Changing small habits, save big money February 17, 2006
I’ve made three changes in my life in 2006, which have made a difference in my finances:
- I eat breakfast at home
- I pack my lunch
- I don’t take the subway if I can walk it
It takes some dedication, but it has paid off so far this year. For breakfast, I’ll wake up 10-15 minutes earlier to give myself enough time to eat, scan the paper, and drink a cup of tea or coffee. I know for some people, waking up earlier is not an option (*cough*, the wife, *cough*) but for me, eating at home is worth it. I get up pretty early at 5:30am. There was an entry on My Open Wallet, another personal finance blog I regularly read, about how much breakfast in the city can cost, specifically if you have a bagel with butter or a topping. I usually get a bagel and a coffee, or a donut and a coffee, which would cost about $2 - $3 in most NYC delis. You can also get a donut and a coffee for $1.25 in those street carts you see outside. It seems cheap, but in a month, you can save $60 by eating breakfast at home. If you buy bagels at the store, each bagel costs $0.20-0.70 depending on where you buy them. My local Whole Foods charges $0.69 per bagel, probably the costliest place to get your groceries. I get mine for $0.40 each for a 5 pack. So that’s $2 per week vs. $15 spent on breakfast.
For lunch, I’ve saved anywhere from $15 - $25 per week by packing my lunch with leftovers from dinner. This has already been discussed to death in the personal finance blogs, but that’s real money saved. Average of $80 saved per month.
Finally, I’ve stopped taking the subway to and from work. The subway fare is $2. I usually take the subway in the morning and after work. So I save $4 per day, $20 per week by not taking the subway. It’s only one stop, so walking is not bad at all. My rule now is that if a subway ride is less than two stops, I’ll walk (unless I’m in a hurry). There’s an added physical benefit too!
So here’s a summary of my savings by changing my habits
- Eating breakfast at home: Saved $65 per month
- Packing my lunch: Saved $80 per month
- Not taking the subway: Saved $80 per month
That’s a grand total of $225 per month saved! Real money saved. Didn’t think that $2 breakfast added up, huh?
- Posted in : Savings
- Author : Kyle
Comments»
[…] Does saving on your 401k retirement count towards your savings? I’ve always trained my mind that anything put into my 401k is just money never seen. I don’t count it towards savings, net worth, etc. So when I do get to see it someday, it’ll be found money. So in my book, when people say we should save at least 10% of our salary, I see it as 10% of my after-tax, discretionary money. I’ve been able to do that without any major lifestyle changes by changing small habits, and reducing my fixed costs. From a MSN Money article, the savings picture in the US is pretty bleak: In 1981, families saved an average of 11% and owed 4% of their income on credit cards. By 2000, the average savings rate had already fallen below zero, and credit-card debt had gone up to 12% of income. Today, she says, “boomers have a bigger problem with debt than anyone else. Half of them do not have a retirement account.” […]
[…] We all are trying to save on monthly costs, cut tax costs, or spend less to gather enough for a major purchase that has meaning in our lives, such as a home, college tuition, retirement, or emergency expense (at least those of us in the personal finance blog world and responsible spenders). I’ve been able to cut out $290 per month and counting, without noticing any difference in my lifestyle. But when I read about MTV’s ‘Super Sweet 16′ show about super-spoiled 16 year olds, I get sick to my stomach. I mean, all the effort by parents working and saving money for a secure future goes down the drain thinking about kids who throw temper tantrums because they want a party that will cost upwards of $200,000, goes down the drain. This behavior by children starts with the parents. One parent who is on the MTV show says: “If you can afford to have a grand celebration, then why not,” said Dr. Kothapalli, who immigrated to the United States from India in the mid-1980’s. “It’s the American way. You work hard and you play hard.” […]
[…] This reminds me of Americans not sacrificing to save money for emergency funds thinking that there are other ways to get money, either by taking out more loans or tapping home equity to pay for emergencies. There’s no need to wait for hybrid cars to be more mainstream, for fuel cells or a new government fuel economy mandate when we can drive less, trade down to a more fuel efficient car, or carpool. We have the means to reduce our gasoline consumption NOW without expensive technology. We also have the means to adjust our standard of living without much sacrifice. When we realize that the World’s oil is tapped or our home equity is tapped, we won’t have the luxury of making more. Can we kick our bad habits?? […]
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