To say that a lot has happened since my last blog post is truly an understatement. We are living in a crazy time and I hope all of my readers are doing ok. I debated a long time about posting anything on the blog. I was worried that it would seem tone deaf in what is turning out to be a trying time for many people.
For anyone who has been curious about me, A and I are doing ok. I’m glad I worked so hard to get promotions and clear up debt. Otherwise we wouldn’t be in the same position. We have been mildly affected. We generally live off of my income and whatever A makes is completely supplemental. Before most of his income went to paying for school so he can graduate totally or mostly debt free! *P.S. it feels so good to finally say that. He finally has told his family about going to school and I am a very proud wife.* However, A is a part time waiter. So due to everything going on he went from making roughly $1200 per month to about $500 per month. And possibly less for the rest of the month as the restaurant owner figures out their own way through this.
Budgeting has also been very interesting. This month at work I was supposed to be driving back and forth about an hour round trip to work every day. Instead, we have moved to completely work at home so I’m saving a ton of gas. I usually put $120 per month toward gas. With gas being so low, and me not traveling like I normally do, I dropped my gas budget down to just $30. Where did all of those savings go you might ask?? I’m sad to say (not really) that money got rerouted to the alcohol budget! Much like a lot of Texas, our drinking is way up. We also decreased our eating out budget and increased the grocery budget. A and I dont really do take out/ to go very often. We normally eat out only 3ish times a month. One sit down, and two fast foods. While we have increased the amount of times we eat out, it doesn’t equate to what I have budgeted for a sit down meal. But the grocery budget is tanking. We have spent about $100 more per month on groceries. I do a lot of cooking. Finding and making new recipes is something that I have found I enjoy. Last year I tried 30 new recipes. But this year I’m just sticking the old favorites.
For everyone who has seen online about if you dont come out of quarantine having learned a new language and a new skill, forget those people. If you weren’t doing that before, you probably aren’t doing that now and that’s perfectly ok. On the other side of that, if you ARE thinking about learning or trying something new: I recommend the Duolingo app. It’s a free language learning app. If you use the free version, it does have some ads. I’ve actually been using the app for about a year and I like it pretty well. Also I have definitely noticed that I understand more of the language than when I started. For me, that’s Spanish. One of my life goals is to become conversational in Spanish.
If you are trying to learn to cook, I recommend getting on Pinterest and searching ‘easy dinner recipes’. I have found a lot of easy and good recipes that way. You might also be surprised to see how much YouTube can teach you. Last year during my 30 new recipe kick, I FINALLY learned how to make a good roux. I messed it up so many times and then finally go to YouTube to learn. My sauces have appreciated it.
Again, I hope my readers are doing well and surviving right now. And I hope if nothing else, this post at least kills some of that excess free time you have now! Until next time, stay safe!
Tuck City 