With the new house, the wedding, and medical bills, finances have been a wee bit tight in the T and Nain household. I can't remember the last time either of us bought something just for fun or went to the mall and just bought clothes. (Who am I kidding? I'm talking about me here...pity party). We've majorly cut back. I clip coupons like it's my second job, we pack our lunches every day, and we hardly ever go out to eat. My Mom even bought me a pair of $5 boots she found on sale somewhere because I had complained to her that my black boots were falling apart, and I was using black Sharpie to fill in the scuffs.
That isn't to say that tight finances haven't resulted in a few fights/tiffs between the two of us. They do say that money is one of the biggest reasons marriages fail. (I should know, having done divorce law), and I can see why. When things are so tight, it does get tense.
A few weeks ago, I decided to stretch a meal, so when I made spaghetti with meat sauce, knowing that Friday was a meat-free day (Lent, you know), so I made extra noodles and put butter in them with a little bit of cheese and basil. (Hey, it sounded good to me!) T texts me during the lunch hour and says "you know you're really cutting back on money when you're eating buttered noodles for lunch." Hey, it's a meal. Deal with it, right?
Well that butter and noodles thing has become a bit a joke between us when one of us (ahem, me) has reached a breaking point in the whole being cheap and not having any money to waste lifestyle. I may or may not have shouted "butter and noodles" at a certain someone when we were sternly discussing a grocery bill. I think it went along the lines of how high our grocery bill was and why did we need so much food, and I pointed out that I'm trying to save money and reminded him of the buttered noodles meal we had. When I couldn't take it any more and had reached a basic state of panic attack, I kept shouting "butter and noodles! butter and noodles!" It took a hug from T and a glass of Merlot, but I calmed down eventually.
This whole house thing is worth it, and I know we'll look back on these days when we were first starting off and laugh. "Hey remember that meal you made with what we had in the fridge and cabinet by putting diced tomatoes on top of cubed steak with no seasoning?" or "Remember when you made like a pound of elbow macaroni and just put butter in it for lunch?"
But until then...I cry out in frustration....butter and noodles!!! For God sake, butter and noodles!
Oh, this sounds so familiar to me!!
ReplyDeleteStory of my life!!
Hang in there, sweetie!
It WILL get better. Once you're in the house, discover the discounts of the wholesale warehouse! We love Costco for the reason that we only have to buy meat once a month, portion it out and freeze it when you get home. :-)
ReplyDeleteI hear ya loud and clear. EVerythign is so expensive and you can only fix chicken so many ways before you get tired of it..
ReplyDeleteThat's funny! I'm trying to cut back, too. I get kind of frustrated sometimes because I'm helping my boyfriend out a little with his financial situation and I think he's spending a little too frivolously. When I bring it up, it ends in an argument, but I'm getting nervous seeing my hard earned money disappear so quickly.
ReplyDeleteBudgeting is not fun! We use Dave Ramsey and the financial peace program and it works. We are 2 months in and still get frustrated with money but you can do it! We will look back one day and laugh at this stuff...right?! Hugs friend! And...I love some noodles with a few italian breadcrumbs and olive oil! Tell T it's a new version of butter noodles you are trying out!
ReplyDeleteI gotta tell ya - I love buttered noodles and have had them for lunch many times!
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, I completely understand where you're coming from. And you're right, these times will be looked back on and laughed over someday. Til then, I have a few cheapie recipes I can send your way :)
Ha! I have been there done that! My hubs complains as well about the food bill. I tell him if you isn't have to have meat every single night we coul save! Next time I get frustrated I'm yelling butter and noodles! Hang in there this too shall pass:)
ReplyDeleteAh, the good old butter and noodles. We have this meal a few times a week -no joke- but we usually add cheese... And that steak with tomatoes and no seasoning, totally sounds familiar.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand money being tight, but hey, you're handling it very well. And like you said, it's just a matter of time before things start getting better :-)
I think that if you can survive the butter and noodle stage you can handle anything