DD put my little ponies in a brand new container of hummus today

[Anonymous]

I guess she was pretending her ponies were walking through dirt or sand.

Shop at consignment stores, but buy new shoes.

[Anonymous]

Go to the goodwill. They have great shoes. I just found a pair of $80 flats that look brand new.

Forgive yourself. Every parent loses it at sometimes. Kids forgive.

Hummus is super easy and cheap to make. Google the recipes.

[Anonymous]

The best hummus is made by rehydrating dried chick peas. A whole bag costs little more than a dollar. Tahini lasts forever and you only need a little bit. Fresh lemon juice, salt and a few sprinkles of garlic powder and your all set.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not to scold you but hummus is cheap and easy to make. Tahini, chickpeas, oil oil, lemon juice.

Is it even cheaper if you buy the ingredients rather than the premade?

Tahini is the only ingredient with a more-than-negligible cost and even that is cheap.

Olive oil is $8+ a bottle, Tahini is $4+ a container, chick peas are $0.50 - $2.00 depending on if they are dried or canned, a lemon is around $0.50.
Total cost to make would be $13-$15 at the cheapest. Premade hummus is less than just the olive oil. Are you familiar with the concept that it costs more to be poor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not to scold you but hummus is cheap and easy to make. Tahini, chickpeas, oil oil, lemon juice.

Is it even cheaper if you buy the ingredients rather than the premade?

Tahini is the only ingredient with a more-than-negligible cost and even that is cheap.

Olive oil is $8+ a bottle, Tahini is $4+ a container, chick peas are $0.50 - $2.00 depending on if they are dried or canned, a lemon is around $0.50.
Total cost to make would be $13-$15 at the cheapest. Premade hummus is less than just the olive oil. Are you familiar with the concept that it costs more to be poor?

Yes but only if you’ve always been poor. There is no reason to think OP doesn’t have olive oil already. Totally normal pantry ingredient for DCUMers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not to scold you but hummus is cheap and easy to make. Tahini, chickpeas, oil oil, lemon juice.

Is it even cheaper if you buy the ingredients rather than the premade?

Tahini is the only ingredient with a more-than-negligible cost and even that is cheap.

Olive oil is $8+ a bottle, Tahini is $4+ a container, chick peas are $0.50 - $2.00 depending on if they are dried or canned, a lemon is around $0.50.
Total cost to make would be $13-$15 at the cheapest. Premade hummus is less than just the olive oil. Are you familiar with the concept that it costs more to be poor?

Yes but only if you’ve always been poor. There is no reason to think OP doesn’t have olive oil already. Totally normal pantry ingredient for DCUMers.

If the OP's budget is tight enough that hummus is a luxury item and she is skipping dinner because her child wants a second portion, she isn't buying expensive olive oil.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry to hear of the stressors in your life right now. Try to go easy on yourself and also to become aware of your triggers so you can respond in a way that guides your daughter instead of flipping out. Sounds like wasting food is one of them. And I know this is easier said than done, I’ve just found it helpful to stay ahead of my anger so I can (mostly) respond calmly and constructively to my kids. $ has been tight for us for years and we have bought most of our clothes at thrift stores. I’ve found new shoes there, too, but you can likely get a decent pair of low cost new shoes at Marshall’s. I agree with prior posters on Aldi’s. Also, CVS sometimes discounts things like milk and Cheerios and canned salmon significantly. Hummus is on sale now at Safeway. Assuming your daughter is school-aged, talk to the counselors before school starts and I bet they will help with back to school supplies or connect you with a church or other org doing backpacks for kids. Good luck. This too shall pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not to scold you but hummus is cheap and easy to make. Tahini, chickpeas, oil oil, lemon juice.

Is it even cheaper if you buy the ingredients rather than the premade?

Tahini is the only ingredient with a more-than-negligible cost and even that is cheap.

Olive oil is $8+ a bottle, Tahini is $4+ a container, chick peas are $0.50 - $2.00 depending on if they are dried or canned, a lemon is around $0.50.
Total cost to make would be $13-$15 at the cheapest. Premade hummus is less than just the olive oil. Are you familiar with the concept that it costs more to be poor?

Yes but only if you’ve always been poor. There is no reason to think OP doesn’t have olive oil already. Totally normal pantry ingredient for DCUMers.

If the OP's budget is tight enough that hummus is a luxury item and she is skipping dinner because her child wants a second portion, she isn't buying expensive olive oil.

DP. That's true, but the math above is highly skewed. With the ingredients listed, OP could make a vat of hummus, way way more than the pre-made container that cost $3-5. And to the extent she didn't want that much hummus, the raw ingredients, like the olive oil (which needn't be particularly high end), could be used for lots of other cooking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not to scold you but hummus is cheap and easy to make. Tahini, chickpeas, oil oil, lemon juice.

I was going to say the same — having had to count pennies before, learning to cook more items really helps and hummus is a great recipe to master because it is both more delicious and way cheaper if you make it yourself. Good luck!

It costs more to buy those items separately than to buy a container of hummus. Sure, you can use them for other stuff, but when the idea is to reduce what you spent at the store today, it's not helpful.

It’s cheaper because you get a lot more hummus.

Except in a two person household where one is a little kid, it would go bad before it can be eaten. It's cheaper too buy the finished product. As a single moms with a young child, I quickly learned that iit often cost less not to make homemade because the cost of ingredients was more than a single finished product.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not to scold you but hummus is cheap and easy to make. Tahini, chickpeas, oil oil, lemon juice.

I was going to say the same — having had to count pennies before, learning to cook more items really helps and hummus is a great recipe to master because it is both more delicious and way cheaper if you make it yourself. Good luck!

It costs more to buy those items separately than to buy a container of hummus. Sure, you can use them for other stuff, but when the idea is to reduce what you spent at the store today, it's not helpful.

It’s cheaper because you get a lot more hummus.

Except in a two person household where one is a little kid, it would go bad before it can be eaten. It's cheaper to buy the finished product. As a single moms with a young child, I quickly learned that iit often cost less not to make homemade because the cost of ingredients was more than a single finished product.

This. - another single mom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Except in a two person household where one is a little kid, it would go bad before it can be eaten. It's cheaper too buy the finished product. As a single moms with a young child, I quickly learned that it often cost less not to make homemade because the cost of ingredients was more than a single finished product.

No that's ridiculous. All those items are pantry staples. They don't go bad (well the lemons will eventually but you can just buy one at a time.)

You just make a batch of hummus each week. The olive oil, tahini and chick peas all last a long time in the fridge (opened tahini) or on the pantry shelf.

[Anonymous]

First- I hope that you ate the hummus anyway. It's no big deal to eat it.

Second- I am sorry. We had a financial turn recently too, and I am scrambling to cut our grocery bill by a lot. It's hard and it makes me quite upset when my son wastes food.

Third- you need to go to a thrift store and pick up some clothes. I dropped some things off a few months ago and noticed a family walking out with name brand clothing for a song.

Fourth- Homemade, from scratch food is only less expensive if it's something that is relatively cheap to make and you eat a lot of it. I think people who suggest it may not know what it's like to worry (truly worry) about money. (e.g. "everyone has a $10 bottle of olive oil, tahini is only $5, just pull out the $200 food processor or spend 30 minutes mashing chickpeas when you just wanted to sit down...")

OP, my mom was a single mom with almost no money. The stress and worry of something going wrong (car repair, furnace, medical) cannot be overestimated. I remember my mom freaking out when she had car trouble. Once, I broke my arm and insurance didn't cover all of the costs- my mom flipped out. It was awful to be a child with a broken arm and my mom screaming about we couldn't pay the bill. I hope your ex isn't the loser my dad was.

I hope your ex is in similar straits, and if not, I hope he has plans to help more because your DD had to eat your dinner and snacks tonight so she wouldn't be hungry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First- I hope that you ate the hummus anyway. It's no big deal to eat it.

Second- I am sorry. We had a financial turn recently too, and I am scrambling to cut our grocery bill by a lot. It's hard and it makes me quite upset when my son wastes food.

Third- you need to go to a thrift store and pick up some clothes. I dropped some things off a few months ago and noticed a family walking out with name brand clothing for a song.

Fourth- Homemade, from scratch food is only less expensive if it's something that is relatively cheap to make and you eat a lot of it. I think people who suggest it may not know what it's like to worry (truly worry) about money. (e.g. "everyone has a $10 bottle of olive oil, tahini is only $5, just pull out the $200 food processor or spend 30 minutes mashing chickpeas when you just wanted to sit down...")

OP, my mom was a single mom with almost no money. The stress and worry of something going wrong (car repair, furnace, medical) cannot be overestimated. I remember my mom freaking out when she had car trouble. Once, I broke my arm and insurance didn't cover all of the costs- my mom flipped out. It was awful to be a child with a broken arm and my mom screaming about we couldn't pay the bill. I hope your ex isn't the loser my dad was.

I hope your ex is in similar straits, and if not, I hope he has plans to help more because your DD had to eat your dinner and snacks tonight so she wouldn't be hungry.

pp here- also wanted to say, just balance it out. I don't have a good relationship with my mom because of the extreme stress and anxiety she visited on me as a child. I had really low self esteem and she was constantly telling me all of the things I couldn't do because we didn't have the money. I internalized this and thought I wasn't as good as other people. Other kids didn't help either because they notice about fourth grade when you're wearing the same clothes or not getting haircuts-- girls especially, liked to bully around this stuff.

On the other hand, talking proactively about budgeting, being frugal, the importance of quality and a good deal when you shop, not wasting...etc. those are empowering conversations and can help your DD plan when she manages her own money.

[Anonymous]

The unique thrift near me in Montgomery Co. is having a 50% everything sale this Saturday. We usually buy kid clothes there and get things at a pretty good price. I know the one near us has tons of shoes. Good luck OP we are rooting for you to make it through this tuff spot!
https://stores.savers.com/search?lat=39.0892&lng=-77.1835&rad=100&site=savers

[Anonymous]

Can ex or someone else watch your kid while you try to make a little extra $$? You can easily become a bird charger (you don’t even need a car, although if you have one it will be better) and make a few hundred dollars a month