BootsnAll Travel Community

Im going to try an experiment, to eat only cereal for breakfast and dinner. I'm young and single so i can do silly stuff like that. We'll see how it goes. I figure i could save gobs of cash this way, though!

Haha, sounds like a diet plan too! Just hope you get in your vitamins during lunch!

I believe that was the gist of Special K's "Lost a jean's size in 4 weeks' campaign. So now you are potentially going to have to SPEND money on new jeans.....haha

I ate ramen noodles and drank water my entire first year of college, so I know that the cereal thing will allow you to save a lot of money. If you saved 90% of all the money you spent on food for a year…man that would be a crap load of cash!

I am impressed, most people aren’t willing to make sacrifices for what they want, kudos to you.

If you really want to save money, stay away from the boxed cereal. Go straight to your local bulk-bin grocery and buy gallons of quick-oatmeal flakes and bushels of granola.

And while you're at it, powdered milk is cheaper than the real thing.

Hell, if all you are eating is dry milk and granola, you can just unplug the fridge and save on the power bill too!

I'm always baffled by the people who do things like cutting down to nothing by ramen to save money and then go out and buy beer every other night. Alcohol must be one of the biggest drains on most people's budgets.

Food is one thing that I find it hard to cut back on. I let myself spend $20 a week on groceries, and then I have a certain budget for drinks with friends, movies, and those sorts of things. If I don't have something that I want to eat at home I will just buy myself dinner. That waste the money I could have been spending on time with my friends.

I don't really thing it is possible, or even very smart to cut yourself off from all the things you want/like. That will just make you waste more on spurging.

I have a really hard time not going out to eat on the weekends - though going 'out to eat' usually means spending under $10($15 if I splurge) at a cheap Indian place. I just hate the idea of staying in my apartment all of the time on sunny days. I can cut it to bare-bones during the week, but can't stop the weekend splurging - sometimes I'll even spend $5-6 on a bargain matinee movie.

I keep a money spreadsheet so I can keep track of my expenses. I have all my different spending categories and a monthly budget for each. I then go into my bank account online and update the spreadsheet every so often -- then I can see where my money is going. It really keeps me on top of my spending and more aware of my habits.

There's no way I can stop going out to eat/going to movies, etc., so I've created a eating out/entertainment category with a set weekly budget. If I don't spend the total for the week, the rest goes to trip fund!

I'm also going to get a CD from the bank b/c it looks like the rates are pretty decent, so that'll get me a couple more bucks :-)

Hey -

Just put some money into a 1 year CD today. At my bank, it gives 5.4% in a year... put in $5000 so I'll make $270 for about 15 minutes time spent at the bank setting it up. Now that's easy money

Brooke has some excellent ideas -- I say that because it's exactly what I do

Keeping track of your spending really helps. It's easy with online banking because you can see all your transactions (if you pay mostly with debit and credit), so at the end of the month you can figure out where you need to cut back and make changes for the next month.

High interest savings account are also a godsend.

PS: Brian and Brooke... just checked out your site and I have to say, you two are the coolest couple in the Universe. I'm wrought with envy.

Christine thank you! That is sweet of you to say :-)


Looks like you have a great trip planned out. I'll make sure and keep tabs on your blog while you're out and about!

Justin, go for it!

And as was pointed out, for cost reasons go for bulk grains. The aspect is that box cereals are horrible for you while your nice bulk grains (rolled oats, cracked wheat, even polenta aka grits) are very healthy. Invest in a few nuts and dried friuts and make your own version of museli. That keeps it from being too bland, and provides additional protiens and other good stuff. Put enough nuts and some flax seed oil for Omega-3s in, and you'll be able to cut back on your mid-day meal as well.

Yum

I started doing something absurd like this as well. I set myself a $60 a month budget for beer etc. I know I know, I HAD to or else I would kill someone lol. (Alcoholic??)

For lunch and dinner sometimes, I mostly just eat canned tuna. I make sandwiches also, and ramen here and there. Occasionally Ill splurge and eat spaghetti, chicken, or my fav. TACOS. I also grabbed a second job (which im quitting in 1 more day thank freakin god!)
Saving a SHITLOAD.

OHH and lets not forget the ultimate sacrifce, when my lease is up in FEB, im moving back in with my parents. I dont mind, I get the couch and homecooked meals and no bills for 150 a month! Gotta save for a 2month road/surfing/exploring trip through Mexico and possibly Belize and Guatemala