We spent so much during the first 10 days of the months that with 21 days left to go we are down to only $1,700 left to spend - otherwise we will be spending more than we make.
This amount has to cover everyday expenses including the most expensive line in our budget - commute. Tolls for DH's commute to work are exactly $20 each workday day ($10+$8+$1+$1). Than there is gas (he works 47 miles away, and the traffic is horrible for a chunk of it).
Than groceries, food at work, a weekend with friends maybe, and everyday life.
And there will be additional chiropractor visit(s) and he does not take my insurance. I am still in a lot of pain - having trouble even getting up by myself. Advil, anti-inflammatory cream, and heating pads did not help relieve it. I took a vicodent an hour ago. That helped somewhat - now I can lay down and get up by myself and don't feel as much pain(still feel enough) and now I can feel the tension itself. I am a little tempted to take more to see if that can lessen the pain even more.
Have to last 21 days on $1,700
March 11th, 2009 at 02:57 am
March 11th, 2009 at 03:16 am 1236741418
March 11th, 2009 at 03:47 am 1236743240
DH does not have such option available. But I am not so sure about leftovers for lunch for him - during weekdays I only make simple things like salads, paninis, or dumplings or something like that - these things are just not meant to be eaten on day 2.
March 11th, 2009 at 01:39 pm 1236778766
March 11th, 2009 at 03:00 pm 1236783616
March 11th, 2009 at 03:44 pm 1236786262
Subway commute for me is extremely cheap - $2 per ride.
Nance, we don't have a "pantry".
We try to favor fresh food - not frozen, not in cans, not processed.
Like tiny breads that are baked daily and gone by the end of the day . They are hearty, healthy, delicious.
No, that kind of bread is not meant to be kept in a freezer for weeks. It is meant to be eaten that day. So one has to buy it the day you want to eat it.
If recepie calls for roasted pepper I take fresh peppers and roast them.
If it calls for spinach I get a couple of containers and just blanch them in boiling water for 10-15 seconds instead of buying frozen cartons. So fresh baby spinach will never last 21 days! Cooked, it will only taste good for no more than 24 hours.... you get my point. I pick up fresh food every other day - to be cooked that day, so my "pantry" only consists fo things like coffee, tea, spices, rice, orzo, and crushed tomatoes/tomato purees jars). You can't really make 3 weeks of meals out of it.
I know it is a different culture. It is hard for me to comprehend shopping for groceries once a month. In most cities in Europe, you will see that people just pick up from a local grocer enough food to make a meal that and/or the next day -- few veggies, half a loaf of bread from the bread shop, meat from the butcher shop, etc... And all of it is done on a walk home from the metro or a bus.
And if you don't work, why would you not want to make fresh food every day, having 10 hours more of free time a day than most people?
March 11th, 2009 at 04:09 pm 1236787782
Just because a person has a full pantry does not mean they don't cook fresh. Heck, how fresh is your just-cooked-this-morning tiny loaf of bread, compared to the loaf Nance can serve piping hot out of the oven?
March 11th, 2009 at 06:57 pm 1236797844
When I hear "stocked pantry" in a context of not having to shop for groceries for weeks, the image that comes to my mind is cans of campbel's soup, wonderbread, green giant cartons, kraft cheese, etc....
I guess I should not be stereotyping.
March 11th, 2009 at 07:31 pm 1236799897
I don't use Campbel's soup, wonderbread,processed foods, etc. I make all of our bread from scratch as well as every meal from scratch. I would suggest you look into ways to have food on hand because you never know when your income might end, an emergency might make it impossible to shop daily, etc. That is how our ancestors got through the Depression. They stockpiled foods so they would have food available to feed their families when times were lean.
March 11th, 2009 at 07:52 pm 1236801141
March 11th, 2009 at 09:13 pm 1236805984
Baking ones own bread would indeed be tastier.