Here's a calculator; let me know when you've figured out what you can afford.

[bainsidhe]

Honestly, I wonder how much of this may be from people not bothering, or not being able, to do basic math. Yes, I realize that cell phones have a calculator feature, but so many customers and employees alike seem relatively clueless when it comes to budgeting dollars and understanding how much is being spent. An example is when a cashier types in the wrong amount and then realizes they have to count back change without the help of the register. Or when the cashier clearly types in the wrong amount (say, types in $20 instead of the $5 bill they were handed), and the customer is convinced the amount shown as change is how much they are REALLY owed.

[jedimaster91]

In my opinion, this is why so much fast food is consumed. People do not learn to cook when they are children and the home economics classes I took that included cooking lessons with real kitchen equipment went the way of the dinosaurs.

This. I swear no one bakes with their grandmas anymore either. My grandmother and I baked together a lot when I was young and as I got older, I was in charge of adding the spices to the beans or mixing up the gravy mix.

A year or so ago, I had a couple of friends over to bake a cake. They were several years younger than me, but I naively assumed I'd be able to hand them the recipe, show them where ingredients and bowls were in my kitchen (cuz every kitchen is different), and let them have at it. Hahaha, no. I ended up doing most of it cuz they didn't even know basic things. Like how to sift dry ingredients together or work a manual can opener.

[notalwaysright]

I find that prepackaged food is much more expensive than cooking my own meals. I have been cooking and baking since before I can remember, yes starting with my mom and grandma. So it's just boggling to think of not cooking my own meals. I'm not talking hard stuff here. Like, baking a chicken cost me about $4 and I'll eat on it for the whole week. Maybe add a few extra dollars for veggies and rice for soup and casserole. If you don't know how to cook (and want to learn) youtube has tons of videos. It doesn't have to be expensive.

As to the girls in the OP, I was once that age buying floopy sugared coffee drinks. I made darn sure I had enough money, and knew what I was ordering before I got to the counter. Nobody taught me to do this, I don't remember learning any skills which said "look at the menu and see the cost of a drink, then look at how much money you have and add tax, etc." This is just... life. Plus, people here are impatient, I'd have been elbowed out of the way. I've had other people try to order over my head if they were in a big enough hurry! Thank goodness the barista was looking at me and ignored the other person.

[dalesys]

... Like how to sift dry ingredients together or work a manual can opener.

I've told the story of my mother's friend, circa 1948, about 18, believing that "whole eggs" meant "with the shell"!

[AdamAnt316]

I occasionally bring something along the lines of this with me to the store:

Generally don't need any of the fancy scientific functions when shopping for groceries or whatnot, but sometimes they come in handy. Also, these calculators are built like tanks, so they stand up to a fair amount of abuse. Of course, I have yet to become truly proficient with RPN, but at least I'm trying harder than these SCs..........
-Adam
What does it say below my user name?!

[Racket_Man]

I occasionally bring something along the lines of this with me to the store:
<snipo>
Generally don't need any of the fancy scientific functions when shopping for groceries or whatnot, but sometimes they come in handy. Also, these calculators are built like tanks, so they stand up to a fair amount of abuse. Of course, I have yet to become truly proficient with RPN, but at least I'm trying harder than these SCs..........
-Adam

I thought that "back in my day good ol' HP calculator that used RPN" looked familiar. Yeah RPN is a bit of a bitch.

BUT with me and my schedule --- sometimes convience food is the best way to go. When I get out of work at 2 or 3 or 4am I am really not in the mood for cooking other that slapping something in the microwave (semi healthy at least) and pressing a few buttons, eating, and passing out.

However on my days off and on my vacation time (like right now) I will tend to buy ingredents and actually cook stuff cause I have the time and energy. I got myself one of the old school Home Farm Journal cook books last Xmas and tried some of the recipes over the last year.

I never baked with my Mother or Grandma (paternal only Maternal had passed on by the time of my birth) cause she lived with her daughter and did NOT do any cooking at her age (at the time). BUT I was a chemistry major at one time so FOLLOWING a set of directions with measurements and putting things in at the correct time IS A SKILL that I have acquired over the years -- hence I can cook stuff especially if I have a guide to follow.

[Blue Ginger]

BUT with me and my schedule --- sometimes convience food is the best way to go. When I get out of work at 2 or 3 or 4am I am really not in the mood for cooking other that slapping something in the microwave (semi healthy at least) and pressing a few buttons, eating, and passing out.

However on my days off and on my vacation time (like right now) I will tend to buy ingredents and actually cook stuff cause I have the time and energy. I got myself one of the old school Home Farm Journal cook books last Xmas and tried some of the recipes over the last year.

Have you considered cooking in larger batches and then freezing individual meals? I'm on a really tight budget atm and I do this. Then all you need to do is pull the food out, nuke it and eat. If you are on the late shift, just move the dinner from the freezer to the fridge before you leave for work.

Some of the best freezer meals are soups, lasagne, spaghetti bolognese and stews. I also make batches of chicken schnitzels, tuna rissoles and things like that. 10-20 minutes in the oven (from frozen) gives me enough time to chuck a salad together or cook some pasta or rice.

[ladyjaneinmd]

I'd love to learn how to cook, but I don't want to blow my week's grocery bill on ingredients, only to mess it up and have to go hungry.

Cooking for yourself doesn't have to be expensive. Start very simple and build from there. Now *I* find cooking for myself cheaper, but that's because I have a fully stocked kitchen. It would be expensive if I had to go out and buy every spice and ingredient new.

Eggs. Eggs work well. Learn how to fry and egg and make fried egg sandwiches. In my 'dirt poor' days, I ate a lot of eggs, and lentils and rice. Cheap eats.

[ladyjaneinmd]

I find that prepackaged food is much more expensive than cooking my own meals. I have been cooking and baking since before I can remember, yes starting with my mom and grandma. So it's just boggling to think of not cooking my own meals. I'm not talking hard stuff here. Like, baking a chicken cost me about $4 and I'll eat on it for the whole week. Maybe add a few extra dollars for veggies and rice for soup and casserole. If you don't know how to cook (and want to learn) youtube has tons of videos. It doesn't have to be expensive.

No grandma here, but my mother was an EXCELLENT cook, and I blame it on her that I can't just buy frozen dinners. They don't taste *right* to me.
And so I cook. If I don't feel like cooking....well, I'm single and live alone. Cheese and crackers make a FINE dinner!
But I've gotten even more obsessive lately, to the point of using the tomato bounty from the CSA(Community Supported Agriculture) and making my own spaghetti sauce, to freeze for later. I even tried making my own applesauce recently, and wow. I'll never buy it again!
No, I don't make my own pasta, but I know how, if I ever had to.

[earl colby pottinger]

Frozen

No grandma here, but my mother was an EXCELLENT cook, and I blame it on her that I can't just buy frozen dinners. They don't taste *right* to me.
And so I cook. If I don't feel like cooking....well, I'm single and live alone. Cheese and crackers make a FINE dinner!
But I've gotten even more obsessive lately, to the point of using the tomato bounty from the CSA(Community Supported Agriculture) and making my own spaghetti sauce, to freeze for later. I even tried making my own applesauce recently, and wow. I'll never buy it again!
No, I don't make my own pasta, but I know how, if I ever had to.

I have eaten a lot of frozen meals. And you are right about the taste for about 90%+ of them. Way too many of them use cheap meat if possible, and most have added salt and sugar.

Today when I do buy frozen meals I read the back very careful and often have to put them back. For example, if I buy Butter Chicken (something I really like) I will find some meals only contain 20% of your daily salt intake but other packages will go as high as 55%, imagine just one meal and you have over half your salt!

Also some meals have sugar or worse other sweeteners added.

I have a ton of frozen vegetables, berries and fruit in my fridge, but it can be hard sometimes.

PS. Having a very large bag of flour for flat-jacks, biscuits and other quick foods is great to have.

[Ghel]

I've started making extra at dinner so I can have the leftovers for lunches. It's cheaper and typically has less salt and more veggies than pre-packaged lunches. Soups, noodle dishes, and rice dishes all work well, and I've frozen single-serving portions with no issues.

On the topic of not knowing how to cook... I learned from my mom what NOT to do. She was a terrible cook. But it's easy to find simple recipes online these days. As I've learned what works for me and what doesn't, I use recipes more as guidelines than scripture. For example, last night I looked up a recipe for homemade ranch dressing, then used the spices (mustard powder, pepper, dill, parsley, and garlic) to season some sauteed chicken and celery, which I layered over couscous for dinner. It turned out great.

[jedimaster91]

I've told the story of my mother's friend, circa 1948, about 18, believing that "whole eggs" meant "with the shell"!

Oi. TBH, that sounds like something my sister would do. Not because she doesn't know how to cook, she's just too impatient to read directions.

I've started making extra at dinner so I can have the leftovers for lunches. It's cheaper and typically has less salt and more veggies than pre-packaged lunches. Soups, noodle dishes, and rice dishes all work well, and I've frozen single-serving portions with no issues.

I've been doing this for years. Since for a long time it was just me and hubz it was really easy to cook a big meal specifically to have leftovers. We also have several cookbooks for prepare ahead meals. A family size frozen lasagna works well too. We typically will eat half over a couple days and freeze the rest for later.

[notalwaysright]

I can't say I don't eat frozen meals, 'cause I do. I just know they aren't cheaper than if I made it myself. But I tend to make a large amount of one thing and eat on it all week for dinner. I just don't feel like eating chicken casserole for lunch and dinner.Too monotonous! I've found Lean Cuisine to be the best for me. The pasta ones seem to be the best at not having a crazy high sodium level (usually around 25%) and not being so terribly heavy that I feel sluggish when I clock back in. I'm working on making two things, like chicken casserole and chicken and pesto pasta. That way they taste very different, but use the same basic ingredient, chicken.

I've been making up my own little yogurt cups to eat on my last break. I buy plain unsweetened yogurt, frozen fruit (no extra sugar) and granola. Then I chop up the fruit and mix in, and have a small container of granola to add at work. Buying those pre-packaged would cost like $1 each on sale, and have tons of sugar.

[Slave to the Phone]

I'd love to learn how to cook, but I don't want to blow my week's grocery bill on ingredients, only to mess it up and have to go hungry.

I hope you have been reading all of the comments in this thread, they might be helpful. Cooking is not rocket (or chemistry) science and you have you-tube! I learned how to fix plumbing issues that my sweetie was going to call a plumber to fix. If I can do that, you can learn how to cook!

Start small and simple. IMHO, start by acquiring a crock pot AKA slow cooker. You don't want a fancy pants one with all the bells and whistles, you can get one at a thrift store rather cheap. Friends or family members might have one they don't use. Also acquire a vegetable peeler.

Once you have your cooker, procure a small chicken. Be sure that the chicken will be able to lay breast up in your pot. Purchase a few potatoes, a carrot, an onion and if you have the funds, a clove of garlic. (Choose your stuff by what you like. I like potatoes, but hate eating cooked carrots and only use them for flavor.)

Wash everything well, peel or don't peel the potatoes depending if you like the skins, peel the carrot and onion and 1 piece of the garlic. (Pull the peel off what you brought home and it is in small pieces like an orange.)

Chop the potatoes into chunks, cut the carrot into slices and save a third of them. Chop half of the onion and save the rest. Smush the garlic up as best as you can. Also save all the peels.

Put the chicken in the pot and dump the veggies on top. Add salt and pepper. Put in the fridge overnight and then put in your cooker in the morning. Set for 8 hours.

This will give you a nice dinner when you get home, but don't dump the pot out. You want that broth for later because I'm not done!

After you have eaten, cut the rest of the chicken off for later and have made up a nice lunch for tomorrow, put all of the bones and stuff you didn't eat into the pot with the peels, then add the rest of the carrots and onion. Cover that with enough water to cover everything and set it to cook for at least 12 hours. Strain the liquid out and now you have stock that you can use for soup!

I've told the story of my mother's friend, circa 1948, about 18, believing that "whole eggs" meant "with the shell"!

I was 18 when I learned that tuna noodle casserole was very crunchy if the noodles weren't cooked before baking! I honestly thought that the liquid in the mixture would cook the noodles. It was rather crunchy.

[Racket_Man]

I've started making extra at dinner so I can have the leftovers for lunches. It's cheaper and typically has less salt and more veggies than pre-packaged lunches. Soups, noodle dishes, and rice dishes all work well, and I've frozen single-serving portions with no issues.

I used to do this all the time when I was more in the white collar world. Ex DW and I would cook a normal dinner most nights for the three of us (Ex Me and DD) and the leftovers would go to work with me in a insulated pouch.

Have you considered cooking in larger batches and then freezing individual meals? I'm on a really tight budget atm and I do this. Then all you need to do is pull the food out, nuke it and eat. If you are on the late shift, just move the dinner from the freezer to the fridge before you leave for work.

Some of the best freezer meals are soups, lasagne, spaghetti bolognese and stews. I also make batches of chicken schnitzels, tuna rissoles and things like that. 10-20 minutes in the oven (from frozen) gives me enough time to chuck a salad together or cook some pasta or rice.

I am starting to consider doing this as yeah the frozen pre-prepped is getting a bit costly.