I feel like I’m choking

amother

OP ↓

Thu, Oct 10 2024, 11:25 am

Bh for the last while my husband did really well. We purchased a house (bh not a high mortgage payment).
We were able to live very nicely. I did not really need to think about prices when I did the food shopping. Every season I was able to shop for clothes.
We were alway careful to stay within our means & give to others.
We saved a nice amount bh.
Now his income dropped significantly. He’s looking for a new opportunity but for now our income is much lower.
Today I went food shopping and it’s so hard to buy food to make a nice yom tov when everything is so expensive!!
I enjoy cooking & baking but right now needing to be so extremely careful takes all the joy out of it.
I feel like I’m choking.
I’m not sure what I’m looking for here. I can’t kevtch to my husband because there’s enough pressure on him as it is. I’m trying to be supportive and not a drag.

kermit

Thu, Oct 10 2024, 11:34 am

amother OP wrote:

Being careful is so hard for anyone, and must be especially hard if you're not used to constraints.

In terms of creating meals and dishes on a budget, I will say creativity thrives inside boundaries, and maybe there's a way to look at it as a 'challenge'?

ex. what dinner can I make for my family for less than $20? how can I make the meat from this roast last 2-3 meals? can I turn (this item on really good sale) into something my kids will love?

It's not easy, for sure. but if you have to do it anyways, gamifying it as a test of your creativity can make it less painful and more 'fun'.

amother

Wheat ↓

Thu, Oct 10 2024, 11:55 am

Yes same and this is very hard.
But I learned to buy the meats on sale even if I prefer a different cut, and instead of serving meat for all meals I'll do an elevated chicken dish for some. Like not typical shabbos chicken but something nicer that I wouldn't necessarily make for Shabbos cuz it's a patchka. Like capons, or a multi step chicken recipe.
Freshly fried schnitzel in a sauce is also a good idea. I found some good recipes on kosher.com

And the meals themselves don't have to be big, major and fancy. I always try to make sure that every person will have 2 things to eat not including challah.

Another trick I learned was to make ppl's favorite food even if it is not within the Shabbos spirit. My kids are obsessed with French fries so they became a special food we eat Friday night.