Fast Food

I wrote about this article before, in this post on how to save money, but today I actually tried out their advice.

The basic premise is to make fast food at home, specifically breakfast. We've all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Did you know that your metabolism is higher in the morning (within 30 minutes of waking up)? That means you can eat more calories. People who try to lose weight by skipping breakfast are really doing themselves a disservice. Not only does a good breakfast give you the energy to last until lunch, but it also keeps you from snacking, or eating a big lunch you don't need. You can even save money by eating breakfast! Most people who skip breakfast end up going out to lunch, spending more money.

The website suggests making your breakfast in advance (say, on Sunday morning), putting it in the freezer, and then heating it up in the microwave for a few minutes right before you leave in the morning! Here are some recipes:

Breakfast burritos:

Make up some scrambled eggs (I like to put chopped up peppers and veggie sausage in mine), sprinkled some shredded cheese on top, then wrap them up in a tortilla. Wrap the tortilla in saran wrap (or put it n a freezer-proof ziplock bag) and put it in the freezer. When you're ready to eat, take off the plastic wrap, wrap the burrito in a towel, and put it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Then you can even take it out the door with you if you are in a hurry. At my work, there is a microwave and a freezer, so I can even leave some at work in case I am in a real hurry, or forget.

Croissant sandwich:

I found some mini croissants in the bakery section of the grocery store. I took two and put the rest in the freezer. Then, I made up two little omelettes and put one on each of the croissants to make a little sandwich. I sprinkled some cheese on before putting each sandwich in a freezer bag.

Update: I have been eating these things for breakfast for three days. My review so far? In an emergency, this would be OK. I guess it's better than not eating any breakfast at all, but really these are kind of gross. The top of the tortilla gets all hard and dry and the cheese gets way too hot. I think it would be better to just heat the eggs and then put them on a tortilla with some cheese, but then, if you're going to do that, just make some eggs!

Money Saving Tips

Last year my new year's resolution was to save more money. I hope to continue that this year and hopefully add some new money-saving ideas to my routine. Here are a few tips I picked up that you might find useful.

1: Don't go to the movies. I have Netflix. Going to the movies should be something you only do for a special occasion.

2: Don't buy anything from iTunes. If someone asks me what I want as a gift, I can ask for an iTunes gift card! That's not cheating.

3: Bring a lunch to work. Here's an article with some good tips on bringing leftovers and here's a previous post of mine (and a follow-up post) on bento - a cute, fun, and convenient way to bring your own lunch. Also, try making your own (frozen) "fast food". See this article for ideas. Here's another one.

4: Call some of the companies you pay bills to (such as the cable company) and ask them to lower your payments.

5: Cancel your credit card. Then, set up a regular payment every month until you pay it off.

6: Invite friends over. This can cut down on your going out costs, especially if they return the favor by later inviting you over. Play games or watch one of your Netflix rentals!

7: Make a shopping list before you go to the grocery store. Plan out your meals. Make plans with your friends in advance if you are going to go out, so you can plan accordingly. Make sure to plan out what you are going to bring to work for lunch!

8: When you do go out to eat, save half of your food and bring it home. If that breakfast burrito cost you ten dollars, eat half and take the other half home. THEN you can even take the half you took home and stretch that out with some eggs in your fridge to make two or more meals.

9: Ask around at work about job benefits. I found out that people who work where I do can get a discount on their cell phone bill. I just overheard someone talking about it and asked them. I had no idea.

10: Get a separate savings account. Once my debt pay-off plan really kicks in, I'm thinking of getting a separate savings account at an online bank such as ING Direct. The savings account I have right now is so easy to access because it's attached to my checking account. If I put some of my money away elsewhere, where I can only get it if I go online type in my passwords and really arrange a transfer, it won't be so easy or tempting to dip into savings.

Finally, don't make yourself unhappy. It can be depressing to turn down an offer to go out with friends or to go right home after work instead of out shopping. Saving money doesn't have to mean staying alone at home every day doing nothing - find something new to do and do it - even if it costs a little money, it can make you happier which will keep you from going around spending that money or more on other things. I always wanted to take guitar lessons but I thought I couldn't afford a guitar, let alone weekly lessons! Once I invested in a good but cheap guitar and signed up for a $68 beginner course at the local community college, I found a new hobby that makes me happy and that I can now do for free every day. Check out Meetup.com to join a book club or find a free or inexpensive yoga class or just to meet up with some new people who enjoy some of the same things that you do. Give yourself some exciting new things to look forward to, and you won't have time to be sad about saving money!