I can't believe I did it again! This time I took stuff out of the fridge in the morning (an org. yogurt and some cut up fruit and berries on the peak of perfection) and put it in a bag by the entrance, not to forget it. That's where I forgot it.
Yogurt($2) and washed berries($4) will not keep. So it is a waste.
I realized I forgot it 30 seconds after getting downstairs, but I could not go back. If I am even 1 second late for a train, I will be late for work by 35 minutes. I can't do that. So I kept going. And the train was late today by 8 minutes! So I could have gone back, but, of course, I had no way of knowing it.
I was so frustrated by it all that I bought 2!!! doughnuts and ate them for breakfast. ($6.5, not to mention calories).
For lunch, sandwich ($9.50), plus a diet coke for me and snapple for a colleague later ($3.5)
This is not going well at all. I'm frustrated.
This taking lunch is ending up in waste.
June 4th, 2014 at 10:46 pm
June 4th, 2014 at 11:49 pm 1401922140
It's often helpful to use the "Your Money or Your Life" approach to spending money. How much of your life in time and life energy are you trading for the donuts and sandwich every day? If you invested that money, how much sooner could you get off the hamster wheel you are on now? Where will you be in 20 years if you don't make better choices? Making conscious choices considering all the consequences puts you in control.
June 5th, 2014 at 03:11 am 1401934272
Leave a note on the door, your purse, house-keys, etc. that says "GOT LUNCH?"
June 5th, 2014 at 03:22 am 1401934952
Be gentle with yourself. We can't always be perfect. Just do the best you can and there will be times when others make a lot of money on your forgetfulness. At least you will keep your job. And I just need to finish off saying that the more you indulge in "instant gratification" of food intake is not an indicator of how "less successful you will be". Good luck.
June 5th, 2014 at 07:10 am 1401948601
June 5th, 2014 at 10:49 am 1401961754
That said, sometimes we have to do things we don't really "want" to do, because we want something else more important (like bigger savings!). So maybe you can make it less painful somehow. Perhaps aim to just bring your breakfast, and resolve to only find lunches under X amount of dollars. Once you get used to doing that, you can slowly add in the home packed lunches.
Just some suggestions, you might be more of the "cold turkey" type where you dive right into changes, in that case power through the moments where you do forget your food, until it becomes a habit. Good luck either way!
June 5th, 2014 at 01:40 pm 1401972025
Maybe try something similar? Don't beat yourself up. It's probably a multi-year habit of eating out that you're trying to break. It's not going to be undone in a week or two...
June 5th, 2014 at 02:54 pm 1401976471
I don't really have to change it, but I just thought I would give a try to bringing down food costs a little for a month - since June budget might not balance without extra income (not really a problem since we have savings, but I would rather it balance). And it is interesting to see how low can these costs get without sacrificing the quality of food at all.
Another reader, what exactly do you mean by hamster wheel?
And I don't spend the money on food I can make myself. I do not know how to make fluffy coconut cream filled doughnut. Or how to make pork belly that melts in your mouth with picked asian vegetables and freshly baked crusty baguette, or bake a 20 layer crepe cake.
June 5th, 2014 at 03:24 pm 1401978247
June 5th, 2014 at 04:07 pm 1401980871
Unless one or both families are wealthy and are giving you money, I don't see how you can accumulate enough assets to fund your lifestyle long term. If my assumptions are correct, you will have to work at the same frenetic pace for the next 30 years to maintain your lifestyle and save enough to retire in your 60's. That's what I mean by the hamster wheel.
June 5th, 2014 at 04:25 pm 1401981921
June 5th, 2014 at 05:01 pm 1401984086
I may be wrong, but this seems to imply that when your husband got the temporary teaching job, you upped the consumption to match the increase in income. Now that the income is going away, you are struggling to reduce consumption. You apparently are not only not adding to your savings and investments, you are in danger of subtracting to fund consumption.
From a casual observer's point of view, it appears you are living more of an upper class lifestyle on a middle class income. That's a choice, just as being frugal when you have a good income is a choice. If an expensive lifestyle is important to you and your husband, then own that choice and figure out how to make it work for you. Just be realistic about the consequences of your choice, whatever they may be.
June 5th, 2014 at 05:14 pm 1401984869
We are funding our own lifestyle. Our jobs are quite secure. Does not mean that it is impossible to lose a job, but unlikely, regardless of the economy. This "frenetic pace" you refer to - 2 full time jobs and a long commute is a norm in NYC. We are lucky enough to have compressed schedules for both of us and very limited work from home days for DH. But it is not like if we packed our lunch, one job would not be necessary. And as for teaching, while the extra income does help with our goals, the main reason for taking it is that it looks good on the resume - teaching a very advanced class in a very advanced program means you are an expert and are staying very up to date in your field (and it is true, DH had to spend a lot of time preparing for that course and learned even more about latest developments). PS. we generally like our jobs.
June 9th, 2014 at 04:15 am 1402283729
When do you project being able to retire? At least you are saving for retirement. Most people aren't.
I wonder if more people don't consider living on less? That's tomorrows post.