I'm trying to learn, and I want to learn. But I also don't want to mess with food issues. I know it's petty. But I am truly a germaphobe, and I don't know how to fix it short of just dealing with it. Same reason I won't touch the trash. AT ALL!!! I'll wash dishes, sweep, mop, vacuum, anything. I don't touch trash, and I won't clean the bathroom.
On another note, I do think it'd be wise now that we're almost another 45 days into the year to see how our card swipes are going at restaurants and compare them to the first 45 days. We have knocked it down to 3 meals a week in our budget. If the office pays for lunch, which they do 2-3 days per week, then that doesn't go into our food budget. That frees up that money.
Not really sure how I can fix food issues and fears, other than eating things past their use by dates and hoping for the best. Not sure I want to do that (I know, excuse). But of all the things I'm concerned and obsessive about, that is truly No. 1 and scares me the most. I might try and cut down the budget to not buying as much. I think that'll help with throwing food away. Also, I might try and adjust what/how we eat. Maybe start using flour tortillas and crackers instead of bread to make sandwiches (ham and turkey on tortillas, tuna and pimento cheese on crackers). The tortillas last a little longer than bread. Maybe use more frozen meats (ham steak, chicken tenders, hamburger patties, etc) to make meals. That way we don't use as much as often, and we can cook in the oven as we need. We can take straight from freezer to oven and keep the rest frozen for later use. And those frozen items usually have dates further out than fresh meats.
I'm truly appreciating the help and support from this group as we try and adjust. Some things have changed for the better (budget that we stayed on for the first 15 days, exercise, stuff like that). And I feel like everyone's jumping on me and my issues, and I don't want that to be the case. So I might step back a bit and let things cool down.
Yeah... I have to agree with this. If you (WDW_Fan_In_TX) truly want to get out of debt, part of the process is LEARNING. It's ok to not know. I didn't know many things when I started this journey. But there is also such a thing as being willfully ignorant. You are CHOOSING to throw out food and claiming it's bc it's bad, even with all of us, AND the USFDA saying, that it is still good. If you don't want to freeze food, that's actually ok, too. But you WOULD save more money if you learned how to properly utilize your freezer as a tool.
Beyond that, you said last month you ended up swiping your card at eating places over 100 times. How is that going so far in March? 3 times a week is still a lot if you truly want to get out of debt, especially if you're not sticking to the 3. I really am invested in your journey bc I think you truly want it. I wish you'd be open to learning more from people instead of just saying "This is how we do it"... bc it's not working for you. I know you can do it- you want it- but you need to be open to learning.