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I've lost most of my cards and letters from the past. I do have a few that a precious. And until recently when you switched phones you couldn't easily save texts. I lost a lot of texts from past phones that weren't as technologically advanced as they are now.
On the rare occasions I go through ours, I whittle them down to less and less, so that eventually I'm ending up with only the "best of the best." If not for our own sake and less in the way of storage needs, for our kid's sake. My parents would have done us a BIG favor if they had done a better job of not leaving us so much to go through.
We've almost entirely stopped going out to eat.
We stock up on staples. Spent $400 yesterday at Costco, purchased ground beef, chicken, pork chops, and ground turkey (the turkey is mostly for the pooch...He lives like a king around here) and another 20 lb bag of rice (we now have 60 lbs of rice). Canned items that will keep. TP and PT (they were very low on paper towels). Husband would not stick to the list and bought some 'nice to haves' like those baked beans with the burnt brisket ends in them. yummers. The luxury I bought was a book. Put the $25 double hammock back when I saw HIMS buying (4) of those baked beans.
I buy most of my cleaning products there, too....dishsoap, disinfectant wipes, etc. We try to keep 2 or 3 of each of these items on hand. Costco is a trip we do every month and 1/2 or so, depending. Everyone and their brothers were there yesterday and then I remembered it was the 1st so maybe seniors who get their SS checks, etc.
Gas was 20 cents a gallon less than the station up the street (the owner of that station usually lowers his price to the Costco price during the hours that Costco sells gas - they are limited by some agreement having to do with vehicle traffic in that area), but he was at full price yesterday at $4.89/gallon.
Less meat is not only healthier, but a great way to cut down on grocery expenses, because the cost of meats is borderline ridiculous. I'm glad I'm buying less of the stuff anyway. Cleaning supplies run the bill up considerably too, and good thing for the larger sizes at lower cost per ounce you can buy at Costco, but there too, sheesh!
I've switched to vinegar, vodka, lemon juice and baking soda. Cheaper and much healthier. The only thing I might use now and again is Sp*c 'n' Span spray. It's cheap and works well. But the other stuff just seems better to me.
Last edited by pathrunner; 06-02-2022 at 10:43 AM..
Reason: LOL that's a bad word?! :)
We had to do some banking inside a bank recently for reasons I won't get into...
Fortunately there was not much of a wait as you point out, and this is probably because so many people have opted for ATMs instead. Part of that convenience is that ATMs are all over the place, unlike what may be your particular bank locations. No long lines at ATMs either. Perhaps you needed more cash than I usually do, because I always get what cash I need at the ATM.
I like to have a bit of cash in my wallet, but my wife is mostly right as she often reminds me no one really needs cash anymore. I rarely need any, but I like having some handy anyway. Fact is though, I can usually use my credit card for just about anything just about anywhere. Keeps one from having to worry about losing cash too. One way or another including theft.
One nice thing about cash, however, is that even a bank has no problem accepting a cash deposit. Any other kind of deposit even including a cashier's check anymore involves a hold of around a week!
They can steal a credit card as easy as cash. I always use cash for tips. I always use cash for gas since we have had skimmer problems here. Some smaller businesses charge more for a credit card purchase. My barber only takes cash. If I buy from an individual, I need cash. The firemen with their boot and other's collecting only take cash. I still use lots of cash.
Well maybe they should be reading the frugal living subforum.
Finding places with decent prices to eat out is all part and parcel of adjusting to inflation.
All of us are at different retirement income ranges and that should be respected among us.
I do not see "bragging" at all here.
We like to eat out, but mostly on special occasions. For example over the Memorial Day weekend we had our kids here with significant others. Our niece and boy friend flew in from Utah as well, and so we all met at the marina and had a nice lunch together on the water to kick things off. A little pricey, but not something we do all that often. Fortunately all of them make very good money, so they spend money like my wife and I never did when we were their age. Better that than the other way around of course...
I'm also a BIG fan of eateries that are great "bang for the buck" when it comes to the food and prices. Some of my favorites are true "hole-in-the-wall" spots where the food and the cost can hardly be beat!
We just came back from camping in the CA redwoods, and I do not even want to know how much diesel cost for that trip. I think that one was the farthest all season, except for Sept. which is crazy far, hoping fuel comes down before then.
It was around a dollar and half more expensive in CA, so we traveled with 3 diesel cans, and watched our speed. So now we have a system. We buy all bottles and cans, because no bottle deposit, we bring fuel, my sister brings all the produce because it is cheaper there.
We did a re-visist of our food menus, and looked at ways to save, and ways to use up all the leftovers at the end of trips when we have big groups.
Diesel? Ugh!
Seems you might have been close to us, since we have Redwoods just a few minutes up the road from us (here in NorCal). Hope your camping went well! Was great weather here over the weekend...
My bank, Bank of America in California hasn't accepted cash deposits for a couple years now. I was flabbergasted. This was at a teller window. You might be able to do it at an ATM. I was told it's because they "need to know where the cash is coming from."
What? That's ridiculous...
We had to make a deposit of about $13K after selling our 4Runner, and the buyer gave us cash, so none of us had to deal with the hold on a check. Since there is additional paperwork to fill out for deposits over $10 (to know where the cash is coming from), we only deposited $9.9K without any problem and deposited the rest of the cash the next day. A bit of a joke really, but other than for this, we are rarely inside of a bank.
Amazing that BofA doesn't take any cash. I had no idea. Maybe you need to change banks if you need to deposit cash at all often...
They can steal a credit card as easy as cash. I always use cash for tips. I always use cash for gas since we have had skimmer problems here. Some smaller businesses charge more for a credit card purchase. My barber only takes cash. If I buy from an individual, I need cash. The firemen with their boot and other's collecting only take cash. I still use lots of cash.
Credits card companies cover you if stolen. We've had fraudulent activity occur on our cards many times over the years. The banks always step in and cover any expenses due to lost cards or fraudulent activity, so never any worries along those lines. Can't say that about lost or stolen cash, though I've not had that problem much either over the years. Knock on wood!
We had to do some banking inside a bank recently for reasons I won't get into...
Fortunately there was not much of a wait as you point out, and this is probably because so many people have opted for ATMs instead. Part of that convenience is that ATMs are all over the place, unlike what may be your particular bank locations. No long lines at ATMs either. Perhaps you needed more cash than I usually do, because I always get what cash I need at the ATM.
I like to have a bit of cash in my wallet, but my wife is mostly right as she often reminds me no one really needs cash anymore. I rarely need any, but I like having some handy anyway. Fact is though, I can usually use my credit card for just about anything just about anywhere. Keeps one from having to worry about losing cash too. One way or another including theft.
One nice thing about cash, however, is that even a bank has no problem accepting a cash deposit. Any other kind of deposit even including a cashier's check anymore involves a hold of around a week!
I like to keep some cash, especially for tips. I had a tire blowout last week, and while waiting for AAA (over an hour estimate) a man stopped and offered to put my donut on. He didn't take the $20 I offered after he was done, but I was glad I had it to offer. And right before the holiday, I bought a large and heavy cornhole set at Walmart, and requested assistance to put it in my car. I always give a tip to the person who helps me. The salon I go to won't allow tips to be put on the card. I usually have $30-$50 in my wallet for "just in case" scenarios.
They can steal a credit card as easy as cash. I always use cash for tips. I always use cash for gas since we have had skimmer problems here. Some smaller businesses charge more for a credit card purchase. My barber only takes cash. If I buy from an individual, I need cash. The firemen with their boot and other's collecting only take cash. I still use lots of cash.
I like to have cash too. But for the gas station I normally go to, I downloaded their app and now pay through that. It's so simple, and I get a 15 cent a gallon discount for using the app with their credit card (you can put other payment methods on the app too though).
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