Wow, hard to believe that January is going to be half over in only a few days. I made the decision to move forward on the certification in Organizational Behavior. 16 graduate hours of current and contemporary education will yield a marketable skill set. It's been a bit of a culture shock for me, after spending the past few years in a small seminary. But I'm back at a real university being taught by leaders in the industry. It is nice to feel that I am not floundering and wasting my time and money. After a frank analysis of the past few years, I am too liberal for the Catholics and too Catholic for the Protestants and I wonder if I really ever would have fit in anywhere, given the choices that I made.
We are spending far less than we use to. Just because there really isn't that much to spend. I will disclose that I am going off to Southern California for four days next week, a generous gift from my parents. R/T air and car rental for my daughter (who is also coming) and I is $500. And I am taking my daughters to NYC next month for a four-day visit. R/T air was covered by miles (but I did pay $33 fee) and we are staying for free with my cousin in Manhattan. Older daughter is doing agency visits in prep for NYFW 2018. I'm diligently saving my change and have frittered away several hundred dollars for New York. Do I feel bad at travelling given our situation? No, I don't. I'm not amassing debt to do it, and I've concluded that time with family is priceless.
I did find that I am spending more on fresh foods since I am moving away from processed foods. Homemade mac and cheese is about $4 versus the $1 box, but we are at least chemical-free. And we are going through produce a whole lot faster too. And chicken sausage has made its way onto the menu since breakfast items were lacking. Almost no more boxes of sugary crap cereal. But there is a definite increase in time and treasure.
Just checking in. Still here. Still watching the pennies. But moving forward. With purpose. Won't do anybody any good looking backward.
Moving Forward
January 12th, 2018 at 10:54 pm
January 12th, 2018 at 11:24 pm 1515799474
January 13th, 2018 at 12:33 am 1515803582
January 13th, 2018 at 12:35 am 1515803731
Curiosity leads me to ask how you manage food costs in NYC when staying with a cousin. I'm never sure how to manage as host and often more uncomfortable as guest. I'd love to know what others do.
January 13th, 2018 at 01:22 am 1515806538
January 13th, 2018 at 02:12 am 1515809574
January 13th, 2018 at 07:02 pm 1515870149
We spend more eating fresh foods and less processed stuff. We aren't 100% healthy, but we have noticed in the past few years we tend to get less ill, and it usually doesn't last as long due to making so much from scratch.