ideas for living alone

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2008
ideas for living alone
8
Sun, 07-06-2008 - 11:12am

i know that one of the biggest things that i spend unnecessary money on is things that result from the fact that i'm not used to living alone. my fieance is away for the next 3 months for work, and when he comes home he's moving back in with his parents to help save money. i totally understand this situation, and its not really a source of stress for me...

but the things that kill me are things like eating take out instead of cooking for myself. i'm not used to cooking for just one person, so its weird. also, i feel like i waste a lot of money doing smaller loads of laundry on things that i need clean more often than once a week (a.k.a. work clothes...i work in a restaurant, and they get pretty grody...and i don't have a pair for every day of the week).

i was wondering if anyone has had similar experiences, and if you had any suggestions for ways to cut down on the costs like these that add up so quickly if i'm not careful (and that i feel like i'm drowning in because i sometimes even have a hard time realizing how much i'm spending).

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-18-2004
Sun, 07-06-2008 - 11:43am

Can't help with the laundry.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2004
Sun, 07-06-2008 - 11:57am

Hi, For Her. Well, there's just DH and me and the animals at present. So, we too were ending up wasting food a lot. I would buy those cut-up watermelons, fruit, etc and spend about $3-$4 for a little tub of these fruits and end up throwing it out.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-04-2006
Sun, 07-06-2008 - 7:01pm
In terms of the food - could you set aside a day or afternoon each week, so that you could cook the meals for the week and freeze them. I've found this works well to combat the feeling of cooking for one.
Lyn

Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Mon, 07-07-2008 - 4:30pm

Takeout is a terrible deal - there's far too much food for you to eat at once, it's usually loaded with fat and salt, and it almost never tastes good as leftovers.

You're much better off cooking portions for 3-4 people and storing it, then reheating. Saves cooking time later in the week too.

When my DH worked second shift and my oldest was a newborn, I used to make a big batch of lentil soup or chili on Monday nights. Very easy to cook, very healthy, low in fat, and cheap as can be! I'd make a salad for 4-5 nights while the soup or chili was cooking, and then I had dinner for the whole week. I think I ate that for dinner for 6 months straight. :) On another night of the week, I'd make up a batch of muffins and take one a day to work with me for an afternoon snack. I was very thin, very healthy, and very frugal!

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2003
Mon, 07-07-2008 - 8:13pm

If you have freezer space its smart to make a regular recipe and then freeze the extra.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2003
Mon, 07-07-2008 - 10:19pm

Because my Dh and I have opposite work schedules, I often eat alone. I don't like takeout because I can never eat enough of it to get a variety of food and I am kind of lazy, too. What I do is keep a bag of spinach, a couple of avocados, tomatoes, cucumber, and other salad ingredients in the fridge and throw together a small salad for lunch each day. I'll add nuts or grated cheese sometimes too.
Dh makes a crockpot of chili or stew once a week, and freezes it into individual portions for dinners.

We also keep a pack of tortillas in the fridge and we'll make wraps with grilled chicken or canned tuna and some spinach. (I like to get spinach in as often as possible because I think it's really healthy).

I make waffles in big batches and then freeze them in ziploc bags with one or wo waffles per bag. These can be reheated in the toaster oven or the toaster and make an easy breakfast.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Wed, 07-09-2008 - 6:19pm

Hi there!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2003
Thu, 07-10-2008 - 10:03am

Hi there,


I live alone as well and I know the food pain! Here are a few suggestions:


1) One of the PP's mentioned George Foreman. I swear by this grill. I got mine on sale at Walmart for $5.00 a few years ago (it was a doorcrasher) and use it three times a week or more.


2) Slow cookers can be your best friends, lol. On Sundays I make a point to make TWO batches of meals (on in the morning and one in the afternoon). Then I freeze the leftovers in meal size portions (usually in leftover yogurt/ sour cream containers) Doing this for a few weeks builds up a variety of stuff in the freezer, so I never feel like I have to eat the same things every day. Its also a pretty cheap way to go.


3) Everytime I make my dinner I make my lunch for the next day. If is something I've pulled out of the freezer, then I grab something else for the next day too. This means I no longer eat out!


4) I have a few single gf's. We share the cost of a Costco membership and will go shopping together and split on big items. This means we still get the savings, but don't end up food that goes bad.


5) If you have


Bex -