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My point was there are plenty of people, including my co-workers who all make about the same as I do, who buy breakfast/coffee everyday, lunch almost everyday, etc. My point to the OP was yeah, you might not want to, but suck it up, save your money and you'll be happier than you would be if you spent an extra $50 on lunch every week. But that's okay go back to having your attitude.
SeventhFloor was not saying that in a condescending way, but rather he feels your pain. It's a struggle. I think you interpreted it wrong.
not everyone enjoys or wants to save . it may not be the wisest move to spend more than you should but folks do . some like saving because it represents power and security . others like earning money for the things it buys .
my plan has always been to do better at investing and planning so i don't have to cut spending as much in my working years to save more . you either have to spend less and invest more or invest less , plan better and you can spend more .
so i was never really frugal . i preferred to just learn to make what i do save and grow do it more efficiently .
both ways work . as they say a penny saved is a penny earned . but if it is not invested well it will always be a penny . actually less after inflation .
Well if you are spending 20k a year on food, then yeah you don't need to be frugal. But most do. Or not so much as frugal as it is just budgeting right.
My point was there are plenty of people, including my co-workers who all make about the same as I do, who buy breakfast/coffee everyday, lunch almost everyday, etc. My point to the OP was yeah, you might not want to, but suck it up, save your money and you'll be happier than you would be if you spent an extra $50 on lunch every week. But that's okay go back to having your attitude.
It really depends how much someone makes.
A dual income household making $200K/year (say $150K/year after taxes but maybe more if it's a young couple and they have significant mortgage interest to deduct) isn't made worse off financially by spending $5K (~3% of post tax income) on lunch annually ($10/day, ~20 working days a month).
I'd say, spending less then 5% on lunch is fine if it improves QOL.
Well if you are spending 20k a year on food, then yeah you don't need to be frugal. But most do. Or not so much as frugal as it is just budgeting right.
that was always my style ever since i started saving and investing 30 years ago . i always preferred to attack the growth side and grow the bits of what i did manage to save better vs pinching penny's from the income side .
i just found it worked better for me to have a higher rate i could spend , but just concentrate more on the investing side making little bits go farther.
the problem is when people do neither . they lack the discipline to save and the skills to grow what they do manage to save
Did you use the steamable bags that go right into the microwave? That's all I use now (if I'm not using fresh) and I never go over the cooking time that's on the bag. I found that those bags don't make the veggies turn to mush. I used to buy the regular bags of broccoli and dump them in a covered dish. They'd end up soggy.
I get the birds eye steam fresh. They even have white rice that you can pop into the microwave. good too.
See, people are saying Whole Foods can be reasonably priced but that's not a reasonable price for most people. I don't buy organic so when I buy chicken it's anywhere from .69/lb to $1.99/lb depending on what I am buying. It might be cheaper for organic options in certain scenarios but for people who are watching their dollars, not food sources, $5/lb for chicken isn't necessarily a good deal.
My husband eating low carb most days definitely ups my bill because low carb wraps are more expensive and once in awhile I splurge for his low carb loaf of bread which is $8/loaf. Tons of meat, cheese, butter, etc. He doesn't eat any of the cheap staples like rice, beans, pasta, etc.
That being said, according to my files, we spent under 8K in food last year, both groceries (includes toiletries) and dining out. (And dining out on vacation, which was 3-4 vacations last year.) That probably also includes the times we bought my MIL stuff. I am surprised it isn't higher, TBH.
I have to force myself to bring lunches and/or eat dinner at home because I don't actually want to---but it's also much easier to calculate calories when preparing stuff at home as well. Yeah, it sucks sometimes, but then I look at how little I make comparatively to many people and how much money I save at the end of the year and that makes me happier than buying a $9 lunch everyday.
not everyone enjoys or wants to save . it may not be the wisest move to spend more than you should but folks do . some like saving because it represents power and security . others like earning money for the things it buys .
my plan has always been to do better at investing and planning so i don't have to cut spending as much in my working years to save more . you either have to spend less and invest more or invest less , plan better and you can spend more .
so i was never really frugal . i preferred to just learn to make what i do save and grow do it more efficiently .
both ways work . as they say a penny saved is a penny earned . but if it is not invested well it will always be a penny . actually less after inflation .
Quote:
Originally Posted by wawaweewa
It really depends how much someone makes.
A dual income household making $200K/year (say $150K/year after taxes but maybe more if it's a young couple and they have significant mortgage interest to deduct) isn't made worse off financially by spending $5K (~3% of post tax income) on lunch annually ($10/day, ~20 working days a month).
I'd say, spending less then 5% on lunch is fine if it improves QOL.
Yes, but the OP wants to cut spending money on food, so I am assuming he wants to save that money for something else. The OP is watching the dollars, so we're not talking about your situation mathjak. I was speaking to not only the OP's situation, but also the one I was describing, which are my co-workers who seem to have plenty of debt (whether school-related or otherwise) and do not make close to six figures.
No, the directions didn't allow for microwaving the bag.
The BIG problem was the product was 85% stems and 15% florets (or less.)
Ohh, I hate those! I only buy the florets because the regular cuts is like you said--85% stems. Try the steamable bags, not the regular bags (they actually say steamable on the front of the bag) and just get the florets. I microwave for no more than 5 minutes (we like them a little more on the crisp side). They're like using fresh broccoli. I buy all my frozen veggies in the steam bags. On sale, I can usually get 3 for $5 or 2 for $4, depending on the brand.
I get the birds eye steam fresh. They even have white rice that you can pop into the microwave. good too.
I get those too or even the Stop N Shop brand but only steam bags. I never tried the rice. Maybe I should give it a try but when I make jasmine rice, it doesn't take more than 10-15 minutes.
[quote]Originally Posted by SeventhFloor Washing dishes every night sucks. We just might buy a dishwasher.[quote]
We felt the same way but could not afford to give up so much under-cabinet storage for a DW, so I bought a countertop dishwasher. It works pretty well and takes up no more space than the dish drainer. Decent unit for two people. (Under $300 at Amazon.)
Last edited by Kefir King; 01-29-2017 at 07:10 AM..
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