Rich Little Poor Girl Friday #3

Lesson #3: BROWN BAGGIN’ IT

After last Friday’s post y’all ran out and stockpiled a bunch of dietary staples. Now you are ready to take the next step: Basic Training for Brown Baggin’.

Ten years ago when I started my municipal job I was buying coffee from the on site cafe. Staff who supplied their own cup only paid a buck. A minor indulgence, yes?

Hell, no! Two cups a day, three times a week, 42 weeks a year equals $252.00 on coffee that never tasted right no matter how much cream I topped it with. Add one biscotti a week at $2.00 and one bought lunch a week at $6.00 and I was spending a total of $588.00 per year on stuff I had at home.

Take a few minutes to think about your weekly indulgences and do the mental math – how much are you spending on coffee and lunch annually? Are you shocked and disgusted?

No? Good for you – somebody needs to keep the wheels of capitalism turning. Stop wasting your time reading my blog and go buy something.

Yes? Read on – you need to reconsider your spending practices.

The first thing you should know is that training yourself to diligently brown bag isn’t going to be easy.

It means you have to ensure that you have coffee, snack, and lunch fixin’s well stocked at home.

It means you have to occasionally eat peanut butter on soda crackers when you were too tired or lazy to do a much needed grocery shop the night before.

It means you have to set your alarm earlier in the morning in order to have time to prep your own brew and foodstuffs.

It means you have to carry a dorky little lunch bag with you on transit and hope that (a) the Tupperware you packed your spaghetti in sealed properly and doesn’t leak out all over your lap, and (b) you don’t set your dorky little lunch bag down on a bench at your transfer point and forget it there, making yourself late for work when you have to circle back on the bus and retrieve it.

The second thing you should know is that suffering through brown bag boot camp is not all pain and no gain; the coffee, cookies, and lunches you make yourself will taste better and be healthier.

Remember…when your brown bag enthusiasm starts to wane, you can always cheer yourself up by thinking about what you’ll spend your recouped $600.00* on.

*or more, if you buy your daily coffee at Fivebucks.

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