Coffee, anyone?
As someone who relishes the quiet time spent snuggling my littlest one, watching the sunrise, and enjoying a morning cup of coffee, I'd love to encourage more people to slow down, save money, and make coffee at home.
Door Dashing Dreams
According to the WSJ, people haven’t spent this much on food in 30 years. With inflation hitting us in the pocketbook, one tried and true method that has always worked for us is to cut down on eating out and instead make food at home. If you are like many who take advantage of the convenience of food delivery you will be surprised just how much you can save making that switch.
When we first bought, we started small with coffee. For the past 19 years we have enjoyed coffee at home, and it’s become one of my favorite times of the day. We even got a little fancy and have an auto ship from Ranger Up of whole bean coffee monthly. We substitute with BJ’s coffee to keep costs down.
As we house hacked (another blog to follow on that!) and still needed to keep costs down, we integrated making lunch at home instead of buying out.
Of course, with inflation, the costs of everything rises over time, but…
Coffee $2.50 x 2 per day = $5 x 6,935 days equates to $34,675! That speaks for itself!
CHALLENGE TIME!
Challenge yourself to start small. I would love to hear your success stories!
If you buy Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner out, start with making one meal at home. For us, smoothies with protein powder for the win in the morning.
Food prepping has been very helpful too, although I would be lying if I said I stick to it regularly.
Some folks take advantage of drive up groceries pick up. What a great idea! Or you can be like us, and schlep over to Market Basket, where the loyal employees say 'from the Basket to the Casket.' Although I would love to shop at Whole Paycheck, I mean Whole Foods, Market Basket wins hands down for prices.
Story Time
This story is about my hubby, and he probably has no idea how often I share it. We celebrate 17 years married this year, and back about 20 years ago I used to cook as a means to win him over. Yes, I woo'd him with food. The funny part about this is HE is our Chef extraordinaire! What a wonderful example he is setting for our two boys cooking, and grilling, daily.
Back to the story, and back in time, when we were starting our respective businesses. Each day I would make myself lunch, my hubby lunch, and his crew lunch. As time progressed, my mortgage career solidified, and my spare hours diminished as I was also working at a restaurant, I became overwhelmed, and wasn't able to keep up with everything. Each week the chairs would be upside down in our kitchen table (restaurant life!) with floors waiting to be washed. Days would go by, then weeks. I realized something had to give. So I stopped making sandwiches. In protest, my dear Hubby spent a week hungry, and complaining. Then, he started making the sandwiches.
All these years later, he still takes coffee to go and makes sandwiches daily. And who knew, it turned out, he is a far superior cook.
Nicole's Closing Advice
Small changes make a big difference. If you are hoping for homeownership, but overwhelmed with where to start, you will be amazed at how quickly you can save when you put your mind to it, write a budget, and DIY dinner!
If you are a homeowner struggling, like many of us, with rising costs, see my blog on 'The Refinance Conundrum.' My hubby is now also 'Barber' to our boys, on top of Chef duty. What a guy.
One last funny story I share at Home Buyer Seminars. Years ago I was helping clients get homeownership ready. While at a clothing store I ran into one of my clients in the checkout line. The following week he emailed me stating he went back and returned everything he purchased. If you need accountability, contact me, and I'd be happy to be the devil on your shoulder reminding you to say no to Door Dash.
Cheers!
