Need cheap dinner ideas so i can go to disney again!

[disneymagicgirl]

Wouldn't picking up an extra shift or 2 a month earn you more than $300 a month?

That's where my brain went too...probably b/c I am an RN and I know how easy that would be.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

There are different sized chickens out there. The ones that Sam's Club sells for $5 are much bigger compared to the ones that Publix charges $7 for.

Yes, and costcos are huge too. Buy a few, pull off the chicken, and freeze in baggies so you have cooked chicken ready to go for recipes that call for it. Great in soups, casseroles, enchiladas, etc....

Also, sometimes when we go "out to eat" for our once a week treat, it is just to grab a 12-pack of tacos from Taco Bell or eat at the Cisco food court. Satisfies the need to get out of the house and I don't have to cook.

 

[mrzrich]

That's where my brain went too...probably b/c I am an RN and I know how easy that would be.

I know my SIL does per diem Home Health she gets $75 per visit ($100 for an admit) and works only when she feels like it.

 

[kelconic]

That's where my brain went too...probably b/c I am an RN and I know how easy that would be.

It would and I always consider that. But I enjoy a cooking challenge more than one more day getting myself and 3 kids up at 5 and out the door by 6! I'm an OR nurse and there is only one shift....EARLY!!!

 

[mrzrich]

It would and I always consider that. But I enjoy a cooking challenge more than one more day getting myself and 3 kids up at 5 and out the door by 6! I'm an OR nurse and there is only one shift....EARLY!!!

The beauty part about being an RN is that you don't need to be boxed in to one area. Especially when you work per diem. You don't have to only work in the OR, and you don't only have to work for one company.

As an aside, I get the impression that you don't really enjoy working.

An OR nurse deals mostly with doctors who, as we know, can pompous windbags. (especially surgeons) You might enjoy nursing more than you currently do if you are interacting more intimately with your patients and less with the doctors. I mean, did you go in to nursing to help patients feel better, or to make a doctor look better?

The most rewarding part of nursing for me is getting to know my patients. Through the years I have taken care of Radio City Rockettes, NASA engineers, WWII Heros. Do you even know the people you care for?

As I mentioned before Per diem home care or hospice is an easy way to make an extra hundred a month, and may be very rewarding.

 

[Kpskyman]

This may sound silly, but it works, if you have older toilets, put a brick in the tank. It will displace water, saving a couple gallons of water, and sewage a month. Not a huge money saver, but every bit helps.

 

[minnie1012]

HA! Yes, you sound like my hubby. But I love being a stay at home mom!

I love being home too and do whatever I can to save money! I gave up a high paying financial job and started working as a part time bank teller to be home with my kids!
One thing to look into though is other places to work. I know its hard to leave where you have been for a while but sometimes other places work out better. My friend used to be an RN in a hospital but after she had her kids she hated being gone for 12 hour shifts. Plus her husband is a police officer so it was hard to get a babysitter. Now she works at a rehab center per diem because its only 8 hour shifts. She would prefer the hospital but this is what works out best for her family. She works every Friday night and sometimes Tuesday nights. She also can pick up extra shifts. She will do that for vacations or when they need extra money. Recently her son got a Make Wish trip to Aulani so she worked a ton of extra shifts so they could add on to the trip and take him to Cars land in California on the way back.

Just thought I would mention : )

 

[Lisa71]

That's where my brain went too...probably b/c I am an RN and I know how easy that would be.

Love all the nurses in the boards!! 20 years as an RN and now teaching at a college!! Love the hospital clinical and watching the light bulb over their heads. The recipes on the budget bytes sites were fast and many crock pot 12 hour shift friendly!

 

[marlynnp]

I've just got to say that if I
was working full-time to support my family
and my barely working to begin with spouse
decided to cut the grocery bill by more than a third
(instead of picking up an extra shift)
and started feeding me slop
just to go on another vacation
without discussing it with me
I'd be pretty darn angry.

And we'd be having quite the "discussion" about it later.

 

[crisi]

This is something I didn't really understand when I worked outside the home - when you stay home with your kids, home becomes your workplace. You get zero time off unless you are in bed ill - the dishes and laundry just keep appearing and its definitely YOUR JOB. You might get some help with it, but its still YOUR JOB. Saturday rolls around and your husband kicks back in front of the TV - and you might get a more relaxing day, but chances are you are the one getting meals in front of everyone, and cleaning up after them. My husband and both kids home this last week - WAY more work than I do when my husband is at work and my daughter is at school and I "just" keep house and homeschool my son. When I worked, a vacation at home was more than sufficient - it pulled me away from the workplace. Now that I'm home - this IS my workplace, I need to leave it. And it doesn't need to be Disney (in fact, currently I'm not that big on Disney as a vacation spot, there are better places for our family), but it does have to be somewhere that I don't look at the bathroom and remember I have painting it on my to do list.

The other thing I didn't realize - I'd like to pick up a few hours, but it really isn't conducive. I'm homeschooling my son because he's hit difficult teen years where he's made some poor decisions and requires a little more supervision - so I can't leave him for four hours. When my husband is home to supervise him, it would be nice if we saw each other - and when my daughter is home, its nice to see her as well. I need a lot of flexibility for my husband, he travels. Working even casual hours would, for someone who has kids that need supervision, mean finding drop in child care, or spending less time with your spouse. My spouse would gladly eat rice and beans a few times a week in exchange for spending more time with me. After all, he married me to spend more time with me, not to eat six oz of meat every night.

If drop in child care were EASY, like my mother lived close, I'd probably pick up a few hours and let her watch my son - not for extra money, but to get out of the house and do something other than remember I SHOULD paint the bathroom, deal with homeschooling my son, do MORE dishes and laundry, and surf the web. But finding someone to take kids on casual hours isn't easy. My sister is a nurse who works a sort of strange part time job. She's the nursing administrator at a hospital, but its a REALLY SMALL hospital, so they only need her part time. But sometimes she is needed on short notice. It means she has paid for full time child care since her kids were born. She doesn't use it, but it was the only deal she could get for the drop in hours she needs. Fortunately, in a REALLY SMALL town, full time daycare was pretty cheap and flexible - but most people don't have the luxury of easy child care.

There is another reason I do frugal meals - because I know my kids aren't going to step out into their parents' socio economic class - and there will be years where knowing how to make meals out of dried beans, rice, corn meal, vegetables, and be able to stretch a chicken for four meals will be an important skill set. And if they stick their noses up at it and think that meals need to come with a double sized serving of chicken, fish or beef in the middle of the plate, with a potato - I'll be really disappointed. They don't need that diet for their health (and it is possible to eat healthy and frugally) and they don't need it for their future.

 

[mrzrich]

This is something I didn't really understand when I worked outside the home - when you stay home with your kids, home becomes your workplace. You get zero time off unless you are in bed ill - the dishes and laundry just keep appearing and its definitely YOUR JOB..... chances are you are the one getting meals in front of everyone, and cleaning up after them. .

Who do you think does the dishes and laundry in my house.

I also get ZERO time off, because when I do get a day off from my job, I have to do the laundry, clean the toilets, etc.

You homeschool your child, but OP does not.

 

[crisi]

Who do you think does the dishes and laundry in my house.

I also get ZERO time off, because when I do get a day off from my job, I have to do the laundry, clean the toilets, etc.

You homeschool your child, but OP does not.

Well, when I worked a full time job, my husband shared those responsibilities.

And my impression was that the OP had young kids. Which would be even harder than homeschooling. (I would have gone NUTS at home with young kids).

 

[mrzrich]

Well, when I worked a full time job, my husband shared those responsibilities.

And my impression was that the OP had young kids. Which would be even harder than homeschooling. (I would have gone NUTS at home with young kids).

Her kids are 11, 9, and 7 and they go to school. She already works one day a week as an RN. The other nurses here are merely suggesting adding one more shift a month as an option for starting a vacation fund.

 

[mrzrich]

Well, when I worked a full time job, my husband shared those responsibilities.

And my impression was that the OP had young kids. Which would be even harder than homeschooling. (I would have gone NUTS at home with young kids).

DH and I do share those responsibilities. Saturday is for inside the house work(laundry, bathrooms, etc), Sunday is for outside the house work. (Yard, pool, grocery shopping, etc)

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Ok, so we took our first trip to WDW the first week of december and I'm in love! I need to save $75 per week to pay for another trip next december. My plan is to cut that from my usual $200ish grocery bill. I buy pretty much the basics, no drinks other than milk and orange juice, mostly whole foods, very little "snacks". So, my main spending is for dinners. My husband and son are picky, which makes it difficult. They don't like anything that involves the word "casserole" lol. They do like Italian type dishes though. My girls and I like just about anything. What are some of your favorite go-to meals that are cheap, healthy, and not casseroles?!

I didn't read the responses yet but I have a question. Are you looking to only buy good quality meats and and non processed foods? Or do you eat anything? That makes a huge difference. You will find people on here can spend 75 a week for a family of 4 because they buy anything on sale/with coupons regardless of quality and they live where groceries are cheaper. If you want truly whole foods of quality and live someplace expensive you won't feed your family in 75 like they do.

 

[Deffenm]

Thanks for posting these great ideas. I too am trying to cut our grocery bill down. We are a family of 5 and I spend about $600 a month, which is way too much I think. This does include breakfast, lunch, dinner for all 5 of us as the kids and I pack our lunches. Having 2 teenage boys does not help either.

I would love to get our bill down to at least $400 a month or less if possible.

 

[mrzrich]

And I admit to being a terrible grocery shopper lol! I don't use coupons or sales papers or really even look at prices.

Is this the case for just groceries, or is this how you shop in general? You can start seriously saving by making a real effort to change this behavior. For non grocery items especially online purchases, you should check sites like retail me not for coupons and free shipping offers before clicking "BUY"

Now, back to grocercies:

Shopping based on the weekly ads is really important. When something you use is offered at an exceptional price, stock up. (Note the "you use" in the sentence. Dont buy stuff just because its on sale if it isnt something you would ever buy otherwise.)

Look at the ads before you go to the store and try to plan meals based on what is on sale.

Make a list! Stick to it! List items you saw in the ad, and other items you need for the house.

Match the items on your list to coupons that you find.

Coupons no longer require cutting, you can download apps to your phone that allow you to browse coupons on your computer, weekly ad in hand, click the ones you want, and presto! They are on your phone, the check out clerk scans a bar code on your phone, and the money is taken off your bill.

 

[minnie1012]

Posting a recipe to get back on topic : )

Here is one my husband really likes:

1lb. ground beef
1 green pepper chopped
1 onion diced
1 container of mushrooms (suppose you could jar mushrooms too)
1 medium jar of brown gravy

Brown meat in large sauté pan, discard drippings, add peppers, onions, mushrooms and gravy. Saute until vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste (I usually sick the salt). Serve over white rice or egg noodles.

 

[pocomom]

I agree that $75 is a bit much to chomp out of your weekly grocery budget -- at least in the long run .

A lot of people have said it, but I disagree... shopping habits are a habit and can be changed with some effort... but I think a lot of people throw out/waste etc at least half as much as the OP is suggesting she cut out of her budget. Just putting 10 minutes a day into managing your leftovers, freezing and storing your "Bits" of fresh vegetables etc., and actually USING what you have... $200 seems generous budget to begin with for 4, which makes me think there is a good amount of waste going on or at least more prepared foods than you need. Simple changes such as Rice instead of Minute rice, nice homemade rolls instead of store bought, homemade pasta sauce made in big batches instead of the jar... you still have the same foods for your picky eaters, but you can spend less on them!
The other thing I wanted to say to OP is don't jump into a whole list of new cheap dinners, but try to work in one or two a week. Easier on your family and your budget if they don't like your new menu.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Buy meat in bulk and divide it up into smaller packages to freeze for later


I take a can of Bush's baked bean. Cut up a pack of hotdogs then add to the beans. Top it with a ready mix of corn bread that has been prepared as directed on the package. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degree's