Monthly Archives: May 2012

How to Save More from Your Paycheck: Meals at Work

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Now that you have some income from your brand spankin’ new summer job, you might have the sudden urge to start spending all this new found money on breakfast, lunch and coffee everyday. The crazy thing is….your money is going to disappear really fast if you buy all of your meals etc. This is the start of a series on how to save more from your paycheck. Check out the blog throughout the summer for posts like these!

How to Save by Bringing Food to Work

  1. When making dinner the night before make 2 times the amount you would normally eat,   divide up 1 portion for dinner that night and before you start eating dinner pack the other half up in a Tupperware container.
  • Great options include; quinoa, rice, pasta etc. with veggies as well
  • If you’re a fan of bean salads, quinoa, pasta salad etc. make a big batch on Sunday night, refrigerate and you will have meals for a good portion of the week.
  • Make sure to either eat breakfast at home before leaving to go to work OR bring breakfast to work. If you don’t eat breakfast you will end up buying a lot more food then you should.
  • Buy snacks to store at your desk or somewhere at work. These munchies may help you get through the day and save you from buying snacks at work. Obviously if you’re into that whole healthy eating thing, the healthier the snacks the better.
  • When buying groceries, purchase foods that are easy to bring to work ie. Sandwiches as well as portion size yogurts. Plan out what you want to eat for breakfast and lunch before the morning of.
  • Despite how stubborn I have been for the last 4 years of work at 9-5 jobs in the summers. My mom always had some great advice. Pack your lunch the night before! It saves you from giving up and leaving the house without a lunch and having to buy one at work if your running late etc.
  • Also if you are living at home this summer while working, make sure to snatch the best of the leftovers first. You know it can be a free for all sometimes, especially when the leftovers are pizza.
Great Recipes & Meal Ideas
Breakfast
Oatmeal (small pouches or quick oats)- Bring a tupperware container to work, put the oatmeal in and the appropriate amount of water, microwave or add boiling water. Add a variety of fresh or frozen fruits. Easy to make and healthy.
Oatmeal Recipes
“Egg McMuffin”
Or you could just go with cereal…
Lunch
Presto Pasta Salad
Cheap Healthy Lunch Ideas for Work
Brown Bag Lunches
Great Dinner/Lunch Leftover Ideas



Best Products to Buy in May

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Given that around this time of year students have virtually little money, and the little money they have needs to be stretched far, I have decided to give you a little bit of a buyer’s guide for May.

Here’s a little bit of a breakdown of the best things to buy during the month of May. 
  1. Mattresses- According to lifehacker “new mattresses come out in the summer” so May is the time when old stock will be cleared out at discount prices. Many students will be moving into new rental housing coming September BUT you already have a lease set up for the whole summer. If you are thinking of buying a new mattress May is your month.
  2. Patio Furniture- May once again is the month to buy patio furniture. Keeping this relevant to student’s needs, those who are possibly living away from home this summer in their university town may not have anything in the way of patio furniture. Make sure to check out garage sales as home owners are dumping their old furniture in order to upgrade to new furniture for the summer season. You might even get lucky and find someone just giving away their old furniture.
  3. Spring clothing- During the end of April and early May spring clothing is definitely on sale and most often deeply discounted in order to clear shelves for the incoming summer clothing.
  4. Gym Memberships-These deals won’t be advertised but you will have a bit of haggling room when it comes to gym memberships now since the weather is getting warmer outside. There still is a lot of benefit to going to an indoor gym in the summer and students who are moving back home are unable to use their University gym like they have during the school year.
  5. Laptops-New Intel chip technology (Ivy Bridge) is going to be rolling out soon, so all systems using the old Sandy Bridge technology will be going on sale. Make sure to check around to find the best deals.
 
 
Sources
lifehacker.com