Shopping Ban Update – The First Week 

I am only a week in and so far it has been fairly easy, but it is still very early on.  

Part of the reason why I am giving an update today is because it was my intention to brown bag my lunch daily at work to help save money.  

Today I failed on that one and spent $8.90 on a lunch from my cafeteria. I was going to eat the yoghurt and apple I managed to shove in my lunch bag this morning, but I needed more sustenance. I normally have a plethora of snacks in my work drawer but since I have been brown bagging a lot (started weeks ago) all of my good snacks were the first to go.  So I bought a healthy lunch at my work cafeteria for close to $9.00.  I mean an unhealthy lunch from McDonald’s costs that much if not more. 

Some of you may be saying “So, what’s the big deal?”.

One bought lunch is not the end of the world, okay, I get it, but some people buy their lunch everyday.  Absolutely, some can afford to buy their lunch every day; some people can afford to spend $30 on a lunch daily, but I am not one of those people. You may think, but you must be able to afford to buy a $9.00 lunch daily, no?

Well, I am on a shopping ban which also includes being wise in how I spend my money. If I didn’t have my debt which I plan to snowball down to zero starting with my Visa Card, sure $9.00 a lunch wouldn’t break me. 

Here is the thing though $9.00 * 5 days = $45.00 * 47 weeks = $2,115.00 a year for a nine dollar lunch and that does not include a beverage. Lunch would probably be more like $11.00 to $12.00 then. 

Yes, and I chose 47 weeks since I receive five weeks vacation at my workplace.  When you do the math on that little lunch it is quite a chunk of change. It would also put a nice dent in my debt, and if I didn’t have the debt it could be a nice trip to Europe including my flight and accommodations. Or the money could be used for some small renovations or put away to help build a down payment for a new home.  Or better yet, invested. Investing won’t be happening until I am able to get myself to a better financial spot.

A small amount of money when multiplied can really add up to some major funds.

David Bach is a money guru who has written a few books “Automatic Millionaire” and “Start Late Finish Rich” are two great ones I would recommend.  David is the guy who invented the saying “the latte factor” which essentially means those small expenses we don’t think about and feel entitled to but make a huge difference when added up.

Not only that when you make your own lunch you can control the calories, the ingredients, and make something delicious & healthy  all for a fraction of the cost and you can throw a juice pack in too if you like. 

Some words from the wise!  Maybe next week will prove to be more challenging living a cash only lifestyle while trying to hit zero on the Visa.

Till then…

Peace & Love – Rachel