Debt Dumpers 2025

[barkley]

Butter chicken is one I like to double or triple and freeze.

I use this instant pot recipe then freeze the chicken in the sauce. On another night we'll reheat some sauce, cook rice, maybe add frozen broccoli. I buy the big naan packs at Costco and keep it in the freezer.
https://pin.it/4jo2CZzuO

YUM! I have some rogan josh in the freezer. I've not tried costco's naan but am addicted to trader joe's (their fresh which I freeze vs. their frozen ones).

 

[amalone1013]

YUM! I have some rogan josh in the freezer. I've not tried costco's naan but am addicted to trader joe's (their fresh which I freeze vs. their frozen ones).

Costco carries the stonefire brand in a pack of 18 mini ones for $7ish in our area.

I wish we had a Trader Joe's closer!

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

Buying tires for DW's care. OOF! What a pain. And super expensive. I called and searched online and had it down between Sam's and Discount Tire. Was leaning toward Sam's because they were about $100 cheaper if I bought 4 (buying 2 was going to cost $550, buying 4 was going to cost $850 plus all the fees). However, buying 4 was just out of my price range of $600 right now. I visited with a guy from our church a few weeks ago, and he owns a tire shop. So I called him. He was willing to do all 4 of the same exact tires I was checking at Sam's and Discount. But his were $40 less per tire. So it came to $760 for all 4. With the life of tire damage of $15 per tire, it brought it to $840. He said he was willing to take $600 today and let me pay out the rest in 3 monthly payments of $80 each. PTL. Answered prayers.

 

[disney-inspired]

Buying tires for DW's care. OOF! What a pain. And super expensive. I called and searched online and had it down between Sam's and Discount Tire. Was leaning toward Sam's because they were about $100 cheaper if I bought 4 (buying 2 was going to cost $550, buying 4 was going to cost $850 plus all the fees). However, buying 4 was just out of my price range of $600 right now. I visited with a guy from our church a few weeks ago, and he owns a tire shop. So I called him. He was willing to do all 4 of the same exact tires I was checking at Sam's and Discount. But his were $40 less per tire. So it came to $760 for all 4. With the life of tire damage of $15 per tire, it brought it to $840. He said he was willing to take $600 today and let me pay out the rest in 3 monthly payments of $80 each. PTL. Answered prayers.

That's great!
My grandma had a roofing guy at her church who she referred to do my aunt's roof and then my dad used the same guy because his prices were best priced. They were done SO fast too.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

omfg June get out of here.

We had a couple big things going through in June that I was (mostly) prepared for. Camp full fees came due and we had one last payment for the pool club. Okay fine. Big chunk of change but after that it's smooth sai--

I'm sorry, a new front door costs HOW MUCH!?

Our front door is original to our house and beat to hell. When I say "original" I mean at least 100 years old, possibly older because this house is made up of parts they just grabbed from places. If you look up in the basement all the boards are different colors, you can actually pick out a 100 year old door they used for a bit of the ceiling in the bulkhead entry, and the bottom railing of the basement stairs is literally a fence post.

It was one of those latch doors so a HUGE chunk is taken out where the doorknob would be. So there's a big metal plate there instead. And a couple chunks taken out of the edges here and there--also in the frame which allows cold and bugs in depending on the season. I LOVE the door. But it's time to go.

Or maybe it's not because 4-5k is not in my budget right now!

 

[firefly_ris]

I would bondo the chunk missing, fill other imperfections, sand it real nice, paint it a fun color, weather strip it better, maybe add a nice metal kickplate and call it a day. Or look on FB Marketplace for a similar sized door in a little better shape. I would be vomiting in my mouth ponying up that kind of money for 1 door. That is insane. But I personally prefer older, "character" materials over new stuff anyway.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

It's not just the door, it's the frame. Like I'm looking at it right now and the place where the lock goes it looks like someone once took a crowbar to it and I can see the outside :/

 

[comicguy]

It's not just the door, it's the frame. Like I'm looking at it right now and the place where the lock goes it looks like someone once took a crowbar to it and I can see the outside :/

I totally get this! I have a house orginally buily in 1890, added on at least twice (probably 3x counting front porch) at least 1 of the additions was whatever material they could scavage based on opening of the walls. Everything is major PITA to update, I try to do as much as I can myself with the exception of plumbing, roofing, doors and taping sheetrock. Materials are expensive and labor is jusr as much, but sometimes just have to eat the cost to get the work done but still sucks to pay that much

 

[Tygerlilly]

omfg June get out of here.

We had a couple big things going through in June that I was (mostly) prepared for. Camp full fees came due and we had one last payment for the pool club. Okay fine. Big chunk of change but after that it's smooth sai--

I'm sorry, a new front door costs HOW MUCH!?

Our front door is original to our house and beat to hell. When I say "original" I mean at least 100 years old, possibly older because this house is made up of parts they just grabbed from places. If you look up in the basement all the boards are different colors, you can actually pick out a 100 year old door they used for a bit of the ceiling in the bulkhead entry, and the bottom railing of the basement stairs is literally a fence post.

It was one of those latch doors so a HUGE chunk is taken out where the doorknob would be. So there's a big metal plate there instead. And a couple chunks taken out of the edges here and there--also in the frame which allows cold and bugs in depending on the season. I LOVE the door. But it's time to go.

Or maybe it's not because 4-5k is not in my budget right now!

We just went to look at doors also. Both our front and back need replaced at some point. Some point is looking like several years from now because oooooofffff.

 

[Tygerlilly]

Have to take my car in. We noticed when we were heading home that the coolant was leaking. The cruise randomly stopped working a couple months ago so that had needed fixed as well. It's still under warranty, so it should only cost me the deductible $100 to get it all fixed, but it's going to take a couple days so I need to rent a car while it's in the shop. I just looked and a week is $400. That sucks a whole lot since we just unexpectedly had to spend a small fortune going to the funeral on hotels and eating out.

Told hubby he needs to win me some money at the casino on father's day (he gets extra free play). Or maybe I'll just go win it myself.

 

[LoveDaisy]

Have to take my car in. We noticed when we were heading home that the coolant was leaking. The cruise randomly stopped working a couple months ago so that had needed fixed as well. It's still under warranty, so it should only cost me the deductible $100 to get it all fixed, but it's going to take a couple days so I need to rent a car while it's in the shop. I just looked and a week is $400. That sucks a whole lot since we just unexpectedly had to spend a small fortune going to the funeral on hotels and eating out.

Told hubby he needs to win me some money at the casino on father's day (he gets extra free play). Or maybe I'll just go win it myself.

I would ask the dealer for a loaner car. If it is still under warranty they will normally provide this to you at no charge. Both Honda and Subaru have done this for me.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I would ask the dealer for a loaner car. If it is still under warranty they will normally provide this to you at no charge. Both Honda and Subaru have done this for me.

Lincoln did this for me as well. In my case it was for a recall. Of course the hard part is they loaned me an almost brand new car which makes my old 2016 feel even older...
I had to keep reminding myself, "Don't look at it, just drive." lol.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I would ask the dealer for a loaner car. If it is still under warranty they will normally provide this to you at no charge. Both Honda and Subaru have done this for me.

It's not going into the dealer, it's going into their recommended shop because they're booked out until July. Maybe I'll call and see what they say tho.

 

[imbatman]

Checking in mid-June. I’m random this year because life is just different now.

No CC debt. I’m paranoid and pay it every week.

Bumped up my retirement to 5%. The company only matches 3%, but I figured whatever I can put away now is good. Just accepted a 5 hour a week job that will go specifically to a travel fund. My friend I met through this board here is my catalyst for that. I’m not here for a long time, but a good time. Bought a 3 day DL pass from Costco to use in October while I’m in the area for work.

Also shelling out more than I’d like for concert tickets and a hotel in October. Ironically, the same weekend my work trip wraps. It was the band my family saw the week before my DH passed and I know my kiddos and I need this as we heal. I’m grateful I can afford it.

It is an odd place to be in, shifting from two incomes to one, knowing my desperation a year ago as we were bogged in debt. I’m glad
I’ve been part of this group for so long to know how to point my ship in these waters.

Also, sidebar: let’s not shame each other for spending habits. I would’ve left long ago had I been the recipient of some of the recent posts. We all have issues, situations, and parts that sway our decisions (I say this knowing my spending habits in grief have sucked at times. I won’t talk about the dog grooming vacuum). Let’s not attack or be aggressively helpful/encouraging. Be kind and honest. And if you can’t say something helpful, maybe don’t reply.

 

[Nettlelondon]

I can kind of sympathise on the frozen food front. DH can tell the difference on meat that has been frozen vs fresh if it is something that is frozen uncooked. And I have tried "testing" this skill in secret - and he is right! Very annoying.

But it just means I have to be organised and cook things before freezing, for example lasagne, curry, that kind of thing is fine but definitely not something like steak or pork chops unless they are going to be eaten in a day or so. Which sometimes happens with "yellow sticker" end of day reductions when I go food shopping.

It can be hard and i kind of understand the lack of desire to cook something like lasagna, the version I make takes a good two days to make (cooking the meat element, cooling and then building and baking) so that is something I tend to do in a big batch and freeze individual portions. After giving my crockpot away many years ago to someone who had a much greater need than I did I bought an Instantpot a few years ago. It makes a great crockpot so I will shove my lasagne meat and the ton of veggies I use to boost the healthiness and stretch the expensive meat element in there and just let it go for hours. But I need to be in the mood for all the chopping (or for washing the food processor as I don't have a dishwasher - other than DH).

In the winter I am also a great soup maker - whatever veg is on offer, a few seasonings, onion & stock. Let simmer for a while, or slow cook, blitz & freeze in individual portions. They tend to become lunch (DH works from home buut rarely takes more than a few minutes to sort something for his lunch & eats it at his desk so soup works well), just choose a flavour first thing, stick it in a pan to defrost and then just warm it up at lunchtime. As well as no dishwasher we have no microwave, in both cases because we don't find them very useful. We have had both in the past but decided to ditch them both in the latest kitchen remodel as neither really got used and there were better things to do with the space.

Everyone lives differently and have different priorities but we can all learn from each other if we are open to learning and sharing kindly.

I agree with maybe defrosting the spaghetti, heating a little up and at least tasting it. If you are concerned about how it will taste at least you will know, and if you are concerned about any impacts from the food having "gone off" just try a little, wait a few days and see what happens. If there are no ill effects maybe try again, or don't - it's up to you, but clever use of a freezer can be a real budget booster.

 

[afan]

agree with maybe defrosting the spaghetti, heating a little up and at least tasting it. If you are concerned about how it will taste at least you will know, and if you are concerned about any impacts from the food having "gone off" just try a little, wait a few days and see what happens. If there are no ill effects maybe try again, or don't - it's up to you, but clever use of a freezer can be a real budget booster

I don't freeze much that has noodles, some work better than others. I find if the noodles are cooked with the sauce like lasagna or an instant pot pasta dish we like, or soups, that they work better reheated. I'll freeze spaghetti sauce and then cook noodles when I want to eat it. This is mostly because there's always left over sauce so it's easy to freeze single portions that can be used for various things. Sometimes I'll make a "poormans" meatball sandwich just with meat sauce instead of meatballs, tastes the same

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

You're all making me want to make lasagna!

I do find that a BIG thing is making sure we go grocery shopping on Sunday--if we miss that (and we did this week!) we are in a lot of danger of eating out. "We have food at home" only works if you do!

 

[Nettlelondon]

I normally go food shopping on Thursdays. I have a number of activities on Thursday mornings that take me right by a large store, or I am seeing my mum and she often asks me to take her shopping so go together. She generally goes on Friday with a friend who lives nearby (I am 45 minutes or so away) but if they know they won't be going as they have other things going on I take mum as she no longer drives and public transport / taxi doesn't always work.

10 days ago she fell over and broke her wrist. On Thursday morning. I was on my way there to take her to lunch and shopping. I was completely thrown food wise all week! Some very odd food combinations became meals! Particularly as I was backwards & forwards to see her a bit and make sure she had what she needed.

I think one of my husband's lunches was a two egg omlette with a side of radishes. He had planned to have a 3 egg cheese omlette - then discovered only two eggs and not a scrap of cheese so he rummaged to see what else he could find! And whilst there was some food in the freezer none of it was whole meals if that makes sense.

Reminded me that organisation is key!

 

[firefly_ris]

Organization is definitely the name of the game. My upright freezer and basement pantry are what keeps the house running!

I live somewhere that gets a lot of lake effect snow and so I am always prepped for not being able to get to the store for many days. This has the side effect of causing me to be really organized with food at home.

I buy meat, fish and shrimp in bulk (as much as I can afford to) when they are on sale. I then divide them into smaller portions, wrap, label with the pack date, and freeze. I also keep on hand 1 or 2 frozen pizzas and chicken fingers for "I need something quick and dirty" days. I always keep several bags of frozen vegetables on hand -- green beans, broccoli and corn at minimum. Others I typically stock are spinach, stir fry vegetable mix. I also buy several loaves of bread at a time and freeze them.

Then the dry pantry is always stocked with rice, canned beans (black and kidney at minimum but I also prefer to have cannellini, chickpeas and pinto on hand as well), canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, coconut milk, peanut butter, jelly, and dry pasta. I usually make my own pasta sauce but if I need a real quick spaghetti and sauce for the kids I also keep 2 or so jars of Aldi organic sauce on hand -- affordable and very minimal ingredients.

I re-stock the base freezer and dry pantry items probably once every 3 months so those above things don't ever run out. This way I ALWAYS have some bare minimum thing I can make a meal out of, so there is always food at home, even if I'm low on fresh stuff. Caribbean pelau, rice and beans, insert-protein-here rice bowl, spaghetti, nachos, chili, all real basic stuff that can be made at any time.

Then my weekly grocery trips otherwise only consist of fresh and fridge items or stuff we run through fast -- so milk, eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, lunch meat, yogurt, granola.

Once I got into this habit it is now mindless second nature and really helps in a big way, especially during the current spring/summer sports season.

 

[Nettlelondon]

I have to admit I am slightly spoiled, there is a major supermarket within 5 minutes walk of my house and whole selection more within 10 minutes so I never have to worryy too much, it was more an issue of timing & incliination to go out when I was home.

I had ample opportunities to shop but didn't have the mental capacity to purchase relevant co-ordinated items. It didn't help that we were going to be away from home for 8 days this week so I didn't want to stock up on too many perishables.

I did at one point purchase the bacon for bacon sandwiches, but forgot any form of bread ... Oops. Fortuunately DH was out at the time and was going to be near a convenience store on his way home so I got him to pick some up. Breakffast issues solved.

This week however I have found a great budget booster. We are away on vacation at the moment. DH worked much of Thursdayy (the first day) and most of this afternoon. As he works for himself and bills his clients for his time he will be billing a lot for those hours as they get charged an "inconvenience tax" - if they need him when he has told them he is away they get to pay a premium. They are aware of that and understand the consequences. We were at a music festival over the weekend - tickets have now been covered and I suspect by the time we get home on Thursday evening the hotel will have been covered too.