Phoenix on a Budget

 The sister's three, Shannon, Sara and me. Yes, that's the new get up I purchases at the Velvet Owl last week.

Planning for a trip to Phoenix for my sister Sara's wedding was agonizing because I wasn't sure we would have the money to go. I fretted constantly about putting all the trip expenses on the credit card because it was my sister's wedding and who wouldn't look back on missing that event and think, it was only X dollars, I should have just gone?  Yet, I take after my father more than anyone, and if you can't afford it, then you don't do it and don't buy it. I don't always make this decision, but the principle is strong and I work hard to abide. The pressure was heavy from my sister to make an appearance, and bringing the whole family would have been great but we compromised with just me taking the trip.

All those money saving things we do are great, but typically we are still left living pay check to pay check. Several additional and beneficial things have occurred over the summer that have made the purse strings a bit more loose around here. Brent took on many extra contracts and has been grossing the equivalent of a double salary paycheck for a couple months, and we expect it to continue for a few more. Since we had the extra funds, we paid off the van at the end of July, thus reducing our auto expenses in terms of payment and insurance. We increased our auto fuel savings by not driving our van in August and have maintained a very reduced mileage for September. We gave away our second vehicle last month, also reducing our insurance obligation. London choose not to continue swim team this year and opted for the free fencing practices instead. All of these measures have contributed to about $650 in monthly savings, not including the extra income.

We are guilty of spending the dollars we see in our bank account. I took the breathing room we have been fortuneate to have as an opportunity to catch up on some wants and needs. There were the two bike purchases, Brent's GT and our Yuba Mundo, then there was the trip to Phoenix. Just because I had the money didn't mean I was crazy with it. My trip this past week was frugal, but not stingy. I certainly could have done a better job with my spending, but I was trying to relax a little and enjoy myself.

The expense break down

Summary and Explaination

• $300--Airline ticket (not shown because it was purchases weeks ago)
• $46.84--clothing
• $136.24--food

 The larger food expenses were when I was buying a meal or coffees for everyone because they bought meals and coffees for me. We just shared the expenses and kept it as even as we could. My sister fronted the gas for her car and I slept on her couch. I could have done without the new outfit for the wedding, but I needed those flip flops from Walgreens if I didn't want to bandage my bleeding feet. My sister's new in laws treated us to homemade dinners twice and I will be sending them a thank you gift. I really think I was able to make a seven day trip affordable because of the generosity of others time, space and resources which I always return eagerly.

All the touristy things we did were free, or we did things that were around meals and family, so the expenses were ones we might have had anyway, were we not "sight seeing." I will be putting up a full post of pictures from my actual adventure later, but you can see some here, here, here, and here from the past week.

Before leaving Huntington we did take the whole family out for dinner, at Griffith and Feil's in Kenova. I didn't include this expense, but we had a wonderful time. I also packed a homemade granola trail mix, banana, sandwich and empty water bottle so I didn't purchase anything in transit.

I traveled light, thus eliminating the need to check any bags. My sister let me use all her soaps and shampoos and sunscreens. She even gave me a razor.

I ended up leaving the book, as it wasn't my sister's after all. I didn't bring the plain brown dress either. I opted to wear the yellow 1/4zip to the airport to save more space, and I added my bike helmet.

It all fit, and room for more.

Returning from Phoenix I bought trail mix, an apple and banana at the grocery the night before and refused to purchase anything in transit, although I was very hungry. Seeing a bottle of water for $2.25 and a small sandwich for $6.50 was an instant appetite suppressant. I made do with what I packed. It wouldn't hurt me to eat all the trail mix even though I desired something else.  I filled up my reusable water bottle and spent my two hour lay over in Detriot with my new book, Bike Snob. It was a gift from Sara and Micheal. I opened it up on the plane from Phoenix and didn't set it down until I finished it yesterday afternoon.

It's certainly good to be home. It is great that I still have money in the bank and I was able to open and pay all those bills waiting for my yesterday without a knot in my stomach.

How do you travel on a budget? Have any tips on how we could have taken the whole family? Something we could try next time?

Mellow Days in Phoenix

Sunset from South Mountain last night

Sara and Michael.

This trip has been much better than I anticipated. A few things on my "possibilities" list have not come to fruition, but there is always next time. I do feel as though I have learned a little more about many things.

-It is possible to pack one carry on bag with two extra pairs of shoes, clothes for a wedding, bike helmet, lunch for the plane, empty water bottle, and clothes for the week, thus avoiding $50 in checked bag fees.

-Chap stick is a travel necessity, as are low heal summer shoes in Phoenix

-Groceries and gas are less expensive here than in WV, and from what I am gathering, housing can be too. Although sales tax is not.

-There is a noticeable difference between 99 degrees and a 105. I do not care for either.

-We were able to bike to get groceries and to the pharmacy, in bike lanes which were prevalent city wide. We could have biked to the wedding, to the hair dressers, to the in laws, restaurants, shopping, to the library and ice cream shops. It would have taken longer and we could not have done so much in such few hours.

-Large and small forks can fit in the same utensil tray space if you put their tines in opposite directions.

-My home (house, town, friends, community, etc.) and way of life (shopping, decorating, eating, and transportation habits) are different, but just as wonderful, and I miss it.

-I may have been the oldest person of my peer group during this trip but they never made me feel old. I actually felt more immature and naive, perhaps due to my obvious interest in the way everyone lives?

-There is nothing I desire at the mall, no matter how large and diverse.

-Pints of ice cream and a few hands of UNO are more enjoyable than three late nights out on the town. Or said another way, nights on the town are better when balanced with a few fun nights at home.

-My sister has great friends, good family and a fabulous husband. (Welcome to the family Michael)

Michael and I biked to the grocer for a couple of items not worth a car trip.

My flight leaves today and I have so much to look forward to.

- Posted using BlogPress from Brent's Marshall University iPad

Location:South Mountain, AZ

Light Rail

While away I have been using an application called BlogPress from my husband's iPad to do these simple posts. It worked fine, but I haven't enjoyed some of limitations in editing photos and typing on the screen. I can deal with it, but will be happy to return to a quicker and more versatile set of tools. If any bloggers out there have another app suggestion, I am listening.

In the mean time, here are a few of the group photos from our light rail excursion last night. To view the photos with a better resolution, click on the thumbnail, which BlogPress insists I use, although I select to enlarge them, therefore creating more distortion.

Light rail station. L to R, Shannon, Jonathan, Sara, Micheal, Krysta

We loaded up the Honda Fit and drove to the west end light rail station. Ample parking, many people, a lot of waiting stations for buses and the tram/train?.

Road in to city center and wondered around looking for music, desserts and air-conditioning, although I haven't broken into a full sweat once on this trip. I theorize it is evaporating before I can complain. Sara hadn't been feeling well and needed to cool down, so found a place and stayed put.

I was a bit enamored by the number of bikes being loaded and unloaded on the rail cars. We saw three in our car just going in to the city at 10pm.

The energy of the city is empowering and humbling. We were just another group or gaggle of folks stomping through the concrete, glass and steel masses. While I certainly craned my neck back to view these towering structures, I captured our group most often, as we were loosing another clansman at the airport today.

Night photos with moving bodies are hard to work with. I just call those blurry faces "ghostlies" and move on.

We have plans to relax by the pool with day time highs predicted to be 104 degrees. My husband is reporting mid 60s in West Virginia. Going home to "September" will be refreshing on Tuesday.



- Posted using BlogPress from Brent's Marshall University iPad

Location:Phoenix, AZ

Sister Sara's Wedding Day

A day of primping and prepping yesterday. I followed the wedding party around taking photos at their request.






Sisters and mom.






A lot of makeup and hair treatment.

















Mother of the bride and our stepdad.








Krysta and Becca, bridesmaids.








Dessert bar at the reception.








Apple pie cutting, in lieu of cake.







After cleaning up the reception, we wrestled a wedding goer into taking us out to Westgate for appetizers, drinks and dancing. Being the quite soul I am, I managed standing on the dance floor and stealing bites of spinach dip. Our late night party consisted of (left to right) Krysta, my sister Shannon, the wrangle friend of the bride and groom Jonathan, and Becca.






Jonathan and I at Margaritaville. I haven't stayed out till 2:30am in many many years.

I said adios to Becca this morning and my parents this afternoon. Now what are we going to get into? Probably a car. It has been non stop driving since I landed. Yet on the thrifty spending side of the story, I bought a sandwich for lunch yesterday then picked up the Starbucks tab for the ladies on the way to airport this morning.

While I was gallivanting around town last night, my family was taking our new Yuba Mundo bike on it's inaugural Critical Mass ride.


Yuba Mundo Inaugural Ride from delano on Vimeo.



Posted using BlogPress from Brent's Marshall University iPad