primitives need to spend less

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1128331

Oh my.

One wonders why the primitives need to spend less; after all, the 0bamaconomy's booming.

Or so the primitives themselves say.

yardwork (31,574 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

I need to spend less.

For various reasons, over the past year or so my spending has increased and is now eating into savings. I also have two kids in college, so I need to reverse this trend, and start saving every month.

I've identified several ways to save money:

1. Eat out less.
2. Drop cable TV (which I never watch) and my land line.
3. Drop Netflix (never use it).

I need to start cooking at home more and bring my lunch to work more often. These are probably standard practices for most of the people in this group, so I'm asking for help. Recipes, suggestions for cooking at home?

Thanks in advance.

Ruby the Liberal (14,694 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

1. Crock pot.

I live by mine. Toss in a 2# eye roast and let it cook off. Put it in the fridge to cool off, then chop it up into slices (or diced) and you can make yummy sandwiches for days. I also put the diced meat on salads and homemade pizzas, noting that I am not vegan/vegetarian, but there are entire crockery cookbooks for that.

Remembering to use my crock has saved me a fortune because the food is already cooked off and I can't justify being lazy as easily - it takes mere seconds to pack a homemade lunch.

maddezmom (126,407 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

2. depends on what you like to eat, but I do a lot of salads and was getting lazy and brought the prepacked ones. Now I just buy 3 heads of Romaine, spin it and store in my salad spinner and have for 3-4 lg salads a week. Need to have tomatoes, cukes, etc on hand but it's so much cheaper than buying the pre made. Actually, I've quit buying pre made stuff all together for the most part.

Also suggest making items and freezing portions to cut down on the take out food calls. I always have homemade sauce, soup, ziti, chili etc in the freezer to either micro or stick in the oven. I only freeze stuff I know I love and will eat. Another thing I do, is when I grill chicken/beef...do two. Then you have one for the next day for dinner or lunch to reheat quickly.

I've always felt I was frugal person but now after my divorce I need to be a frugal person. I've got my $$$ coming in and going out now and it's pretty much fixed, so I've put myself on a budget with the goal of always ending up in the black.

One more thing I'd suggest is keeping a diary of every item from coffee at your local to dry cleaner items, etc to see if you can cut back there anyway.

Little Star (7,996 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

3. I make and freeze my own spagetti sauce by the buckets full..

It is good, it is cheap and it is easy to cook and freeze. We have it once or twice a week because my hubby loves him some pasta.

I also do this with chili and beef stew and soups during the winter.

Anytime we have one of these things, in the next day or two, my husband brings the leftovers to work for lunch.

canoeist52 (1,311 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

4. Whole chickens are the best meat for your dollar.

Bake a large whole chicken with many baked potatoes. Remove chicken from bones and simmer bones for chicken broth for soup the next night. Add any left-over chicken and veggies to soup (crock pot?)
Have chicken sandwiches for lunch and/or make a chicken casserole or pie next day.
Freeze some of the soup. You can make home-fries with the left-over baked potatoes for breakfast.

That's four meals and a half of a breakfast from one chicken dinner.

cbayer (105,099 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

6. I get a lot of ideas from the cooking & baking group.

I also use the epicurious weekly menu planner.

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/everydaycooking/weeklydinnerplanners

By using this, I can make an accurate shopping list, go to the store and stick to my list. That, I think, saves me a lot of money. The meals are varied, generally very good and healthy to boot. FWIW, I rarely follow their dessert recommendations, preferring a little cheese after dinner. You usually have leftovers which are great for lunch the next day. Going out to eat is a treat and doesn't happen very often.

I buy some new clothes about once a year and never just go shopping to go shopping. Other than for groceries, I really don't like shopping.

We live very, very inexpensively - about $2000 a month (including cell service, netflix, hulu, NYT subscription, car storage and various insurances). We would spend less if we didn't enjoy wine so much!

And it helps a lot that we spend most of our time in a place where there is just nothing to spend money on! Starbucks alone can eat up a whole bunch of money a little bit at a time.

RebelOne (22,875 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

33. Like you I just go shopping for groceries.

And fortunately, my expenses are low, utilities, insurances, phone, cable, Internet, etc. I never go shopping for clothes any more because I don't need new clothes as I have been retired for 2 years now. And I am a vegetarian and do not buy meat, so my grocery bill is low. I support me and my 2 dogs on $1,400 a month. And, yes, if I didn't enjoy wine so much, I would spend a little less.

cbayer (105,099 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

34. I am not a vegetarian, but I find that I am eating less and less meat.

Part of the reason is that I have very little capacity for freezing and need to buy about 3 weeks worth of food at a time. Another is that it just seems too heavy these days - age related, I think.

Same with me for the clothes. I have started buying things from the REI outlet site about once a year. For a couple of hundred dollars, I can get some very high quality clothing that I use to replace clothes that really need to go.

My fondness for wine and for cooking means that many of my shirts are stained badly. I have recently gotten an apron, but I never remember to put it on until after I have already splashed myself with something.

Whoa.

Does one suppose the thread slayer's an incorrigible boozer?

Curmudgeoness (6,714 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

8. Probably the first thing you want to do is keep track of everything you spend money on. This gives you a baseline on where your money goes and is the starting point to see where the holes in your pockets are. Then you will have to set up a reasonable budget. (This works just like a diet would, if you say you will lose 10 pounds a week, you will fail from the start.)

You are right, dropping expenses that are not important or are never used is a given. Eating out does cost a lot more than cooking in. I have no recipes, and it really depends on what you like to eat. The internet is full of recipes that would suit you and what you enjoy. I suggest that you do not go into a deprivation mode though. If you enjoy a steak, don't go without---but maybe don't have one a often as you would like.

After you have determined where you can save money, we can talk about the real fun---like buying at yard sales/Goodwill. But I don't want to scare you away now.

Sherman A1 (8,635 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

20. Agreed

Those are all good things to do. I would love to drop cable, but my spouse enjoys it so that is out. I switched to Magic Jack for a landline a year ago. It is far from perfect, but it served as a compromise as she simply did not want to be without a landline & our daughter who calls frequently can't seem to figure out how to use a cell phone, even though we provide one for her.

I will be turning down the thermostat a bit after the first of the year, just a degree or so but it does help.

We have resolved to try & use up some of the pantry stockpile this year. Made a good start in the Autumn. I have a thing about grocery shopping & sales that can cause us to get a little overstocked from time to time.

Wife has rediscovered the library & is getting audio books for her commute there. She also has a Nook which she likes & the E books seem to be a bit cheaper.

More crock potting & home cooking are great ideas. There are a ton of online recipes available as well as online coupons for all sorts of things.

[Ballygrl]

I really need to start using my crockpot more.

[BlueStateSaint]

I really need to start using my crockpot more.

We use ours about once every ten days or so.

[JakeStyle]

cbayer (105,099 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

34. I am not a vegetarian, but I find that I am eating less and less meat.

Part of the reason is that I have very little capacity for freezing and need to buy about 3 weeks worth of food at a time. Another is that it just seems too heavy these days - age related, I think.

Same with me for the clothes. I have started buying things from the REI outlet site about once a year. For a couple of hundred dollars, I can get some very high quality clothing that I use to replace clothes that really need to go.

My fondness for wine and for cooking means that many of my shirts are stained badly. I have recently gotten an apron, but I never remember to put it on until after I have already splashed myself with something.

WTF?

[GOBUCKS]

I'm amazed at all these DUmbasses suggesting how to save money, yet not one of them seems willing to reduce weed buyinig.

Surely they aren't all dealers.

[Evil_Conservative]

Oh my gosh, how much wine do you drink that you actually start spilling it on yourself?  We had three bottles of wine over NYE.  I was quite tipsy, but never spilled any of it on me. 

[BlueStateSaint]

Oh my gosh, how much wine do you drink that you actually start spilling it on yourself?  We had three bottles of wine over NYE.  I was quite tipsy, but never spilled any of it on me. 

I've bolded the main word, Jess.  The thread slaying primitive probably drinks that much itself, per night.

[NHSparky]

Notice Internet service isn't on the chopping block.

And cooking chicken and potatoes together?  I haven't heard of anything that shitty since Pam tried making chicken enchiladas that sounded like watery soup wrapped in soggy flour tortillas.

You'd think these idiots have never heard of beer can chicken.  Or slow cooking a brisket.

[obumazombie]

I really need to start using my crockpot more.

What a crock.

[GOBUCKS]

You'd think these idiots have never heard of beer can chicken.

We love beer can chicken. Have it a couple of times a month. I even bought a special pan with a big stainless tube in the center for the beer.

But I've never been able to detect even a trace of the beer taste, and I'm deeply saddened if beer is going to waste.

I'm going to try it with just water in the center and see if it's any different.

My bet is it will be identical to using beer, and I'll have a little more to drink.

www.electstevedawes.com

[BadCat]

I suggest the liberals pick carefully through their cat litter boxes for pieces that are particularly dry and crunchy.  My dogs love it.