$18 for the next week
I have $18 in my checking account to last me until Nov. 5. Even with a pretty solid budget, here’s how it came to pass: Flu season has already started where I work. I maxed it out and rather than eat into my vacation, I elected to have unpaid days off in my timecard, resulting in a smaller paycheck than usual (by about $200). I’ve been aggressive with my debt and bill paying this month, probably more than I should have been, but I was making up for the last 2 months of no extra debt payments. I think I was also behind on my car insurance and ended up overpaying a month (rather than deduct what I had sent in after their bill made it into the mail).
So last night, I looked at my checking account balance to find only $18! Ugh! And I don’t get paid until next Thursday, 11/5. I did transfer some cash over from my savings account, which I fully plan on replacing when I get paid, in full. However, I also plan on NOT SPENDING MONEY as much as physically possible between now and then.
I’m out of gas, I have some food in the fridge, but no big protein sources (ie, chicken, pork, beef or tofu). I ran out of frozen food entrees in the freezer at work. What’s a gal to do? Well, enter the week of living frugally (much more than I have ever done in the past). It will be even more challenging with my bf being in the same boat (his financial reasons for being broke involve bad spending, no planning, and not debt repayment like me, but the results are the same).
Today I had leftovers. I ate oatmeal that I had kicking around in my desk drawer for breakfast. I plan on bringing more in through the duration. For lunch I had leftover chicken pho soup (Vietnamese chicken soup) and rice and fried tofu from Uwajimaya that I bought yesterday (enough for 3 meals). I have apple, bread and peanut butter. That will last me through the afternoon munchies.
I will be creative and more vegetarian at home for meals. There are a bunch of eggs, I can scramble, make a quiche (we have leeks in the garden p-patch that we haven’t used yet and there’s a rasher of bacon in the fridge that is probably still good inside its paper wrapping). I have a can of chickpeas that I can turn into a pasta dish with cream, onions, and bacon. I will probably have to go buy some carrots to make some split pea soup, and I’ll buy a tub of lettuce from Costco (all should be less than $10). I can make cookies for snacks, got the butter, flour, chocolate chip or preserves (for choc chip or thumbprints). I have lots of bulk grains and legumes. I don’t have a ton of fresh veggies though. I think I can scramble a can of tuna for lunch tomorrow, or maybe I’ll do baked potatoes, which are always filling and warming on these cold days. I think I still have ramen left over from a case bought at Costco.
I put $15 of gas in my truck and will not allow myself to buy a coffee, go out to lunch or dinner, drive anywhere unnecessary that might use my precious ½ tank of gas, or use my credit card at all. I may have to dip into my partial savings, but as I mentioned above, my next month’s bills will be lower by about $90 due to my overpayment.
ARGH, bad timing, but the lessons are good ones to take to heart.
Lunches for the week (1/16)
Well, I did amazing last week (took lunch to work all 5 days). This week I had the best of intentions. I already knew that Wednesday I would eat out – I spent the day away from the office with crew on a job, so I sortof had to eat out.
I brought leftovers from dinner one day, and for 2 days I suffered with peanut butter on toast with banana or apple slices on it, a piece of fruit, that kind of thing. I’m starting to get tired of it unfortunately. I worked super late on 3 days (~12 hours or so, including going home in between hours on 2 of those days), so was super tired this week. I think making mega-overtime makes up for being thrifty on dinner, so I am ok with getting thai take-0ut Friday. I needed easy, as well as comfort food. Pad Kee Mao, yum.
I do realize that I probably need to keep a few extra snacks around the office though. I got tired of the sugary aspect of the peanut butter. If I get some cup o’ soups (the packages from Lipton) or some cups of ramen, that might help. I should probably make sure I take cheese and nuts as snacks too. So lesson learned. I have to make sure I have some snacks ready in the fridge on Sunday so the rest of the week it’s easy to prep some snakes for the skimpy/scrounging days when I didn’t have time or energy to cook a big dinner.
We did make a big huge pot of french onion soup. I wanted to take it to work, but realized that I didn’t really have anything to transport soup in. I have a metal stacking pail, but I wouldn’t trust liquid in it. I got rid of tupperware style containers a long time ago (don’t want plastic seeping into my food). So the soup is still at home, and has been dinner a few nights this week. It might be dinner whenI get home tonight.
I also need to stock up on a few cheap frozen meals – I tried a few Budget Gourmet meals. They are pretty tasteless. If I have some parm to sprinkle on top that should help. I’ll keep an eye out for big sales on frozen meals. Normally they are totally not worth it – they are $3.30 or more for something that is only half a meal or just a snack.
This coming week I may buy some cold cuts from the grocery store on Monday to have sandwiches a few times during the week. That should give me a break from pnut butter (maybe I’ll leave that for the carrot sticks).
Whew, looking soooooo much forward to sleeping in tomorrow! Get some sleep all!
Lunch ideas to take to work (to save money)
It’s not a surprise that eating out costs more than cooking at home. I’ve been cooking more in order to save money. To take that one step further, I’ve decided that I shouldn’t be paying for lunch out while at work. It’s expensive, with tip and tax included. If I go to the grocery store and get something from the hot or salad bar, it’s still $5-8, and that’s not including a drink or snack. I tried occasionally bringing food to work, but haven’t been all that successful at it.
If I go to the grocery store, I count lunch towards my grocery budget, and if I go to a restaurant, or get takeout (almost always thai or vietnamese), that goes under restaurant category. After being way over both my food and restaurant budgets last month, I’ve set a goal to bring my lunch to work at least 4 out of every 5 days in the work week, 5 if I can manage. This should give me a lot of savings over the course of a year.
Bringing food every day takes careful consideration. You have to actively think what to bring, shop for those items at the store, in advance, and then prepare lunch before leaving for work. If I plan well, I can prepare twice as much for dinner, then all I have to do is package up the leftovers after dinner is over. If I have to make something fresh, then I try to get up earlier in the morning. This can be a big sacrifice – I simply adore sleeping in. Getting up early for *any* reason is a major chore.
My office has a fridge, microwave, toaster oven, toaster, coffee pot, and filtered water. I have everything I need to prepare or reheat any food that I bring. I recently bought a 2-tiered metal lunch pail (I don’t want to be using so much plastic to wrap or store my food). It has plenty of room for leftovers and/or a salad.
I have some staple ideas for large snack plates: an apple, raw nuts (pecans, walnuts, or almonds are my favorite), and slices of cheese (such as Jarlsburg, chedder, gruyere, p’tit basque, you name it). I try and bring stronger-tasting, firm cheese. The combination of all 3 is a classic!
Salad and dressing – I usually buy the 1 lb. clamshell from Costco (at 3.99), which lasts for a week. I make my own dressing with olive oil, balsalmic vinegar/old red wine/mirin (in very small doses)/cider vinegar, lime juice for the citrus, soy sauce for the salt. I make up a big batch and either bring in a jar for the week, or fill up a squeeze bottle (the local co-op sells them in their bulk isle). You can suplement this with some smoked salmon, other types of nuts, or cubed pieces of cheese or other meats if you don’t eat salmon. On the side I eat corn thins with cheese slices. Canned tuna would also work in place of the salmon. The salad and dressing are in larger quantities, so I usually use it throughout the week.
Deli meat, such as turkey or roasted chicken on sandwich bread, with lettuce, mayo, and maybe a slice of deli cheese. Add a piece of fruit, and either a handful of pretzels or nuts. Or maybe have some more salad.
Lately Im also finding that I have been craving drinks. I may break down and buy a case of Coke from Costco (I generally avoid buying soda as a general rule). I may limit myself to 1 or 2 a week. I should try bringing in a 2 liter bottle of sparkling water (my drink of choice), to cover my carbonation urge. Every day around 1:30 or 2 I start craving a carbonated beverage, and this urge usually lasts until the end of the day.
I generally stock instant oatmeals for the times I am too tired to eat breakfast at home (which is about 90% of the time), and would rather sleep in ’til the last minute.
I used to bring baggies of cut up apples (with lemon juice to keep them from turning brown, which oddly enough, enhanced their flavor quite well). This also works with carrots – try cutting up large organic carrots – they are far superior to carrot sticks (which I generally find to be bland and bitter). Some other options are to bring yogurt and fruit – the 32. oz. or 64 oz. tubs of yogurt will last quite a while and can be stored in the fridge as you use them – this is much more economical than buying the individual cups at $1 each. If you can’t store the tubs at work, portion it out before you go to work. An alternative is cottage cheese, cut up fruit, and a little dollop of honey to sweeten. Canned fruits can be a good substitute in the winter months, with the added bonus of the sugar in the syrup already there to sweeten it. My favorite fruits to eat with it are a ripe peach, a really tart and firm plum or pluot. Kiwi and apricots would also work.
I generally try and keep a bag of bulk nuts, peanut butter, crackers or corn thins, and some raman noodles in a copy at my desk in times of hunger, for a snack, or when I need to round-out my lunch. Sometimes I lend them to co-workers that need some extra food.
I’m going to try posting my lunches for the week for a while. This will help me keep accountable, and give all you PF blog readers some ideas. Feel free to give some of your own suggestions!
January 5-9
Monday (leftovers): Chicken breast from a roast chicken, peas with wasabi and butter, 3 small red potatoes with butter and sour cream.
Tuesday: peanut butter + banana on toast, 1 small aple, and 2 carrots (cut up in sticks). 1 pop tart.
Wednesday (leftovers): A bowl of tuna noodle casserole, leftovers from the night before.
Thursday: Repeat of Tuesday. Brought a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast.
Friday (leftovers): Hodge-podge of shredded chicken, peas, onions, spinach in a canned tomato/mustard/sherry/cream sauce, served over quinoa (my favorite grain). Split a bagel and cream cheese with a coworker for breakfast.
