaotic, shall we say.) 
• We got picked up in Naxos Town by the hotel transport, and made our way to the hotel. The hotels in Santorini & on Paros were really fabulous, but this one was ... more of a let down. The room was tiny, despite being a "suite". We had the sofa made into a bed, which meant there was no room to sit, no place for three bags, etc. The other disappointment was the hotel pool area. In the photos online, they showed a pretty spacious pool area, as well as what they described as a pool terrace. There were a total of six chairs for the entire hotel, and they were all in full sun for the day, and I'm not sure what happened with the pool terrace, but no such thing. We heard later that the pool photos were taken with a drone & then selectively edited... I also wouldn't stay in the location we were in, and would stay in Naxos Town if I ever came back. We were in Prokopios, which had a lot of touristy type restaurants, and it was harder to find places to eat, etc. 
• We had an okay dinner on our first night, as the place we wanted to go to was sold out, and we wandered around looking for other options. That said, the view was gorgeous on the beach. Just a stunning location. 

Monday 6/22 - Naxos

• Tried the hotel breakfast, which was not an experience we would repeat. 
• Rented lounge chairs at the beach, read two books & ordered cocktails & fries. Lunch of champions. ;-) Absolutely gorgeous views & some fun people watching. We hit maximum relaxation by this point. 

• Went to dinner in Naxos Town & did some shopping, & had a lovely dinner at Avaton 1739, which is located on the Old Monastery and School of the Ursulines (a historic complex built directly into the stone fortification walls of the medieval Venetian Castle, according to Google). The view was again super fabulous. 

Tuesday 6/23 - Naxos

• Went out to breakfast/coffee & skipped the hotel breakfast ;-)
• Had no plans, as we were supposed to be on a kayak tour, but wind meant that wasn't an option for us. We weren't quite sure what to do, so after checking with the hotel staff, we ended up on a distillery tour. I'll admit that I had zero expectations for this, but it turned out to be so much fun. The distillery makes Citron, and that type of alcohol is only made in Naxos, by two family owned distilleries. The host made the experience - she was so much fun, we drank wine, lots of Citron, ouzo, and limoncello. 
• Went to a great dinner in Naxos Town at Scirocco, and enjoyed shrimp orzo & then went shopping a bit down town. I do really like that the shopping area is open so late. 

I'll be back with the details of our trip from Naxos -> Paros, and our time in Paros + travel home. Naxos is described as a favorite island by many, so if I go back & try it again, I would make a bunch of adjustments to where we stayed & our planned activities, as I don't think we did it justice & would like to go back & experience it again. 

Not the usual Fitness Monday post

Because, other than my workout class yesterday, fitness has been pretty limited to walking during my vacation. On Saturday, I mostly just slept & lounged around on the couch, trying to convince myself to be productive. ;-) 

I'll try & do a trip recap instead (and, I've got a trip cost post coming, with more details on that). 

My sister + BFF flew in on Monday, so we could all depart SFO together on Tuesday. 

Tuesday 6/16- travel day

• We worked during the day on Tuesday morning, went for a quick walk at lunch, and then cleaned up & headed to the airport. 
• I redeemed my two free United lounge passes for myself + my sister at the SFO United lounge. I've been to the domestic terminal lounges (nice), as well as the Polaris international lounge (amazing), but never to the international lounge/non-Polaris. It was pretty disappointing, and I wish I hadn't redeemed my pass vouchers, but c'est la vie. We had a glass of champagne & chatted while we waited for our flight.
• Our flights left SFO around 7 pm. We were all together in Premium Plus. I managed to sleep for 4ish hours, which isn't too bad for me. 

Wednesday 6/17 - travel day

• Time zones make this challenging to recap, but after an 11 hour flight to Frankfurt, we got off the flight, cleared customs (the line was crazy, and a bunch of people missed connections). 
• I grabbed coffee for everyone, while we took turns using the bathroom & stretching our legs a bit.
• We had about 20 minutes before boarding, so even planning on a 2 hour gap between flights was pretty tight. 
• We boarded our next flight, from Frankfurt to Athens, which was just under 3 hours. We ordered a glass of wine & a snack & all then took a short nap. 
• We arrived in Athens & that was... an experience. We were flying a small airline (Aegean Air) from Athens to Santorini. The airport was very quiet in the terminal we were in, the gate moved twice, we couldn't figure out how to get our bags checked (even a standard carry-on doesn't fit & needed to be checked). We hung out at the lounge and ate a bit.
• We had to take busses to the plane, and that was an experience, as the bus is absolutely jammed full of people & then there was a near collision on the runway between our bus & another bus. A few people fell over, because the bus braked so hard and turned, but we all survived that.
• Flight to Santorini was uneventful. We landed, claimed our bags (took only 5 minutes or so) & exited the airport & met our hotel driver. 
• Drive to the hotel was quick & easy & we got checked in & made our way to the room, around 1:30 am local time. The hotel had champagne & snacks in the room for us. Sat out & chatted & went to sleep around 2:30 am. Hotel was absolutely gorgeous, and on the quiet side of Santorini, which we enjoyed. 

Thursday 6/18 - Santorini

• Got up late, had breakfast, unpacked. 
• Went to a winery & had a tasting & enjoyed a relaxing afternoon

• Had a fabulous dinner (birthday celebration, planned by my sister) at The Athenian House in Imerovigli, which was absolutely stunning at sunset. We were surprised by how chilly & windy it was, which was the case for our entire Santorini trip. Ate delicious Greek food & shared a bottle of wine. (View from dinner)

Friday 6/19 - Santorini

• Took advantage of the free hotel breakfast (delicious)
• Headed to Megalochori for a cooking class, which we loved. The chef was so much fun, and it was just the three of us + a lovely couple from Australia. We made a traditional bean dish, Greek salad (of course), tomato fritters & tzatziki sauce. We enjoyed wine during the food preparation, and lots of laughs with our cooking mishaps. 
• After the class, we wandered around Megalochori & enjoyed the really cute town & got some pictures. 

• Headed back to the hotel & laid by the pool for a bit, and read
• Ordered room service & ate on our patio, which was perfect. We had chicken gyros & wine. Of course. ;-) 

Saturday, 6/20 - Santorini

• Hotel breakfast
• We hiked the caldera from Fira to Oia, and the views were stunning. We went pretty early in the day, before it got too warm. 
• While the hike was amazing, Oia was jammed with tourists from the big cruise ships in town. Locals told us that three ships were in port, which explains the crowds. 
• We then had dinner in Fira, which was again super crowded & food was okay, but definitely felt like more of a tourist location/restaurant. Sunset at the restaurant, however, was gorgeous, with caldera views.

I'll be back with additional details on our next two stops (Naxo & Paros). My verdict of Santorini? Absolutely gorgeous, but a one & done for me, due to the crowds & overall more of a touristy vibe. That said, worth visiting once if you want the more traditional white building/blue dome architecture & Instagram style views. 

Menu Plan Sunday

 I'm going to keep things really easy this week, but make sure everyone gets fed.

• Friday - ate some pasta on the flight home from Munich
• Saturday - rotisserie chicken + grain salad from Costco (prepared section, delicious)
• Sunday - grilled burgers
• Monday - one pan chicken & rice dish (chicken from rotisserie purchase above) 
• Tuesday - leftover grain salad & chciken
• Wednesday - leftover burgers
• Thursday -  leftover one pan chicken & rice dish
• Friday - something in Lake Tahoe, I think we'll be eating out

What about you? What's on your menu this week? 

Back from Greece

 Trip was amazing, but travel logistics were exhausting! We had three flights yesterday (four for my sister) & it was a 24 hour travel day for two of us, and closer to 30 hours for my sister, as her final leg was delayed. Poor thing.

I will definitely prioritize places that are closer next time, but absolutely loved, loved Paros & would take M there if it gets any easier to get there. I've heard they are expanding their airport a bit.

Minimal Menu Plan Sunday

 Phew, the crazy week is wrapping up & I leave for vacation on Tuesday! It has been absolutely wild around here, but things are very slowly settling down. It was not my best cooking week, for reasons like being out of town, but we made things work. 

• Friday - I made the Argentinan shrimp (Trader Joes), which I would definitely recommend as a staple, as they are excellent & defrost really quickly. Had this with (TJs) veggie fried rice.
• Saturday- M grilled burgers for some friends Nick had over, and we had burgers, fries, potato salad, and a watermelon that was yellow? 
• Sunday - I'm making a chicken/rice one pan dish tonight. 
• Monday - birthday dinner out, with guests!
• Tuesday - eating at the airport lounge, most likely
• Wednesday - Friday - Greece!

What about you? What's on your menu this week? Hopefully you will have more inspiration than I do this week. 

Frugal Friday

It was a pretty quiet week, because I was traveling for work Sunday-Thursday. The only "frugality" is that work is paying for my expenses while I was there. I'd definitely prefer to be home!

Saving on things we buy

• Uploaded a grocery receipt to Fetch & took advantage of a whopping $.05 iBotta offer. 

Earning money

• Received a small annual raise, which is back dated to April & found out about my annual bonus. 

Avoiding spending

• Ate lunch on Sunday at the lounge. It was nothing to write home about, but I ate the filling out of the two tiny tacos & then a small side salad with a dash of chips on top. Luckily, I had a bunch of fruit in the morning. 

Eating what we have

• Not me, but M has been packing lunches for Nick & they ate a staggering amount of leftovers while I was gone.
• Got home yesterday & baked up two frozen pizzas for dinner  + leftovers for Nick's lunch

For others

• Sent a bunch of thank you notes to awesome folks I work with, including their managers. Just in time for the annual review season. 

That's it from my side. It hasn't been the most frugal week for sure. What about you? Any wins to share? 

Fitness Monday

It was not a good step week, as you can see from the results. A combination of opting for a strength class on a day when I could actually go to class (the only one that worked for my schedule), an in office day, a doctor's appointment & a hair cut (my first one in 10 months! It was more than overdue). That said, I did manage three strength workouts this week, which is my goal & a nice improvement. 

Weight: 149.5 - very pleased to see that I'm in the 140s again, as that's a nice mental milestone for me. Down 1.1 lbs from last week. I've been trying to add in more strength training, to ensure that I'm not losing muscle, which is a concern when you are steadily losing pounds. 

Calories: 1,359 calories/day

Steps: 9,879/ day average

Workouts:

• 2 45 minute elliptical workouts
• A full strength training class
• 2 classes that are 1/2 strength training & 1/2 cardio

Goals for the week:

• Stay on track with my fitness & calories, despite being at a work event

What about you? How did you do with your health & fitness goals this week?

No menu plan Sunday

Because I leave for a work trip today. However, M grilled a huge batch of chicken & made rice last night, so he & the boys have plenty to eat. Everyone likes easy protein options. Nick starts the camp counselor portion of his job tomorrow, so he will be out on long bike rides, hikes & climbing trips. 

I managed to squeeze in a morning workout class, and now I'm about to do the final phase of packing (the last minute stuff you can't do until right before you leave) & then head to the airport. 

I have an evening event tonight, partner meetings all day tomorrow, presenting on Tuesday & Wednesday, & I'm spending all day Thursday doing team stuff with my boss. I'm also supposed to somehow find time to deliver all of my performance reviews to my team members, and work on a business case for a project. I fly home late on Thursday. Doesn't that sound like a fun time? ;-) 

I will be so incredibly grateful when this week is done. It also leaves me Friday, Monday & 1/2 of Tuesday to wrap up work before I head out on vacation. M's birthday is next week, we are hosting family for dinner on Saturday, I need to pack for Greece & get a pedicure, and my friends are flying in on Monday. It's going to be busy, busy, busy!

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

It's not always about frugality, and Saturday happenings

I tend to focus more on frugal wins on the blog, for obvious reasons, but not all of the choices we make have frugality top of mind. 

I have an absolutely crazy few weeks, with a work trip to LA, a birthday dinner for M that we are hosting, out of town guests, more work, the last week of my Stanford class & my capstone project, finishing all of my performance reviews, & then a trip to Greece. As such, getting the house properly cleaned to host & entertain is lower on my priority list, so I am having our house deep cleaned next Monday when I'm back from LA. What a relief to give that task to someone else, so I can focus on all of the other many things grabbing my attention. I did promise myself that I could pay to have the house cleaned regularly when I went back to work. I did that for several months, and then when I decided I was only staying for a year, I opted to cancel the service & just clean on my own. 

Anyway, that's my very non-frugal splurge for the month, and I'm looking forward to it.

Other happenings today:

• I'm going to a combo strength/cardio class this morning, which will be nice to put me closer towards my goal of 3x/week for strength training
• Finish packing for work trip
• Get all of the Father's Day cards for my dad (myself & the boys) finished & mailed
• Get M's cards all prepped (Father's Day & birthday)
• Start organizing Greece items & determine if I need to buy any travel toiletries
• Make a Costco list (for everyone else) for the week
• I may also try to get in a walk, as I'm way behind on my step goals for the week
• Clean the fridge
• Laundry

What about you all? What's your most recent splurge, and what's on the agenda for today?

Frugal Friday

 Another busy week, which included M's mini birthday getaway, an office day & a ton of prep for a big work event next week. I'll be happy when next week is done. 

Saving on things we buy

• We had a fantastic time at M's mini birthday getaway, and saved a lot by using Hyatt points, and combining with my hotel status (earned through credit card spend), which was really lovely. 
• Used my monthly CVS reward + a $3 off a $10 purchase + a Hallmark coupon to save a bit on a purchase of: cards, travel sunblock, & a toothbrush. 

Earning money

• Sold a set of workout shirts that are too big for M, and made $15.
• Nick collected the money from the soccer tournament he worked at ($160 for all day, so not bad at all) & started training for his summer job. Sam continues to work quite a few hours at his restaurant job & was approached while at work for someone looking for daytime help at a bakery. They said his customer service skills were great, so he's looking into whether he can make that work. 
• I sold a new in package electronic item on eBay (from the woman I know who is cleaning her parents house & just wants everything gone). Made $12 and kept it out of the landfill. 

Avoiding spending

• Last year I successfully took advantage of a 100% cash back offer of a meditation app, through my credit card. I did the same this year, but was never credited the cash. I called once a few days after it was expected to clear, told to be patient. Called 8 weeks later, they were investigating. Called today & got it resolved. They ended up refunding me, but I didn't get the app, as the offer terms didn't work in my particular case. I'm sad not to have the app, but meditate rarely, so not worth $80 out of pocket. 
• Charged my car for free at work, and skipped buying breakfast & lunch by taking advantage of the snack/free options they provide. Breakfast was a yogurt with a sprinkle of granola & a banana. Lunch with string cheese, nuts & apple & a few chocolate covered almonds. 

Eating what we have

• We hosted a big pool party on Sunday for Nick's friends, so we had a lot of leftovers & have been eating through all of that. 
• A neighbor asked if we could use bananas and peaches, as they were going out of town. The peaches were fabulous! 
• Nick has been packing lunches for his summer camp job. He has really changed his eating to be healthy (awesome), and is packing lots of fruit, veggies & protein. 
• I made an easy dinner from Trader Joes ingredients (we've been watching some YouTube videos on this topic that are quite fun). It was a spicy rice bowl using: veggie fried rice, pineapple meatballs, soyaki sauce & a cabbage slaw. It was delicious & of course super easy to pull together, which this week required. I don't know that I would call it super frugal, but it was definitely cheaper than takeout, and provided 3 lunches from leftovers. 

For others:

• Did a couple of mock interviews for college students looking for internships or full time jobs. Getting practice at this is hard, and interviewing is a real skill. I've done hundreds of interviews in my time, so happy to share my knowledge. 

That's it for me. Any wins to share on your side? 

May Goals Recap

 May was a bit of a lull before the chaos of June & July, which was nice. Here's how things went with my goals.

Financial:

• Stay on top of food waste by using up 3 pantry or freezer items. This month, all from the freezer:
• Chicken noodle soup 
• Hamburger buns
• Last of a bag of chicken patties
• Cauliflower rice/rotisserie chicken leftover dish
• Last of a bag of pizza rolls
• Continue to track net new savings for 2026 - yes, and I've now maxed my 401k for the year, so my last few checks should be bigger than before
• Make $100 in side hustle - $243 in May
• Find one expense to optimize - nothing this month
• Finalize work exit plan - yes, and locked in on an exit date

Family:

• Continue to help the boys navigate college & life - helped Nick prep for, interview & successfully get a summer job. Also helped him move out. Sam is continuing with working towards a conservation program, as well as working. 
• Monthly date with M - a dinner out, several hikes & an overnight early birthday celebration
• Visit another national park - we pivoted to a local state park in Carmel
• Continue working on "next big trip" plans with M - we have just started to sketch out details for Iceland!

Fitness:

• Lose 3 lbs - lost 3.7 lbs
• 10 days of meditation, strength & No S - crushed the No S, only 6 strength workouts & no meditations
• Build out a workout template - will get to this when I'm done working
• Track nutrition - yes
• Average 12,000 steps/day - 11,831 - so close!

Personal:

• Declutter 50 items from the house - 12/50
• Get together with friends - a couple of hikes this month
• Try something new - I'm taking an AI for leaders class + went to a spin class at our overnight getaway
• Say yes to adventures - working on 2027 plans & lots of adventures
• Get to know our neighbors - we've been trying to plan something, but dates haven't lined up yet
• Try a new recipe - yes, I tried a new recipe with a variety of Trader Joes items, which turned out really well & will be a nice staple. While not super cheap, it's much less expensive than takeout. 

What about you? How did you do with your goals this month?