by Hope
I have to admit…No Spend January is wearing on me a little bit. I think the big thing is the dishwashing! I am really missing have a dishwasher right now. With all the cooking (and the fact that we’ve run out of paper plates,) cleaning the kitchen has felt a bit overwhelming.
So…would a meal out if I don’t spend any cash be cheating? See I have 4 “free” entree coupons to our local Chick Fil A (just opened this past fall in the next town over.)
Breakfast at Chick Fil A, cheating?
And over the past year or so, I have accumulated over 1195 points by using their app. And we can use these points to purchase things off their menu, no money needed!
I also have $20 still on that app to spend. (I know the date says January 20th, but this money has been there for months. We stopped going that direction when Gymnast stopped going to gymnastics back in October.)
My thoughts are that since tomorrow is MLK Day and the kids are out of school. I might invite them to all get out of bed early (you know how teenagers/young adults are) and join me for a breakfast out. It will be a great way to kick start the day, be some good family time and give me a break from kitchen duty.
So back to my question…would this be cheating as it relates to No Spend January?
I’m not sure when I’ve been so excited about a breakfast out…a meal out for that matter. But I will say, we have had some amazing meals as I’ve been really trying hard to spice up our menu these days with items we have on hand. Tonight Sea Cadet is going to try cooking an Asian inspired meal using regular pasta since we don’t have any Asian noodles on hand, it should be interesting.
One of the favorite new menu items so far was found on Facebook. I thought I would share.
Creamy Burrito Casserole
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 pepper chopped (I did 1/2 a red pepper and 1/2 a yellow)
1 package taco seasoning
6 large flour tortillas
1 can refried beans
2 -3 cups shredded taco cheese or cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 ounces sour cream
Directions
Brown beef, onion and peppers; drain.
Add taco seasoning and stir in refried beans.
Mix soup and sour cream in a separate bowl.
Spread 1/2 sour cream mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish.
Tear up 3 tortillas and spread over sour cream mixture.
Put 1/2 the meat bean mixture over that.
Add a layer of cheese.
Repeat the layers.
Sprinkle cheese over the top and bake, uncovered, at 350°F for 20-30 minutes.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
Please remove your qrcode.
Yikes, thank you! Didn’t think of that. Done.
Eh you’re not spending any money you’re redeeming rewards. I’d let it slide….
If it involves no cash out-of-pocket, I’d say, “Go for it!”
Enjoy your meal out with your family.
I definitely wouldn’t consider that cheating.
I would spend the money now. Even though you removed your QCode from the blog anyone who uses a reader will have it saved (I use feedly and it’s still there). Hope no one is crappy enough to do that to you..
Not cheating at all since you aren’t pulling the money out of your wallet.
Did you go? Did someone steal your money before you could go?
We went! It was a wonderful break from home. And all my money is intact…even checked this morning and the remainder is still there. Thanks for asking.
I certainly hope no one would do that.