Friday Fiscal Wellness Check, June 12, 2026

                                 

           For my Friday posts, I copy a previous week, delete the old and update as I go along the week. This helps me add as the week goes on. Here's my recap of Friday, June 5 to Thursday, June 11. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing. 

Use it Up/Avoid Waste 

• Made bean and rice burgers from frozen leftover rice and bulk cooked/ frozen black beans
• Did a meal list, trying to maximize the older pantry and freezer items.

Avoiding Spending/Saving on needs

•  I'm aiming to shave 5-10% of my HH&G spending in June so gave myself a tight budget to top off basic groceries. This left room though for a few good buys for stocking up such as clearance cheese and coconut milk.

Opportunities to add Funds/Windfalls 

• Entered receipts in Fetch, played MS Rewards, and a few surveys.  
• Transferred SS deposit into high yield account immediately. I try and estimate upcoming expenses that I pay via brick and mortar bank, and send everything else to the online bank. Even $1,000 held just for a month there as I can easily transfer back if needed, is enough interest to offset a coffee outing with a friend. 

 Non-Thrifty or Frugal

• We're not imaginating it or being overly dramatic. Basic living overall is exceeding the "comfortable" inflation rate of 2% and now at 4.2%. I'm seeing a whole lot of shrinkflation as well, the most recent one being the andouille sausage that I swear was a 16 ounce package last month was now 13.6 ounces. This makes my resolve to pay attention to all the little things in the three previous bullets even more so. 

Then, there are often other things that impacted my check book that came up without much planning or notice, an extra optional or necessary expense, or an all-out splurge.

• Plumber for the drippy spigot. Im not doing amything about the garage door and opener yet.

  Daily Dinner Diary (Friday 5/29 to Thursday, 6/4). 

Fri -  Son and daughter had a later buffet lunch at an Indian restaurant before returning ing the van, then my daughter went home and he wasn't hungry for supper. I made a sort of nibble plate of cheese and fruit and one of the bean and rice burgers.

Sat- Hamburgers (stuffed with cream cheese and olives) or rice and bean burger, sweet potato wedges

Sun-  Just me, made a spinach salad and cheese and crackers

Mon-  Spaghetti with meat and mushroom pasta sauce

Tues- Fried chicken drumsticks, pasta salad, green beans

Weds- Adouille sausage, red beans and rice

Thur-  Lasagna 

         My son worked later yesterday, but I helped him secure a few more items. Short of kitties being there, and odds and end items still to come, it's live in ready. Being garden level, and surrounded by trees, it stayed pretty cool despite the heat, though Thursday was cooler. He's debating if he'll even put the AC unit in. How was your week?