The New Queen of Grocery Shopping 👑

Good morning my fiscal friends!!

I’ve been missing you… And onto many a new adventure over here in my absence!

First: I picked up a metal detector again after a decade or so away! And it’s been hella fun digging up old artifacts again while cleaning up areas of trash and beer cans, lol… Not sure it’s been a totally good exchange of time, but all that will change the day I dig up a hoard of gold coins!! *evil laugh*

I’ve also turned into an adult and scheduled a million doctor visits to finally deal with things that have crept up for me in old age… Things I typically put off forever because, well, I’m a guy, but now that I don’t have a real job anymore I no longer have the biggest excuse of “no time” 😉

So far this week I’ve seen an orthopedic specialist for my long-aching lower back (turns out I have degenerative disc disease – eek!), next week I meet with a gastroenterologist to talk about the possibility of doing an early colonoscopy to see if anything’s concerning, and then lastly it looks like my Pemphigus Vulgaris may be coming back in my nose so unfort. need to meet with my dermatologist again to see if another round of infusions is in order there, ugh…

On the plus side, my stress is nearly non-existent and my spirits are high so it’s hard to complain too much! Just chalking it up to being an ever growing (older) human being!

Then lately, in my constant pursuit of making better use of my time and helping others, I’ve decided to take on my wife’s #1 personal enemy:

GROCERY SHOPPING 😂

Something that a) I’ve never really paid much attention to because it’s been in her domain for over 15 years now, and b) had no idea what I was really getting into until I started doing it! Haha… Turns out it’s quite a lot of work!! Not to mention requiring oodles of TIME, patience, and stopping every other impulse of yours to snatch goodies off the shelf every two seconds, gosh…

WHY DO THEY SELL SO MUCH YUMMY FOOD THAT’S BAD FOR YOU?!!

But we’re three weeks in now and I’m finally starting to get the hang of it… And weirdly, kinda enjoying it? No so much in the shopping part of it per se, but more in the “learning something new and trying to make it as efficient as possible” part.

It’s felt GREAT having full permission to go in and completely do as I please with our pantry/fridge too, and the day I took over I immediately went through every single item and ended up throwing out over 70% (!!) of our freezer and at least 20% of our fridge and pantry of expired or never-gonna-use food. The minimalist in me had a field day! And I can already tell my wife is more relaxed now not having to squeeze in grocery runs in between work multiple times a week.

So a win-win all around so far!

(Also enjoyable btw: running and jumping on the cart as if you were 8 again, haha… Totally forgot that feeling and this time there’s no adult to stop me!!!)

Some things I’ve learned so far in case anyone else is about to embark on this adventure:

• Keep reusable bags in the trunk of your car so you never forget them
• Allot enough time to *put away* your groceries once back!
• NEVER GO SHOPPING WHILE HANGRY!!!
• Allow yourself *one* treat per visit to help with motivation
• Keep your kids at home unless you want your trip to take 2x longer
• Visit *each* store in your community to get a feel for what’s there, how much it all costs, and of course how annoying/peaceful/busy each place is during different parts of the day. <– This is what I’m in the middle of right now and I’m blown away by how *drastic* the prices can be for the EXACT SAME ITEM!!! And also how different all the stores setups are, which I guess just takes some getting used to over time?
• And then lastly, which I’m learning the hard way so far, haha, make sure you know what brands/items are *non-negotiable* with your family members! It’s not always just about the costs, and the littlest things can make the biggest differences apparently, lol… (Looking at you orange juice and chicken nuggets!!)

So yeah, one more thing added to my Dad Duties and feeling pretty good with myself here… The Habit Stack gets bigger, and I’m that much closer to being a domesticated adult! 😂 Turns out I can do more stuff than just money – hah.

(Speaking of money – another eye opener??? Some things are SO EXPENSIVE now!! Peanut butter?? Eggs? Yogurt?? All double what I remember paying for them on my odd shopping trip… In fact, the only thing that seems to have stayed the same over the years is milk. I swear I’ve been spending $2-$3 for a gallon since I was in college, but I could be remembering wrong… Oh, also fruits and veggies and especially spinach… You can get a whole TUB full for only $3! What a bargain!!)

At any rate, that’s what I’ve been up to over here! How about you?! Taking on any new goals or adventures of your own? Have any tips or tricks you use to make your grocery shopping smoother??!

Spill your secrets in the comments or email me please!! 🙂

Also – tell me how you KEEP TRACK of it all… I’ve been using the notes app on my phone but wondering if there’s a better tool/system out there?

Hope you’re well!

Your domesticated (and fast aging) friend,

PS: Other things I’ve been getting into lately:

• Hopped on a podcast to talk about $$$, transparency, and risk –> Valiant Business
• Wrote a new post on my Coin Blog –> Prop Money is Flooding Our Town!
• Cashed out the last of my bitcoin once and for all. So you’re welcome for it going back up now! Haha… I’ve always had the “best” timing for when to go in and out, so it’s no surprise my $20,000 pot ended up at $10,000 🙃 Would have continued letting it ride, but needed to max out my IRAs for the last tax year and didn’t want to dip into other investments. Just one more thing tacked onto my Resume of Fails!
• Finally got my tattoos!!!! And they’re so pretty!!! Hurt like hell around the collar bones, but def. worth it (and always something about the pain making you feel like you actually *accomplished* something, lol… isn’t that weird?) Pic down below, or you can click here to see the stages from start to finish on IG.
• Still volunteering/finding donations for my homeless friends. Though sad to report my old friend Lizzy has been in and out of jail over the weeks since she hasn’t been able to pay for any of her tickets she’s gotten from sleeping in parks 🙁 Can you imagine?? Getting locked up just because you can’t pay $200-$300? She’ll be right back in there again too because SHE HAS NO HOME AND HAS TO SLEEP SOMEWHERE!! But as always I just listened and talked with her for a bit and made it my mission to learn more and see how best I can help. Just wrapped up a 2 hour training the other day from the local shelter so slowly making some progress here…
• And lastly, I started taking up bowling out of all things, haha… Had the hankering one day (that’s right, hankering!!) and then blew almost $40 in one hour (!!). WOW has it gotten expensive. But a little birdy told me to search Groupon for deals, and sure enough there’s a plethora of them where you can bowl for 50%-70% off! So I picked up the max coupons you could buy, and now my dad and I meet weekly to bowl a few games in the morning while everyone’s at work 😉 It’s the first time in years just doing something with the two of us which is practically priceless… even though we’re paying for it – hah. Yet another perk to chasing FIRE though! Affects all areas of your life with so much time freed up. So keep on going!! The fight is well worth it! 👊

[Another interesting thing about getting these? I had to shave my chest and now kinda like it?! Though it does add more time to the shaving regiment, lol…]

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