I’m $18k in debt, so I went on a no-spend month. Here’s what I learned. [The writer says eating peanut butter and jelly for lunch instead of going to a restaurant made them feel happy and in control of their life]

Yahoo ^ | August 31, 2022 | Chegg Life

[grundle]

Standing in my kitchen on a recent morning, making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch later that day, it occurred to me that what would appear to be a fairly mundane (albeit delicious) task was actually so much more.

Maybe that’s because, during the previous month, I spent close to $700 on restaurants alone. That’s like a million peanut butter and jellies.

It was that revelation that inspired a month-long no-restaurants-or-shopping challenge I assigned to myself in July. I could not continue to ignore my mounting bills, and I could not go on living with the constant reminder and anxiety of my $18,000 of credit card debt.

Looking at my expenses, I made the difficult-to-me decision to cut restaurants and shopping out completely for a full month. No shopping for non-necessities. No takeout. No dinners out with friends. No “Let’s grab a drink!”

Aside from the ubiquitous PB&J, I found myself trying out new recipes, like this miso-glazed salmon and a kale Caesar salad I cannot stop making. And, as an unexpected bonus, I feel... really good. It may not be sustainable to make myself every meal for the rest of forever, but having a basic idea of everything I was consuming for a month really made me feel like I was taking care of myself.

I’m not sure what comes next. But as this month comes to an end, I have spent over $2,000 less than the month prior. I paid $1,000 off my credit card balance, put money away for taxes, and felt no anxiety about what my balance was while handing my debit card over to pay for some essentials. I didn’t get sick of peanut butter and jelly, and I have yet to miss a restaurant.

[BDParrish]

Thanks for your perspective Yo-Yo. You are correct.

I wanted to add that her credit card debt includes probably a 29% annual percentage rate. This is the worst debt except maybe a mafia loan shark.

Also I want to add that student loan debt cannot be discharged in bankruptcy while their coming future new debts can be. It was stupid to write the law this way. It caused the tuition bubble and the college debt catastrophe. College is a con game and in all of this, it is the con artists, the school faculty and administration, that still get paid!

[gattaca]

bmp

[pnz1]

Isn’t this what most normal people do? We pack the pbj’s a lot to avoid fast food

[steve86]

“Peanut butter and banana is better for you...toast the bread. Good way to get rid of slightly overripe banana.”

That would require sophisticated food preparation skills that I don’t have lol

[SauronOfMordor]

Except he would have suggested rice and beans, with an occasional beans and rice.

Fry up some chicken or pork to mix in, and you have a feast.

[SauronOfMordor]

Instead of eating out, I can get restaurant-quality prime steak at Costco, grill it myself, while my wife makes a salad.

[Theo]

This is the headline:

“I’m $18k in debt, so I went on a no-spend month. Here’s what I learned. [The writer says eating peanut butter and jelly for lunch instead of going to a restaurant made them feel happy and in control of their life]”

Note the second to last word: “their.”

[Mariner]

The Central Valley of California.

[9YearLurker]

Heath Barkley country!

[9YearLurker]

Okay, I’d prefer to eat at your place, too.

[VetoBill]

It amazes me that people would eat at restaurants, not only on a daily basis, but multiple times a day.

Granted I am shaped by my environment.

I live in a rural area; nearest 30,000 pop town is roughly a 2 hour drive. Even when I travel I usually take a meal with me. Something I’ve always done.

I firmly believe I make better food, cheaper, and waste less time dining. Fast food is slop. Restaurants are too expensive, and high end dining, frankly, takes too much time. I’ve got much better things to do than sit around and idly eat.

I hope that people forced to eat cheaper discover, not only can they cook for themselves, but that eating for leisure isn’t a proper social activity.

[Tired of Taxes]

Maybe we are the suckers, after all.

I know I am. Then I guess I taught my kids to be suckers, too: "Don't ever borrow money for college. Live at home and go to community college," I said.

[max americana]

same here

[max americana]

peops never learn