http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018787537Oh my.
Tobin S. (7,837 posts) Thu Aug 6, 2015, 07:17 PM
My wife and I are off to a good start on our food budget.
We decided to set aside $150 a week for food and other items you might get at a grocery store (toilet paper, hair care, etc). We've spent $100 since last Friday and have gotten a few things that we won't have to buy every week. If we're talking strictly food, we spent $83. We have not eaten out at all. If anything busts our budget, eating out is going to be it. Neither one of us is exactly Top Chef. We're doing well so far, and we certainly have enough.
Any extra money we have at the end of the month will go to pay down our school loans.
Okay, one has to give the guy credit; at least he's trying, which is a Hell of a lot more than one can say about nearly all the other primitives.
Star Member CaliforniaPeggy (116,232 posts) Thu Aug 6, 2015, 07:25 PM
1. That sounds great, my dear Tobin!
Who knows, maybe you will get to be Top Chef by the time you get through this!
^^^probably still misses Skippy, the women-denigrating NYC_SKP primitive.
Tobin S. (7,837 posts) Thu Aug 6, 2015, 07:38 PM
2. My wife is a pretty good cook when she sets her mind to it.
The main problem we have is that we lack imagination when it comes to food. We fall into a rut of eating the same thing every week. Then we tire of it and hit the restaurants.
Well, we can't do that anymore unless we are just talking McDonald's. We're going to have to do better than we have in the past.
underahedgerow (409 posts) Thu Aug 6, 2015, 08:19 PM
3. The good thing about eating at home IS the variety! Jamie Oliver kicks butt on recipes
that are simple, economical and fast and they're all free, online. No need to buy a book!
I never create new food... I follow recipes from trusted sources, Oliver being my always go to guy. For baked goods, Mary Berry or Nigella Lawson. Nigella does great meals too.
You should actually be able to cut that weekly spend in half with good planning. Buying meat on sale and chucking it in the freezer, using a lot of frozen veg is a great way to economize and eat healthy.
Good food doesn't have to be complicated and expensive. I bet for any favorite meal you can find in a restaurant, you can find the exact recipe to make at home for pennies. That was exactly the reason I started cooking to begin with. I got tired of going to restaurants and spending a fortune for something that cost them pennies to make. So I learned how to cook anything I want at home. (I eventually became a professional cook and baker, but that's a whole 'nuther oprah!)
This week I've been going crazy on mexican food.. burritos, quesadillas, salsa, guacamole (avocados are in season!), cupcakes, a nice steak and cheese sub sandwich. Toast for breakfast, my Nespresso microwave cappuccinos, iced coffee... I tell you, there is nothing out in restaurant world I can't make just as good, and more often much better, in my own kitchen.
What is important though is having the right tools and kitchen gear. The right pots and pans and knives and various gadgets make all the difference in the world. YES I HAD to have that lovely italian planer, but it was only 8 bucks.....
You can even find all the popular chain restaurant recipes online... Usually prefaced with 'copycat'. Hello Cheesecake Factory!
ms liberty (3,946 posts) Thu Aug 6, 2015, 09:42 PM
10. don't freeze uncooked hamburger meat...
It doesn't hurt it per se, but it just doesn't taste good either. Cooked hb meat tastes fine after being frozen.
That's weird.
Swede, the cook of Norwegian derivation at the bar in town, doesn't freeze hamburger either; it's simply mildly refrigerated from the time it's ground until the time it's cooked.
But to be honest, I never noticed a difference in taste.
flygal (2,564 posts) Thu Aug 6, 2015, 08:56 PM
6. I paid off my loans in 5 years by being a tightwad!
We had the Tightwad Gazette books. We weren't that cheap but it kept us from giving in to buying new cars, furniture..etc. All our stuff was either from garage sales or on super clearance. We did a month challenge of only buying food and it gave us a huge start. You can do it!!
fizzgig (23,303 posts) Thu Aug 6, 2015, 10:19 PM
11. come hang out in c&b
you will get the world's supply of helpful advice there.
Hmmmm. That reminds me.
I have a short story featuring thunderthighs and Big Bertha, in which franksolich endeavors to straighten out Big Bertha. It's been simmering for a while, but I've been reluctant to post it, as it ranges somewhere in between a "PG" and an "R" rating, and I'm not sure Big Bertha would take in the merry spirit it's intended.
I dunno.
alphafemale (15,067 posts) Thu Aug 6, 2015, 10:42 PM
12. Set aside some of rhe the money saved on groceries for a dinner out now and then
Even if it is once a month.
Date nights are important.
Tobin and the wife have been married for a while; they don't need dates any more.
mackerel (3,527 posts) Thu Aug 6, 2015, 11:55 PM
13. I shop at a place the is similar to Grocery Outlet and I spend about $80 a week on food
for me and the kids.
