$60 for the rest of the month, please help me budget. - Page 2

[oetien]

Originally Posted by AngelBee

What else would your dd like for Christmas?

Anyone else you need gifts for?

Will be back with some links

Thank you, you're such a sweetheart. You're definitely one of my favorite person on MDC.
We don't need gifts for anyone. We don't really have family and friends around here.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by oetien

I made 5 yogurt tube of turkey stock after thanksgiving.
We have 2 lbs of ground beef, 3 lbs of chicken meat, a pound of ground turkey, a pound of tilapia fillet, and a little bit of frozen tuna.
We have 5 pounds or so of frozen veggies, 7 cans of beans, 10 lbs of WW flour, 1/2 bottle of canola oil.

I need some eggs, I think I'm going to get a couple dz of "regular" eggs because they're on sale for $3 for 2 dz.

Wow. It sounds like you're fairly well set, actually. With all that on hand already, I'd just add in some fresh stuff like eggs, milk, butter, fruit, carrots, potatoes, etc.

If you're feeling like your family is eating you out of house and home, then I would concentrate on increasing their fat intake. The ingestion of fat triggers satiation, so you actually eat less. Whether that's fat skimmed off your stock and used to scramble eggs, butter, peanut butter, cheese, meat, etc. Making sure there's enough healthy fat in your diet will help your food stretch further.

HTH

[oetien]

Originally Posted by cristeen

Wow. It sounds like you're fairly well set, actually. With all that on hand already, I'd just add in some fresh stuff like eggs, milk, butter, fruit, carrots, potatoes, etc.

If you're feeling like your family is eating you out of house and home, then I would concentrate on increasing their fat intake. The ingestion of fat triggers satiation, so you actually eat less. Whether that's fat skimmed off your stock and used to scramble eggs, butter, peanut butter, cheese, meat, etc. Making sure there's enough healthy fat in your diet will help your food stretch further.

HTH

Yeah, I probably was just freaking out for no good reason.
I think after I buy my 25 lbs bag of rice we would be all set for the rest of the month.
I personally don't get satisfied eating fat as much as I do eating rice. I guess it's just my Asian background. (we actually don't have cheese and peanut butter at home at the moment)

[jtsmom]

Glad you figured out the Christmas tree problem. I was going to suggest that if you have lights, wrap them around any old big plant you have in your house. We have some on our ficus. lol Or, you could somehow rig up a teepee shape out of branches from outside, and wrap the lights around it.

For the food, I second buying dried beans. Soak them overnight, then simmer them in the morning til they are soft. I like to add beans to stretch the meat in mexican meals. Also, I would make sure to eat foods that are very filling. For me, winter squash and sweet potatoes really fill me up, and they are cheap and easy to find this time of year.

[momma_monkey]

Originally Posted by oetien

So, we have no income (for now) and we have $60 cash in hand. We also have $45 gift card to Whole Foods. Most of our bills are 'paid enough so we don't get cut off.' We don't have to buy Christmas present for anyone. I have a 3 year old daughter, and I have bought her some clothes for Christmas (she does love clothes). I can't find anything I can return to the store for cash. She wants a christmas tree, but I can probably talk her out of it. (or, if anyone have any idea for a "Christmas tree" for less than $10)

Please help me budget to make it through the month.

What's the best thing to buy at WF? I usually buy organic milk for dd (now I think I'll get the non-organic kind), pasta, canned beans, WW flour, frozen veggies.

Our pantry is kinda stocked, but we tend to go through food very fast.
We cook from scratch and tend to eat more ethnic food. We don't eat meat for every meal.

coupons come out in the Sunday paper, maybe you know somehow gets it/more than one helps too? I ended up getting 2 bags of free frozen spinach. Check which days your supermarket has double-days.

[oetien]

Originally Posted by momma_monkey

coupons come out in the Sunday paper, maybe you know somehow gets it/more than one helps too? I ended up getting 2 bags of free frozen spinach. Check which days your supermarket has double-days.

I "stole" my neighbor's paper a couple weeks ago and I didn't find a coupon I can use. I really am not good at couponing.

[MidwifeErika]

I never had luck cooking dried beans either, but then I started doing it in my crockpot! It works wonderfully! I do a pound at a time and then freeze them in 2 cup portions (then each portion is equal to a can of beans).

[oetien]

Originally Posted by hotwings640

I never had luck cooking dried beans either, but then I started doing it in my crockpot! It works wonderfully! I do a pound at a time and then freeze them in 2 cup portions (then each portion is equal to a can of beans).

How long do you cook them in the crockpot? I tried it last time, soaked the beans overnight, then cook it in the crockpot (with some watered down chicken stock) for 8 hrs, but it was still crunchy, so I put it in the fridge for the night (because I was using the crockpot to make soup), the next day I did another 8 hrs, I thought I would overcook it, but some of the beans were still crunchy. I must have done something wrong...

[mommy68]

Why do you have a gift card to WF? ugh, I'd much rather have one at a regular grocery store. You can spend $45 at WF very quickly as they are way over-priced. I'd likely call and ask them if you can cash it in which I doubt they would do anyway, but you never know or perhaps try to find someone that will buy the WF card from you in exchange for cash.

Do you have items to sell on Ebay or Amazon? I sell stuff on both of those sites and transfer funds to our bank account.

I also cook pintos/black eyed peas in bulk and freeze them. I buy those frozen pizzas for .98-1.00 for my kids for their lunches. They love em.

[oetien]

MIL bought the GC for us. I kinda shop at WF regularly (when I had money, anyway). She lives out of state, so she has different grocery store there.

My dd is only 3, so she doesn't need to pack a lunch.
imo the frozen pizza is kinda expensive. I can make my own (from scratch) for like 2 bucks and it's 3 times bigger.

Originally Posted by mommy68

Why do you have a gift card to WF? ugh, I'd much rather have one at a regular grocery store. You can spend $45 at WF very quickly as they are way over-priced. I'd likely call and ask them if you can cash it in which I doubt they would do anyway, but you never know or perhaps try to find someone that will buy the WF card from you in exchange for cash.

Do you have items to sell on Ebay or Amazon? I sell stuff on both of those sites and transfer funds to our bank account.

I also cook pintos/black eyed peas in bulk and freeze them. I buy those frozen pizzas for .98-1.00 for my kids for their lunches. They love em.

[lolar2]

I've had better luck with beans NOT in the crockpot. Soak overnight as usual but then cook in a regular big pot for a few hours. Make sure you cook them in enough water.

[rebirth]

are you salting your beans? If you are- that is why then never really soften. You have to wait till after they're completely done- then you can salt to taste.

[AngelBee]

Originally Posted by oetien

Thank you, you're such a sweetheart. You're definitely one of my favorite person on MDC.

Aww.....thanks :

[oetien]

Originally Posted by rebirth

are you salting your beans? If you are- that is why then never really soften. You have to wait till after they're completely done- then you can salt to taste.

I think so.
Wow, I didn't know salt make the beans stay firm.

[lolar2]

That would do it! I forgot about that. The way I do it is, I do like the salt or bacon or whatever to meld in a bit; so I first cook them all the way to soften, then I add the salt and cook for an extra half-hour.

[oetien]

Originally Posted by lolar2

That would do it! I forgot about that. The way I do it is, I do like the salt or bacon or whatever to meld in a bit; so I first cook them all the way to soften, then I add the salt and cook for an extra half-hour.

Thanks I'll do that next time...

[mum4boys]

Originally Posted by oetien

How long do you cook them in the crockpot? I tried it last time, soaked the beans overnight, then cook it in the crockpot (with some watered down chicken stock) for 8 hrs, but it was still crunchy, so I put it in the fridge for the night (because I was using the crockpot to make soup), the next day I did another 8 hrs, I thought I would overcook it, but some of the beans were still crunchy. I must have done something wrong...

Never presoak my beans when using the crockpot. I cook them for 10 hours but I use boiling water or other liquids when I start out.

[oetien]

Originally Posted by mum4boys

Never presoak my beans when using the crockpot. I cook them for 10 hours but I use boiling water or other liquids when I start out.

Can I use chicken stock? I think there is a little salt in it.