Money Matters

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Nice, it's amazing what you can cut out of your budget without even really missing a beat.

Some financial books talk about the "latte factor." So many people hit up Starbucks a couple times a day and buy a $4 cup of coffee each time. Let's say you are someone who buys 2 lattes every workday from Starbucks, and between the two of them you spend $10 each day. Well, each month has about 21 workdays in it. That's $210 a month on lattes.

Maybe you only buy one latte per workday. That's still $110. If you started buying Starbucks beans by the pound, grinding them up at home, making the coffee yourself, and bringing it with you in the morning in a thermal mug, you'd still have Starbucks quality coffee and you'd save boatloads of money.

That's why tracking your expenses is important. Sometimes you need to add up the numbers to realize how much you're spending on certain things. Some single types hit up bars all the time and drop tons of money on drinks. Instead, buy beer by the case (or booze by the bottle) and get a little pregame on before you head out. You'll save quite a bit in drink costs. Little things like that can go a long way.

Along the lines of the latte effect I've noticed the bring your lunch to work effect. When I bring my lunch rather than eat out I save so much money. Eating out even at just a sub shop can run a good $8 for lunch... so that's potentially at least $40 per week or $160 per month!

I typically bring my lunch 4 days per week and I only eat out on Fridays, it definitely helps ease the burden on the wallet.