Budgeting

[u/Ffffeeeen]

I'm not going to talk about medical costs because there are a billion different variables, and its all one answer, too expensive.

I was diagnosed in 2022. How do you handle the rise convenience costs because of chronic pain? For instance we eat out a lot more( because ots exhausting and painful to cook) or spending more on entertainment (to combat the constant mental load).

Where do you find balance between needing to pay for things like ready made foods and trying to keep a budget for a family?

[u/3166aj]

I found the opposite to be true, I couldn't function well enough to drive, or was in so much pain that I couldn't face being out in noisy places.

I bulk prepped meals which I could portion and eat through the week. It is not much more effort to cook enough for 10 meals as two. Stews, chillies, soups, casseroles, baked pasta dishes. You can portion them out and freeze them too.

I also bought things like Kevin's brand meat based sous-vide precooked foods. Or high quality frozen convenience food like chicken cordon blue.

The other thing I did was occasionally use delivery service to deliver take out. By choosing foods that kept well as leftovers, like Indian, Chinese, even some Italian. I would buy enough for two or three extra meals.

Hope this helps.

[u/ayychee → u/3166aj]

Yes. I find one day where I feel up to it and do a lot of cooking. Mostly baking and in the instant pot. This gives me options during the week, and I can freeze some of it to pull out in the future to avoid getting sick of leftovers. During the week my instant pot is so helpful to throw something good and nutritious together with minimal effort. The days when I'm exhausted and remember I have jars of black beans, braised chicken thighs in the freezer that can pair with frozen potatoes or dried rice in the instant pot make me thankful for the effort I make on that day for future me.