Saving money by eating out less

Okay, so the local deli and Howard Shultz are not going to be real thrilled with this but this is about you and how you can save some money in you budget. A great and immediate source of savings to your budget can be realized by not eating out so much and having a few less lattes.

I know many people that eat out every day for lunch. At $10.00 a pop this adds up to over $2000.00 a year. If you are also getting a few frappachinos or lattes a day you can add another $1750.00 to that amount. If you fit this profile all you need to do is cut this expenditure in half and you can easily save $1500 to $2000.00 a year. Treat yourself to one cup of joe a day instead of two. Brown bag it 2 or 3 times a week and that will equate to $750 to $1000.00 in annual savings.

One of the problems people have with modifying type of discretionary spending is that they do not see immediate payback. Well you can see immediate payback for this type of savings. How? If you are not spending this money using credit, once a week transfer the money you saved into a savings account, or put it into a place where you can watch it grow. Set some goals as to what to do with this money. Plan to save for a vacation, your kids college, that new iPod. Be wise and allocate a percentage of the savings, say 25% to savings or investments, have fun with the other 75%. Whatever you decide to do make a plan and stick with it.

If your spending in this area is significant cut it in half. The beauty of such a plan is that you still are getting to eat out at lunch, and you are still getting to your Starbucks fix, just not as often. But, you will have money available for other things you both want and need.

If you are spending this money through raising your credit card debt you just flat out need to stop. Increasing consumer debt for persishable items is just pound foolish.

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Personal Finance	The Joy of Simple Living by Jeff Davidson

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