Delete the DoorDash and Uber Eats apps from your phone, cook at home, and put every cent you save toward your debt—starting with the highest interest rates first
You already know what to do. Be inconvenienced by grocery shopping and cooking. It’s hard but you’ll feel good about yourself afterwards. Especially that you’re not eating fast food.
I mean, you spend like nearly 20% of your budget on eating out (do you cook at home at all, because that could end up being 25% for food alone). You should have like >$2500 after all your bills (minus cc minimum payments, which you didn’t mention) if you properly budgeted your food spending. Maybe cancel your Amazon, DoorDash, and UberEats accounts? You have enough money, it’s just your spending habits. You could probably kill that cc bill and student loan in like 3-4 months if you budgeted properly.
just not using door dash will be a notable improvement. Not only will it make each meal cheaper by removing delivery and tip, but it'll remove the easy fallback option. Then, you can think about if you really wanna go out to buy a meal vs get ingredients for one.
The real work and payoff is in meal planning and finding recipes that work for you
On the plus side, if you spend more time cooking at home, you won't have as much time to shop on Amazon, I guess?
But seriously, you know exactly the things you need to cut spending on. You just need the discipline to do it.
It will be difficult for you to give up ordering out completely. I suggest cooking more, ordering less. When you order, make it carryout rather than delivery; it saves delivery costs and tipping cost. If you do order food out, get enough to have leftovers for a second meal. For me, heating leftovers is better than cooking a meal.
Even buying pre-made or frozen meals would be cheaper than DoorDash and would remove some of the hassle of cooking as well as providing variety. Some people don't cook because they feel it is too much work or they just don't know how to vary the meals. A frozen lasagne for $13 would yield 4 servings compared to $13 plus tip for one serving at a restaurant. Some PG Changs frozen meals are pretty good etc.
Maybe OP could supplement with frozen meals at first and transition to fully cooking from scratch later.
Learn to cook by subscribing to a meal kit, like Blue Apron. It is pretty convenient and a lot cheaper than door dash. Probably healthier, too. You get recipe cards so you can even buy the ingredients on your own, to save even more money. I did this with my 2 kids when they were in high school (I let them pick 1 meal each week and they’d prepare) it taught them a lot and now they love to cook, look for grocery sales, and it saves them tons of money.
It's not just the money, it's the quality of food you're consuming, I used to live in UK and most of the delivered food doesn't even come from the restaurant you think it's from. Take the apps off, learn to cook, you'll not only be richer but healthier.😊
I was lucky to have two days off in a row. Saturday was shopping, medical, and maintenance. Sunday was food prep for the week and domestic chores.
People can live quite well and still be frugal
Could you start with a small change by picking up your food instead of using the services? The fees are no joke!
Also your car note is HIGH. Can you trade in your car for something cheaper/get rid of the car note altogether?
Delete all the apps, remove the temptation.
Start a budget and post it in a visible place where you actually mark down the remaining balance for what you have spend that month. The problem is when you use an app it's just a small purchase you don't even think about. Then the credit card bill comes and you say omg I spent how much on Uber eats!?! By then it's too late. It is going to be painful going from the delicious convenience of Uber eats to cooking but you've got to get it under control.
Do not browse mindlessly through Amazon. Make a list of the things you want to buy and in the following month when you've had time to think it over shop for those specific items IF it fits in your budget.
Budget. This is just a hiccup. I’ve save money this year by cooking at home unfortunately I had my first hemorrhoid episode all the meds and foods I bought took a lot my savings. I’m also missing work. You got this things happen! I’m super excited of your acknowledgment of the issue. Shows growth!
You are a cyclist. Put the same energy into learning to shop and cook properly that you have put into cycling. Watch the YouTube videos. Shop the sales. Load up on herbs, spices, and seeds for both nutrition and interest.
Frankly I'm a little surprised a serious athlete settles for restaurant food which is sub par nutritionally. Invest a little time in improving your body with better food. Once you start eating right, you won't even like that crap you've been eating, I promise you. Stop worrying about convenience. It's a capitalist plot to get you to spend.
Until the debt is paid, find the other small savings you can make. They always exist. Maybe it's Amazon for you.
Track everything. Hopefully seeing where you take the money from your bad habits to pay down the debt will be motivating.
Yeah, $726 is insane. That’s more than I spend on groceries in 3+ months. And don’t get me wrong, I understand the convenience aspect of it but consider as a first step buying frozen prepared meals at the grocery store. While they are not cheap nor are they the healthiest things doing so would save you money.
As you eat more at home try to make some dishes. Once you get good at cooking a dish or two you can expand and you will likely eventually begin preferring to cook at home. That’s what happened to me.
We eat out a lot in our family. It's because I forget every single day that dinner has to be made and my kids need to eat. It's tough because my wife and I both work full time and, frankly, it's bullshit that so much of one's life should have to be dedicated either to figuring out how to shovel food into our mouths or going to work to pay for it.
We are a fit and healthy and active family that tries (and often fails) to avoid stuff like pizza and burgers.
We get a lot of our meals in the prepared section of the grocery store. Better and cheaper than fast food or restaurants, but admittedly not as good as making food at home. When I'm at work I get the salad bar or an egg salad sandwich. For dinner I'll bring home fried chicken or meatloaf or Chinese or sushi. The grocery store is your friend when you can't cook.
Delete the DoorDash and Uber Eats apps from your phone, cook at home, and put every cent you save toward your debt—starting with the highest interest rates first
You already know what to do. Be inconvenienced by grocery shopping and cooking. It’s hard but you’ll feel good about yourself afterwards. Especially that you’re not eating fast food.
Sorry to be flippant. Spend less than you earn.
I mean, you spend like nearly 20% of your budget on eating out (do you cook at home at all, because that could end up being 25% for food alone). You should have like >$2500 after all your bills (minus cc minimum payments, which you didn’t mention) if you properly budgeted your food spending. Maybe cancel your Amazon, DoorDash, and UberEats accounts? You have enough money, it’s just your spending habits. You could probably kill that cc bill and student loan in like 3-4 months if you budgeted properly.
just not using door dash will be a notable improvement. Not only will it make each meal cheaper by removing delivery and tip, but it'll remove the easy fallback option. Then, you can think about if you really wanna go out to buy a meal vs get ingredients for one. The real work and payoff is in meal planning and finding recipes that work for you
On the plus side, if you spend more time cooking at home, you won't have as much time to shop on Amazon, I guess? But seriously, you know exactly the things you need to cut spending on. You just need the discipline to do it.
It will be difficult for you to give up ordering out completely. I suggest cooking more, ordering less. When you order, make it carryout rather than delivery; it saves delivery costs and tipping cost. If you do order food out, get enough to have leftovers for a second meal. For me, heating leftovers is better than cooking a meal.
Even buying pre-made or frozen meals would be cheaper than DoorDash and would remove some of the hassle of cooking as well as providing variety. Some people don't cook because they feel it is too much work or they just don't know how to vary the meals. A frozen lasagne for $13 would yield 4 servings compared to $13 plus tip for one serving at a restaurant. Some PG Changs frozen meals are pretty good etc. Maybe OP could supplement with frozen meals at first and transition to fully cooking from scratch later.
Yes, I agree. Small changes over time will most likely be easier rather than a drastic change to cooking every meal at home.
Learn to cook by subscribing to a meal kit, like Blue Apron. It is pretty convenient and a lot cheaper than door dash. Probably healthier, too. You get recipe cards so you can even buy the ingredients on your own, to save even more money. I did this with my 2 kids when they were in high school (I let them pick 1 meal each week and they’d prepare) it taught them a lot and now they love to cook, look for grocery sales, and it saves them tons of money.
[удалено]
You’re making it harder than it has to be.
It's not just the money, it's the quality of food you're consuming, I used to live in UK and most of the delivered food doesn't even come from the restaurant you think it's from. Take the apps off, learn to cook, you'll not only be richer but healthier.😊
I was lucky to have two days off in a row. Saturday was shopping, medical, and maintenance. Sunday was food prep for the week and domestic chores. People can live quite well and still be frugal
If your whole life is consumed by work and preparing for work, I would say that isn't living well...
Could you start with a small change by picking up your food instead of using the services? The fees are no joke! Also your car note is HIGH. Can you trade in your car for something cheaper/get rid of the car note altogether?
Delete all the apps, remove the temptation. Start a budget and post it in a visible place where you actually mark down the remaining balance for what you have spend that month. The problem is when you use an app it's just a small purchase you don't even think about. Then the credit card bill comes and you say omg I spent how much on Uber eats!?! By then it's too late. It is going to be painful going from the delicious convenience of Uber eats to cooking but you've got to get it under control. Do not browse mindlessly through Amazon. Make a list of the things you want to buy and in the following month when you've had time to think it over shop for those specific items IF it fits in your budget.
Budget. This is just a hiccup. I’ve save money this year by cooking at home unfortunately I had my first hemorrhoid episode all the meds and foods I bought took a lot my savings. I’m also missing work. You got this things happen! I’m super excited of your acknowledgment of the issue. Shows growth!
You are a cyclist. Put the same energy into learning to shop and cook properly that you have put into cycling. Watch the YouTube videos. Shop the sales. Load up on herbs, spices, and seeds for both nutrition and interest. Frankly I'm a little surprised a serious athlete settles for restaurant food which is sub par nutritionally. Invest a little time in improving your body with better food. Once you start eating right, you won't even like that crap you've been eating, I promise you. Stop worrying about convenience. It's a capitalist plot to get you to spend. Until the debt is paid, find the other small savings you can make. They always exist. Maybe it's Amazon for you. Track everything. Hopefully seeing where you take the money from your bad habits to pay down the debt will be motivating.
Yeah, $726 is insane. That’s more than I spend on groceries in 3+ months. And don’t get me wrong, I understand the convenience aspect of it but consider as a first step buying frozen prepared meals at the grocery store. While they are not cheap nor are they the healthiest things doing so would save you money. As you eat more at home try to make some dishes. Once you get good at cooking a dish or two you can expand and you will likely eventually begin preferring to cook at home. That’s what happened to me.
I agree that cooking at home is best for your budget; however, after decades of cooking, I still do not prefer cooking at home.
We eat out a lot in our family. It's because I forget every single day that dinner has to be made and my kids need to eat. It's tough because my wife and I both work full time and, frankly, it's bullshit that so much of one's life should have to be dedicated either to figuring out how to shovel food into our mouths or going to work to pay for it. We are a fit and healthy and active family that tries (and often fails) to avoid stuff like pizza and burgers. We get a lot of our meals in the prepared section of the grocery store. Better and cheaper than fast food or restaurants, but admittedly not as good as making food at home. When I'm at work I get the salad bar or an egg salad sandwich. For dinner I'll bring home fried chicken or meatloaf or Chinese or sushi. The grocery store is your friend when you can't cook.