Bad spending habits

[chpxiii]

I think having been in Chapter 13 bankruptcy for the last 4 years has really helped me with budgeting and learning to live on a cash basis. Personally, I think some people could really use this forced discipline. (I'm not saying all people, nor am I saying anyone here, either. ) For me, it is, and was, a good thing. Everything I own, *I* own it.

I'm just waiting for my pay off amount so I can finally be done with it. I'll be taking my budgetting habits I learned these last 4 years on with me to the rest of my life.

Good luck to you, truckerswife!

[$$only4ever]

I think having been in Chapter 13 bankruptcy for the last 4 years has really helped me with budgeting and learning to live on a cash basis. Personally, I think some people could really use this forced discipline. (I'm not saying all people, nor am I saying anyone here, either. ) For me, it is, and was, a good thing. Everything I own, *I* own it.

I'm just waiting for my pay off amount so I can finally be done with it. I'll be taking my budgetting habits I learned these last 4 years on with me to the rest of my life.

Good luck to you, truckerswife!

Chpxiii, I, too, needed this "forced discipline." Since I have been in bankruptcy, I can really see all of the mistakes that I made and why I ended up in bankruptcy to begin with.

Like you, *I* own everything too. It is sweet not to be afraid to go to the mailbox anymore

[arkienurse]

I'll be taking my budgetting habits I learned these last 4 years on with me to the rest of my life.

Good luck to you, truckerswife!

not just yeah, but HELL YEAH

I really look forward to actually being able to accumulate something for retirement. My husband doesn't have any retirement at his work, and is depending on SS to get us through. I don't intend to be scraping like his mama, and my mama are right now. Both are widows and have zilch.

So I will be upping my 401 k, plus starting to look into other ideas for retirement. I have been listening to Dave Ramsey a lot, and while he is fanatically rabid on somethings I am lukewarm on, he has a ton of good advice.

[jennyn]

Granny -Stupid questions, but...

[QUOTE=Granny;106494]I too would eat out way too much, and not the cheapy fast food places either....I really liked being waited on.

On Sunday, I will make 50-60 pancakes, a pan of cinnamon rolls, sausage and eggs for breakfast tacos and I cook a couple of pounds of bacon (in the oven) to keep in the freezer. All of this heats up in about 30 seconds in the microwave and we have a hot cooked, healthy breakfast. For the cinnamon rolls, I cook them but don't put on the icing until they have been reheated in the microwave.

How do you freeze these (lasagna too) so they stay good, I always end up w/freezer burn. Does the reheated, frozen bacon taste the same? Boy, if I can do this, you'll be my hero!

[Granny]

How do you freeze these (lasagna too) so they stay good, I always end up w/freezer burn. Does the reheated, frozen bacon taste the same? Boy, if I can do this, you'll be my hero!

First, don't leave anything in the freezer for too long. You have to get out as much air as possible. I have a vacuum sealer, but don't use it for the breakfast items because we use them within a week. It is worth the money to buy the heavy freezer bags. Freeze in a container that will be full, without a lot of air space.

The bacon taste just fine, the key to it is not over nuke it because it heats up really quickly from a frozen state. You'll have to experiment with your microwave so you don't burn it. When reheating, I cover it with a paper towel. I cook the bacon in the oven at about 375 (corrected below to 400 degrees) on the broiler pan, so the grease drips away. It doesn't curl as much in the oven. Walmart has a 3 lb package for about 9.00. You want it just slightly undercooked. The pancakes are kept in a large Gladware tub in the frig. As you make them, lay them on cooling racks so some of the moisture has a chance to dry, otherwise they stick together really bad. I've frozen them, but find that the frig is just fine. I buy a 10 lb bag of Krusteaz pancake mix at either Walmart or Costco for about 6.00. It makes about 240 four inch pancakes. I add a little more sugar to the mix. I pour the mix into a large plastic container with a snap on lid that I got at the dollar store. This makes it easier to measure. I usually use 4 cups of mix a week.

The sausage and egg mixture is 1 lb sausage, cooked and crumbled. Strain the grease and add 1 dozen eggs, salt and pepper and scramble. I store it in 2 bags, 1 in the frig, the other I freeze in a freezer bag. I'm cautious about storing cooked eggs more than a few days in the frig. To reheat, put 1 1/2 tablespoons egg mixture in a small bowl cover with a flour tortilla and heat about 25 seconds. Again you'll have to experiment. The moisture from the egg mixture helps soften the tortilla as it heats.

This winter I'll be experimenting with oatmeal. I don't like the packages stuff, so I plan on making a large batch of oatmeal on the stove and re-heating it during the week.

Here's to a hearty breakfast.

Granny

[arkienurse]

This winter I'll be experimenting with oatmeal. I don't like the packages stuff, so I plan on making a large batch of oatmeal on the stove and re-heating it during the week.

Here's to a hearty breakfast.

Granny

Granny, did you know you can make your own instant with the regular oatmeal? This is from one of my posts under the goals for cutting corners thread in the lifestyles section. I learned quite a bit when we had that discussion.
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http://30daygourmet.com/

They have a newsletter you can sign up for that comes out every few weeks with recipes and tips. I just this morning made instant oatmeal mix for the kids from a recipe from them. DH says it needs more sugar, but everyone else ate it. Best of all, I made up 20 (1/2c) servings ( would be equal to 2 packets of premade- so actually 40 servings): 1.99 for the oats, 1.00 for the brown sugar, cinnamon I had already, and I bought a big box of raisins for 2.50- used 1 cup of them, rest are for DD's snack time. So cheaper than the store, healthier, and the girls and I had fun making it together.

For 4 servings:
2 cups Oatmeal, quick or regular
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Optional: 1/4 cup dried fruit/ chocolatechips/ chopped nuts

Put all ingredients together. Add optional ingredients if desired. Store in sealed containers( ziplocks for me) on pantry shelf or in freezer.
To make- mix 1/2 cup mixture with 1 cup water in a microwave safe bowl. Nuke for 2-3 minutes, until thickened. Stir and let stand 1 minute. I used quick oats and cooked it for 2 1/2 mins.
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[Granny]

Arkienurse,

Thanks for the link, I remember it from the previous discussion. I'm like your husband, I want lots of sugar. I've never had oatmeal with other stuff in it and not sure I would like it, as I am not a fan of cinnamon.

I usually make my oatmeal in the microwave, but it tends to boil over and make a mess, that's why I was going to try just making a big batch and re-heating. So this will sound really stupid, but what kind of bowl are you using that doesn't make a mess?

[Granny]

Correction on the bacon directions. Bake at 400 for about 40 minutes, turning half way through. This is using thick sliced bacon. Regular sliced won't take as long.

You can also broil it, but it cooks rather quickly, so you'll have to watch it closely.

[arkienurse]

Arkienurse,

Thanks for the link, I remember it from the previous discussion. I'm like your husband, I want lots of sugar. I've never had oatmeal with other stuff in it and not sure I would like it, as I am not a fan of cinnamon.

I usually make my oatmeal in the microwave, but it tends to boil over and make a mess, that's why I was going to try just making a big batch and re-heating. So this will sound really stupid, but what kind of bowl are you using that doesn't make a mess?

Well, for the single half cup batch I normally use a regular cereal size bowl, mine hold around a cup and a half of liquid. But if I am making more than one, I will use one of my corelle serving sized bowls, they probably hold about a quart. Mine will boil up around the edge, but I have seldom had one boil over with just one seving of oatmeal. Perhaps also has something to do with microwave? Mine is about 5 yrs old now.

[Granny]

Maybe I'm making too much for my bowl. I bet if I measured it out, it would be more than 1/2 cup.

I always wondered how my grandma used to cook without measuring everything...now I know...years of experience.

[cathywhite4495]

With 3 kids, breakfast can get expensive at my house. We would go through a box of cereal in 2 days (and I never bought the sugary ones - these are healthy cereals!). Like everybody else, mornings are also rushed. We have switched to oatmeal Monday-Friday. I prefer the old-fashioned kind which takes longer to cook. Granny, I've tried reheating it but it always turns out gummy - maybe you'll find the secret So, I set the water boiling, wake up the kids, dump in the oats and once it starts boiling again, I shut off the heat - I have an electric stove so it keeps going. I spend a couple minutes with the good morning snuggles and then dish it up. We put different fruits or raisins in it. I love walnuts (good omega-3 source) but my kids aren't sold on them yet. I also put some ground flaxseed in it and each kid gets a teaspoon of brown sugar. I put the sugar on the top so it looks like a lot and makes them feel happy It's a very cheap and healthy breakfast and keeps everybody full until lunch time.
The weekends are a different story. The boys all take turns deciding what we have for breakfast each weekend. Bagels and cream cheese this weekend.
I used to do the month at a time cooking and I want to get back into it. I'm trying to find a deal on a freezer...

[Granny]

I prefer the old-fashioned kind which takes longer to cook. Granny, I've tried reheating it but it always turns out gummy - maybe you'll find the secret

Thanks for the heads up on reheating the oatmeal.

[truckerswife]

Granny, thanks for the breakfast info. Our biggest expense at the store is DH breakfast. I work 3rds and get home just in time to wake him up for work(for 15 hour day) and fix his meals. (Total of 10 min). He has to watch his sugar and it seems that the frozen breakfast bowls help get him started in the morning (and I don't have time to fix the eggs, bacon, etc.). This adds up to about $14 a week. I was wondering if I could freeze regular eggs, now I know. Do you think if i made a bowl up with the egg, potato and bacon I could freeze it together? How long would it stay good if I left it in the fridge? If I could do it even just twice a week and stick it in the fridge that would help. I realize it would only save me a few dollars a week, but I would rather put that into my savings.

[Granny]

This adds up to about $14 a week. I was wondering if I could freeze regular eggs, now I know. Do you think if i made a bowl up with the egg, potato and bacon I could freeze it together? How long would it stay good if I left it in the fridge? If I could do it even just twice a week and stick it in the fridge that would help. I realize it would only save me a few dollars a week, but I would rather put that into my savings.

I think a 2-3vdays in the fridge would stay good. In the freezer, I think the texture of the potatoes would change more than the eggs. Long term, the texture of the eggs changes slightly, but short term should be fine. I have frozen leftover breakfast casserole and ate it about a month later, and although it tasted fine, I did notice a slight texture change. Putting the eggs and sausage in a tortilla hides the texture change. Within a week, I bet he doesn't notice a difference. And if he's like my trucker husband, he'll eat anything homemade anyway. Even a bad meal at home beats truck stop food.

And hey, those few dollars do add up.

[truckerswife]

I just added it up and that $4 I would be saving a week over 40 months is another payment to the trustee. I want this thing paid off as soon as possible. With dh mom taking us off the line of credit with cu, that knocked off almost 4 months. That would take us down to 36 months minus the savings of making breakfast makes 35 months. Hopefully we have a few no filers, too. My medical bills are through a hospital that receives funding. Therefore they can not turn anyone away. The bills are a few years old. Is it possible that they wont file?