Monday, January 23, 2017

January 23, 2017

Back to work today. I'm working on harnessing the power of habit. Specifically, to get out and walk on breaks and on my lunch hour. And to sip green tea throughout the day instead of coffee.

Habits that are working well:

  • Pre-preparing my breakfast oatmeal the evening before. I set out the saucepan with three cups of water, and set the measuring cup of rolled oats beside it, making things easy for my sleepy, pre-caffeinated morning self. 
  • It's also working well packing my lunch the night before in the metal tiffin tin/bento box UFF Dad gave me for Christmas. I put the lentils and rice in the largest compartment, salad in the middle, and some dried fruit or candied ginger in the shallow top tray for dessert. 
  • Trying to walk a mile on one of my two 15-minute breaks. In my town, 12 blocks equals one mile, and I can walk a 15 minute mile when striding. I usually go to the library, which is only a couple of blocks from my workplace, to check out the "Lucky Day" shelf on the other break.
  • Since I'm walking and browsing the library, I stay away from the second hand clothing and craft stores. Less temptation that way.
As a friend noted, decisions are fatiguing, and we have a lot of them to make every day. Making the  the healthy and frugal choice into the default choice, by establishing habits, is setting myself up to make the choice I would ideally want to make. (You know, the one I would choose to make when not tired and wanting to lie on the couch with my knitting, a glass of wine, Grantchester, and a bag of chocolate).

UFF Dad stopped by Trader Joes and spent $15.44 for groceries. Here's what he got:
  • Two 1-lb bags of hulled, roasted, and salted sunflower seeds (one for our emergency food supply stash)
  • One package of large, Tofurky brand vegetarian Italian sausages
  • Two gallons of nonfat milk (at $3.49 each! No more Trader Joe's milk--that's more expensive than my closest, fancy-spendy grocery store)
  • One package of dried cranberries, which seemed oddly small. I realized that while the price hasn't changed, the package has gone from 12 oz to 8 oz! Phooey on you, TJ!
Money spent today: $15.44

How is your Uber Frugal January going? Please share!

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