Thinking ahead to the 2026 budget

 It's that time of year where we once again start looking at our budget from the current year, comparing it to our spend, determining which categories might need to be adjusted up or down, and evaluate our priorities. 

In terms of our major budget items, we have:

Boys:

• We will again have two kids in college, although Sam's college is costing us a lot less next year, and he is working enough to offset much of his expenses. Nick's college will remain very expensive until he graduates, so that expense continues. 
• The set up costs of moving kids is expensive, and we need to factor that in. We will thrift, buy used, etc but still comes with start up costs depending on the situation. 
• Nick is beginning to take more advanced math & science, so we've ear marked money for a tutor, in the event he needs one. So far, so good there.

Taxes:

• We will again owe a lot for M's severance, as the payout is not adjusted to correctly reflect our tax bracket. That money is set aside.
• Otherwise, our property & other income tax should largely remain stable.

Charity/Giving/Donations:

• We will continue our standard monthly donations, and will add in another charity that buys shoes for teens & kids in shelters. 
• We would like to give my nephew additional money for college, as he will be in his senior year next year. 

Travel:

• 2026 promises to be a pricey travel year. 
• We've got our combined 20th anniversary/50th birthday trip to New Zealand, which will definitely be expensive. The majority of the cost is included in 2025, however.
• I'm also going to Greece with my sister + BFF for a girls trip/50th combined celebration (apparently, it's a year long thing ;-)), and other than flights, we haven't paid for lodging yet & most of the expenses for this will hit in 2026.
• We are taking the boys + friends skiing at the end of December, and those costs may land in 2026 as well.
• Getting Nick to/from college is not cheap, and we've been to Boulder a few times & I expect that to continue next year.
• We are considering renting a house on the Oregon coast for a family vacation in July, & inviting my sister, nephews, parents, etc. 
• All of that to say, if anything, travel will go up in 2026. We will continue to offset the spending as much as possible by using credits, rewards, perks, etc, but there are still plenty of costs involved. 

That's where I'm at so far on the budget, although there are plenty of other categories that require a closer look with inflation. What about you? What changes are you planning for the year ahead? 

Fitness Monday

 This is a bit of a recap of how the month is going so far, since it's my first Fitness Monday for October. I was a little under the weather for a few days last week, and my work schedule was pretty crazy for another few days, which both impacted the intensity & volume of workouts.

Weight: remains the same, which is not great, as I'm not making progress on dropping the 3 pounds I've gained since I started this job

Calories: this is an estimate, as a few days I didn't accurately track, but I'd say around 1750 is the best average. 

Steps: 12,218 average calories per day

Workouts:

• Two 7 mile hikes
• I ran a 10k last weekend
• I've done 6 of my mixed cardio & strength workout classes
• Two strength training classes
• One elliptical workout
• 4 days with walks around ~3 miles or so

Goals for the rest of the month:

• I want to come as close as possible to my goal of 15 strength workouts. I'm currently at 8. 
• I also want to have 7 no S days
• And, get the calories dropped down to 1500/day, knowing the end of the month will have some splurges

What about you? How are you doing with your health & fitness goals this month? 

Menu Plan Sunday

It's been a bit of a whirlwind, finishing up a big work project, but I'm thrilled it's done! Here's what's on the menu for the week ahead. 

• Friday - an easy dinner of gyozas, wings & salad
• Saturday - snacky leftovers, after our anniversary lunch out
• Sunday - beef & tomato rice bowl
• Monday - Southwest Chicken skillet
• Tuesday - leftover beef & tomato rice bowl
• Wednesday - leftover Southwest Chicken skillet
• Thursday - chicken curry (freezer) & rice (so much rice this week, apparently!)
• Friday - TBD, or leftovers

What about you? What's on your menu for the week ahead? 

Saturday Happenings

M & I were supposed to be in Hawaii, celebrating our 20th anniversary for the next week or so. However, we were both starting new jobs (M starts his new full time job on Monday, after consulting for a few months), so we made a good bet, but it was still a little sad to see those flight reminders pop up on our calendar. 

We have plenty of fun things ahead, and decided to make our trip to New Zealand a combined 50th birthday/20th anniversary trip, so lots of opportunities to celebrate just the same. 

This weekend is our mini anniversary celebration, and we are getting a couples massage this morning (my surprise to M) at a lovely spa near us. Then we are heading to lunch out at a place we've been wanting to try. We may or may not go to dinner on our actual anniversary mid-week. M may actually have a work event that evening. 😂

Plans for today:

• Make a menu plan
• Early workout class
• Couples massage
• Lunch together
• Return a few things at the mall (all of the items I ordered to try on have come in, and those I'm not keeping are ready to be returned)
• Laundry
• Pick up the house
• Give away more on Buy Nothing
• List books on eBay

Anything that doesn't get done today can roll over to tomorrow. I handed off my big work project yesterday & feel so relieved to get that checked off. Still plenty of work to do, but removing that project from my plate feels absolutely fabulous. 

What about you? What are you up to today? 

Frugal Friday

 Not too much to report this week, but here goes. 

Saving on things we buy

• I adjusted our Christmas flights to leave a bit later due to work schedules, and received a $25 refund per person. So, $100 off the total price. 
• I bought my parents flights on Southwest a while ago, and had to change the flights. They each received credits. They do not like to fly Southwest & wanted to offer the credits to me. I was easily able to transfer my mom's credit ($45), but my dad's $120 credit is somehow impossible to transfer. Maybe I will figure it out next time we're together (holidays). 
• I bought wrapping supplies for the gifts I picked up for our 20th anniversary (a cool canvas photo collage, a hiking backpack & a bladder for our New Zealand trip) & used my $10 CVS monthly credit. I also saved a $3 off a $12 purchase coupon to my account. The out of pocket cost was $2.15, but I also earned a $3 reward for a future transaction, so it was a bit of a money maker for next time. 

Earning money

• Made a whopping $8 selling something on eBay. About once a month we receive an Amazon package for something we didn't order (made out to my husband, at our address). It's some sort of scam involving false user reviews. We've reported it to Amazon numerous times, but they don't want the items back. I have them listed on eBay and have sold a few along the way. 

Avoiding spending

• When I was out of town last weekend, Sam was able to drop me off for my flight, and M picked me up, avoiding needing to book a transit option. 

Eating what we have

• It's been chilly & rainy here, so the soups I made a week or so ago are coming in quite handy for lunches. 
• I also pulled some meatballs out of the freezer, and made an impromptu spaghetti & meatballs dish, when our dinner plans fell through. I didn't feel like doing a tomato sauce, so I did Nick's preferred version, which is pasta with olive oil & parmesan, meatballs on top, and then diced tomatoes, more parmesan & salt & pepper. Easy & quick. 

For others

• As I always do when we are together, I help my parents with tech troubleshooting. ;-) Got a bunch of stuff sorted for them. 

What about you? Any wins to share? 

Frugal Friday

In decidedly unfrugal news, I bought a few new dresses for my 50th birthday/girls trip/Alanis Morissette concert. I'm pretty excited about everything & there will definitely be sequins + combat boots involved for the concert (Las Vegas meets alt/grunge). I already have the boots, as a former Seattle girl. Luckily, they are very much back in style! If you are interested in that type of thing, see the end of the post. Again, for decidedly unfrugal balance to my list of frugal things. Keeping it real here. ;-) 

Saving on things we buy

• I was really trying to maximize errands while grocery shopping, and picked up some delicious fruit at the orchard stand, and then hit the grocery store for a last few items. I needed two cans of coconut milk, and noticed the cheapest kind was $5.99!!!! Outrageous. I made another stop at Trader Joes (not far away, but the parking is a big hassle) was $1.89/can. I don't mind paying a bit more for convenience, but this was a huge price gap. 
• I had another credit card offer redeemed, with Nick's music subscription. I saved $1.20, so nothing big, but easy enough to earn. 

Earning money

• Despite starting my job later in the year, I went with a very high 401k deduction, so I could hit the max for the year. I've now maxed out my 401k, which means my paychecks are much larger than the first few months of my employment. Hurrah!
• I also filled out my wellness reimbursement ($480 for the year), which covered two months of gym memberships + most of a massage I got last Friday. I feel lucky that I started my new job on 6/30, as that was the last day to qualify for the second half of the reimbursement. 
• For the United cancellations, we received $175 each for our cancelled Denver flight + 10,000 miles/each. For the London flight cancellation, I received a $1,000 flight credit + a $650 credit. Assuming the United points are worth about $200, that's a total of $2200. While not ideal to have the cancellations, we will definitely use the United credits, given Nick's closest airport is Denver (a United hub). 

Avoiding spending

• After a later workout, and not having had lunch, I was starving & very tempted to hit up a Mediterranean place right next to the workout studio I was at. They do customized Mediterranean bowls (Chipotle style, but with 3x the amount of add ins) & I was very tempted. I reminded myself that there were definitely options in the freezer, and had a snack of cheese & crackers while I defrosted chicken & dumplings from my freezer stash. Not quite the same, but also free, and ensures we don't waste food. 
• Similarly, M was gone for dinner for a few nights, and Sam & I would sometimes do takeout for a place M doesn't prefer. Instead, I picked up some really fabulous ravioli at Trader Joes (goat cheese & caramelized onions) & we had that with leftover diced tomatoes + chicken from the freezer. 

Eating what we have

• Made chicken noodle soup for Sam, when he wasn't feeling well. Bonus, used up the last of a bag of carrots & an open container of pasta. 
• Also used three containers of chicken broth in the soup. The chicken broth came out of the freezer, and was made after we bought a rotisserie chicken. I'm now out of broth, so perhaps will make some more. 
• I stocked the freezer with the chicken noodle soup (above) as well as a delicious potato soup I made as well.
• I've been leaving leftovers in the fridge for Sam, so he can eat when he gets home from work, instead of going out. He really loved the leftovers of the chicken sausage & bean dish I made earlier in the week. 

For others

• Noticed a neighbor needed a bunch of stuff for a family member starting over. Remembered I had a few things on eBay that came from Sam's dorm room (new in package, because teen boys don't always use all of their stuff ;-)) & gave them away. Felt nice to pass them along & clear out my eBay closet. 

On to the fashion...

Sequined skirt, to be worn with combat boots & some sort of black top. Haven't landed on that. Maybe with tights? Full grunge would be ripped tights, but I'm too old for that. I'm a lot shorter than the model, so this has more length on me. 

Deciding between either this dress in black or the blue:

What about you? Any wins to share? 

Thursday Happenings

 I'm feeling very tired this morning. I have ongoing back pain, which is aggravated by laying down, making sleep quite hard to achieve. I have tried a variety of over the counter options for this, but decided to go cold Turkey last night & take nothing for my back pain, for the first time in 5 years. (My doctor had approved a variety of options, given sleep is such an important part of maintaining my health with lupus.) That said, anything you take regularly can have other complications. 

Oh my, it was a disaster! I was up from 1-4 am, and somehow all of the problems of the world were keeping me up. My brain would not stop, because I couldn't get comfortable. I also kept M up, which he was thrilled about. ;-) 

Anyway, on to real life. I have early meetings this morning, and unfortunately had to get up early, despite having just started sleeping again a bit. I wish I was a napper, because I could definitely use a nap at lunch! Instead, I'll get out for a walk or something, to get my blood flowing.

I leave for Portland tomorrow, and am looking forward to seeing my BFF, sister & my parents. My sister, BFF, mom & I are doing a 10k together on Sunday - it's a women's only event for breast cancer. Then we will have brunch with my dad as well. I fly back home on Monday, as it's a holiday at my office. 

Positive things:

• Made the chicken curry dish last night from my menu, and it was so delicious. Prepped all of the veggies & chicken ahead of time, so it would be easy to pull together after my workout class. Of course, forgot the cilantro & green onions in the fridge when serving. ;-) 
• Had a great workout yesterday & achieved my step goals. Bonus points that a friend happened to be attending my workout class, so we caught up for a few minutes.
• M was able to confirm all of our plans for Las Vegas, and our itinerary is a go!
• We got to have dinner with Sam last night, and it was great to hear him talking about where he would like to potentially transfer when he's got his AA. I think the person he met with gave him not great advice this summer, and he needs to add a math class, three weeks into the quarter. Not ideal, but he will get good advice tomorrow with his actual advisor. 

That's it. I'm going to focus on staying awake & being functional today! Hope you have a great day. 

Fitness Monday

 I tried really hard to get myself back on track, now that I'm home have & no international travel planned until January. I also had a bonus day off this week, which was absolutely lovely. 

Weight: Down a lb from the previous week, but for full transparency, I'm up 4.3 lbs from my low (in May, before I started working, of course. ;0)

Calories: 1,527/day, and pretty consistent 

Steps: 12,541/day, and I had to come back from a really low step day on Tuesday, so feeling good about this.

Workouts:

• 4 workout classes (a mix of cardio + strength training)
• 1 hr slow walking on the treadmill while I worked
• 30 minute elliptical workout
• 7+ mile hike

Overall nutrition/goals:

• It was a good week for nutrition, although I could definitely use more leafy greens. I ate a lot of fruit, and overall ate well, with minimal sugar, alcohol or excess. 
• I feel good about getting back on track & had an intentional week, helped greatly by no traveling & the bonus day off. 

Goals for the week are to stay the course, and finish my 10k successfully on Sunday!

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

Menu Plan Sunday

 I took advantage of the weekend to do some meal prep, and made Chicken noodle soup and Creamy potato soup. Yay for bonus days off!

• Friday - chicken noodle soup + sourdough bread
• Saturday - Chicken sausage white bean skillet
• Sunday - creamy potato soup
• Monday - Easy chicken vegetable curry
• Tuesday - leftover chicken sausage skillet
• Wednesday - leftover curry
• Thursday - Beef & tomato rice bowl
• Friday -  I'm flying to Portland or meet my sister & BFF for our 10k race + fun girls weekend, so TBD

What's on your menu this week? Any good recipes to share?

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?