Lately I've been eating out at the office. With tax season comes long hours behind the desk and it's nice to get out and eat lunch somewhere else. And in my "tax stupor," I've been justifying the extra cost because of the meal stipend we get if we work more than 11 hours a day. And "what the heck" since I've been working 12 - 13 hour days...don't I deserve to eat out? Well....

I sat down this weekend and really thought about where my money goes and realized how silly a justification that is. That's money that I could be putting towards my credit cards or my student loan. So today instead of eating a frozen meal or going out, I took a home-made hamburger and some macroni salad. Funny...not only did the home-made meal cost less, it actually tasted better. :-)

Here's what I figured I saved today:

Breakfast: Starbucks $4.70 ( I had tea that I brought from home instead.)

Lunch: Restaurant meal $8 - $12 or frozen dinner of $3.50

Added up...by brown bagging it (leftover from dinner the night before) I figure that I saved between $8 and $17 today plus I also made money by not spending my meal stipend. Hooray! There is some hope for me after all.


Before I forget...I wanted to thank everyone who took the time to read my blog and leave a comment. I appreciate all of them. One reader suggested that I read Dave Ramsey's book...which, by the way, I do have and I have read. I also recommend that for everyone. I also recommend "Your Money or Your Life." Another very excellent book..actually the book that made me think about getting off the debt wagon.

Peace~