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There are a few different ways to prepare lunches for work. Some are more expensive than others. In order from most expensive to least, there are:

1. Vending machine meals.

2. Convenience foods from the store.

3. “Homemade” convenience foods from home.

4. Foods made from scratch at home.

I have been using a combination of all since starting work at the inn, and it is sometimes a bit expensive. What I eat on any given day depends on how often I grocery shop, and where.

The most frugal choice is always foods made from scratch, but a few things stand in the way of my doing this these days. They are:

1. I work at the inn, and am also building a freelance writing career.

2. Any week days I have off from the inn are spent at the library because I do not have online access where I live.

3. At least one evening a week must be spent at the library.

4. I am lucky if I get one full day to work on the freelance career at home, and that day usually involves errands.

5. I have these appliances to work with: (1) 2 burner hot plate, (1) 1 burner hot plate, (1) small toaster oven which I find a challenge to learn to use, and (1) microwave which I only know how to warm things up and make popcorn in. I am learning to use the latter two appliances, but it is taking time. I did recently purchase a 3 quart crock pot which is my most useful appliance.

6. I do not have a lot of space for storing food.

7. I have only a dorm size refrigerator with a tiny freezer.

Time and lack of proper appliances are my issues.

I did my grocery shopping today with work lunches in mind. This is what I came up with:

• Bread, lettuce, turkey and shredded carrot to go with the sandwich cheese I have at home, for sandwiches.

• Boxes of multi pack granola bars and fruit bars.

• 2 – packs of applesauce with cinnamon, at .50 off each.

• Bread and butter pickles.

• 20 pack of Pepsi.

• 20 pack chips.

• 2 – 4 packs of yogurt, one at a dollar off.

• 2 – 12 packs of string cheese, one for a dollar off.

• 2 – 12 pack waters.

• Bananas.

• Apples.

I also purchased food items for dinners, which will lend themselves to lunches from leftovers. These items were:

• Chicken

• Corn

• Peas

• Steak

• Sweet potato

• Squash

• Garlic

The two meals made from these ingredients should provide me with 3 meals each. One dinner and two lunches. I divided by three in my cost figuring and used only 2/3 of the cost of each meal for my calculations.

Total cost = $60.23

Plus, I had enough ingredients to mix up a batch of trail mix, and two boxes of fruit twists.

This food should provide me with 2.5 weeks of full lunches for work, plus another 1.5 weeks of partial lunches made sort of complete by doubling up on a couple of things.

$60.23/4 weeks = about $15.06 per week

Now, one alternative is purchasing food from the vending machines at work. These lunches would have almost no nutritional value and would include a burger/sandwich each day, as well as a soda/water, a bag of chips and a candy bar. Plus, the occasional trail mix.

Total Cost = $106.95

$106.95/4 = about $26.74 per week

This is a savings of:

$106.95 – $60.23 = $46.72

or

$46.72/4 = $23.36 per week.

Now, given the right conditions, I could be saving quite a bit more on my work lunches. And there will likely come a point this winter when I will have to because I work less hours this time of year. But, for now, I have a happy medium that does not stress me out due to lack of time.

Is there anything you can be doing to save a few dollars on your work lunches each week?

Shannon

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Beginning February 1^st, I will be featuring a Create a Pantry in 1 Month Challenge on Frugal Recipes: Spending Less to Eat Healthy.

Creating a pantry area in your home will give you the space to stock up on essentials, allowing you to save money in many of the ingredients that you use when cooking. It gives you the space to store home preserved items, as well as foods given to you by others. Using a pantry can indeed be a very frugal step in living the low-income life, whether you need to save money on food or choose to.

Each week of the challenge, I make at least 3 articles, as well as weekly wrap-ups to help guide you in setting up your pantry. I will provide you with information on how to stock your pantry while saving money, as well information on how to organize your pantry space.

Join us on February 1^st to begin the challenge!

Have a great week. I will be spending mine writing articles and tips for the new challenge.

Shannon

Related articles

• A New Challenge… Create and Organize and Pantry Space (frugalrecipes.wordpress.com)
• 2012 Goals for the Living the Low-Income Life Blog (livingthelowincomelife.wordpress.com)

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Yesterday, while waiting for the bus, I decided to go into the thrift store Hands of Hope and see if they had anything I could use in the room I rent. I looked at all the shelves and saw a few things that I would have purchased if I had been going back home, such as a small slow cooker for only $5.00, but I purchased only some lightweight items that I could easily carry with me during the rest of my errands.

2 baskets that I will use on the bathroom to hold the small, partially used bottles of shampoo and lotion. These I will tell the guys (my neighbors) they can use whenever they want. I paid $2.00 for both.

1 small saucepan with lid for $1.50.

1 DVD – The Scarlet Letter – for which I paid only a few dollars.

I will be visiting the store again

Shannon

For tips on how to save money on exercise needs, see my new article over on my blog The Fitness Journal: Saving Money on Exercise Needs

Image by Lexinatrix via Flickr

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Shannon

I have been working at an Inn located in the city of Bangor for a few months, and often bring home usable items that are left in rooms by the guests. We put items in the lost and found for a month, then whoever found them gets to keep them. Sometimes people call and get their items back. Often they do not. These items are usually quite helpful, and I can usually find someone to take anything that I will not use.

Other times, people leave items with their tips. These are especially for whoever cleans their room that day. Once, someone left me a bunch of books. Another time, I was given a bunch of soaps, shampoos and other trial size personal hygiene items.

Food and beverages that are left in the rooms are not held in the lost and found. If it is a great deal of food, we may keep it at the Inn until the next day. Usually, we just get to take food items straight home with us.

These blessings allow is to save money, and are much appreciated.

One blessing that I received was a wallet, a Prada (I do believe that is the label). My daughter Zowie was very excited to receive that one.

Shannon

Related articles

• 100 Things About Me # 9 (livingthelowincomelife.wordpress.com)
• Fitness Goals for 2012 (thefitnessjournal.wordpress.com)
• Staying Active this Winter: Indoor Activities (thefitnessjournal.wordpress.com)
• Lunchbox/Lunch Pack Food Ideas – Part 1 (frugalrecipes.wordpress.com)

1. Clearance Items: Our local IGA has carts placed strategically throughout their store. These carts hold deeply discounted items. A coupon used for any of the items might net me many free items. If not free, I might only spend a few scents per item. This saves a lot of money throughout the year.

2. Discounted Refrigerator Items: These items often cost just under a dollar. A ten or twenty-five scent coupon helps me to save a little more on the marked down item, allowing me to stock up.

3. $ Days Sales: I have a list of items that are usually sold for a dollar during these sales. I make it a point to save coupons for these items so that I can take advantage and stock up.

4. Trial Sizes: I can often get these for a quarter. Sadly, these items usually cost between .75 and $1.00 these days, so you need a good coupon such as those for .50 to .75 cents to make purchasing the items worth your effort. Even then, it may be better to shop a dollar store that takes coupons. Still, on occasion, I am able to get a trial size item for free.

Using coupons for regular sales is also helpful, but incorporating the tactics above will net you the best in savings.

Shannon

Related articles

• 10 Ways to Save Money on Your Food Bill (frugalrecipes.wordpress.com)

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The Dollar Tree is one of my favorite stores. It provides me with many essentials.

Now that I have decided to rent this room (until I can get into a one bedroom apartment), I am going to have to make a few purchases, especially for bathroom which I share with the neighbor. Most of the items I wish to place in that room can be found at the Dollar Tree, so I will not have to break the bank to get what I need.

There is not much that is required, but there are a few things I need for cleaning and storage. For instance, I will be able to pick up the broom and dustpan, as well as a toilet brush in a holder. Baskets will also be needed to place shampoos, soaps and other items in. My intent is to share these items (which I get for free) with both of my neighbors. I also want a tall basket/bucket to put the mostly used toilet paper rolls in that I bring home from work.

I already acquired magnets, pot holders, dish towels and dishcloths for my room, as well as a cooking spoon and a plate.

There are other items that can be purchased at a dollar store as well, such as personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies. Some of the food items are very good, and will save you money on groceries, and school supplies and arts and crafts supplies are often sold at these stores as well.

Be sure to ask your cashier if the store accepts coupons. Some do, and this will aid you in saving even more money during shopping trips.

Shannon

Image by Eifion via Flickr

I have two main goals for this blog:

1. Gear writings toward living frugally in this economy, while also touching on living in a depression – there is every indication a full blown depression is on the way. Being at least somewhat prepared just in case is not impossible on a low-income, if done right.

2. Update the blog and continue adding to it. It always amazes me the number of people who read this blog

I also plan to continue to read emails from my readers, and answering questions for all of you. I enjoy guiding people learning to live low-income, and have helped quite a few people each year the blog has been in existence.

What are your goals for 2012. These resources (By me!) will help you meet your goals. Bookmark them and read them regularly, and you will be living low-income successfully in no time.

Frugal Recipes: Spending Less to Eat Healthy: This blog is featuring a 31 Day Healthy Recipe Challenge spanning the entire month of January.

The Fitness Journal: This blog allows you to follow along with my weight loss goals. Soon I will feature an article on saving money when purchasing exercise needs. Be watching for it!

Bangor Easy Meals: Not all of these recipes are frugal, but many are. There are also articles that will be helpful to you.

Bangor Frugal Living: You do not have to live in or near Bangor, Maine to find these articles useful.

Bangor Single Moms: Many low-income women are single moms, and these articles will help you in raising awesome children! As well as leading a happy, healthy life. Again, these articles are helpful to people not living in the air.

What are your goals for 2012? Can I help you reach them?

Shannon

BangorSingleMom on Twitter – even has single dad followers!

Shannon L. Buck on Facebook

Related articles

• 100 Things About Me #7: Low-Income Style (livingthelowincomelife.wordpress.com)
• 100 Things About Me # 9 (livingthelowincomelife.wordpress.com)
• 100 Things About Me # 8 (livingthelowincomelife.wordpress.com)
• Fun, Affordable Get-Togethers: New Years’ Eve (livingthelowincomelife.wordpress.com)

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Welcome to the New Year! I can think of no better way to start a new year than with a challenge lasting the entire first month of the year. And this year, that challenge is going to be a 31 Day Healthy Recipe Challenge over on the Frugal Recipes blog.

NOTES:

• Each day prepare and consume at least one healthy recipe. More is better

• Speak with your doctor before beginning, and always follow his or her guidelines. You can change recipes to cater to your own needs.

• You do not have to use my recipes. You can use your own, or recipes from someone else.

• Read each days post whether you use the recipe for that day or not. Many, if not all, of the posts will provide you with nutritional information.

• If you want to live a truly healthy lifestyle, combine healthy eating with exercise.

• See my blog The Fitness Journal to follow my fitness journey. At my heaviest, I weighed 279 pounds. I have lost quite a bit thus far, and I have learned so much on this adventure.

• The recipes you use should also be as frugal as possible, in keeping in line with this blogs purpose.

The first recipe will be one for breakfast, so check it out before eating in the morning!

Enjoy the challenge!

Shannon

http://thefitnessjournal.wordpress.com

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• Single Mom Families Cooking: A New Page on Frugal Recipes (frugalrecipes.wordpress.com)

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I recently moved from my sisters home, where I had been staying for about six months. I rent a room near the campus where my daughter attends classes.

The room is not huge, but it holds a double bed, a table with 3 chairs, a few shelves, my rocking chair and glider. It comes with a dorm size refrigerator, air conditioning, Dish Network, a hot plate, a microwave and a toaster oven. It also has a closet.

I have a large window looking out over the street, and a small octagonal decorative one on the other wall.

I share the bathroom with a man who rents another room here, and another man upstairs uses the washer and dryer in our bathroom.

The three of us get along very well. It is always nice to make new friends.

This is a good, warm place to live until I can find a one bedroom apartment.

Shannon