Happy December
I can’t believe it’s already December! This year is just flying by.
Here’s a pic of my Veggie Chili that I had made last week. I had my last serving the other day from the freezer and it held up well.
While I’m not so good at posting my daily eats, I might try and get on top of that. Breakfast and lunch are usually always the same. I eat at work and usually have a bowl of cereal with a banana and soymilk, then a cheese and veggie wrap at lunch, sometimes with a few more veggies on the side. Snacks tend to vary on my hunger level, sometimes I’ll have up to two snacks a day, sometimes I’ll have none. Dinner usually varies, although I tend to eat the same thing a couple nights in a row since I cook more than one portion at a time.
My eating style is very flexible. I eat what I like, watch portion sizes (especially of higher calorie options), and treat myself every so often. It works well for me. It also helps that I crave mostly healthy foods. I also eat mostly vegetarian. I don’t like to cook with raw meat, so I tend to eat vegetarian at home, and if I’m out to dinner I’ll get a nonvegetarian meal if that’s what I’m in the mood for. I’m all about moderation and not depriving yourself.
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Ways to Save
As I mentioned in my first post I’m also using this blog for personal finance reasons as well. I used to be really good with money and saving way back in High School, then I got my first credit card and then another and you can guess the rest. I was doing good for a while, then I was involved in my unpaid internship, and then made the big move out of my childhood home to NYC. So let’s just say I’m not in the good financial standings that I wish I was. I am contributing a small amount to a 401K, which I feel good about, but in terms of what I owe in school loans and credit cards, it’s a daunting amount that at times seems unachievable.
So here are some tips I’ve been using the past few months that have helped me get a grip on my financial situation
1. Make a Budget: This is the first thing I did. I took my net income for the month and subtracted out all my set payments (i.e. rent, cable, school loan payment, credit card payments, savings). Then I took the remaining amount and divided by 4. This was the amount I had each week to spend.
2. Keep Track! I use excel to keep track of my expenses each week. I try to stick to the weekly budget that I set, but I am flexible, knowing that if I spent over in the first week, I take that amount out from the following weeks, and it evens out that way. Seeing exactly what I spent has made curtail a lot of habits. For example, I now make my own coffee instead of my daily Dunkin Donuts addiction.
3. Shop Around: Everything about living in a major city is expensive. The rent is higher, the food, the movies, etc. So after living here for over a year now I’ve come across some stores that sell the same exact items for cheaper. For example, my local food store is pretty expensive, and then I stumbled into Trader Joes a few months ago and realized everything was so much cheaper, even when I factored in public transportation! So I tend to shop there for my groceries each week.
4. Meal Plan: Speaking of groceries, before you shop make a plan of what you’ll be eating for the week. This has helped me save money on wasted produce and other food items. Also has been able to make my meals exciting, since I try and pick different recipes each week.
5. Skip the Gym! Well let’s not stay completely inactive. This one is specific for big city folk. Gym memberships nowadays can run about $60-$80 a month. Running/walking outside is absolutely free! Even if you buy an exercise DVD/random weights for home use, it will even out to less than the gym membership. I wish I had some extra cash to devote to a gym membership, but for now this works best for me and my financial goals.
6. Keep an eye out for fun, free activities: I always try and keep my eye out for free/cheap events going on in the city to keep myself entertained without spending too much money. It also keeps my life interesting my doing different things, instead of the same old going out to a bar routine.
7. Find other sources of income: Whether it’s a part time job, babysitting, or taking online surveys (I use www.opinionoutpost.com ) any extra money helps. I try and just put any extra cash I get towards my debt (including tax refunds).
8. Start Dating: For all those single ladies, want a free meal? Go on dates! This one is sort of a funny tip, but hey it’s true, at least for the first date with a guy. It’s also a great way to check out some good restaurants that you wouldn’t necessarily go to on your own. Admittedly I haven’t taken full advantage of this tip.
While not all these ideas may work for you, hope that some of them will help! Once you start saving, it actually becomes addictive in seeing the debt go down, and the savings go up!
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Happy Thanksgiving!
So I’m heading home to spend some time with family the next two days for the holidays. I decided to be a good houseguest and make some dessert. I settled on Pumpkin Cheesecake bars. And just my luck practically all the ingredients were on sale!
Here’s the link
I used yellow cake mix instead of the pound cake, canola oil instead of the butter, and omitted the pecans. I also realized as I began to make this that I do not own a hand mixer, so I had to resort to using a whisk, which worked out fine. It took about 50 minutes in the oven, instead of the 30-35 minutes.
I had a bite, and while it’s tasty, it isn’t very “cheesecakey.” Tastes more like pumpkin pie in bar form. Also the bottom layer is quite hard, tastes good, but it was difficult to cut and I ruined a couple of bars in attempts to get the first ones out. Don’t know if I’d ever make them again, but it was a fun attempt. Hopefully the family will like it!
Have a safe holiday!
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Dinner Time
I’ve been trying to make more of my meals, and relying less on convenience foods/quick takeout over the past months. When I first moved out of my house I tended to eat a lot veggie burgers and pasta with sauce, or pick up pizza, sandwiches, etc. Anything that took less than 10 minutes to make or wait for. So what I’ll typically do is just make a big batch of food over the weekend, so during the week it takes less then 10 minutes to heat up.
So tonight’s dinner is Vegetarian Chili that I made on Sunday
Serves: 4-6
2 TB canola oil
1/2 bag of Trader Joes Frozen Fire Roasted Peppers & Onions (comes out to 1 1/2 cup fresh, chopped)
3 Cloves Garlic
28 oz. canned crushed tomatoes
15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 15 oz. cans black beans
15 oz. can chickpeas
2 Tb. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Sautee pepper and onions in canola oil, add garlic cloves, until mixture softens. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 minutes. Top with cheese, sour cream, green onions, etc. if desired.
I serve mine with tortilla chips for dipping and sprinkled the chili with pepper jack cheese. Yum! This comes in around $2/serving, based on 4 servings, but I was able to get 5 out of it ;. Not too shabby, at least when it comes to my cooking.
No pics right now, since I’m new to this whole blogging thing. But since I’ll be having it for dinner another night, I’ll be sure to take one. It was really yummy!
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Welcome!
After reading countless food, health, and personal finance blogs over the past year, I have decided to join the bandwagon and start my own blog. I am a Registered Dietitian living in NYC, so the “healthy” part of my blog comes somewhat naturally, the “wealthy” part not so much.
My reason for starting a blog is to keep track of my overall health and wealth. As a RD I know what is healthy and what I should be doing, but just like any other person, it’s helpful to keep track and reflect on my choices. As for the wealthy part, I have some student loans to pay off still, as well as some credit card debt I’ve accumulated over the past year or two, while I was interning and to help fund my big move to NYC. While I’ve done a good job of not accumulating anymore debt the past few months, I need to start cracking down and paying it off completely so I can start really saving.
A little background on myself, I’m 24 years old and moved to NYC a little over a year ago, and absolutely love it! I’ve been working as a RD for over a year as well. I love exploring the city by foot, eating at new restaurants/different types of cuisines, experimenting with cooking, watching the Food Network, running (or at least pretending I do), and keeping up with new nutrition and health trends.
So welcome to my blog, and thanks for stopping by!
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