Wednesday 7 November 2012

Month in an Apron: a restaurantless november

Starting work on a new season and talks about big future dreams had me taking a good look at my finances recently.  I don't have very many expenses and thus still put money away in the bank each month, but I could see places where I was really throwing the money away. And while it's nice to be able to afford nice things, it isn't even really nice things that I'm spending it on.  A shift in priorities is what I needed.

I've been reading Denise's blog Ispasio recently, and I suppose it has got me in the personal budget mindspace.  Denise shares her journey as a young adult navigating financial independence, while sharing useful tips on how to effectively create a budget plan you can live by.  I haven't gone so far as to make myself a strict plan yet, but I have decided to challenge myself to go a month without spending money on my biggest frivolous "expense": going out for meals.

I know, it should be basic, and shame on me for not cooking myself 3 meals a day, and all that.  Since moving out here a year ago, I have been cooking for one person (weekends excluded), and I kind of hate it.  I am used to cooking for two people, and sharing the task and managing leftovers and all that.  Now it's just me and it drives me crazy and too often I neglect to pack a lunch and I end up eating at the cafeteria at work.  Weekends are tough because Ephraim and I like to go out, and especially venture for anything you could call "ethnic cuisine", because we don't have anything like that where I live now.  But hey, for this month, I pledge to try to learn how to make those things myself.  

I'm also sticking my grocery receipts to my fridge for the month, so I can clearly see how much it costs to feed me for a month, and how much money I was throwing away on mere convenience.  I hope to learn some new recipes, look more critically at the ways I spend my money, and maintain a healthier diet than the crappy vegetarian offerings of the restaurants of Niagara-on-the-Lake can offer.  And after November, keep on to what I've learned while still letting myself occasionally enjoy those things better cooked by the pros.

--Erin

13 comments:

  1. Awesome! You could even spend some money in a little course to learn how to cook what you like the most! :)

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    1. I would love to take a cooking class!! Unfortunately the town I live in doesn't have public transportation that I could use to take a cooking class (I am without a car), but I do have the internet and some cook books, so I hope I can make some delicious meals!

      --Erin

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  2. The opposite is true for me. I am used to cooking for one person but my boyfriend moved in with me for a few months and I quite often cook too lees and end up buying from outside. Came across your wonderful blog through BBN :)
    http://wiredcircus.blogspot.com/

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    1. Welcome aboard!
      It's funny how those little changes in the routine can much everything up, isn't it? I had hoped that my roommate and I would do family style cooking (I live in company housing and have a roommate for about 5 months of the year) but no such luck. Oh well, delicious practice, right?

      --Erin

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  3. I am also only one person, but still cook for "7", which was the magic number with all you kids growing up...so while I still cook for a crowd, now I just portion the food into individual serving sizes & freeze. That way I always have home-cooked meals, and don't need to fuss with dinner prep during the work week...soups, stews, curries, quiches, all freeze well. And I love that you're watching your finances...after all, what you save on eating out goes to much-wanted SHOES! Hahaha! Love, Mum.

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    1. Haha if I can go the whole month without eating out (I've figured I get a max of 3 cheats, for the times I can't control), I am rewarding myself with a new camera lens. It's an inexpensive lens, and actually works out to about 3 weeks worth of what I was spending on dinner and lunches. The weekends with Ephraim are the worst of it! Damn Niagara is so expensive!

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  4. Eating out can definitely be the biggest wallet suck. Hanging onto your grocery receipts is a good idea! Sometimes I feel like I spend so much on groceries that I might as well eat out! :) Budgets can be hard but it's good to form these habits when you're young. I'm in my 30s now but started thinking about finances and saving in my 20s. I admire that you're doing this!

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    1. Oh my gosh, food is SO much cheaper in the states, too!! I'm always shocked, no matter how often I go over the border to do a little shopping (all the best sugar-coma inducing cereals are still available in the states) I'm always surprised at how cheap it all seems.
      I've always been good with money, but looking ahead I know it would be helpful for me to have a chunk of change put away. A couple years from now I am likely going to be wanting to apply for grad school, or buy a house, and I don't want to be in a panic when the time comes!

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  5. This is an awesome challenge! I started cooking because I didn't want to eat meat and eating out vegetarian can be hard if you don't want to spend much money. I love cooking! Lately it has been harder for me though since I basically live in two places, my mom's and my boyfriend's. This will all change though once I have my own car within the next 6-9 months.

    I'm excited to see what kind of yummy meals you come up with!

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    1. The tiny town I live in has basically no food for vegetarians, it has been quite difficult! I can't even get tofu if it isn't extra firm :/.
      Are our lives the same? I have Ephraim come out here to see me or I go to Toronto to see him, every weekend. It's been hard trying to make good food routines when there are suddenly 3 days I cannot cook at home and I'm away while everything in my fridge spoils, sigh. I am also without a vehicle, and it makes it all that much harder. I'm hoping that when I have a car, I'll always have the option to pack a cooler and take things to and fro if I feel like it!

      --Erin

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    2. I also live in a relatively small town, which means no vegetarian restaurants, and very little vegetarian option even in the grocery store!

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  6. reading your post and subsequent comments makes me realise just how much i'm falling away from my usual food routine. just lately we've been eating out a bit too much, and if i don't address it, it will become a custom as opposed to an occasional treat. i used to cook on mondays, wednesdays and saturdays, making enough to last the following day. friday nights were sometimes takeaway or eat out night. its all gone a bit haphazard now. i admire your determination, and can't wait to see what you cook up.

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  7. So today, I finally got to reading through my bloglovin' feed and saw your post (thanks for the link and I'm glad you liked the financial literacy posts c:)

    I know I write a lot about being frugal and sticking to a budget, but sadly this is one part of the budget we max out all the time--dining out. We signed up for a mint.com account (it keeps tracks of all your debit/credit card based transactions and you can set a budget for each spending category i.e. groceries, restaurants, fastfood, etc) and what we thought was a little food splurge here and there added up to quite a bit of money. So now we're trying to cut back and limit our restaurant budget to 200 bucks a month--yup 200 bucks for 2 people :P

    It's been really tough though especially after a long day's work and the last thing you want to do is cook.

    Denise || Ispasiyo

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