Finding Holiday Money

Hi Puzzlers,

Lately I have been reading a lot about the different ways to save money. Some articles even say SAVE a $1000 by Christmas. Oh really, I think to myself, how possible is that? These articles go on to give you all kinds of advice to shrink your daily living expenses and cut the so-called non-essentials like your landline telephone. I don’t know about you but I love my landline phone. There are no delays in conversations and the reception is much better than the cell, so how can I give it up? I won’t give up my landline but I like to save money, so I went on to experiment with a few of these tips and found that by just cutting my food expenses I saved the most.

The number one way to save a ton of cash is to make a weekly menu. Then make a grocery list of the items you need and stick to the list. I have been doing this for a month now and I can tell you it works. I have been saving on average $50 a week or $200 a month!

Next on the list is lunch. Lots of people eat lunch out each week or buy lunch at the work place café. These lunches average $8 to $10 dollars a day. My husband’s work place lunch cost on average $7 a day and my daughter’s school lunches are $3 a day. That’s $50 a week just for lunches or another $200 a month. While they still do eat the occasional lunch at work or school, I make sure they bring their own drinks. The saving on just this step is extreme. (Case of water bought at the store $3.99 divided by 24 equals less than 17 cents a bottle versus the $1-$2 they charge at the cafes.)

Last on my list is the favorite coffee shop. You know-the frappe, mocha, and latte joints, the place where you go and indulge on your favorite yummy caffeinated drink. Go on-you’ve worked hard-you deserve it! We would go to these places a few times a week as a family. The cost for these little indulgences were $10 a visit or $20 a week. Which, when I did the math, was $80 a month! What? $80 a month for coffee? After I came to on the kitchen floor I realized I would never knowingly spend this much money on coffee or any drink each month. Looking at my food spending habits and converting them into monthly expenses was a real eye opener and a wallet saver.

So, total saved in my one-month experiment with just food was $480! Yes, I get to keep my landline phone!

Happy Puzzling!