Money Life Network
I’m Saving By Bringing Lunch To Work
Posted on October 10, 2008 | 5 Comments
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So as you know, we’re living off of one income now as my wife took off from her education job to stay home to raise the kids. We’ve been looking for all sorts of ways to cut expenses to make my salary stretch a little farther.
One thing I’ve started to do is bring lunch to work a few days a week.
I work in NYC. I don’t tend to go too crazy on lunches in general. I tend to stay away from the expensive restaurants. This was a habit before we were on one income. But the costs of eating in Manhattan do add up anyway. A sandwich is easily $5 at least if I go to a small deli. More if I go to a bigger establishment. Salads cost at least $7. One thing to note is that I don’t eat at fast food places such as McDonald’s, Subway, or Wendy’s. I could get cheaper lunched there but I gave up that food long ago. I try to keep my eating healthy. It could cost more at times but I think the payoff to my health is much greater in the long run!
So now my wife has been making lunch for me around three times a week. If I would have spent $5 on lunch then that saves me $15/week. That’s around $60/month or $720/year! And that’s if I only spent $5. I’m saving more if my lunches were more expensive on those days.
I also don’t buy any beverages for lunch. We have a coffee machine and water cooler at work which I use instead. This also goes back to eating healthy since I wouldn’t buy soda or sugar drinks anyway.
So there’s one way we’re making our money stretch. I’ll be telling you about others ways in future articles.
How do you stretch your money?
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photo credit: the prodigal untitled13
Best Financial Advice You’ve Received
Posted on October 9, 2008 | 11 Comments
There’s a meme going around that I saw at The Digerati Life who got it from Sound Money Matters. It’s basically asking everyone to answer:
What’s the best financial advice you ever received?
Probably one of the best pieces of advice I received was from my dad. When I go my forst credit card he told me to be careful and not go into debt with the cards. “Pay off your balances every month,” he said. Unfortunately I was young and headstrong and had to learn mistakes the hard way. I’d go onto opening numerous credit cards - Macy’s, Bloomindale’s, two CitiBank cards, and others.
At first I was real good with my cards and paid them off. But as I got older with more responsibilities the balances started to grow (that and I couldn’t keep my hands off buying “stuff”). In the end I had debt in the thousands. I was able to slowly pay everything off with a little help from my family as I moved back in with them for a while.
I was foolish for not taking my dad’s advice to heart. I’m sure many people out there have a similar story. They know what the right thing to do is but somehow their credit card debt got out of hand anyway.
If you’re one of these people - You can get out of debt! It may take a while but small steps will lead to big changes over time in paying back your cards. Start now!
If you’re not in credit card debt then make sure you stay that way! Be responsible with your charges and make sure you can pay back everything once the bill arrives.
I’m not one of those who thinks that credit cards are evil. The mistakes I’ve made with them I take full responsibility for. They can be very useful in fact. But you have to be responsible with them.
I’m tagging the other members of the Money Life Network to answer the question: What is the best financial advice you ever received? (MiB Smarter Money, Bible Money Matters, Sense To Save, Remodeling This Life, Prime Time Money, and Milk Your Money).
If you’re reading this then consider yourself tagged too! Write about it or drop a comment here.
What’s the best financial advice you ever received?
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Before You Buy That Halloween Costume
Posted on October 8, 2008 | 16 Comments
Halloween is great fun! I remember how exciting it was going around town in my costume, getting candy from all of the neighbors. I still get to enjoy that now through my kids!
Do you remember those old Halloween costumes? You know the ones that came in a box and it was made up of a thin plastic mask with eye holes that hurt and it was held onto your head with an elastic piece that usually didn’t last the night and the body of the costume was a plastic sack-like piece you climbed into which also didn’t make it through the night? Those were great! I remember one year I was Chewbacca and another I was Yoda. I’m sure I was Superman and Batman as well.
But have you seen the price of Halloween costumes these days?!?
You can easily spend $25 and up on a kids’ costume (adults even more)! That’s a lot for a couple hours walking through the neighborhood trick or treating!
Here are some suggestions to think about before you go and buy a new costume:
- Be creative - See what you can cook up with items around the house. I know one year I was a hobo made up of old clothes around the house. Look around and see what you can come up with. You may be surprised what you find in the back of your closet or in the garage.
- Use last year’s costume - If the kids are young it can be easy to do this. If they are older then maybe you can revise the costume in some way to make it new? Our daughter was the Corpse Bride last year (yes we bought the costume). This year she’ll be a zombie. Not a big difference but with a little makeup change we can re-use the costume!
- Look for hand me downs - Most times these costumes are worn one night and that’s it. Then the kids grow out of them. If you have friends or family with kids they may have something you can use. Remember the previous two suggestions: be creative and find a way to use that old costume in a new way!
- Don’t get the latest fad - One sure way to make sure your costume won’t be used is if it’s this year’s fad. Whereas a costume like a vampire, princess, or a pirate can be worn any year!
- Buy next year’s costumes this year - Know when costumes are the cheapest? The day after Halloween! If you can buy next year’s costume this year to save.
As I mentioned our daughter will be a zombie using her costume from last year. Our son will probably be a monkey. We bought his costume for last year and we’re shocked and pleased to find out that he still fits it (it was real big last year).
Any other suggestions?
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photo credit: juhansonin
Frugal Fun For Your Little One
Posted on October 6, 2008 | 7 Comments
True story:
Our little guy comes to me by the couch and grabs my hand indicating that he wants me to get up. Ok, I’m game. He walks me to my laptop and says “cookie.” Does he know something about my computer that I don’t? I’ve had virus problems in the past. He’s not yet two but hey he could be a computer genius, right? Then I realize what he really wants. He wants to see the Cookie Monster!
A little while back I was on the computer and little guy insisted on sitting on my lap. He kept wanting to hit keys which wasn’t very productive. I needed a time-out anyway and figured I’d find a way to occupy him. I went to You Tube and typed in an old favorite of mine: C Is For Cookie. Classic! Little guy loves it and he tries to sing along each time I play it for him. He also does a mean impersonation! And now the computer is “cookie” as far as my son is concerned.
If you need to occupy your little one for a few minutes go check out the old Sesame Street songs on You Tube! They have all the old classics which are as fun today as they were when they first came out!
Here are a few of my favorites to show our little guy:
Let me know how they go over with your little one!
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Recent Comments
- Kevin Wright said: I love Frank's idea for leftovers. However, don't be afraid to go to lunch with friends and colleagues. Networking can pay off down the road, and you should not underestimate the importance of socializing at work. Along with working hard, the more you are liked, the easier it is for promotion and raises. on I’m Saving By Bringing Lunch To Work
- Heather said: Right now we are planning on continuing our weekly contributions to retirement even though the markets look dreadful. on What We’re Looking To Do With Our Finances In The Next Year (And A Contest)
- Mindful Money in Miami said: The best advice we ever received was from my mother after my father passed away and we received a small inheritance. She urged us to use the money as a deposit on a house because the interest rates were so low at the time. We did so, and I'm very grateful we followed on Best Financial Advice You’ve Received
- BSCC said: I started bringing my lunch to work about a year ago. At first it was kind of hard to see all my co-workers leave for lunch and come back talking about how good their gourmet lunch was. After a while, I started to bring in some gourmet lunches of my own (cooked at home) on I’m Saving By Bringing Lunch To Work
- hank said: Wow, so many to choose from... I guess I'd have to go with "invest for the long term"... Case in point, today's economy. If you're NOT doing that, you may be in for a surprise...
on Best Financial Advice You’ve Received
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