Midyear Assessment

Jumping off the daily treadmill for a minute to think about how I’m meeting my goals (or not).

Here are the goals I put in my New Year’s post:

I’ve had a change of heart regarding groceries. I’m not doing Costco anymore or worrying about food prices too much. I just don’t have time to cook in bulk or comparison shop. If anything, I might switch to a European model: figuring it out day by day and buying fresh ingredients at the store. Costco is decidedly not one of my happy places. I am not renewing my membership. It makes sense to buy certain things in bulk, but I’ll get them elsewhere. I don’t like the crowds at Costco and I always end up buying dumb stuff. And if higher grocery prices mean we have to eat less food or eat less meat … so be it. That wouldn’t be the worst thing. I will definitely keep trying to pack my work lunch and avoid fast food and too much takeout. I’ve certainly made progress with cutting out fast food, more so than the other two.

I have not used grocery delivery much so far this year, so I’m doing well with that goal. The last few times I did it, there always seemed to be an issue, so I’ve soured on it anyway.

“Cook more from scratch and avoid processed foods”: I’d say we mostly swing between scratch-cooked meals and takeout/eating out. I’m not exactly cooking more, but I definitely buy less of the frozen dinners and Hot Pockets I used to rely on to keep the teenage boys fed. (But Tom still buys stuff like that sometimes.)

I should mention that when I buy lunch at work, it’s usually the cafeteria “power lunch”: grilled salmon and veggies, very healthy.

Going to squeeze in here the fact that F requested green beans for dinner the other night. That had to be a first. My garden beans have won her over!

“Support small businesses”– sure, if I’m buying something. I just don’t buy much. I choose our local Ace Hardware over Home Depot, most of the time. I virtually never use Amazon.

Bird feeder — yes, it was going great for several months there! It fell down again, so we have to try to secure it better. I don’t think I will become a full-blown bird nerd like some other middle-aged ladies I know, but I enjoy the feeder. Side note: the pokeberry plant did grow berries, and I can see that they are getting eaten, but I haven’t seen a bird eating them yet.

“Expand the garden.” Yes. One big new (to me) planter purchased, and I also expanded into the ground on the other side of the gate. Of course, I could keep an eye out for more used planters, expand upward with sturdy trellises in a few places… I never feel like I have enough room.

Work on the blog structure/homepage: no. F minus. I haven’t done a single thing, and I haven’t kept up with posting on Instagram either. Meh. But I have posted here every week without fail.

Celebrate my parents’ anniversary: done!

Travel: yes, just not anywhere super cool. But the year isn’t over yet…

Overall, this year I’m not really in a position to focus on building up my savings, like I have been doing the past several years. College for my oldest (and college coming soon for the others) has made that hard. Plus helping him buy a car and having him on our car insurance. I still have zero debt (besides my car), so that’s good.

Like most people, I guess, I’m always torn between appreciating what I have (so much!) and wanting a little more. I seem to be feeling this a bit more keenly lately.

I do need to figure out how to get the energy bill and the car insurance lower. I have one other major idea that I may try to implement, stay tuned.

In a bit of good news, T qualified for a little bit more federal student aid this year, including a small Pell grant that doesn’t need to be repaid. I worry a lot about his post-college job prospects, but I think the debt he will be leaving college with is fairly manageable.

So, moving forward, I’ll keep trying to knock down expenses and save where I can, but I’m not going to lose my mind over it. We are in a particular season, both in terms of the overall economy and where we are as a family. Some things are out of my control.

In the meantime, there’s a Mary Oliver quote I saw for the first time today, on FB, that’s a good guide:

Instructions for living a life.

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.