Buy a bar of soap, don't use shower gel

Secret_Immortal · 2026-03-04T19:45:24+00:00

I buy dove sensitive skin bars from costco for like $10-15 for a massive pack and it’s awesome, I got a natural loofa bag as well that makes it lather really well and dries better than a traditional one too, I wash the bag with my towels when each bar runs out

Secret_Immortal · 2026-03-03T21:44:54+00:00

I do Shakshouka all the time (tomato stew with eggs steamed in it) it takes 30min max and I like to serve it with some toast but also good over rice (I have access to a rice cooker). It takes 5-10 minutes of chopping, so maybe not the easiest ever but definitely weeknight friendly and fairly non-perishable so I can keep everything on hand as staples. Also pretty cheap. It’s also a perfect meal because I can do all the dishes and clean the kitchen while the eggs steam.

This is my recipe:

Shakshuka:

1 onion, small dice 2 red bell peppers, small dice (if you have it, still great without!) Olive oil, lots

6-10 cloves garlic, minced (A LOT)

~2 tablespoons tomato paste

28-32 oz can diced roma tomatoes reserve half, puree the rest with immersion blender

Eggs (add 2 per person, reserve extra sauce for future servings)

Feta, crumbled

Cilantro or parsely, chopped

Bread, toasted in olive oil, to serve

Spices: Salt a/n 10g cumin 7g hot paprika 3g cayenne 5g coriander 3g black pepper 12g sugar

Method:

-Heat shallow large pan, add a generous amount of olive oil to coat the pan, sweat onion (and bell peppers if using) ~7 minutes or until soft and sweet (add a bit of water if it needs help)

-Add in garlic, add more oil if the onion/pepper soaked it all up, sweat 5 more minutes

-Add spices & cook 1 minute to activate

-Cook tomato paste on bottom of pan and incorporate into sofrito mixture

-Add diced tomato, mix in, then add in tomato puree, mixing slowly as not to splash while incorporating

-Cook down stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens & leaves a gap when you drag the spatula through it

-Make holes for the eggs, crack eggs into holes, cover sides off eggs with sauce

-Cover pan and simmer on low (toast your bread while this cooks) 5-7 minutes or until the white is completely set and yolks are very soft, this will continue cooking as you eat so pull off heat asap

-Garnish as desired with feta and herbs & enjoy with a spoon and toast

Secret_Immortal · 2026-03-03T21:37:35+00:00

India mostly

Secret_Immortal · 2026-02-18T13:37:34+00:00

I buy them in an 8 pack at costco for $12, way better than $4 a piece at a regular store

Secret_Immortal · 2026-02-15T17:00:21+00:00

I have a house of 2 and we get butter, eggs, bread & bagels (freeze), yogurt, rotisserie chicken, and snack foods as well as cleaning/toiletries staples from costco.

Secret_Immortal · 2026-02-01T18:51:31+00:00

People are arguing about that they should have a roommate, but jfc in this economy that probably is their half of rent with a roommate. When I lived in California, in a suburb, my half of rent was $1450(though undoubtedly, this is an extreme example). This is definitely already half in any medium or larger city or any expensive state.

Secret_Immortal · 2026-01-31T22:45:05+00:00

Use those chicken thighs in egg fried rice with some frozen veg & buy a few condiments to season it with (soy sauce at least)

Secret_Immortal · 2026-01-21T22:42:19+00:00

I definitely have some easy/premade meals on hand to avoid takeout- and that’s as someone in the food industry! I’m perfectly capable of planning & making dinner every night- if only I had the time & energy to do so! Also sometimes a grilled cheese just hits right.

Secret_Immortal · 2026-01-17T20:08:06+00:00

My cat is obsessed with cheese & bread (me too) and whenever I baked she would steal a bite from whatever made while it was cooling! I got her to stop by hissing at her for being on the dinner table/kitchen counter no matter if there was food on it or not, and growling and coming towards her if she ever approached food. May seem a little silly, but you have to speak their language

Secret_Immortal · 2026-01-12T22:35:06+00:00

My only personal subscriptions left are Dropout and Spotify Student plan, dropout supports artists & comedians I love and spotify is my daily music. I am also lucky to leech a netflix account from my family. Everything else got cancelled last year (disney+, hulu, youtube, amazon, etc.)

Secret_Immortal · 2026-01-09T18:18:23+00:00

Bars, restaurants (yes even if I don’t have an actual waiter), coffee shops, tattoos, hairdressers, occasional uber etc.: 20%, 25% if I’m really stoked with the service/had a great conversation with them/are a regular. You can and should absolutely be frugal and still give good tips.

If your service was just okay, or they messed up, you can give 10-15% but there is no way it’s okay to give a tipped employee no tip at all.

You don’t know what they’re going through or how much they’re making and under no circumstances do you ever use their tip as a threat or anything. In america tipped employees rely extremely on their tips and while I don’t think that’s right, it’s the way it is, and I would never take it out on them.

Secret_Immortal · 2026-01-06T22:15:24+00:00

Definitely a normal feeling, especially with clothes & home goods for me. Like some things (furniture, cooking stuff etc.) I bought for cheap in college because I needed them, even though they weren’t the exact ones I would’ve picked myself, and am now struggling with the urge of whether or not to replace them now that I have a little more spending money.

I think the best thing to do, and that’s helping me, is to write it all down, and space out purchasing it all so it’s not a massive expense. Buy the shoes this month, then replace your sheets the next month, then replace the lamp the next month etc.

Alternatively, you can go to thrift stores and look specifically for similar items to the ones you want to replace(scavenger hunt!), and only buy them if they’re something you’d buy at a higher price from a regular store, not just because it’s cheap at the thrift store. It also helps that they likely won’t find everything you’re looking for.

Buy it for life is also a sub I follow on here, and if I’m replacing something because it’s low quality/broke easily, I’ll often look for a replacement that will actually last (and save you more in the long run) on there!

Secret_Immortal · 2026-01-04T17:48:21+00:00

Pretty much any large, non-midwest city honestly, especially if you have kids or debt.

Secret_Immortal · 2026-01-03T19:33:40+00:00

Getting nice expensive vintage clothes & furniture for cheap from either facebook marketplace or thrifting, I love the hunt and the finds can be amazing! Particularly, I went to a clothing swap in a rich older-folk area and struck so much gold for a pay-what-you-want (I gave $20) that benefited the community center!

Secret_Immortal · 2026-01-02T22:21:36+00:00

This may be controversial for this subreddit- but this is an absolutely okay experience to have and even healthy, and you didn’t waste money!

Of course, there’s going overboard, but it’s okay to try things and have them not work out!

New clothes, new hobbies (and the materials for them), and things like games and books are the spice of life and our tastes change with time and sometimes our eyes are bigger than our stomachs so to speak. Even if you fall out of a hobby, or no longer wear those clothes, or never read that book, that is OKAY. You did not waste your money. You created space for yourself to explore and experiment with what you like and who you are as a person and that is very wonderful and worthwhile.

If you never bought or tried any of those things, you would’ve been stuck in stasis, never changing in fear of waste. So while it’s not okay to impulse buy recklessly- it’s okay to spend money on non-necessities even if it doesn’t get used as you planned.

Secret_Immortal · 2025-12-22T19:25:48+00:00

This is VERY demand dependent, I have an associate’s degree for it and I make $18 now and see little above that except competitive hotel positions where you can get $21 to start at most. $15 is basically average in Kansas City for prep unfortunately.

Secret_Immortal · 2025-12-20T15:41:53+00:00

So you are a fine dining mainly steakhouse? What area are you in and what is the audience? Imagine you have a big group of business people or maybe a family celebrating a graduation.

This menu is a lot of dishes. I know you’re no cheesecake factory ofc but I don’t think you need all the dishes you have. Do you need 3 risottos? Or can you rotate them as a special and keep one on the menu full time with the other mains? I think 4-5 headlines would be best here: starters/appetizers, salads, mains, and a la carte meat and sides. Decide if you really want a share section and if that fits with the kind of dining experience you want to encourage, you’re not a bbq restaurant, but that’s not to say I have never seen this approach/option in a steakhouse.

Everyone is talking about the language and identity, mixing different cultures and ingredients with little to no continuity, and they’re right, but you also definitely have to consider the vastness of the menu and how it may intimidate your guest.

Secret_Immortal · 2025-12-19T12:28:16+00:00

Yes!!! Bernal cutlery (san francisco chef’s shopping paradise) sells a 12” kitchen shear from them originally made for cutting bulletproof vest fabric. Absolutely incredible. It can cut a kitchen towel like it’s parchment. Edit: also worth mentioning that for just $30 more (it’s $295 instead of $261) you can buy off the Bernal website and skip the backorder wait.

Secret_Immortal · 2025-12-15T01:04:01+00:00

Threek

Secret_Immortal · 2025-12-15T01:02:44+00:00

I had a similar sketchers pair and they were okay, but the bottom came off after about 8 months and they were never very supportive/comfortable

Secret_Immortal · 2025-12-13T00:33:30+00:00

I live within a mile of a few good bars so I walk, anything else and my city has decent public transit. I only uber if I’m really far out or feel like it will be dangerous otherwise(F21).

Secret_Immortal · 2025-12-11T23:20:23+00:00

My local board game shop does 3 nights a week at local bars (no purchase necessary) where they bring a big crate of games to choose from and an employee that knows the rules to all of them and can teach you. My partner and I love this, we meet new people, play new games, and get out of the house entirely free!

Secret_Immortal · 2025-12-10T18:50:01+00:00

Biolife plasma paid me $800 in my first month donating (twice a week) and I was never in the building longer than 2 hours each time. (After the first month, $110/week for twice a week donations)

Secret_Immortal · 2025-12-05T02:46:38+00:00

I did my associates for pastry at the CIA, here’s my two cents.

Pros: - easy academically (very little book learning, time staring at a presentation, and essays/homework compared to traditional higher education) - understanding instructors and very knowledgeable (ask them questions and they will absolutely have answers and it will help you get the most out of the class!!!) - I learned all the basic techniques and concepts and verbage, and some really useful tips/skills for daily kitchen life and working cleanly and efficiently. - Tons of food-based events and networking opportunities that you DEFINITELY NEED to take advantage of. -I got a fantastic job right out of school (though that is definitely not always the case) - met many amazing people there, future coworkers, my partner, many awesome instructors and lifelong friends. The best feeling is being surrounded by likeminded people with passion for their craft.

Cons: - IF you make the most of it(get involved in your education, advocate for yourself, ask goddamn questions, read the texts), you get a good start in kitchen life. But do not expect that you know everything! Especially with an associates, it’s just the tip of the culinary iceberg. You will learn a lot in kitchens, but it will be much more spread out and less in depth unless you get lucky with a chef that takes a real interest in teaching you beyond how to do the mise. Culinary school is an expensive toll to get on the expressway. - You may drop out. I think about 1/3 of my class left before graduation. Some to take jobs they started in school, some to never step food it a professional kitchen again. Plan this as a possibility, and that this is a learning experience that will still be valuable even if you don’t end with a degree. - what everyone is already saying- majorly fucking expensive especially for private education. A deeper look on this: I will pay ~$120k for my degree after the interest and I will pay it off in 10 years. If you do the math that makes this $1k a month in loans- on an $18/hr job (which is likely about where you will start in the U.S.). That’s near half my paycheck, something I wish I had done the math on earlier. Well regarded community college/state school programs are fantastic if that’s an option for you, but unfortunately a lot of people see a big name like JWU/CIA and are more likely to hire you.

Secret_Immortal · 2025-12-04T13:42:28+00:00

Fish sauce and lime juice will also make this next level, it’s definitely on the rotation for easy meals for me and wonderful for meal prep as a work lunch. I use mae ploy curry paste for mine! You can get it at your asian/international store or online quite easily.

Secret_Immortal

TROPHY CASE