Friday Fiscal Wellness Check, September 25, 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, September 18 to Thursday, September 24. I just sort of list things as they come up. I know my WIS is somewhat redundant but my Fridays are a more overall check into how I'm doing in terms of financial wellness instead of daily tracking each expense. This was a big use it up week, honing in on priorities,  and preparing for some big expenses the rest of the year.

Use it Up/Avoid Waste

• Used the rest of the thawed tomatoes my daughter gave me ( goulash last week) to make pasta sauce, which I then froze as wasn't planning anything for a bit.
• Used the last bit of cherry tomatoes from my plants and the farmers market,  a small red onion, and zuchini to make a nice pasta dish for my daughter and I for lunch Sunday. There was enough for her to bring for her Monday lunch.
• Used a cake mix that was lingering to make a cinnamon apple loaf cake to bring to Monday's mom's book club.
• Googling ideas to use up three white cheddar brats gave me multiple sausage soup and hotdish/ casserole recipes. I used tips from several with what I had for vegetables for a surprisingly more tasty soup than I imagined. I was going to add pasta but after cooking a couple tablespoons of flour with the sautéed mise en place vegetables (a tip) and then simmering after adding a diced potato,  with the broth, it was rich and creamy begore adding frozen chopped spinach, and the cooked sausage. It was supper one and I'll eat up the rest over the next few days, but also  freeze a large portion.

Avoiding Spending/Saving on needs 

• Still no AC and no heat! Love September for a break on  utilities.
• Used 1 week free AppleTV to get caught up on Ted Lasso. I'm good not subscribing for now. I'm trying to switch up my paid subscriptions to no more than one extra at a time beyond Amazon Prime which we share. Peacock, Disney, and commercial Hulu are free with my internet. When they are not,  I'll let them expire and perhaps only route them like I do other streaming.

Opportunities to add Funds/Windfalls 

• Entered receipts in Fetch. Saga surveys gave been a washout.

 Non-Thrifty or Frugal

• Fortunately nothing big, but will be coming.

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.

• No splurges this week other than an unplanned lunch out, but I had cash still from my monthly "allowance" with enough for dinner out tomorrow night as well.

  Daily Dinner Diary (Friday 9/18 to Thursday, 9/24). 

Fri -  Frozen pizza

Sat- Book club at my sisters and she made pizza burgers.  I brought a loaf of garlic bread and TJ's spinach artichoke hot dip in a mini crock pot.

Sun- Burrito. Daughter was here and went to visit my MIL

Mon- Leftover burrito fixings in a bowl.

Tues- 2nd half of a turkey avocado wrap from lunch out, a pear, and a hard boiled egg

Weds- White cheddar brat on a bun, grapes

Thur- Sausage and vegetable soup, slice of toast, grapes

Leftovers/ Added to Freezer:

• Pasta sauce 
• Dozen turkey meatballs
• 3 beef, bean, rice and cheese burritos
• One container of soup 

      I'm feeding my sisters cats later and in the day and tomorrow morning as she's got an overnight with friends at a lake camper. I'll visit my MIL and followup on few things not quite right at the care home. She's very motivated to get bettervand back home. Tomorrow I'm going out for dinner with my siblings then for dessert at a sisters for my brother's birthday. He'll be heading back to Florida next week. How was your week?