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Feel Like We are Barely Getting by...

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IOBA
Senior Contributor

Re: Feel Like We are Barely Getting by...

Lol - I am in the hotel right now....   put on a bison roast, with some spices, some onion, put it on low last night.  It is now fall apart, fork tender and smells delicious!   (Didn't use a crockpot this time...)     Last night was poached, spiced fish....   

 

Ya know, sometimes I think I eat better in a hotel than I do at home!  Mainly because I toss so many things into the bags/coolers to take with me and I don't want to throw any of it away or have to bring it back with me!  Kinda forces me to use it up.

 

In other cases, I do the shopping when I reach my location.   Same philosophy - use it up, don't waste it!

Message 41 of 53
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Feel Like We are Barely Getting by...


@IOBA wrote:

Lol - I am in the hotel right now....   put on a bison roast, with some spices, some onion, put it on low last night.  It is now fall apart, fork tender and smells delicious!   (Didn't use a crockpot this time...)     Last night was poached, spiced fish....   

 

Ya know, sometimes I think I eat better in a hotel than I do at home!  Mainly because I toss so many things into the bags/coolers to take with me and I don't want to throw any of it away or have to bring it back with me!  Kinda forces me to use it up.

 

In other cases, I do the shopping when I reach my location.   Same philosophy - use it up, don't waste it!


How did you cook it? On top of the crankcase of the engine, under the hood of your car as you drove?? Inquiring minds want to know! Smiley Very Happy

 

Seriously, for this sort of thing, do you just cook everything at home and then rely on the hotel room microwave, all 37 watts of it?

* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 42 of 53
IOBA
Senior Contributor

Re: Feel Like We are Barely Getting by...

haulingthescoreup - under the hood of course!

 

Seriously, on a hot plate, in a pot.   Just threw in a frozen 3# bison roast, a container of organic vegetable broth, 3 onions quartered, a package of chili seasoning, and some water.  Covered, simmered.   The fat just fell away...   Turn the hot plate off at night.  Next morning, scooped off the congealed fat off the surface, turned the burner back on low.  It was sooo yummy!   And the onions carmalized...

 

I put some red pepper flakes and some ground pepper into a frying pan and heated it up (medium heat).   When the pan was hot, I added the frozen fish, topped the fish with some red pepper flakes and ground pepper, covered, cooked.  It was delicious!

 

I find that pretty much everything can be cooked in a pot or pan (I usually bring just one with me) on a hot plate.

 

Back in the day when I had a full sized freezer, I would have cooked it up ahead of time and just brought frozen food containers with me.  But now, I have no freezer of any size, so I have adapted to a more of a cook for immediate consumption.  I still try to double up on meals and preps since I do have a micro mini fridge.  

 

I have learned that I can cook pretty much anything -- to include cookies and broiling steak -- in a hotel room with a hot plate.  Smiley Happy

Message 43 of 53
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Feel Like We are Barely Getting by...


haulingthescoreup wrote:

 

I just eyed four Rubbermaid 5.2 cup plastic food savers with red lids for $3.89. I already have four minus one. The one cracked at the bottom, but it took a whole year for it to do so. I held off buying more for now, despite my urge to have back-ups for my back-ups. Smiley Very Happy But these things are great. They hold a ton of salad, or pasta, or jambalaya, or anything else, and they're microwavable.

 


+1 to these... Greatness.

Message 44 of 53
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Feel Like We are Barely Getting by...


IOBA wrote:

We don't care how others view us, for the most part.  We do have a hard time with people thinking we are wealthy and thefore should do this... or can give them xx...or pay/treat for that...  uh, no.



My husband and I have lost more friends this way than any other!  But, we gotta do what we gotta do.

Message 45 of 53
IOBA
Senior Contributor

Re: Feel Like We are Barely Getting by...

discernment - we can be myfico friends.  Smiley Happy

 


Message 46 of 53
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Feel Like We are Barely Getting by...


@IOBA wrote:

@Anonymous - great!

 

"I am "bare bones" living.   <---- that does NOT mean I am a nudist!"

 

(If there was an icon of someone holding their breath, I would insert it here.)  


 

Okay, I've had enough for the day....that was toooooo funny!

 

Message 47 of 53
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Feel Like We are Barely Getting by...

Okay,  either I have too much time on my hands or I'm just really corny.  This is by far the funniest thread I have ever read on here, because I've met the nudist Suze Orman, sister to Emerald Lagassee who cooks delicious meals on the engine of her car when staying at hotels that will put Barefoot Contessa to shame. 

 

To the couple that started this thread, I'd suggest a book titled "Your Money Ratios: 8 Simple tools to financial ..." something by Charles Farrell.  This book was so good, I purchased copies as gifts.  I read this book and personally think that its practical and what most folk need.  For example, saving 12% of your annual income each year...buying a home that is no more than X times your salary.  I believe it's like 3 times your salary.  I'll be purchasing soon and will keep it within the 2x's salary range.  He has ratios for each stage of life that most books don't address.  I personally practice the 12% and refuse to touch that money for anything.  After a few years, you'll have 73.2K in savings while having met all of your expenses and paying off debt.   

 

Truth be told, I drive fancy and live in a nice pad.  However, I'm not in much debt, save regularly and have retirement accounts set up on auto pilot.  I'll keep my luxury brand for at least 10 years before eyeing a new purchase.  I've fell off of the cooking wagon and plan to get back on.  Two years ago I cooked on Sundays and took lunch everyday, I really can't say what happened.

 

Best,

Snoopy7 

 

Message 48 of 53
IOBA
Senior Contributor

Re: Feel Like We are Barely Getting by...

Snoopy7 - I remember that old saying of the price of your home should be 3x your salary.   Lol.  We just bought a place in June of this year.  The price was 2/3 of our annual salary.  Yep - you read that correctly.   Our annual salary is MORE than the price of our house.   Amazing - I  never thought that would be possible.   (Mainly because you can't buy much of a shack that would cost a year's worth of pay in our neck of the woods....and that is pretty much what we bought - an unfinished small house.)  Our payment (official from the bank) is tiny, but we pay extra every month to get it paid off early.  Our goal is to have it paid off in about three years from now.  

 

We are still "bare bones" because the amount we were putting away for savings - is what we are now paying on the house.   Our expenses did go up a bit with kid going to college and taking out another loan to pay for much needed, immediate improvements - such as heat and hot water and used appliances.   We put 20% down, so no PMI.  Smiley Happy

 

I keep looking at the odometer on the car, praying our car will last another 5-10 years.  It has 150k miles on it now...and still doing pretty good.  Smiley Happy   We are saving about 10% of the income automatically (5% into TSP, employer matches 5%, plus $50 a paycheck into my retirement account).  It would be nice to do more, but our goal is to get the house paid off asap!  Get the last kid through college, paying cash.   And pay back the home improvement loan (1.67% interest rate, 5 yr term, will pay extra on it when we finish paying off the house, which is at 2.75%).  No other debt.

 

Do you want up to get back on the cooking wagon?  Once you are back on, share some recipes!  Smiley Happy   In some ways, it's lonely up here on the cooking wagon, but I tell you, the food is fantastic!!   I pass up McDonalds and other restaurants quite regularly so I can eat some great food at home!  Even if it means I am eating dinner at 9pm at night.  I even take food to friends houses so share and avoid the awkward "let's eat out" topic that usually comes up.

 

Sounds you have a very good plan.

Message 49 of 53
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Feel Like We are Barely Getting by...


@IOBA wrote:

@Anonymous - I remember that old saying of the price of your home should be 3x your salary.   Lol.  We just bought a place in June of this year.  The price was 2/3 of our annual salary.  Yep - you read that correctly.   Our annual salary is MORE than the price of our house.   Amazing - I  never thought that would be possible.   (Mainly because you can't buy much of a shack that would cost a year's worth of pay in our neck of the woods....and that is pretty much what we bought - an unfinished small house.)  Our payment (official from the bank) is tiny, but we pay extra every month to get it paid off early.  Our goal is to have it paid off in about three years from now.  

 

We are still "bare bones" because the amount we were putting away for savings - is what we are now paying on the house.   Our expenses did go up a bit with kid going to college and taking out another loan to pay for much needed, immediate improvements - such as heat and hot water and used appliances.   We put 20% down, so no PMI.  Smiley Happy

 

I keep looking at the odometer on the car, praying our car will last another 5-10 years.  It has 150k miles on it now...and still doing pretty good.  Smiley Happy   We are saving about 10% of the income automatically (5% into TSP, employer matches 5%, plus $50 a paycheck into my retirement account).  It would be nice to do more, but our goal is to get the house paid off asap!  Get the last kid through college, paying cash.   And pay back the home improvement loan (1.67% interest rate, 5 yr term, will pay extra on it when we finish paying off the house, which is at 2.75%).  No other debt.

 

Do you want up to get back on the cooking wagon?  Once you are back on, share some recipes!  Smiley Happy   In some ways, it's lonely up here on the cooking wagon, but I tell you, the food is fantastic!!   I pass up McDonalds and other restaurants quite regularly so I can eat some great food at home!  Even if it means I am eating dinner at 9pm at night.  I even take food to friends houses so share and avoid the awkward "let's eat out" topic that usually comes up.

 

Sounds you have a very good plan.


Awesome you were able to find a great deal on the house.  I'm probably going to do a drive by this evening to see the house I'm eyeing.  About the cars, if you already haven't done so, find yourself a great mechanic who knows your car well.  I know folks with Toyota and Honda w/ 300k plus miles.  If you must buy something soon, go used. 

Cooking is going to be a challenge, but I'll start by changing the way I'm looking at it.  I'll use farmer's market more often and solidify a meal plan.  Usually, I find that when I'm on a good workout plan, I eat healthier too-  I think this should help.  Purchased a new crock pot and plan to put it to good use, especially since the weather is changing.  There needs to be a new thread created with simple meals...

Message 50 of 53
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