Comments on: How We Saved $25,480.00 And So Can You!

By: John

John — Sun, 04 May 2008 22:03:21 +0000

Samsara – I like cooking at home. I can prepare things the way I want, as you pointed out. I also tend to eat better, maybe because I am not being tempted by the sights and smells of a restaurant. Do you find that you order things you know you shouldn’t simply because of menu presentation? I do!

By: Samsara

Samsara — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:13:27 +0000

Simply put, small variations in behavior can produce huge changes in the long term outcome.

That’s right and eating out is a great example of how reducing it can produce larger benefits; weight loss and savings for example. Not to mention preparing the food you want to prepare in maybe a more healthful way as well as more realiztic portions [especially good for people who tend to need to eat everything on their plate!]

Good information!

By: John

John — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:16:53 +0000

The coffee pot is the way to go! I only drink one cup in the morning now. I would like to eventually quit altogether. One thing at a time!

By: Jenn

Jenn — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:13:48 +0000

Cutting out Starbucks was hard at first, but we invested in a good coffee maker and travel mugs. The amount we saved in one month, we could of bought a super deluxe machine, but we didn’t. Anyway, we realized our coffee was much better all around, especially if we grind your own beans.

Now, I don’t even drink coffee or soda. It is interesting how those habits just slowly disappeared once we stopped buying our coffee and ordering soda at restaurants.

By: John

John — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:59:43 +0000

Angie – I hear you! When our kids were younger it was much more difficult to cook meals every night. Between softball, soccer, karate, Girl Scouts and school activities, we were always on the go! You are correct, just cutting one meal a week will help with both your health and your finances.

By: AngieDLed

AngieDLed — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:13:43 +0000

With three very active teens, we eat out often from necessity from being on the go between activities, meetings, sports, etc. But you are absolutely right about the savings. Even cutting out one night per week helps over the long haul! Nice post.

By: John

John — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:07:14 +0000

Jenn – Along the way, I plan on discussing some investment and saving strategies, stay tuned! Congratulations on the 8 years! Way to go! In my experience, most people have no idea how much money they spend on things like eating out. And, they don’t understand how unhealthy alot of restaurant food can be. On the Starbucks, that is an easy area to save lotsa mullah! Great job! I work in an office where probably half of the employees stop on the way to work and buy coffee. The same people eat out every day! It amazes me how much discretionary spending goes on! Did you find it hard to stop frequenting Starbucks?

By: John

John — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:02:20 +0000

Andy – In this post I was focusing on the financial aspects, however, I personally feel that the health benefits out-weigh the monetary ones. After all, if your health fails, you can’t enjoy any amount of money! Just out of curiosity, when eating out, do you find it difficult to make healthy choices?

By: Jenn

Jenn — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:58:38 +0000

Boy, John, I have to learn how to invest! ( I went to grad-school with a John B and the way you break things down sure reminds me of him. )

8yrs ago, my husband and I cut down our eating out to 1x per week as well. Now we only eat out about 2x per month at the most. The biggest impact for us was cutting out Starbucks. From that alone we saved $400 per month.

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:25:53 +0000

I eat out way too often. I’m more concerned about the health effects than the financial effects but it is good to see I would benefit financially as well from cutting back on the restaurant meals.