Weekend Happenings

 It feels like Sunday, because I had yesterday off & it was ever so glorious! I met a friend for a workout class, ran some errands & got groceries, got a massage, and then made a big pot of chicken noodle soup for Sam. He hasn't been feeling well & loves soup. He also forgot his work shoes at home, so I drove those to him in Friday night traffic. He's usually pretty good about it, but needed to unexpectedly pick up the GF, which threw off his schedule.

The chicken noodle soup turned out to fabulously (first time trying this recipe). I had it for dinner & made enough for Sam to have some + a few lunches, and then froze the rest. It will make quick and easy meals for another few days as well. 

What else is on the agenda for today?

• A workout class - finally feeling like I'm getting back into the workout groove again, and the scale rewarded me with a small drop for my efforts.
• Meal prep
• Virtual happy hour with sister + BFF, where we will plan our Las Vegas trip at the end of the month
• There was supposed to be a get together with my old manager, but I never heard anything else about it, so I'm assuming it's cancelled. 
• I'm going to meal prep a bit more (assuming I'm not going to the aforementioned get together) & will likely make:
• Potato soup
• Chicken sausage white bean skillet
• I've been going for a short & meandering walk around the blocks in the evenings, to boost my step count, after my abysmal September numbers.
• I also want to do a little yard work
• And, catch up on the budget & tracking
• I might figure out what's happening with my 529 matching
• And, do a couple of hours of work
• Clean the hall closet
• Make banana bread

Anything that doesn't' get done today can roll over to tomorrow, which is so lovely! What about you? What's on your list for this weekend? 

Frugal Friday (several weeks worth)

 This is a combined Frugal Friday from a few weeks worth of adventures. 

Saving on things we buy

• I'll always take smooth travel over snafus, but I will certainly be getting lots of flight credits, miles & vouchers after the two cancellations in a one week travel window. Getting downgraded from a very, very expensive international business class flight will likely only result in my company receiving a credit, I suppose. Once I get the details from United, I'll provide a summary.
• We received a $40 credit from Avis for receiving a 12 passenger van, when they offered us zero cars & gave away our confirmed rental. Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick? 
• I had to go to CVS to pick up a prescription, and decided to combine errands. I picked up a few other things I needed as well, and noticed that iBotta had two different cash back offers for CVS (20% off and I think 2% off. The latter is their standard at CVS). I earned $2.76 back on my purchase through iBotta, and also uploaded all of my receipts to Fetch. 

Earning money

• Not sure how much this is earning money vs recouping what was already spent, but Sam was unable to go to Boulder, as he was moved up into another job at work and had to attend a mandatory training over the weekend. We were all disappointed, but it also meant I had an extra ticket to the football game on Saturday. I offered it to Nick's roommate, any of his friends who might want to join, as well as my BFF's daughter, but everyone had tickets and/or other plans. I listed it back on Seat Geek & recouped about 75% of my original price paid, after fees & dropping the price slightly, when we were 48 hours from the game. 
• This isn't really earning "money", although it's definitely earning rewards. I've been paying for my work travel (minus airfare) with my travel credit card, and earning the perks. There are typically a lot of multipliers on both travel expenses, as well as restaurants, and work trips involve plenty of both. I'm also accruing miles & rewards that I will use for personal travel.
• I received $15 for a Walmart "weighted goods" settlement I had no idea I was a part of. Just showed up in my Venmo. A quick search turns up that it's something about bagged citrus? No idea and I'm very surprised to get the payment, as I didn't fill out anything or submit a claim (unless I did it a long time ago & have since forgotten???)

Avoiding spending

• I think I'm in a good place, work wardrobe wise. Have just enough for a couple of business trips without fully repeating outfits. Lots of flexibility on the pants side. I found a great pair of navy pants, but that would require a different pair of shoes. I thought about it, but returned the pants, as I don't really want to have to schlep two different pair of dress shoes, and/or buy a second pair. I'll stick with black & gray, and just mix up the tops. I also remembered I have a pair of dark olive pants that work for a more casual event, so that was the final push to return the navy pants. I wish I already had shoes that worked, because the pants were great. Anyway, received a $35 refund for the return of the pants. 

Eating what we have

• Pulled buns out of the freezer to accompany M's grilled burgers this week.
• Also defrosted taco meat to have for dinner 2x. That made an easy couple of meals, and also used up tortillas and cheese that were close to expiration.
• I pulled out a container of chicken & dumplings (made in the crockpot) that I'd made a week or so ago, and that served as a fill in lunch one day. 

For others

• I gave away Sam's family weekend pass to another mom in our Boulder parents Facebook group. They were sold out, and people were charging for them, but I was just happy to give them to someone who would use them with their family. 
• I checked a bag *shivers* to help Nick's roommate get some items from his family. They are unable to come to family weekend, but they live closeish to our house, and asked if we could transport a few items for their son. My bag was very full (leaving for London from Boulder), so I didn't have room in my bag for extras, and we were already bringing Nick a variety of things. Not a problem, but it did involve one of my least favorite things - checking a bag. Nick's roommate was so awesome at bringing a bunch of his stuff on  the drive when school started, so we definitely wanted to return the favor. -Edited to add, this ended up being an extra fun experience, given the flight was cancelled right before takeoff, and we had to retrieve the bag & then recheck at SFO airport. ;-) 
• Gave away a ton of stuff on Buy Nothing, and was able to fill a couple of "In Search of" asks, which is always nice. 

What about you? Any wins to share?

October Goals

 I'm in a bit of denial that we're into October, but here we go!

Financial:

• Sort out 529 contribution match
• Figure out fitness reimbursement
• Meal plan & use up 3 freezer/pantry items
• Start planning for 2026 budget

Family:

• Get Nick's Thanksgiving flights sorted
• One date night with M
• Start planning post Christmas ski trip
• Have an amazing 20th anniversary with M

Fitness:

• Lose 2 lbs
• Get back to regular fitness check-ins
• 15 & 15 - strength training & No S days
• Run a 10k
• Average 12,500 steps/day

Personal:

• Successfully deliver a huge work project
• Get together with friends x2
• Finish planning November concert trip
• Have an awesome long weekend with my sister + BFF + brunch with my parents
• Say yes to adventure & trying new things
• Continue working on work/life balance
• Declutter 50 items
• Work on travel planning & budgets

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

September Goals Check In

 Let's just say that it wasn't my most productive month, with work trips to: Tokyo, London & San Diego, as well as family weekend in Boulder. 

Financial:

• Max 401k for the year - yes, done!
• Check in on 529 contributions & max - I've figured out my account & have put in $1k, but can't figure out how to get the match. More to do here, I guess.
• Meal plan & use up 3 freezer/pantry items - I used up buns & tater tots from the freezer, and pickles from the pantry

Family:

• Enjoy family weekend with Nick - we had an amazing time, despite travel snafus
• Start cleaning out the closet of "things" leftover when Nick moved out - yes, lots of good progress here.
• Help Sam with the start of fall classes - yes, this is going really well, and he's enjoying school, work & the rock climbing gym he joined. 
• One date night with M - we've had several really lovely evenings with a glass of wine by the pool

Fitness - this is where things get really dicey & the wheels really fell off the bus!

• Lose 2 lbs - definitely not. Gained another pound.
• Get back to regular fitness check-ins - didn't happen this month
• 15 & 15 - strength training & no S days - 6/15, & 4/15
• Half marathon training plan - barely worked out, minimal running
• Stay on track on trips (Boulder + London) - I felt sick & miserable leading up to Boulder, and worked 12-14 hour days in London, so definitely not on track
• Average 12,000 steps/day. - Not only is my watch not lasting a full day on a charge, my steps have been sad. 10,280/day

Personal:

• Get together with friends x2 - a dinner party and two hikes + got to see my BFF in Colorado
• Finish planning November concert trip - largely done
• Say yes to adventure & trying new things - plenty of September adventure. Tube riding, trains in Tokyo & London, etc. I've also been working hard at learning a few new things at work.
• Continue to explore work/life balance - this was certainly not the month for that
• Declutter 50 items - 29/50, most of which came from Nick's move out pile
• Work on travel planning & budgets - no further plans made, or budgets reviewed 

What about you? How did you do with our September Goals?