What to do? Where to go?

 Yeah it happened. Just before Christmas I took my car to get it inspected and of course there were problems. And not very inexpensive problems to that. 

But in all this I am so happy I have this great mechanic and he took my car in even though he really didn't have time to work on it. He also know that out of all things I can't control my anxiety regarding is the frellin' MOT! So without me knowing it he actually took my car in for the follow up and it's now legal to drive for another 14 months. That's a win in itself!

So the cost of car repairs is one thing just imagine also facing the longest pay check to next pay check in the year. Instead of getting paid at the 27th every month I now get paid on the 22nd because of Christmas. And this will add another week of what is already going to be a long month!

The only thing I can do this month is to do everything I can to lower the cost of food until next month. The bills have to be paid, the cats will still need food and litter. And yes. I wish I could say I am frugal - at all. I'm not but I always fool myself that from the next pay check I will get everything under control. So to speak. And then I don't. 

I've spent hours inventorying everything we have in the fridge, freezer and dry goods. And not to mention different pages to figure out how to feed 3 people 3 meals + snacks a day for 38 days. 

But I just ended up feeling frustrated! I was looking at meal kit delivery services to see what there cheapest options were. Not that I would get some boxes but to see what they would cost. And paying that amount of money for only 5 dinners a week will never be an option for me.

So I looked up this website pretty much famous when it comes to cheap meals but I felt even more frustrated. Yes. Each serving will cost under 10 sek (about 1 USD) and they have these 300 sek (30 USD) meal plans. 4 portions for 4 dinners. And here's the kicker. In order to get everything for these 300 sek meals I would have to get groceries for around 700-750 sek. And that's just dinners.

So here I am. Trying to figure this thing out. And to make matters ever worse. All three of us have some type of issue when it comes to food. I just feel like I want to crawl into bed, pull a blanket over my head and wish to wake up by late January. But that is not a workable solution.

And the more I look at all these options: meal kits, menus. They all have one issue and that is they all use a whole lot of different groceries every time. Not a lot is used multiple times.

I don't know if it was for fun or if I was doing it for research I started making a meal plan for 4 weeks using what is cheap and can stretch for a long time as well as being used on multiple occasions. Like say minced "meat". With one bag of veggie mince I can make meatballs and hamburgers. I can make a Bolognese to use in more ways than one and to also be kept in the freezer for a later use. "Ham" leftovers from making a "ham and cheese" sause and pasta can be used as a topping for pizza. And so on.

The list is far from perfect. It doesn't show for breakfasts or all the days of the week but it is something. And I think I could really make this work. My kids will protest but that can't be avoided. 

And yes. Christmas is only a few days away. I've already told the kids (17 & 21) that there will be no gifts this year. My daughter is spending Christmas at their dad's so it's just me and the 21-year old at home. He doesn't care about everything Christmas. He will be more than happy to have pizza and play games the entire day. As for myself I was talking with a friend about maybe meeting up and make a fire and having a simple BBQ on Christmas eve.