My Lower Middle Class Life

 

This haul is actually two separate Flashfood orders from the same store.  After I finished the first transaction, I decided to get the rest of the ribs.  A splurge to be sure, but much less expensive than Applebees.

We each had our own half rack of ribs, with potatoes and an ear of corn on the side.  Not only is my plate half the price of Applebees, that doesn't take into account that Applebees would charge me tax and I'd have to tip. To eat it at home would require a delivery charge too.  In store, we'd be paying for beer and iced tea.

I went to Price Rite to get the corn. Tomorrow's dinner will be chili, and my plan is to use the rib bones and corn cobs to make stock.  The can of crushed tomatoes is for the chili too.  The two cans of San Marzano are on my tariff shelf.  The pasta is a replacement for pasta we've consumed, with another bag for our next pasta meal -- which will be chicken parm.  $2.99 per can of San Marzano tomatoes is going to be impossible in another few weeks. I might go back and grab a few more.  The red pepper will go into the chili too. I will top our bowls with avocado.

I planned my shopping to include an order through the Dashmart.  The three pound chubb of ground turkey was a great price and will be used for Frankie food.  The pound cake for dessert was topped with vanilla Greek yogurt and blueberries from Aldi. I meant to top this with the granola, but I forgot and used walnuts. It was delicious anyway!

 

I had stopped into Save-a-Lot on my way home from walking Frankie in the cemetery. My hope was to find ground pork so I could mix it with turkey for dog food. There was none, so I put the turkey in the freezer.  There was marked down chicken breast, which was worth grabbing and freezing. I will use a few pieces for parm on Friday.  I also want to make ice cream, so I picked up half and half.

We had a wonderful walk in the cemetery. Light wind, not too hot, not too cold.  She needed time outside and away from her heat pants.  Wearing them all day and all night will create a moist environment that would lead to an infection. That's why she sleeps in her crate without them, and I try to get her out without them on.

My Flashfood orders were planned around a trip to the Amvets thrift store. I wanted to drop off the sneakers I bought for 25 cents last week and find a few pieces to hold the shaving soap I got at the estate sale this weekend.  While I was in the store, I checked the shoe racks to see if there was an outside chance there was treasure to be found.  It was good day for Tommy as I found an awesome pair of lightly worn shoes.  It was a risk to spend full thrift price on them, but I knew the brand was a good one.  My Amazon search confirmed that.  New, they are over three hundred dollars. And they fit!

My other Tommy splurge was to buy a shaving brush.  I had to buy it on-line and went through Walmart.  It was sixteen bucks, but that was the going price for badger bristle brushes, and that's what I wanted for him.  Now the soap, brush and razor are on our bathroom sink.

I wore my thrifted Tommy Hilfiger dress as a topper over my Walmart skorts. The Keds were thrifted years ago.  The belt was a sale deal a while ago.  It was chilly on our walk, so I wore one of my light white cardigans over it.

During some down-time, I read a piece on how to tell if you are lower middle class.  Out of twelve things they listed, ten applied to me. Imagine that! I buy marked down food, I shop second hand, I do not take fancy vacations, rarely dine out, drive an older and previously owned car, use low-budget forms of fitness, rely on older tech/gadgets, and seek out low-cost or free entertainment.  The article assured me all was not bleak. With hard work and focus, I have the chance to attain middle class status.  Oh dear. I can only hope!  At least when I showed up to the Dashmart, the clerk came to the window, took one look at me and said "You're here for Flashfood, right?"  You see, I didn't tick the box on the eval that said I had a side hustle... I guess I don't even look like a Door Dash Driver.