Your journal is intriguing as my family has and do have many of the food problems that you do. Although I have not journaled the last two months, we have steadily decreased our eating out and grocery budget over the last 6 months.
For me, and probably you it comes down to advance preparation. This boils down to time and effort. I simply had to make gathering supplies and doing some bulk cooking a priority to counter spontaneous order ins and restaurant meals.
Jforest's Journal
@liquidsapphire JEALOUS of your time in naples. If I had my choice, somewhere near cinque terre would be ideal, although I've never been to sicily/calabria, or even naples! (heresy I know)
If I find a good tikka masala recipe I'll let you know.
@sshawn Ithink you are correct, I need to do batch cooking. It would be ideal. I'm glad to hear others have overcome this same issue.
If I find a good tikka masala recipe I'll let you know.
@sshawn Ithink you are correct, I need to do batch cooking. It would be ideal. I'm glad to hear others have overcome this same issue.
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LiquidSapphire
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The Cinque Terre are lovely! It takes forever to get there from civilization though. If I had a choose a city where I just wandered around for two weeks with no plan it would probably be Venice. I just love all the water. But Yeah Naples.... I would never live "in" Naples unless I was ready to seriously immerse in the culture for a long period (I lived in a suburb called Bacoli). Naples still has many challenges, but it is a great jumping off point for traveling within Italy.
hehe. @ssahwann, @liquid sapphire, @jforest etc... your stories about italy are entriging... I thought I went there as part of my grad trip but it seemed different the way I went vs the way you guys described it... Oh I know... I went as a tourist and you guys as travellers...
Anyway, I will def let you know of good indian recipes. So far my ventures involve cooking with prep curry bar/ sauce... One day...
Anyway, I will def let you know of good indian recipes. So far my ventures involve cooking with prep curry bar/ sauce... One day...
Another month, but better progress this time! managed to cut down food from 1600 in october to 1000 in november. Didn't succeed at no eat out november, but it was MUCH more limited.
There are some extra expenses in here, such as I paid for some italian classes for my GF and I, as we are taking a 5 week trip next september to italy with our daughter. (I already speak some, but she doesn't, and wants to learn) So I spent $300 of my misc on language classes. 115 for me, the rest for her. We'll be starting those classes in january.
Next month there will be a 249 dollar charge for the tickets. I used 150000 airline miles to get our 3 tickets, I just had to pay 249.90 for the taxes and fees.
Another bit of the MISC payments were new hiking boots for me. My old ones were worn through, so I spend 86 on a new pair. As I don't have a car, and walk a mile to and from work every day, I need them for the winter. Necessary.
Otherwise, we can def make more improvements on food, and we're going to try batch cooking this month, rather than buying a lot of pre-made meals. We did much better last month, and I hope to build on that.
One thing I meant to mention, I'm now putting 15% of my pre-tax income into my 403b account. That's accounting for 525 per paycheck into my 403b. That lowers my take home money by about 700 a month. That accounts for a lot of the increase in my accounts. my transition to vanguard for my rothIRA is also complete. So now i have it all in one place. That's a good start.
As we are going to take a 5 week long trip in september, we're going to have to cut spending to the bone to build up a 6000 trip fund
This is a great way to get my GF on board with cutting spending on food!
There are some extra expenses in here, such as I paid for some italian classes for my GF and I, as we are taking a 5 week trip next september to italy with our daughter. (I already speak some, but she doesn't, and wants to learn) So I spent $300 of my misc on language classes. 115 for me, the rest for her. We'll be starting those classes in january.
Next month there will be a 249 dollar charge for the tickets. I used 150000 airline miles to get our 3 tickets, I just had to pay 249.90 for the taxes and fees.
Another bit of the MISC payments were new hiking boots for me. My old ones were worn through, so I spend 86 on a new pair. As I don't have a car, and walk a mile to and from work every day, I need them for the winter. Necessary.
Otherwise, we can def make more improvements on food, and we're going to try batch cooking this month, rather than buying a lot of pre-made meals. We did much better last month, and I hope to build on that.
One thing I meant to mention, I'm now putting 15% of my pre-tax income into my 403b account. That's accounting for 525 per paycheck into my 403b. That lowers my take home money by about 700 a month. That accounts for a lot of the increase in my accounts. my transition to vanguard for my rothIRA is also complete. So now i have it all in one place. That's a good start.
As we are going to take a 5 week long trip in september, we're going to have to cut spending to the bone to build up a 6000 trip fund
This is a great way to get my GF on board with cutting spending on food!After reading a couple other journals, I've realized I need to include my 403b contributions to my income, and to my savings so that I can track my savings rate more accurately. I've also decided to remove CC payment from the spreadsheet, as I shouldn't have that anymore, and it's causing me to double count some expenses.
With these 2 changes, I show a savings rate of 44.85% which is almost exactly double the 22.36% of september. GREAT PROGRESS. I am very happy to see this.
Going forward for december, I still want to hit 50% savings if possible, it should be easy this month, as I get 3 paychecks instead of 2. Beyond that I want to cut my food costs down to 750. That would be 250 per person per month, which is high by ERE standards, but really awesome for us so far
With these 2 changes, I show a savings rate of 44.85% which is almost exactly double the 22.36% of september. GREAT PROGRESS. I am very happy to see this.
Going forward for december, I still want to hit 50% savings if possible, it should be easy this month, as I get 3 paychecks instead of 2. Beyond that I want to cut my food costs down to 750. That would be 250 per person per month, which is high by ERE standards, but really awesome for us so far
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George the original one
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
Tuna sandwiches are a good substitute for fast food.
Stay away from the coffee shop! (sorry)
You must go to expensive restaurants. That is a lot of money.
You should consider cooking more at home, even cooking gourmet food with expensive ingredients. Anything that gets you out of restaurants.
akratic had a good post about how to prepare quick and easy to cook meals, using frozen chicken and making either a pasta or rice dish. If I come across it again, I will post a link.
Here is how to calculate your net worth:
http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-1 ... worth.html
Your daughter's college fund should not be included. I would count that as an expense. You have effectively given that money to her and it is not yours anymore.
I'm not sure what Debt means but unless it is someone who owes you money, it should not be in the Investments section.
Reducing your expenses is the fastest way for you to increase your FI Ratio.
Is your girlfriend supporting you in your plan? It seems that she should be helping to cook if she is at home during the day.
Sorry to be so judgmental, I am just trying to point out some things and I won't feel bad if you don't follow my advice.
Stay away from the coffee shop! (sorry)
You must go to expensive restaurants. That is a lot of money.
You should consider cooking more at home, even cooking gourmet food with expensive ingredients. Anything that gets you out of restaurants.
akratic had a good post about how to prepare quick and easy to cook meals, using frozen chicken and making either a pasta or rice dish. If I come across it again, I will post a link.
Here is how to calculate your net worth:
http://earlyretirementextreme.com/day-1 ... worth.html
Your daughter's college fund should not be included. I would count that as an expense. You have effectively given that money to her and it is not yours anymore.
I'm not sure what Debt means but unless it is someone who owes you money, it should not be in the Investments section.
Reducing your expenses is the fastest way for you to increase your FI Ratio.
Is your girlfriend supporting you in your plan? It seems that she should be helping to cook if she is at home during the day.
Sorry to be so judgmental, I am just trying to point out some things and I won't feel bad if you don't follow my advice.
@george hahaha very true! Fair nuff 
Still, from $1600 to $1000 is much better. You have to admit that!
@sky I don't think I will give up the coffee shop, as it brings me joy. Sorry!
However, the rest of your advice is great. We are trying to cook more at home. And I will fix up my spreadsheet to be better organized, you're right, that money isn't mine anymore, even though it's just in a savings account I've earmarked for her.
My girlfriend needs to do more cooking, and honestly, it's the ordering in that ends up costing us the most. that's the "fast food" Restaurants end up being the north end in boston, which usually includes wine or whatever. Yup, expensive, trying to work on it She is not as on board with this as i would like. As I am the sole money earner, I am the one who is concerned with it. I am doing my best to get her on board, but can't force it.
I hate fish, so tuna is right out for me. But we are indeed working on making more at home, and I'm pushing for batch cooking. We did a nice big batch of pasta/chicken/etc tonight, so we're at least working towards it.
Still, from $1600 to $1000 is much better. You have to admit that! @sky I don't think I will give up the coffee shop, as it brings me joy. Sorry!
However, the rest of your advice is great. We are trying to cook more at home. And I will fix up my spreadsheet to be better organized, you're right, that money isn't mine anymore, even though it's just in a savings account I've earmarked for her.
My girlfriend needs to do more cooking, and honestly, it's the ordering in that ends up costing us the most. that's the "fast food" Restaurants end up being the north end in boston, which usually includes wine or whatever. Yup, expensive, trying to work on it
She is not as on board with this as i would like. As I am the sole money earner, I am the one who is concerned with it. I am doing my best to get her on board, but can't force it.I hate fish, so tuna is right out for me. But we are indeed working on making more at home, and I'm pushing for batch cooking. We did a nice big batch of pasta/chicken/etc tonight, so we're at least working towards it.
re: food. You are making great progress... I think it's important to identify what are your absolute loves (e.g. italian coffee shop) vs bland dining out choices that you can do without (the applebys, mcdonalds and pizza hut deliveries), and work to remove all bland expensive food at restaurants that you don't really care about...
This is coming from someone who actually don't cook too much until less than a year ago. Cooking may seem daunting, but it's quite easy and satisfying and nutritional after you get in the habit of it ...
I still go out to restaurants, but I only go to my favorite sushi and dim sum places. Can I learn how to make sushi and dim sum at home? Absolutely. But I won't plus I treat these monthly events as my little treats with family, and I don't miss not going to the bland restaurants/ getting bland take out craps.
The girlfriend convincing is easy. Girls like and will listen to guys who lead by example
This is coming from someone who actually don't cook too much until less than a year ago. Cooking may seem daunting, but it's quite easy and satisfying and nutritional after you get in the habit of it ...
I still go out to restaurants, but I only go to my favorite sushi and dim sum places. Can I learn how to make sushi and dim sum at home? Absolutely. But I won't plus I treat these monthly events as my little treats with family, and I don't miss not going to the bland restaurants/ getting bland take out craps.
The girlfriend convincing is easy. Girls like and will listen to guys who lead by example
@m741 thanks for the encouragement!
@bluepearl The biggest problem I have is when I come home and food isn't being prepared, or therie s no plan, nothing thawed etc, etc, I get frustrated and just decide to order in. I'm tired, I have a 2 year old to take care of, and I don't feel like working all day to come home to cook. So I hope the batch cooking can get us further ahead. I have a slow cooker too. I KNOW this can be used to make life easier for us. Beef stew is going to be prepared this week. We just have to get into some GOOD habits.
And yes, I don't want to waste my money on things like applebees, or mcdonalds. If I'm ordering in, it's usually something like indian, or thai. It's something I wouldn't make at home, or at least something that doesn't taste as good when I make it at home.
I think she's getting more on board with this. The benefits don't affect her quite as directly, but the stress relief for me is huge.
@bluepearl The biggest problem I have is when I come home and food isn't being prepared, or therie s no plan, nothing thawed etc, etc, I get frustrated and just decide to order in. I'm tired, I have a 2 year old to take care of, and I don't feel like working all day to come home to cook. So I hope the batch cooking can get us further ahead. I have a slow cooker too. I KNOW this can be used to make life easier for us. Beef stew is going to be prepared this week. We just have to get into some GOOD habits.
And yes, I don't want to waste my money on things like applebees, or mcdonalds. If I'm ordering in, it's usually something like indian, or thai. It's something I wouldn't make at home, or at least something that doesn't taste as good when I make it at home.
I think she's getting more on board with this. The benefits don't affect her quite as directly, but the stress relief for me is huge.
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George the original one
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- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun