Leftovers. The bain of your childhood, the stuff of your college cafeteria and the reality of your postgraduate scrounge of a life. So why, now that you’ve finally established yourself as as somewhat functioning adult, would you eat leftovers of your own volition? Because you could save over $2,000 a year just by eating leftovers, at least that’s what the hubs and I saved by forgoing the brown-bagged lunch and sticking to tupperware filled with yesterday’s goodies.
An average lunch for Hubs and I looked like this, sandwich, cookies, chips, grapes/apple, and sliced carrots. Sounds harmless right? Actually this little number multiplied by two people over five days clocks in at $39.50 a week. Here’s the math.
Sometimes extreme circumstances have a way of teaching us lessons we’d never learn otherwise, kind of like what happens when you push a kid into a pool: survival instincts kick in and we learn to swim. What happened to my family was just that - a frantic plunge that left us in shock long after we surfaced. What happened, you ask?
I love when I can double dip (and no, I’m not talking about the salsa bowl). Stretching my dollar and taking care of the environment is a two-step I can dance any day! I personally like to save money best by cooking from scratch; it’s easier than you think, costs cents compared to dollars and means less plastic packaging. But there are way more ways to save than just in the kitchen. Below are thirty-five realistic ways to stretch your dollar and keep your patch of the earth green.
A lot of people don’t believe that a smart purchase can be better than a frugal one, but I saved over $1,000 doing so. Granted I have a coffee habit that was costing my family $738.40 a year, so something needed to be done. But had I gone with the frugal option, I would still be SPENDING way more than I had to. Whaaa? Let me show you.
I’ve always thought it was a little heartless that the Starbucks logo was a siren - you know those beauties in Greek mythology that would sing to you so you’d crash your boat on their island? Yeah, talk about deceiving. Well me and my wallet are just as likely to “shipwreck” our finances when we smell, or even think of that rich, aromatic, convenient, shore.
It seems harmless, but a Monday morning treat turns into Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday morning ritual and before I know it Starbucks is back into my daily routine. So rather than take the first step to my doom, I learned how to make my favorite Starbucks offering, a breakfast sandwich, better at home. Turns out I’m not the only one who had this brilliant idea, so here are 5 recipes to help you steer clear when the siren calls!
