DBOOTHE,
no Amazon orders—that’s huge! For me too. Even if I was ordering plant food or dish towels for the house, I was still shopping. Now I’ve started spending that time walking the dogs more and taking a look at the state of my house! ?
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I’m in! Trying to get a serious rein on eating out. We have debts to pay that need to go away already. Money thrown out the window ISN’T money going to debt.
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AnnieB, Food, by far, is my biggest waste of money. Eating out WAY too much and even when I get a handle on eating out and do the full on meal planning, grocery list with coupons and sale ads, grocery shopping, toting bags of groceries and putting all that stuff away, I end up forgetting about fresh produce and throw half of it away. So I still have money thrown out the window. This is a big struggle. I hate it, but I HAVE to conquer this evil in my life.
Eating out more often equals poor (but delicious) choices, weight gain and of course, big expense. Cooking at home equals bland meals (not fond of cooking), lots of prep work, cooking and clean up, leaving me feeling disappointed.
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Looking at my post from yesterday, I shouldn’t leave it at that. What I NEED to do is get more creative in the kitchen and stop buying the same old things.
On a brighter note, today it is snowing. I DID NOT run to the grocery store at the first snowflake and purchase “things to cheer me up” aka junk food and other unnecessary items. Savings! $30 or more. We have all the bread, milk and toilet paper we need so no need.
I have not spent any more of my grocery/misc budget…no need, still using up what we have in the pantry, fridge and freezer. I will say (if a little wryly) I do get a little kick out of seeing what all I have had hidden in those pesky places.
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DBOOTHE,
there are some sites you can sign up with and get free recipes emailed to you. One is Spend with Pennies that focuses on inexpensive meals. Another one I like is called The Magical Slow Cooker. And there are lots more. Allrecipes.com has a feature that lets you search for recipes that use ingredients you already have and need to use up.
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Thanks Annmarie L, it’s a snow day so I will do that. 
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I’ll recommend Budget Bytes. Tasty food made simply without expensive ingredients.
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Thanks AnnieB!
Still not spending any money on non-essentials. I’m feeling so proud when I look at my bank account! In contrast, by this time last month, I’d already spent $241 on stuff like Starbucks, buying clothes and toiletries, and ordering things on Amazon. My spending was out of control. 
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There is a email you can get called Yummly, yes, that is how you spell it. It has loads of recipes and all kinds of variations on them…all for free. Plus you get to rate the recipes, if you want to.
To help conserve food, when my onions and garlic start growing inside the house, I take them and plant them. The garlic in the winter grows well in cool temperatures and the flavor of the tops is more light and delicate when cooked-called green garlic, the bulbs are small, but usable. Like many others, food is a big waste of money when it spoils.
We only visit the sales when they are truly sales and stick to the list. Impulse buys are too easy especially when you get a free sample and think to yourself what great taste or texture! Then you want it…the loaf of fancy bread at only $3.59 for less than 1 lb and that is the sale price. That was my yesterday, then realized a similar product exists in the freezer at home. Pure willpower helped me walk away. Just enjoy the sample.
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OK you guys, you are off to a great 2020! Now that I’m back in a routine, I can start this. You all are so encouraging- I have some expenses coming up this weekend, so I’m committing to start on 01/15. Good luck to us all.
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Glad to hear your joining us Kelly. I’m going to make 2020 a banner year for my finances. Save. Save. Save.
Best wishes to all for financial improvement.
Well, I’m making another pot of soup on this snow day. I normally wouldn’t make two pots so close together, but I had ALL the ingredients and well, the snow. Chicken corn noodle soup is a favorite of ours too.
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Great starts and recipes for comfort foods (soup), savings , and snow.
Good recipe for getting your finances in order.
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redcatcec, Thanks for the Yummly tip! I’ll be checking it out.
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redcatcec…oh, also thanks for the shopping tips. I make a list and stick to it unless I see something I really NEED or is on clearance and it is something I definitely use.
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Have to admit, when a phenomenal sale is on, sometimes it is not a bad thing . Deals at times are too good to pass up and a small indulgence can make a big difference at the right price.
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As a reward for doing well so far, I decided to give myself a weekly allowance of $20-25. ? It’s a fraction of what I normally used to spend.
Today I filled my car up with gas and picked up 5 prescriptions for a total of $90.18. ?
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Positive reinforcement works like a charm, you are doing great.
This is what happens when we stay out of stores and Amazon.
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AnnemarieL, It KILLS me to “waste” money on gas and prescriptions when I’m pinching pennies to save. They are no fun, but a necessary evil.
Redcatcec, Positive reinforcement is great, but I haven’t really been successful at it. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve never succeeded at the things I’ve tried to trick myself into doing or because after I’ve done it, I don’t reward myself because the reward should be that I did it (because it needed to be done). Probably overthinking the whole thing,
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As an alternative way to get prescriptions, there is an online pharmacy with cheap co-pays that sends you the Rx,. Your Dr’s office would send the prescriptions there through fax or the computer, you receive acknowledgement from the company, & then they arrive in the mail to your door-elimination the gas and spent to get them. Payment is done by credit card.The exception would be prescriptions that are controlled ones, you’d have to pick the the actual paper from the Dr’s office, snail mail it in, and then sign for the product at the PO. This is through Express Scripts.
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