Friday Five- New Car Shopping, Plus Eggs vs Beef

 Friday Five - New Car Shopping, Plus Eggs vs Beef

Short and sweet this week in that I'm rushing to beat the heat, which is not coincidentally, item 5 on my list today.

Friday Five

1.  We are going shopping for a new car today, and I am decidedly not excited. Which makes me a bit sad, but that's how unpleasant the new car buying process is here in the US. (Curious what it's like in other countries?). Anyhow, we already have a trade in bid from C#rMax for our aging Prius, so that's one hoop we've already covered and won't need to jump thru at the dealership. I'll work with the same sales person as I did last year when we bought our hybrid SUV, as at least his sales tactics are 'known'. 

We'll see how it goes.

2.  Played Mahjong for the second time and it was even more enjoyable than the first time. I like that it's a thinking game, unlike Bunco as an example. And I enjoy the strategy of the game. Hoping our club takes it from a monthly to semi-monthly activity soon, based on how many of us have been turning up.

3.  Spent my entire weekly grocery allocation, the first time in a very long time that has occurred. I am certainly not saying that inflation doesn't exist, because of course it does, but . . . because I primarily cook from scratch, and generally casseroles, soups, and the like, one recipe tends to last us two-three meals. I do make a fresh salad or vegetable nightly, and often a bread accompaniment for my spouse, so our leftovers feel fresh, never tired. 

And that really has continued to positively impact our grocery spend. We started off our retirement at $100 weekly, and are now at a still pretty modest $125 a week some 15 years later. And we generally end the year, this year included based on current accumulated spend, with several hundreds dollars of our grocery allocation unspent, which we've then been donating to a food bank. 

Has anyone noticed, BTW, that both chicken and eggs are back to their pre-COVID pricing? Both are staples in our home, and thus we are very pleased by the price drops.

4. Conversely, primarily due to stratospheric pricing, very little red meat is consumed in our home these days. We really only eat beef when I find something in the must-sell-by-date discounted area of the meat section. That has helped counter beef inflation here, and results in a bit of a 'treat' for us when beef does come to the table.

If we adored red meat, I'd buy it regardless, but we eat very well without having it in regular rotation, so I don't.

5. We are in the midst of a mini two day heat wave. Only two days long projected, with tomorrow supposed to bring us back into the 70's. If that occurs as projected, the first thing I'll do when I wake up is to throw open windows.

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Off shortly to enjoy a walk at the harbor with spouse before the temps here get to high. I wish you all an enjoyable day as well, wherever you are.