Debt Dumpers 2025

[Nettlelondon]

Just to throw something out there - have you had a pharmacist take a look at his prescriptions? That was the first thing that came to mind when reading about such a drastic change.

They have reviewed the combination of medications that he is on (about 15 different tablets a day - he has multiple health issues) and taken him off a selection, mainly painkillers, as they suspect that is part of the problem, particularly when combined with the infection.

 

[Nettlelondon]

DH has questioned if there is a UTI involved as we had the very problem with my mother a little while ago. She phoned me saying she didn't feel very well but wasn't sure what was wrong. When I got there she was dressed, but her clothes were inside out and back to front. When I questioned this she had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.

I stayed at her house that night as I was worried, the next day she was a little more lucid and managed to put her clothes on the right way round but still inside out at first attempt. But at that point she complained of UTI symptoms. I phoned her GP who immediately arranged an ambulance as she knew mum was normally absolutely on the ball. A week in hospital and she was back to normal.

It was terrifying to see the rapid change in her.

As FIL has barely functioning kidneys at thte best of times (about 1/3 of the pills are for kidney related issues) it is a bit difficult to tell if there is anything new going on there at the moment.

 

[princesscinderella]

Sorry to be back once again with non-debt dumping issues but I need a "safe space" to rant. The hospital are now saying that his confusion is "just" dementia, not medical and that we just haven't noticed. I am sorry - the man was doing the most difficult level of sudoku's in his daily paper and the various crosswords and word puzzles just a couple of weeks ago and now he is seeing spiders and strange mists and struggles to know his own name.

Aaarrrgggghhhh!

But they have done a chest x-ray this morning which shows signs of infection.

DH has been to his house today to empty the fresh stuff out of the refrigerator and turn the heating down (there, that is budget related ) as when they left the other day there wasn't time to think of things like that. As a result we have sausages, bacon & eggs for tomorrow.

Have them check for a UTI, it can cause dementia symptoms in the elderly especially if it’s a bad infection that has been there for a while.

ETA- sorry it’s the same advice the quote now takes me to a separate page to reply instead of just letting me reply later once I have read through the thread where I see that others have given the same advice. Sorry you are having such a hard time him the care he needs.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Went grocery shopping today and kind of meal planned based off what looked good and what was on sale. My goal for the next few months is to be super intentional with groceries. I was doing well at the end of the year and then all this mess with my mom got me buying convenience and stuff I shouldn't be buying certain places (like $5/lb grapes from Walmart instead of $1.95/lb grapes from Aldi). I spent $220 today and I did think of a few things I forgot to grab, so I'll grab those, but I don't think it will be more than another $25 or so. I feel like that's acceptable for 2 weeks for a family of 5.

I'm trying to make more things at home from scratch. This week I'm baking muffins, banana bread, and cookies for snacks.

 

[princesscinderella]

Went grocery shopping today and kind of meal planned based off what looked good and what was on sale. My goal for the next few months is to be super intentional with groceries. I was doing well at the end of the year and then all this mess with my mom got me buying convenience and stuff I shouldn't be buying certain places (like $5/lb grapes from Walmart instead of $1.95/lb grapes from Aldi). I spent $220 today and I did think of a few things I forgot to grab, so I'll grab those, but I don't think it will be more than another $25 or so. I feel like that's acceptable for 2 weeks for a family of 5.

I'm trying to make more things at home from scratch. This week I'm baking muffins, banana bread, and cookies for snacks.

Its amazing how much the grocery/dining out budget can get out of control quickly. This week I am trying to create meals based on what we already have in the fridge/freezer and skipping the grocery store.

 

[barkley]

I spent $220 today and I did think of a few things I forgot to grab, so I'll grab those, but I don't think it will be more than another $25 or so. I feel like that's acceptable for 2 weeks for a family of 5.

I think that's a spectacular accomplishment for a family of 5! groceries are so stinking expensive now. i'm in the process of putting together my Walmart pickup order and it kills me to see how much the prices have gone up month to month (I can see how much I paid for each item in my previous orders). I've got my list and i'm bouncing between the Walmart site and one of my local grocery stores b/c on some items there's absolutly no difference in one's store brand vs. the other so i'll go with the lower priced. I could probably trim this shopping trip a bit but something in my gut tells me to go ahead a get a backup supply of both mayo and dried pasta b/c with the ever increasing price of eggs I think anything that contains eggs are going to see a sharp increase in price as well (not that mayo hasn't gone up crazy already ).

 

[pblack]

but something in my gut tells me to go ahead a get a backup supply of both mayo and dried pasta b/c with the ever increasing price of eggs I think anything that contains eggs are going to see a sharp increase in price as well

That's definitely a good thought and something I didn't think about. I'm going to Costco after work so I'll have to price some stuff out. Luckily we don't go through a ton of mayo (I dislike it), but we do go through a decent amount of pasta.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Absolutely agree to your first statement.

I have tracked all of our spending for the entire month of January, with categories specifically for the 4 walls (food, housing/rent, bills and gas/transportation) plus an overall "extras" account. We spent nearly $1,300 on food this month (we budgeted $900, so we went well over). We made 12 transactions with Walmart and Kroger this month. I know 2 of the Walmart ones were online orders for non-perishables (toiletries, laundry stuff, etc.). But the other 10 trips were for food. We made 8 of those trips Jan. 15 or before. So we did better over the last half of the month. But that's an awful lot spent on food. To put that into perspective, our rent is $1,950, and we spent roughly $1,700 on bills. Food prices are just stupidly crazy right now.

Its amazing how much the grocery/dining out budget can get out of control quickly. This week I am trying to create meals based on what we already have in the fridge/freezer and skipping the grocery store.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Yesterday FIL was out of bed when DH got there and rather more lucid. Still away with the fairies some of the time, but longer periods of normality.

SIL spoke to one of the senior nurses and they don't think he had a UTI as such but had a lot of retained urine which can generate the same symptoms.

Our nephew went to visit him last night and described him as having most of his marbles, so that feels like progress. FIL asked nephew to ask his mum to phone him when he got home. And then said "Oh no, she can't - she confiscated my phone" and winked. His phone had been confiscated because he kept trying to use it to change channels on the TV or speak to the alien overlords trying to get in to the kitchen!

SIL has just got to the hospital this morning and the physiotherapy team are visiting him at the moment so that all sounds good.

Thank you all for the kind wishes & words.

 

[Nettlelondon]

We spent nearly $1,300 on food this month (we budgeted $900, so we went well over). We made 12 transactions with Walmart and Kroger this month. I know 2 of the Walmart ones were online orders for non-perishables (toiletries, laundry stuff, etc.). But the other 10 trips were for food. We made 8 of those trips Jan. 15 or before.

That feels like a lot to trips. Maybe try some basic meal planning - just two or three days at a time to start off with, think about what is going on in your life, where you will be, what meals are required and get an idea of what might be on offer, any cook once eat twice ideas to minimise cooking costs and prep time. I am sure there are online resources that can help you, I know there are here in the UK.

I have friends who meal plan the whole month, but our lives are rather more chaotic so I aim for twice a week to review what we are doing and then shop & cook accordingly. I also try to build some flexibility in to that plan - for example the chicken that was intended to be a curry ended up being cooked and shredded for sandwiches instead as DH could take those to the hospital when he went to see his dad.

But at least you have the data to be able to review what you have been doing and see if there are any options to reduce the trips and the spend. Well done for that.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Funny thing is we did meal plan for the final 2 weeks after seeing we made 10 trips to Walmart in the first 15 days of the month. Had meals laid out for 2 weeks. The last 2 trips were just to fill in gaps (milk, lunch stuff for work, stuff like that). So we did meal plan.

And we also do the cook once eat twice meats. Sometimes 3 times. We made a homemade lasagna 2 weeks ago, and we ate on that for 3 days. So it was actually a cook once, eat 6 times meat, lol. So, yes we do both suggestions already.

And yes, going forward, we'll know where to allot more money for the month.

That feels like a lot to trips. Maybe try some basic meal planning - just two or three days at a time to start off with, think about what is going on in your life, where you will be, what meals are required and get an idea of what might be on offer, any cook once eat twice ideas to minimise cooking costs and prep time. I am sure there are online resources that can help you, I know there are here in the UK.

I have friends who meal plan the whole month, but our lives are rather more chaotic so I aim for twice a week to review what we are doing and then shop & cook accordingly. I also try to build some flexibility in to that plan - for example the chicken that was intended to be a curry ended up being cooked and shredded for sandwiches instead as DH could take those to the hospital when he went to see his dad.

But at least you have the data to be able to review what you have been doing and see if there are any options to reduce the trips and the spend. Well done for that.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Funny thing is we did meal plan for the final 2 weeks after seeing we made 10 trips to Walmart in the first 15 days of the month. Had meals laid out for 2 weeks. The last 2 trips were just to fill in gaps (milk, lunch stuff for work, stuff like that). So we did meal plan.

Ah, so you have already begun to turn information in to action and seen that it works if only in fewer trips to stores (which always seems to take far longer than it should and be way more frustrating than it should be - or maybe that's just me)

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Yes, it's frustrating to trudge around Walmart, not knowing how much money is in our cart (we have an idea obviously) until we get to the register and they let us know this outrageous amount. We've actually started buying all of our non-food items by doing online shopping (toiletries, laundry stuff, paper goods, stuff like that). But we won't buy food like that, especially won't buy cold/frozen stuff like that or fruits/veggies/bread.

Ah, so you have already begun to turn information in to action and seen that it works if only in fewer trips to stores (which always seems to take far longer than it should and be way more frustrating than it should be - or maybe that's just me)

 

[barkley]

Yes, it's frustrating to trudge around Walmart, not knowing how much money is in our cart (we have an idea obviously) until we get to the register and they let us know this outrageous amount. We've actually started buying all of our non-food items by doing online shopping (toiletries, laundry stuff, paper goods, stuff like that). But we won't buy food like that, especially won't buy cold/frozen stuff like that or fruits/veggies/bread.

if you want to know approx. what your Walmart trip is going to cost use their online system and pretend you are going to do an order pickup. add all the items on your list as store pickup at the location you will go to and you will see the individual item prices as well as a grand total. there's no cost to you if you don't get to the end point of adding a credit or debit card and submitting the order (though you may be tempted to decide to do at least a handful of the items as pickup b/c Walmart has 'walmart cash' that are like coupons you click on whatever items they are offering them on at a given time and after you've purchased them your Walmart online account is credited for the amount so you can end up with a couple of dollars sitting there to use for a future order. I've also found that occasionally while doing an online order the system sees a product i've purchased in the past and will notify me of a special pricing offer if I include it in the order-i did this last month and found that the shelf price was about 30% higher than what I paid for the items they had just put in my car.


this said-i DO NOT pay for the walmart plus membership. I don't find it worth it b/c I don't do delivery to home and with store pickup orders I can always hit the $35 minimum so I pay no fee (I don't do produce/dairy/meat online either for pickup but our canned/boxed/water and such I have no issue with-just have to remember to always click the button to disallow substitutions).

 

[afan]

Yes, it's frustrating to trudge around Walmart, not knowing how much money is in our cart (we have an idea obviously) until we get to the register and they let us know this outrageous amount. We've actually started buying all of our non-food items by doing online shopping (toiletries, laundry stuff, paper goods, stuff like that). But we won't buy food like that, especially won't buy cold/frozen stuff like that or fruits/veggies/bread.

You can always use the calculator app and add things as you put them in the cart. I do this if there's a buy x$ and save x$ or get a gc.

 

[CoP Luv]

if you want to know approx. what your Walmart trip is going to cost use their online system and pretend you are going to do an order pickup. add all the items on your list as store pickup at the location you will go to and you will see the individual item prices as well as a grand total.

I make my shopping list on the Target app all the time. I add things to the online cart, know roughly what I am going to spend, and I spend a lot less time and money at Target. It also helps if the online price is cheaper and I can get the store to price match. I know that Walmart doesn't price match, so that wouldn't really work if that is where you shop, but my Target is awesome about price matching.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

This is a great idea. Once I have my meal plan done, I make a list of what it's going to use. I'll then go online and buy anything like paper goods, toiletries, DPs, laundry stuff. But I don't and won't buy anything cold/perishable online. I go in store and do that myself. I look for those that offer money back. I've got like $10-$15 saved up just on the 2 online orders we did this year. I'll wait until I hit like $100, and I can get groceries for free, lol. And we do not do the membership thing either. We always hit the $35 minimum. But great ideas here.

if you want to know approx. what your Walmart trip is going to cost use their online system and pretend you are going to do an order pickup. add all the items on your list as store pickup at the location you will go to and you will see the individual item prices as well as a grand total. there's no cost to you if you don't get to the end point of adding a credit or debit card and submitting the order (though you may be tempted to decide to do at least a handful of the items as pickup b/c Walmart has 'walmart cash' that are like coupons you click on whatever items they are offering them on at a given time and after you've purchased them your Walmart online account is credited for the amount so you can end up with a couple of dollars sitting there to use for a future order. I've also found that occasionally while doing an online order the system sees a product i've purchased in the past and will notify me of a special pricing offer if I include it in the order-i did this last month and found that the shelf price was about 30% higher than what I paid for the items they had just put in my car.


this said-i DO NOT pay for the walmart plus membership. I don't find it worth it b/c I don't do delivery to home and with store pickup orders I can always hit the $35 minimum so I pay no fee (I don't do produce/dairy/meat online either for pickup but our canned/boxed/water and such I have no issue with-just have to remember to always click the button to disallow substitutions).

 

[Tygerlilly]

I like making lists on the Walmart app and then I go into Aldi and see what's cheaper there and remove those items from the walmart list as I add them to my Aldi cart. It's nice because then I know I can save a lot at one store vs the other (see previous grape discrepancy ).

I also loosely plan meals. I pick meals that I can use similar ingredients to make multiple things. So like I'll pick up chicken, ground beef, sausage, onions, peppers. I almost always keep cheeses, pasta, spaghetti sauce, taco seasoning, etc on hand. So out of those few items, I can do spaghetti and meat sauce, chicken fajitas, grilled chicken parm, burgers, sausage/onion/peppers bake, beef tacos or burritos, baked chicken and veggies seasoned with different spices. Basically the protein is there but we can make what we're feeling with it.

Also highly suggest looking up more crockpot meals. It's so nice to throw everything in in the morning and dinner is ready to go when we get done with our daily chaos. The amount of things that can be done in one surprises even myself!

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Thank you for the info. We shop Walmart and have just started Krogers. We went into ALDI once, and it just seemed like a Dollar store to us. So we decided not to go back, especially for groceries. Don't want Walmart's leftovers.

As for the second part, we try and make crock pot meals about every other weekend or so. Problem is, we're not home a lot during the days of the week. One or both of us stay gone from 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. So, we don't want to leave a crockpot on and running while we're gone. But we do use the crock pot when we're home all day.

I like making lists on the Walmart app and then I go into Aldi and see what's cheaper there and remove those items from the walmart list as I add them to my Aldi cart. It's nice because then I know I can save a lot at one store vs the other (see previous grape discrepancy ).

Also highly suggest looking up more crockpot meals. It's so nice to throw everything in in the morning and dinner is ready to go when we get done with our daily chaos. The amount of things that can be done in one surprises even myself!

 

[afan]

Thank you for the info. We shop Walmart and have just started Krogers. We went into ALDI once, and it just seemed like a Dollar store to us. So we decided not to go back, especially for groceries. Don't want Walmart's leftovers.

As for the second part, we try and make crock pot meals about every other weekend or so. Problem is, we're not home a lot during the days of the week. One or both of us stay gone from 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. So, we don't want to leave a crockpot on and running while we're gone. But we do use the crock pot when we're home all day.

Aldis isn't a leftover store, it's a legit grocery chain with their own store brand. I wish we had them where I am, but I also just wish we had more than 2 major grocery chains too.