Lifestyle Archive

Lifestyle includes reflections on things I do in my daily life, including how I spend my money.

Key topics: frugal living, cheap and free activities, must-have lists

Where I’ve been (and where I’m heading) – a life update

September 2, 2021

A lot has changed over the last six months at Our Bill Pickle. This life update talks about where I've been (and where I'm going).

How does one even begin writing a life update covering a six-month span where their life completely changed?

Hello. It’s been a while — certainly longer than I intended.

When I hit publish on my last post, I did not anticipate it would take me so long to get back to this space. If you go by that date, it’s been more like five months, but most of that post was written in advance. Realistically, it’s been closer to six months since I actually sat down to write.

That’s wild to me considering I kept a pretty consistent twice-weekly schedule for almost two years.

But a lot has changed. Life today looks very different than it did at the beginning of 2021.

And while I am hopeful things will be a little less chaotic coming into the end of the year, some of the events are going to continue impacting my life and this blog.

Here’s a glimpse at where I’ve been and where I’m heading.

Our number one financial priority

April 4, 2021

Our financial priorities are changing. Here's a look at how -- and why -- we're making adjustments to our financial plan.

I have to be honest: saying this post is about our financial priorities is a little misleading.

I mean, yes. Our financial priorities will be part of it — this is, after all, a personal finance blog.

But it’s only one element.

I have been working on this post for a while now. It was my intention to have it finished a few weeks ago, but things changed.

Almost four weeks later, they are still changing but things are starting to feel more manageable. So I wanted to pop in to give a bit of an explanation about what’s been going on.

You probably think I’m going to tell you I’m pregnant.

I’m not…anymore.

On March 14, Jeff and I welcomed our beautiful daughter into the world.

To say our lives — and our financial priorities — have changed would be an understatement.

Three benefits of practicing delayed gratification

March 9, 2021

Practicing delayed gratification is not always easy but it can be worth it. Here are three benefits to practicing delayed gratification.

I wish I could say delayed gratification comes naturally to me but it doesn’t.

I say this as a self-identified saver — someone who likes to stash away my cash, watch my account grow and ponder all the options before making purchases, big or small.

While I can’t say I’ve never made an impulse purchase, generally speaking, I’m mindful about how I spend my money.

Even so, waiting to make purchases, especially ones I’m excited for, is challenging.

However, I have learned over the years delayed gratification, while not always enjoyable, has its benefits.

How much I spent upgrading my underwear drawer

February 4, 2021

The cost women’s underwear is one of those things I don’t think I’ll ever understand.

There are few things I hate shopping for more than underwear. Styles and sizes are inconsistent from brand to brand and while it is possible to find affordable options, I have never had much luck as far as longevity goes.

Maybe it’s me, but I find the whole experience to be chaotic.

If it were possible to buy one set of underwear and wear them forever, I’d be all about that. Alas, that’s not the way it work, which means, every once in a while, I end up doing what I call an underwear drawer refresh.

I did my most recent on in November 2020. Here’s what that looked like (and how much it cost).

My wedding dress dilemma

January 26, 2021

What should I do with my wedding dress?

Tucked away on the top shelf of the bedroom closet, it’s out of sight, which makes it easy to be out of mind most of the time.

But every once in a while — typically when I’m putting away the laundry — I spot it and ponder that question.

Unfortunately, four years later, I’m not closer to an answer.