Feed items

Every few months, Sarah and I clean out our pantry and cupboards. We pull out absolutely every item in there, sort them into sensible groups, make sure everything in there is still good, and put the good items back in there in a sensible fashion. Usually, at the same time, we make a bunch of meal plans for the next few weeks to use up some of the items that have been there for a while.

The thing is, you’ll often find us putting items back in the cupboard that have dates on them that have already passed.

This doesn’t mean that we eat a bunch of spoiled food. It’s simply a recognition of the reality of dates printed on containers and cans and boxes: those dates actually have a whole lot of different meanings, and there’s no real standard for those meanings.

One complaint people often make when they settle into a more frugal lifestyle is that their life begins to take on a feeling of “sameness,” in that each day feels more similar to the others than it did before they made frugal changes to their life. (This same shock is being felt by people under stay at home orders, too, for similar reasons.)

I’ll give you a great example of this. Many people settle into a routine of eating out fairly often, and this gives them an opportunity to visit different environments and eat different food very frequently. As people shift toward frugality, that often translates into eating at home more often, where the environment is more or less the same every day.

Mother’s Day is coming up this weekend and, for a lot of us, it’s an event that won’t be like normal. The possibility of many Mother’s Day traditions, like a nice dinner at a restaurant, isn’t even possible in many areas, and social distancing closes the door on many ideas, whether it’s enforced in your area or not.

So, what options are there for Mother’s Day that don’t involve just ordering a gift online somewhere and having it shipped to her house?

Here are 12 inexpensive and thoughtful ways to commemorate Mother’s Day without simply clicking a few times on the first item you see on Amazon. (I might be using one or two of these, though I won’t mention which ones.)

For some, reading this article might be the first time Mother’s Day has been on their radar. If that’s you, just choose one of these projects and dive in — most of them can easily be accomplished in a few days if you give some hours to them, and many can wait until Mother’s Day itself.

A top-shelf rewards credit card with luxury travel perks.

The gives you access to coveted airport lounges, which is a unique benefit that will be highly attractive to some. Only a few American Express rewards cards will get you into the 10 Centurion Lounges around the world. Additionally, the card offers a number of other travel benefits, including access to Delta Sky Clubs and a free checked bag on Delta flights.

Like any credit card, it does come with some drawbacks, including a high annual fee and a low rewards rate on everyday purchases. Therefore, it will be a good fit for those who frequently fly with Delta and want to travel in comfort and style, but not those who want to earn while at home.

Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons as well as how it compares to other Delta SkyMiles offerings.