Our Journey to a Debt Free Life | Money Relationship

Packing Lunch For Work Just Got Easier

Over the past two years of reading personal finance blogs, I’ve seen plenty of articles on packing lunches to save money. As much as I love the idea, I just couldn’t make it work. I absolutely HATED packing my lunch. Every time lunch rolled around, my sandwich was the soggiest thing I ever touched. It was disgusting.

It was so disgusting, I often found myself heading out to Subway or the local pizza shop for lunch (even with a soggy sandwich in the fridge). I was averaging about $7 a day and that added up to about $140 a month. Talk about a budget buster! Peer pressure also played a role but that’s no excuse.

Well, I am here to say that I found a solution. I started taking everything for my lunch in separate pieces. In other words, I assemble my sandwich at work and not at home. Wow, does that make a huge difference! I love packing now. I’m not sure how much my colleagues like the mayo, cheese and ham in the fridge, but they will have to live with it (and hopefully not eat it).

All I know is, we will now be saving about $140 a month on me not eating out for lunch. Also, I will be able to take leftovers to work once I start working in DC. You always need some variety!

Have any tips on motivation for packing your lunch? Sometimes it’s not as easy as you think….

Debt Update: February 28, 2010

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February was a short month in terms of days but a big month for debt repayment. We managed to eliminate $2,532.86, our biggest month ever! This was in addition to replenishing our emergency fund (about $800) that was depleted from paying some estimated taxes in January. We feel great about what we were able to accomplish this month. It’s even more uplifting knowing that in the next few months, our income is going up and our expenses are going down thanks to the new job.

We were able to pay a big chunk on the personal loan in February and by this time next month, it will be gone. We also started paying on the family loan for personal reasons. We just wanted to get started on it and the family member could also use the money due to some unforeseen circumstances. Another great reason not to get into a family loan. Now onto the spreadsheet!

Miss Me?

in Random

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I’m alive and well. Over the past few weeks, not much has happened in our financial lives so I figured I wouldn’t bore you with random posts. I typically just sit here in my home away from home and talk to my wife via Skype. [...]

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Debt Update: January 31, 2010

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January was a fairly good month for us. Even after depleting our emergency fund and them pumping it back up to $1,000, we were still able to pay off over $1,400 in debt. Also, keep in mind that the $1,400 we paid off is only the reduction of principal and doesn’t count the interest we [...]

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Friday Feed Frenzy – The Debtor’s Mind

in Roundup

Well, it’s been a little while since I had a roundup so I thought I would get back in the mix. It’s tough for me to read as many blogs as I used to. I can’t read blogs at work like many other bloggers can. Frankly, it stinks. I feel so much more disconnected than [...]

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Why We Use Mvelopes and How You Can Save 25%

in Budgeting

I haven’t really talked about our budgeting system yet. I guess I’ve held back because we have a different situation than most (in not all) of you. Since I live in another state during the week, we need to be extra careful about our budget. Being away from each other can create some miscellaneous expenses [...]

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