This Week...Beyond Money TWO WEEKS 1/30 - 2/12

For me, a life beyond money is making choices so that you can live the best possible life, regardless of your income level. Obviously, you have to make a living, but there are many ways to improve your quality of life without increasing your income levels and correspondingly your expenses. This regular post will be some of the ways that we improve our quality of life beyond just trying to make more money.

Gardening:
* I found seeds at the dollar store and bought tons. They were $1/4! I got: radishes (4 types), basil, thyme, oregano, dill, cilantro, parsley, sage, eggplant, kale, spinach, mustard spinach, chives, scallions and several packs of flowers. Even if germination isn't great, at that price, it was worthwhile.

Cooking/Groceries:
* Trucker was having trouble sleeping one night and decided to get up around 2:30. At 4:00, he woke me up with breakfast in bed: scrambled eggs, toast and coffee. It was the absolutely perfect way to start the day before heading to work.
* One evening, Trucker made a quick dinner of pasta and tomato sauce with onion. Another, we ate slow cooker lasagna from the frig.
* I made popcorn for a snack. I flavored mine with a zesty dip mix that was really good ($.05/ pack at salvage grocery; I use about 1/8 the packet each time).
* I found some manager's specials: a huge ham for $14 (usually $18), cereal for $1, pasta for $.50.
* Trucker made me a lovely dinner one evening: leftover ham, green beans (from storage), baked potato and salad. It was so wonderful to walk in and get to eat a yummy dinner.
* Trucker bought some manager's special muffins for me to use as work breakfasts/lunches. It was such a sweet thing. I am constantly thankful for him.
* We stopped by a salvage grocer. We found some great bargains: $3/12 oz decaf coffee, $1.50 for 12 oz coffee or coffee/chicory blend (5), 10 packs of zesty dip seasoning for $1 (I use this for my popcorn), 2 large cans of crushed tomatoes for $.20 each, 3 cans of pigeon peas for $.20 each, 5 bottles of BBQ sauce at $.25 each, 1 bottle of tartar sauce for $.25, a 2-litre of Nicaraguan soda for $.79 (we don't often have soda at home, but when we do I like to try something different), 2 jars of caviar for $4.98 each (the price has gone up at this salvage grocer, but we still consider it an acceptable price for a luxury item we enjoy and stretch), 2 bottles of magic shell chocolate sauce for $.50 each, 4 jars of pasta sauce for $.99 each ($1.25 is the sale price of the thin, weird store-brand pasta sauce; this sauce was a moderately good brand), 3 jars of pickled peppers for $.79 each, 1 can olives for $1.19, meat tenderizer for $1.99, 2 jars of dijon mustard for $.50 each and 1 can corn for $.50. We have found that sometimes items are much higher than at regular stores, sometimes we can get nicer brands for the same price as cheaper items are Aldi, and sometimes we find outrageous deals. The important thing is to know our prices well enough to know whether to stock up, or even buy an item at all.

Fun:
* We went on a few coffee dates.
* We met up with some of our friends one evening. We had a wonderful time talking with everyone. When I was at the farm, I worked every Tuesday evening, so we weren't able to go out with everyone. I'd forgotten just how refreshing these evenings are.
* We went out for sundaes McDonald's one day, $2.79 date.
* We took a day trip. I had to go out of town for a job interview. Trucker decided to come out with me. Sometimes part of the interview can happen in the morning, then more happens later in the day, so he didn't want to miss out on our entire day off together. He went to a Tim Horton's for the 3 hours I was in the interview and read a book. After I got back, we went to a small town that I'd been wanting to visit with him. We explored two antique stores and a thrift store. Trucker got a pair of pants for $2.50 and I got a bunch of cookbooks to read. We used our Entertainment book to get BOGO pizzas at a local shop ($10 for two). It was a frugal trip and we had a great time, as we always do.

Nature:
* One evening we went for a stroll in a historic neighborhood and oogled elaborate porches, stained glass and landscaping. It was ridiculously warm for February  (almost 60) and it had rained earlier so the air was fresh.

Frugality:
* Trucker bought some shorts at a thrift store for $2-3 each pair. He is now set for summer clothes. I got a flannel for $.75.
* I used the rewards balance from buying the furnace to pay down the credit card. The return was around $50 back.
* I bought a popcorn popper at a thrift store. Ours broke years ago, so I've just been making it on the stove top. That is all well and good, but we are concentrating on our health more now, and stove top popcorn uses a fair amount of oil to pop, and then we add butter so our flavorings of choice stick. I decided I wanted to get an air popper to save calories/fat. I found one for $2. The handle on the measuring cup is broken off, but it seems to work okay.

Work:
* I packed a lunch each day I worked.
* We have some extra days off scheduled for the year. They are optional days off. If you chose to work, they have you do some pretty boring work, but you get paid. We talked about it and decided that i will take most of them off. It has been a rough adjustment to me being home for 60 hours a week after working a half mile from home, so this will give us somegood time together. Also, I am.earning more than I have in a very long time so even with a small loss of income, we wil be ok.  It really comes down to the whole 'whoever died regretting they didn't work more?' thing.
* I had a job interview for a better position at my company. It went well and I have a conditional offer. It can take up to a year before you get the position, or it can happen in two weeks. We will see. If I do get the job, it is more money, but I go to second shift. If I don't get it for awhile, I'll make less money, but get more time with Trucker and get to keep my team longer. Either way, I win.
* My dad and I helped Trucker out at his job (his boss was out of town and said he could hire other help if need be) since it was so overwhelming and he was hurting.

Preparedness:
* I took a free Krav Maga self defense class. My friend is training to be an instructor and he was helping with the class. It was a great way to get a little training and start building that muscle memory. The class happens every month, so I plan to go more often.

Health:
* Trucker is struggling a lot with being extremely sore from his job. His work load has tripled and at this point is far beyond his sustainable level. We will get him into a chiropractor. He also talked with his boss about the reality of how he feels after his accident. Hopefully the job situation improves.
* He has also started dealing with the emotional side of his accident.The first month after the accident, he was bed ridden. The next month he was struggling physically and trying to get back into life. Only in the last couple of weeks has he been really facing some of the mental aspects of the ordeal. He's struggling with driving (although he is driving now) and thoughts resulting from coming close to death. I am encouraged that he is working through things, even if it isn't easy.

This doll obviously has evil intentions.

* Updates...Trucker went to the chiropractor and got his x-rays and, well, things aren't too good. He apparently has a broken jaw (How? I don't know. They said it has healed wrong), his spine is a bit of a wreck, his hips are off, and he has arthritis in his neck and back. They don't want him to go back to work because of how messed up everything is after the accident, and now two months of extreme strain from the job. So, for now, we have him set up on a chiropractic schedule and I'm going to research arthritis care. We have more work to do, but I think we are at a good place. Trucker was having a really hard time, and seems to be better now. I think knowing the cause of the pain and knowing that there are things that can be done to help has to be encouraging after being afraid that he was always going to be feeling like this. My mom is awesome and is making phone calls to friends of hers with arthritis who have been able to recover their quality of life.

Setbacks:
* Obviously, we have some real changes coming financially due to Trucker's work situation. However, we have had a good talk about finances and frugal tactics to implement.  He will also work more at business things now that he has time and hopefully that will make up a good portion of the difference. I also have another job lined up for him if/when he recovers.

Community:
* My dad came out to help us at Trucker's job one day.

How was your week?