A DC twenty-something's adventures in pursuit of financial independence
I got the year right on the first try!
January started off with a stroll through the national zoo during the last evening of Zoolights, a $144 (after Rover’s fees) petsitting gig, aaaaand then the first Saturday morning I woke up with the flu and was in bed for the better part of a week. Continue reading “January 2020: side hustling. And groceries”
Inspired by Luxe’s weekend money diaries, what better post to write than a recap of my recent (okay it was a few weeks ago now—life’s been very busy lately) weekend trip to NYC, especially since I finally met her while I was there?
I originally decided to visit NYC because one of my best friends lives there (and I’m totally taking credit for the fact that she now blogs—you can find her here!) and I hadn’t seen her since her wedding last year. But I also made sure to let the NYC FI people know I was coming so I could meet some of them. Continue reading “A weekend in NYC”
After a Trader Joe’s opened up near me a few months back I decided to do a price comparison of some of my pantry staples at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and the grocery store I normally shop at (RS in the post for “regular store”) to see if I should be changing up my grocery shopping habits in order to get the best deals on things I buy regularly.
Turned out there are a few things that are cheaper to buy at TJ, even though it’s more out of my way, and I’ve tried to buy those items there since that post.
My last grocery price comparison post started out like this:
Ah, Trader Joe’s. The bargain store spoken of in hushed tones of reverence usually reserved for sacred spaces and museum exhibitions of old masters (or no, is that just me speaking as an history nerd?).
Replace “Trader Joe’s” with “ALDI” and I’ve got myself the beginning of a second price comparison post! Continue reading “Pantry staple price comparison: ALDI edition”
It’s been a WordPress-heavy week for me: I’ve spent most of the last three days at work doing various things on the work blog, and tomorrow’s going to be another day spent editing posts and uploading photos. Add to that Monday night spent writing and all of the administrative blog things I need to do (I’m super behind on responding to comments ?), plus this post, and it was getting to be a lot.
I wanted to do something a little different and shorter than normal. So enter my first recipe! Continue reading “Turkish red lentil soup”
Welcome to another round of what I’ve been eating lately, aka here are the recipes I’ve been making and loving. Except this time it’s the holidays and temptations abound!
Yes, I had three pieces of toffee at work today that a coworker made. Yes, I ate and drank way too much at my side gig’s holiday party on Wednesday. Yes, I am Erin, Goddess of Rum Cakes. But that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on trying to eat a veggie or two occasionally. It’s difficult, but I’m making it work. Here’s how. Continue reading “What I’ve been eating lately: healthy-ish holidays edition”
Ah, Trader Joe’s. The bargain store spoken of in hushed tones of reverence usually reserved for sacred spaces and museum exhibitions of old masters (or no, is that just me speaking as an history nerd?).
Despite the many glowing reviews, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve shopped at TJ. The closest one to me was either in Virginia or a drive halfway across the city. I’m a fundamentally lazy person at heart but paradoxically living here has made me quite the city slicker: walking a mile or two is way less work in my opinion than having to get in the car to drive somewhere (and losing the prime parking spot I usually snag on my block). Plus I generally refuse to drive across this city on principle. Continue reading “Of lemons and rice: a price comparison of pantry staples”
Is it worth paying for a Costco membership? That’s a question I’ve heard asked a lot in the personal finance sphere, and it’s one I mulled over for quite a while myself.
I grew up watching my mother shop and cook for five people (um yes, my parents are Costco members), and I’ll be the first to admit that it took me a very long time to figure out how to grocery shop and cook for one after I graduated from dorm life to apartment life. As part of that transition, I suspected I was going to have to say goodbye to Costco for the foreseeable future, plus there wasn’t one close enough to me to justify going anyway. Continue reading “The single person’s guide to a Costco membership”
As I was eating lunch yesterday and marveling at how damn tasty it was, even though it was the third day in a row of leftovers (and I’ll be having it for lunch the rest of the week), I decided to write a post about what and how I feed myself. Cooking at home is a large part of a frugal lifestyle and I’m always interested in what people are eating so I can get new ideas. Continue reading “What I’ve been eating lately”