oh yes...good luck! :)

I know one thing that saved me money was that I make my own coffee in the morning and take it with me to work. Yes we have coffee at work, but for one, I hate making coffee at work. Just a thing I have, I know it's stupid but I hate feeling like I am their "coffee making person". I mean I do everything else for them. They can make their own darn coffee.... I digress... I also don't like the taste of the coffee at work. So I found myself always going to the coffee shop next door and getting coffee. Then I started making coffee at home before I leave for work and bringing it with me. When you consider that a large coffee was about $2 2x5=$10x4 weeks = $40 per month! Ok I buy coffee at the food store $3 (something) a pound. I can even save more if I have a coupon and use my store savings card thingy. A pound of coffee usually last Hubby and I about a week. $3 (something) x 4 = $12 per month! If I think of any other helpful hints I'll post.

I think that Dave should volunteer to eat less, so that you can enjoy your lunch. He's pretty chunky anyway. He could stand to lose a few pounds. Put him on a diet of rice cakes and club soda. Problem solved.

;)

Hahah you crack me up. Althought I've been with my company for 10 years, I quickly realized how much money I could save by bringing my own lunch (not to mention how much healthier!). The average lunch in our company cafeteria is probably around $7, my home-made is probably around $3, and it's much better for me. I rotate between cold chicken, ground turkey, and tuna. And some Baked Ruffles. It's tasty enough and I don't get myself into a food coma after lunch. Good luck!

i actually stoped buying my usual starbucks and started drinking coffee at work, and i bring lunch now. it's really not so bad, i make a bunch of brown rice & bring some tofu. (i'm on this weird tofu kick now). or sandwiches are always good, salads...i've given up on those.

i'm actually saving a whole lot. i might spend like 20 - 40 at the grocery store, but that's for like a week and a half of lunches/dinners. =D

Oh yes. Your conversation with Dave reminds me of a recurring one I have with my dad. It drives him bananas to hear that I buy my breakfast AND lunch every day. Breakfast is only a buck, so I don't feel guilty, esp. since I drink the free swill coffee we get here instead of the expensive kind.

My dad loves to remind me how every day of his working life he brought lunch to work and saved many thousands of dollars in his lifetime by doing that. He's absolutely right, too.

But you know what else he had? He had a wife, who shopped for his groceries, made his lunch and packed his lunchbox every day.

What you and me need Christine is a wife. Then we could both save all kinds of money.

ever since my mom moved to cali and in with me, i've saved a lot of money. she does all of the grocery shopping and the cooking -- hey i pay the rent, bills, etc. that's quite enough.

she spends ~$150-200 per month on groceries and i average $100 per month on eating out for the both of us.

i also park 15 minutes away from work to save on parking costs ($8-10 per day, are you kidding me?).

so far, during the past 5-6 months, i've saved btwn $1100-1500 per month.

also, i don't go out as much (drinking==lots of money), so the savings are so much more.

i think the key to grocery shopping is also to hunt down deals from various markets. but that takes time and effort; i wouldn't do it either. but my ma has shown me how to feed two ppl with a monthly budget of less than $200, which amounts to less than $3 per meal per person per month.

wow. now that's frugal. =)

Seester -

Make a sandwich.

Bring leftovers from home. Do they even have leftovers at Dave's?

Drink water.

Do you really need ice cream at work?

Use your Jewel Preferred Card. If you don't have one, get one. Breeze through the ads to find out what's on sale.

Take Dan and Fatima shopping with you. They're really good at asking me "Do you really need that?"

Wally - wow, you're good.

costco: big bag of prewashed baby spinach - just add whatever else you like (i add chickpeas and avocado or tomato) and you can pack them all on sunday & just leave a bottle of dressing at work. if you want something hot - those single serving instant mashed potatoes are cheap and filling. or make a shitload of pasta on sunday and pack them in tupperware for the week. goodluck with the money saving!

only $40? and Wally--only $200 a month! even for only two ppl, that's good! my budget for the 4 of us plus half the neighborhood is, well, more than that...but yeah bringing lunch is a good idea, even bringing it 2 days a week will help! good luck!

yeah, i had to start bringing things from home too, because going out for lunch all the time ended up draining me. i don't get it...spending not-this-much money every day doesn't SEEM to add up at the time... :(

Eh, I figured that your problem would be relatively simple to solve until you mentioned Chipotle.

If a life with their fajita burritos w/carnitas and quacamole w/chips is wrong, then I don't wanna be right.

just be like theo huxtable and get by on bologna and cereal :)

Thanks for the advice, everyone! We'll see how much money I'll save. Damn that mortgage!

Christine, when ya pull in the belt don't pull so tight you can't breath. Allow yourself to smell a few roses, or eat a few store bought burritos. "Today" is just as important as "tormmorw" ~ ~

hahahahhha...because when you get old you may not even be able to spell!

"TOMORROW'

I'd imagine it'd be difficult to get rid of Chipotle for lunch, especially when you want to get away from work for a bit to hang out with co-workers/friends. But, grocery shopping really is the way to go. Spending the money on sandwich meats, bread, chips, drinks, fruit, yogurt, whatever is still a lot cheaper than going out to eat. If you go to a sit-down place for lunch, guaranteed you're already paying for some tip. I try to bring lunch to work, but if I really do need to escape the desk, I go to the cafeteria since it's relatively cheaper than buying lunch (and downtown Chicago is not cheap for McDonalds or any restaurant when you think about it).

If you have the money to burn on food, then so be it. But saving is the way to go (I have to stop myself from driving and take the train... really I need to...)

I put my foot down with food. I'd rather sleep on a mattress on the floor than not eat well.

Chipotle gives me a tummy ache and gas.

I just bring my own food. I guess it helps that where I work at is kinda ghetto and there are no good places to eat at and not a lot of choices. I know what you mean about mortgage payments.. It's definitely hard to scrounge money to pay for that damn downpayment. Good Luck!