Pocket Peace of Mind

Quickest Way to Save Money – Don’t Spend It!

When you go on a big shopping spree, it’s easy to tell that you’ve spent a lot of moola. Mostly because of the bags and the red minus sign in the bank account. When we go on little sprees here and there it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. $10 a day is $300 a month. Which is the same, only different, as spending $300 one day a month. Only when we spend in a lump sum we’re hit automatically with the consequences of our frivolous actions. Of course, not all shopping sprees are frivolously, but unless that purchase was thought out, calculated, and not spur of the moment – then it’s frivolous. When we spend a bit here and there we don’t realize our actions until the credit card statement comes out and we go, “oh s#!t”.

So; my challenge to you to bring peace of mind to your pocket is this: go as many days as you can without spending any money. Whether it be cash, debit, or credit – don’t touch it. Pick one day a week where you get your necessities and leave it at that. Seems pretty straightforward sure, but see how long you last and you’ll understand why it’s important to count your days as much as your coins.

I can hear you say it now because I’m thinking the same thing. What about my daily coffee or take out lunches? I enjoy Starbucks way more than Tim Hortons and so I will absolutely splurge. But let me tell you a secret, they sell coffee on the shelves as well. A bag of Starbucks coffee will run you about $12 depending on type of roast and choice of sale, but that’s still less than two of the lattes I prefer. Let’s add in disposable cups and $4 for a pack of 12. Let’s also assume that a half pound of coffee last you one week and you have coffee to go for five days a week. (Weekends are a free-for-all in my house when it comes to coffee). Let’s add a $5 bottle of coffee creamer and or sugar depending on what you are into, I don’t judge. Now we are looking at $33 for two weeks of coffee. Or $16.50 per week. Let’s be fair and say you don’t need espresso like I do and estimate your daily coffee run is $5 per day which puts you at $60 for two weeks of caffeine. So by preparing coffee at home, we’ve saved $30 or $60 a month and we’ve limited our spending to once a week when we grocery shop. With $60 a month in savings you can bank $720 a year. Put that into a higher yielding interest account and you’ll be better off than when you started.

Eating a decent lunch when you’re working full-time is by far one of the biggest hurdles. In my opinion, at least. If you are self-employed or on the clock, when you go out for lunch you have to stop working which reduces billable hours. You also then have to spend money which reduces, well, money. Going to grab a bite to eat is never quick and so you’ll be inhaling your food in the 3 minutes you have left of your allotted 30 minute break, which leaves no time for actual breaking. Since we are now programmed to be working 24/7 it’s important to stop and take a break when we can. Besides providing fuel for our bodies. You don’t drive a car for 12 hours a day and only stop to fuel up. You check all the components and ensure you are safe to proceed on the road. So when we bring a bagged lunch we have an option to eat while we work and still get 20 minutes or so to ourselves. Not to mention, if you work on the go it can be even harder to stop for lunch. We sometimes think it’s quicker to pick up a burger than it is to have made a sandwich the night before.

So here’s the deal, one loaf of bread is $5 which is a considerable amount, but depends on the kind of bread you like. I like country harvest, but I buy it when it’s on sale for $1.97 and I stock up. If you freeze bread make sure it’s air tight and bring it out the night before you want to use it so you don’t end up with unfrozen freezer burn. A package of deli meat is $10 as is a package of deli cheese. A bag of romaine lettuce is $5 and a pack of tomatoes is $4. Plus a jar of mayo, if you’ll be putting it in the fridge, is $5 (but lasts as long as it takes you to eat it) or a brick of butter is $5 (same length of time in the fridge as the mayo). If you are feeding only yourself then one load of bread is more than enough. This is assuming you’ll eat the ends because on a budget why wouldn’t you. So let’s say $29 for all the ingredients plus $5 every so often for butter or another type of sauce. We’ll round up and say $30 a week for homemade lunch. Less than $5 a day for the main meal plus add in another $5 for your snack. A package of strawberries in medium variety can last me a week easily. I also enjoy hard boiled eggs as a snack either in the morning or in the afternoon. By bringing a lunch and not going out you will increase productivity as well as the funds in your pocket. It gets boring after a while so switch up the deli meat and cheese for chicken salad, or only veggies. This will dramatically reduce your spending as most take-out meals are between $10-20 depending on where you live and what you’re getting. $50-100 a week on lunches gets pretty old, pretty quick.

We can plan a week of eating and no spending and see improvements in our daily lives.

So challenge accepted, I presume. After reading this, you must be ready to try and refrain from spending any more money this week. Besides auto-debit bills and any incidentals, of course life happens. See how you feel and see how your pocket feels. Hopefully a bit heavier.

If you find it difficult or stressful then it’s time to look at that part of your ego that is being fulfilled by spending money on nonessential items. We we give ourselves only what we need we are able to see ourselves fully. When we cloud that with 50% off sales and buy two get one deals, we often miss the big picture. And it’s in that image of ourselves that we can obtain for our pocket and our souls, some peace of mind.

The Big, Bad Grocery Shop

It’s the weekend, finally! We made it through another week. This is a perfect time to reflect on the past the week. How did we do with our budget? Did we budget? If our evaluation results are a little less than what we had anticipated, now is a great opportunity to try again.

Here are 3 steps to get on track for the week and conquer that grocery bill:

Step 1: Plan the Week

This is where you have to be careful. A grocery shop can go one way or another. You can stock pile for the apocalypse or you can go back there after work on Tuesday. You either buy too much, or not enough. You’ve got to find that happy middle position where you can financially thrive. Once you know what you’re having for dinner it is much easier to stick to that. Plan your meals and buy only what you need. The trick is rotating your choices. One week you have sandwiches for lunch the next week you have pasta. Pick one day out of your weekend that you dedicate to food for the week. Having everything planned out will help your waistline and your pocket. You won’t be inclined to go out for lunch during the work day or to pick something up on your way home. Plan, plan, plan.

Step 2: Write it down!

Make a list and check it multiple times. Consider what kind of choices you’re making both financially and healthily. Do you have lots of junk food or lots of vegetables? Either can be expensive, but only one will improve brain function and digestion. Not only that, but vegetables go a lot farther than microwave meals. You won’t be stopping for an additional costly snack with the former option. Once you realize what you have and what you need then you must follow the list you create. By writing it down and checking it off as you go, you will limit how much extra items you purchase. Thereby sticking to your budget. If you alot $200 every other week for food then you should not be spending $220 or $250 when you go to the store. The more you plan your meals and subsequently the grocery shop the more you’ll know the prices of your main go-to items.

Step 3: Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle

Do you have a pile or secret hiding spot of reusable bags? Yeah, me too. So use them! You’ll save a quarter or two every grocery shop if you don’t have to pay for plastic bags. Plus you’ll be doing some good for the environment. It is a win, win situation. It also makes lugging the food weights inside that much easier. You’ve already spent money on these dust collectors, you may as well get some kind of return. The only other kind of plastic bag you have to worry about are garbage bags. How much food are you throwing out prior to your next shop? Consider your food waste and spend less next time. The more of the food you eat at home, the less you spend on take-out and waste disposal. Throwing food out is like throwing money out. If the cans and bottles are going with the rotten cucumbers then there’s a problem. All cans and bottles can be recycled for a few cents (10-15 depending) and that’s a few cents more in your pocket. Some grocery stores will even have a recycling department or exchange for a small amount of cans. So while you’re loading the car up with the reusable bags, throw in your bag of bottles and budget happily.

A few dollars here and there add up. We notice it more when we are spending than when we are saving. We just need to change our thinking. We need to understand what motivates us and work towards that being a savings account. We still have to live and live well. I don’t like to scrimp on food because I like to eat. I like to cook and I like to eat. So I don’t want to buy no name brand every time, but the more often I do the more often I go out for steak dinner. What we do now will benefit us down the road, if we make the right choices now. We want our present pocket and our future pocket to have peace of mind.

This is for You If..

Do you ever find yourself Googling the most ridiculous ideas? Such as, how to make broccoli taste better; or where did all the Lucky Charms go? Seems like these are things we should already know the answer to. Both are a reminder of our impending adulthood doom. More recently I found myself asking what are legitimate ways to make money without doing anything. I know, I know. Seriously, I asked this question on more than one occasion and in more than one variation. Every time I came back to the same conclusion: nothing comes for free, not even money. You always have to put something in if you want to get something out of it.

So if you are finding yourself asking the same question and expecting a different answer then look no further. No, sorry, I won’t provide a solution to making money for no work, but I will provide tips and tricks to making the money you have work for you. I will help you budget and review your spending; focusing on the right costs to cut down on. I definitely like to splurge on food, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still buy in bulk. “There has to be a better way”, and hopefully you’ve just found it.

Stay tuned to give your pocket some peace of mind.