A guy I work with (who frequents Financial Methods) and I were talking at work today, and he pointed out to me that I have not yet pushed frugality hard enough. He is right. I have written a small number of articles on frugality, and should focus on it more. (See: Discipline While Shopping and Frugal or Cheap).
One of my bigger flaws is my practice of frugality. However, as previously admitted, I am cheap. My co-worker, on the other hand is both. He knows what he wants and needs and spends not a penny more than necessary to get these things. I on the other hand, am more impulsive. For example, when I am hungry, I will go to the grocery store and purchase what I want then, instead of planning meals ahead and saving money in the process. He will stock pile the items that will last a long time after buying them on sale.
Honestly, I could write an entire series of posts on him. He is a character, and his money management practices could teach us all some lessons. (Both good and bad). Today, I am not going to do that, instead, I am going to set up a test for myself. Our next grocery shopping trip will likely be tomorrow evening. I am going to have a solid list to stick to with pre-planned meals and plan to stray from the list as little as possible. During this test, I will purchase lunch for all of next week.
I PROMISE that I will not eat out for lunch at all. Excessive lunchtime restaurant dining has cost a ton over the past few weeks, and after actually doing the math it hurts even worse. After reviewing online banking, here is last week’s lunch bill.
| Monday | $8.36 |
| Tuesday | $8.36 |
| Wednesday | $6.18 |
| Thursday | $5.94 |
| Friday | $8.36 |
| Total | $37.20 |
$37.20!! Are you serious? Well, after the lunch numbers are in for next week, the difference will be staggering. I’m shooting for a total of between $15-20 for the whole week. It’s time to start improving on practicing what I am preaching, and this will be a good test for me to see if I can budget within my goals and practice frugality simultaneously. Wish me luck.
{ 4 comments }
Good for you! You don’t have to completely deny yourself, but some steps toward frugality are important. At any rate, when we started using a grocery list and planning meals at our house, we cut our grocery bill by about $40 a week. That’s $160 a month! Not too bad. And now that my husband is taking his lunch to work (like you), we’re saving another $25 a week. And the food we eat is healthier, so that will have benefits as well.
more importantly…what are you eating the same of three times a week that costs 8.36?
The triple prime burger from Ruby Tuesdays?!?!
Zaxby’s fried chicken…..mmmmmmm.
It’s my kryptonite.
this week he’s taking snacks to work in spongebob squarepants tupperware containers.
true story
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