"My name is Whitney and I'm trying to stretch my dollars." ("Hello, Whitney!")

I've been married to my husband, Patrick, for 15 years.  We have a 3 year old daughter, Deanna.  Our cat, Vixie, is almost 15 years old and thinks she's a human.

I'm married to a spender and I feel it's because he had nothing but the very basics when he was growing up.  I think when DH was growing up, his parents were Dollar Stretchers to the max because they had to be, and now DH is trying to make up for lost time and buys whatever he wants if he has credit available on the card! My parents did without some things so that we could have extras in other areas. My mom never had anything for herself so that we could be involved in almost every after school activity going and we started getting new clothing (instead of mostly hand-me-downs) when she went to work when my brother started kindergarten.  We thought it was normal for a family to sit around the dinner table every night for supper.  We didn't find out until we were in high school that we were the exception, not the rule. I think we were blessed to live that way, and I want my daughter to feel that way as well, but she's a lot like her daddy too. "Go to the store and buy some more." is her motto.

I'm thrifty in most areas and trying to be more stretchy now that I've totally up our debts.  DH doesn't see a problem and was glad to see that "most people have two or three times that much debt".  Not a comfort to me though.  I'm planning a trip to Disneyworld for June 2010.  We can make reservations August 2009, so I'm trying to pay off as much debt as possible before I put the trip on the credit card.  I want to get the trip paid for before we get there. I want to continue the snowballing of debts past the vacation and for the rest of my life. Since I control the checkbook, I think I can keep a good handle on it except for credit cards since he uses the card too.

I'd like to learn to cook and that would get down on all the eating out that we do.  Deanna knows the names and locations of our two favorite eating places by heart and site.  It's hard to have the energy to cook when I've worked all day, drive 30 minutes to daycare and 10 more minutes home.  I just want to crash on the couch when I get home.

 I've enjoyed the posts so far and hope I can contribute in the future.

Hi Whitney! You will learn so much here you will be amazed. This group has been an amazing support to me. Just jump in wherever you want, all ideas are welcome. Also feel free to ask anything, someone here will know the answer or how to lead you to it!

 Hi Whitney!

I hear you completely about wanting to collapse on the couch as soon as you get home. We don't have kids, but I have 3 jobs (1 fulltime, 2 part-time) and none of them are in the town I live in! By the time we get home, it's all I have within me to do something in the house for about 30-45 minutes before I want to fall asleep.

 For cooking, the two biggest helps for me have been 1) my crockpot and 2) my freezer. If you can spend some time on the weekends to cook a few dinners or lunches for the week that will freeze well, and you can pop into microwave or oven when you get home, it will be really helpful if you're trying to cut out the dining out. For me, I try to always know before I leave the house in the morning what we will have for dinner that evening. If I know that we have a lasagna to pop into the oven when we get home, it's much easier to drive past the eatery at 5:30 pm.

Welcome Whitney!  This is a great site and I'm sure you'll find tons of info and tips here.  Since you mention debt, join us on the debt elimination forum-lots of us working towards paying off debt in 2009!

whitney37354:

I'd like to learn to cook and that would get down on all the eating out that we do.

Hi Whitney!  Welcome to the forums!  In 2010 DH and I will start working towards our Disney trip plans, so hopefully I'll be able to ask you for tips when we start planning.

I want to second what Joyous said about using your crock pot and freezer.  I'll also add that I'm huge fan of Leanne Ely who has actually developed menu plans that revolve around crock pots and freezers.  You can view her website at www.savingdinner.com.  I have two of her books and swear by them.  My family is small, like yours -- it's just DH, DD (4 years old) and me.  When I cook, I cook a full 5 to 6 servings of the meat or main dish item.  Then a couple nights later I only need to make a quick side dish or two and reheat the main dish for a complete meal.  Here's an example of how my menu can look sometimes:

Saturday: Baked Ziti with garlic bread and salad (ziti made in a 9x13 pan)
Sunday: Garlic glazed pork chops over brown rice with carrots (cook 5 to 6 chops)
Monday: Crock pot Italian chicken breasts with green beans and baked potatoes (cook 5 to 6 breasts)
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: heat up the main dish (ziti, chicken or chops) and add same or similar sides

I've always found it's the main dish that takes so long to cook and the sides just take a few minutes.  The 7th night can be used for doing a frozen pizza or eating out.  With something like ziti, I often find that it's good for 2 dinners and a take-to-work lunch for me once or twice.  This particular example also allows you to do the main dish cooking on nights when you're not working (if you work a M-F job) and use the crockpot on Monday night when you are working.

Enjoy the boards!  I hope to hear more from you!

Welcome to the community!!

welcome to the community ... there alot o crockpot cookers here.

 Hi Whitney, welcome to the Community! 

Welcome  to the community, Whitney!  I've been sort of a lurker myself, even after I joined, but that was because Real Life and the holidays seriously cut into my computer time! LOL  My New Year's Resolution is to participate more in this wonderful gathering of dollar stretchers. Hope to see you around!