Comments on: The Morning Money Routine

By: Killer Bees

Killer Bees — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:11:57 +0000

Lately I’ve been grocery shopping at the Asian supermarkets in our Chinatown area (most major cities have one of these areas).

I buy lots of frozen things like pork dumplings and Thai fish cakes etc and keep them in the freezer. I can spend $50 there and buy more than enough food for myself for two weeks until the next pay and I find that I’m not even managing to eat all the food before the next pay day comes around.

Also, I’m eating more healthily because all this stuff if microwaveable (saving on fat and power) and I’m slowly losing weight as a result. And I’m a big eater, but I find that I’m full on less food eating this way. I pack my lunch from the leftovers and just have instant flavoured oats/porridge for breakfast.

They also sell interesting things like minute noodles and candies I’ve never seen before and munchy healthy thing like rice crackers.

And a lot of their food is vegetarian, so I’m cutting out on expensive red meats as well. I love red meat, but I can’t afford it all the time. The only things I buy from regular supermarkets is things like toiletries and tissues/toilet paper etc.

I’m proud of myself because not only am I saving money without hardship, but I’m also saving my health and electricity by using the microwave to cook my food.

By: Beth

Beth — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 20:58:35 +0000

I’m an biker, but I don’t think a bike commute is for everyone – if I had a small child at home I would rather maximize the time spent together.

I used to occasionally do a similar bike commute (and it worked out to an hour each way, plus shower time), but I rode with friends and didn’t have anyone at home I was rushing to see – my commute was more about the journey than the destination.

Now I live 3.5 miles from work so when I bike, I get a better workout carrying the bike up to my 3rd floor apartment than I do from the 20 minute ride!

By: Frank Chiapperino

Frank Chiapperino — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 17:51:57 +0000

Yep! Great stuff! I had to share it. Thanks for the post.

By: Leo

Leo — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 06:48:02 +0000

Great post. I make my coffee at home and eat breakfast at home before I leave — it’s a peaceful morning routine for me, and I like to enjoy my breakfast in quiet. Waking at 4:30 helps me do that.

Also, 13 miles is not hard to do on a bike once you’ve been doing it for a little while. It’s doable — it would obviously take longer than 15 minutes, so you would have to wake up earlier, but at the same time, your exercise would be done for the day. I’ve been trying to do this more this year, and it’s been a good thing.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 04:22:34 +0000

I like that concept your organization does for personal use. I will have to implement this in my b&b for my employees so they can be more happy. What kind of organization is this you work for?

By: Trent

Trent — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 02:20:46 +0000

Also, my setting is pretty rural with almost no traffic to speak of. A fifteen minute commute means about thirteen miles. I drive more than sixty almost the entire way to work. Replacing that with a bicycle would mean a much, much longer commute unless you’re Lance Armstrong.

By: Trent

Trent — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 02:17:59 +0000

My organization gives all employees a certain number of pages per week that we’re allowed to print for personal use. All you have to do is type in your personal code. They found that by doing this, they actually reduced their overall paper usage because people stuck within their allowance rather than sneaking through their personal stuff on other codes.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 23:43:37 +0000

Want to save more time and money, while improving your present and future health? Quit the coffee habit! I decided to quit caffeine and was amazed by the money I saved. I also was able to quit the antacid/prilosec routine. I even lost the joint pain I had put down to getting older, although that took about a month. Without the caffeine and joint pain I slept less but better. By sleeping better but less I had a better attitude and was more productive. It seems coffee, soda, chocolate ect are acidic and combined with the caffeine my body just couldn’t handle it anymore. Plus time and money are saved on making coffee and buying the associated supplies.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 23:23:45 +0000

Printing out articles at the office? How bad do you want that pay raise? Don’t waste your company’s simple dollar printing what should be printed on your own dollar. Always be sure to ask for permission to use company materials and resources to peform non-company related functions. Think about it, if you could save the company a buck fifty a day, would that translate into an extra 25 cents a day for you? Or would you rather waste a buck fifty of your employer’s resource and accept a severance package if any is available when your employer finds they are running out of cash due to employees taking advantage of what is meant for the company’s need.

Just my two cents.

By: Lazy Man and Money

Lazy Man and Money — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 22:14:55 +0000

Eric, I’m not sure that the bus takes Trent’s kid to day care and then to Trent’s work. It might be difficult to make the bus change the routes they have planned.

Having his wife may be an option, but that the same amount of driving as far as I can tell (wife drives from home to Trent’s work and back). The only thing is that it’s far less efficient as she loses a half hour round trip.

By: guinness416

guinness416 — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:51:54 +0000

You’re very lucky to have an employer that wil allow you to “adjust” your working hours and sit printing the NYT at the office – in every place I’ve worked, when you’re in you’re expected to be working, and coming in at 7 is more of a deliverables requirement than an option! Ah, the joy of the construction industry …

By: Louise

Louise — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 19:35:36 +0000

@boomie
Since the breakfast burritos/sandwiches are homemade, I’ll bet Trent is pretty satisfied with the ingredients he’s ingesting.

By: 60 in 3

60 in 3 — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 19:23:49 +0000

Thanks for the great article Trent. Just a few comments from me:

“6:30 AM – leave for work, drop son off at daycare, eat sandwich on the road”

Gal – Eating while driving (or doing anything while driving) is one of the main causes of accidents. Since accidents usually end up costing you money and health, this is one habit that’s probably bad for you.

“6:45 AM – arrive at work 45 minutes early, start up small coffee pot on my desk – cost: $0.25″

Gal – Water is free, and far healthier. You’ll be more productive once you kick the caffeine habit.

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 19:03:42 +0000

I have to take Trent’s side on this one. Remember, a 15-minute commute in Iowa may be a lot further than 15 minutes in other places. Although, that 15 minutes does include dropping his son off, so it could be more of a five-minute commute without his son.

Still, riding a bike would mean strapping the kid onto a seat on the back of the bike along with all his daycare gear. The bus may not go near the daycare or run frequently enough to make it possible.

By: boomie

boomie — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 19:00:46 +0000

If you must print articles (whose printer and ink are you using BTW?) try to print out on misused sheets of copy paper. Some have smudges or a few lines of print on them (use the opposite side) to save even more money.
Take a moment and read the ingredients on a breakfast burrito package. Sure you want to ingest that? How about a bowl of old fashioned oats instead? or a made-from-scratch muffin you baked up and froze over the weekend?
Since you live such a frantic lifestyle, your food should be healthier.
Just my two cents.
Thanks for listening.

By: Beau

Beau — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 18:25:27 +0000

I save tons of money by making lunch in my office. With an electric kettle, you can boil noodles. I make Asian dishes, spaghetti, etc. Just bring in some stuff from home and spice up your dishes so they don’t get bland. I still eat out maybe once a week for lunch, but that’s more social and to keep stay in the loop. The average lunch around here is probably about $7.00, mine costs $0.50. There’s another $6.50 to your daily savings, for ~$1700 a year!

By: ari

ari — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 18:17:51 +0000

While the practicality is correct, how many people in today’s society keep the same job at the same salary for 10 years?

By: Monica

Monica — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 17:16:49 +0000

It also sounds like it would be cycling distance, which is good for your health as well as your bank account.

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 17:13:21 +0000

15 minute commute? And you still drive?

Even driving 8k miles a year @50c a mile for gas, upkeep, and depreciation you can save yourself another $4k/year. It’s not always possible, but if you want to live frugal it might be the way to go. Get up early and download some news onto you laptop with google gears ( offline more ) and read it on the bus or after your wife drops you off.

By: Her Every Cent Counts

Her Every Cent Counts — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 17:11:54 +0000

It is really amazing how quickly the little things we buy in our lives add up to big bucks. Food especially is one of those costs that, even at a few meals a day, can add up. I’m going to try to watch what I’m buying as I don’t have the disposable income to waste. No more of those $5.75 cheese plates from Starbucks!