I finally felt settled in August. The long days and daily sunshine helped improve my daily moods. We’ve established a comfortable routine, and we are checking off things to do in Santa Barbara, from exploring beaches to going on long hikes. Early in the month I picked up a couple dog-boarding gigs that went great. […]
8 Recipes to Keep You Cozy in Winter and Other November 2019 Expenses
Early winter is teasing us with short bursts of snow. I was pleasantly surprised when it melted away, as I had imagined that we would have to hunker down for the rest of the season. We spent most of November trying out a lot of recipes. I’ll share our November recipes and also my expenses […]
The Financial Flight – A Craft Beer Menu Of Personal Finance
Since my last article was a research-intensive deep dive, I thought for this week I would do something a little more refreshing. While in Vermont, Mr. Mechanic and I visited a few different breweries. One of my favorite things to do is read each beer description– they are so artfully written! So I thought it […]
Adventures Abroad, Birthdays, and Other May 2019 Expenses
The month of May heralded summer and anticipation for our next chapter. We jetted off to Colombia early in the month. For a week we had an adventure-packed trip, and then I flew home. I have to manage my vacation days given the upcoming move, but lucky Mr. Mechanic had more time off so he […]
What Happened When I Had An Unlimited Food Budget
Last year I had the opportunity to travel to the UK for work. I made a couple of different trips, and for the first month my work put me up in a flat and paid for every meal. It was a great opportunity to learn what my habits would be like if money was less […]
The Mechanic’s Guide to Meal Planning
Four steps helped us set some goals, benchmark our spending, and make meal-planning happen.