Tips For Saving Money Each Workday
by Julie Phillips
It's amazing how much money we can spend in our workday that we just can't track later on. The following tips will help you save hundreds of dollars each year and get you looking and feeling better too.
Food and drinks
The price of lunches is skyrocketing. If you compare the price of your fave sandwiches and make them yourself, you'll be able to make them for a fraction of the shop cost. Recently I compared the price of a sandwich at a local sandwich shop to the cost of buying the ingredients at a supermarket and for the price of two sandwiches, I was able to make 12 lunches of a similar nature so that would keep me fed for over 2 weeks.
Simply make them and freeze them. Pop a frozen sandwich in your bag in the morning. You can store it in the fridge at work and it's fresh, soft and ready to eat at lunchtime.
Alternatively, buy a range of fresh, healthy ingredients that you like to eat and put them in a lunchbox. You can buy one that holds a freezer block to keep them fresh for a small outlay. Fresh lettuce, tomato, cheese, deli meat, carrot and whatever else you like can be taken and you can add your favourite salad dressing which can be kept at work. It's much cheaper than the store bought alternative and most workplaces have a refrigerator where you can keep the ingredients there for each day and make up a fresh salad.
Bring your own drinks to work. Buying a coffee from a specialty coffee shop can cost from AU$3.80 - AU$6.00. You could buy a small tin of coffee for the same price which would make you 30-60 cups of coffee depending upon the size of the tin and how you have it. If you're buying it for the froth on top, then even buying the pre-made cappuccino satchels in about 10 per pack for approximately $5 will save you about $35 on buying 10 store bought coffees.
Water is the same. Purchasing bottled water from a delicatessen, take away food bar or coffee shop can be very costly when compared to purchasing the same bottles from a supermarket. Planning ahead and purchasing a week's worth of water will save you money and even better, using a drink bottle and filling it with bulk bottled water each day will save you even more.
Avoiding chocolate bars and other treats that you normally spend money on will save an incredible amount of money when you think about how much each one costs and add up your weekly expenditure on them timed by the number of weeks you work each year, you will see that you can save quite a lot of money and that's a few more pounds in weight that you don't need to worry about. Find healthy alternatives that you can take to work with you if you have a sweet tooth.
Travel
Assuming it's safe to, you could take public transport instead of driving. At first it may seem more expensive to spend $30 or more dollars a week on public transport. But if you add up the cost of fuel along with maintenance, wear and tear on your car etc. it can save you quite a bit of money plus add anywhere up to a year or more onto the life of your car giving you an extra year to save up for the next one. The money you save in running costs on the car can go towards a new and better car.
Changing the way you go to work can be good for you too. If you live within 30 minutes of work, you could cycle. It's great exercise and helps cut down on pollution. Also, walking of course is good for you and if you buy your bus ticket to one stop sooner it may cost less and give you exercise too.
Just don't try to skip out on your train fares etc. without paying. It can cost you much more money in fines.
Shopping
Personally I think window shopping is torture, but if you're into it, make sure that you leave the wallet at the office. The point is to look only and it prevents impulse buying.
If you have to fit in shopping during your lunch hour, then make sure that you work out in advance exactly what it is that you need to buy. Be sure of the size, colour and style of clothing and know what it is to match in your wardrobe. Don't rush the shopping in one lunchtime. Start shopping a few days at least before you need it if possible so that you can take your time. It's better to buy the one skirt or top than to purchase an entire new outfit. Be firm with yourself and don't spend money on accessories that you don't absolutely need.
Reading
Instead of buying expensive books, try the local library and take your favourite book with you to read. They usually have newspapers and magazines also saving you a small fortune. If your local library doesn't have magazines and newspapers and you just have to see what's happening, use their internet service to catch up on the latest news and gossip. This can actually be even better because the internet news is usually updated every few hours so it will really be up to the minute when compared to printed news. Should the others not be the way for you and you really just have to have a magazine or newspaper collection, then subscriptions are the cheapest option. They can be delivered and as long as other people aren't stealing them, you can end up getting a few editions each year for free.
Special work deals and offers
Some workplaces have a social club where they offer cheaper prices on a variety of goods and services. It can also help to create a new social group for you.
Clothing and cleaning
Good quality work clothing can be purchased cheaply through warehouses, second hand clothing stores (some specialize in workwear), online and even through friends. Be careful when purchasing online. Ensure that you stick to good quality labels that you're familiar with, follow the rules and tips of the site you're purchasing from to avoid a bad purchase and if a deal seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Doing your homework can bag you a bargain.
Drycleaning costs can really add up so it's worth checking out your local drycleaners and finding out what their specials are. Often having more items cleaned at once can save you money so if you don't have enough to take advantage of the specials, ask around at work. Perhaps one of your associates has a suit or two that he/she would like cleaned and you can take advantage of the good savings. Also, some drycleaners have books of discount tickets or monthly specials on some items. This can save you money on the homefront too. Of course another alternative is to buy items that can be washed normally by hand or machine wash. Ensuring that you follow the cleaning and drying instructions will increase the life of the article. Ironing instructions are normally available as well and will prevent having to unnecessarily throw away your favourite blouse due to iron burns. Buying iron-free clothes will save you a lot of extra time.
Stationery
If you need to supply your own stationery for work, settling for a packet of ordinary biros instead of an expensive brand of pen that will most likely be pinched, will last you longer and save you a ton of money. The same applies with stationery as with other shopping - look for a bargain. Sometimes an employer will allow you to order stationery when they order their business stationery, letting you take advantage of their business discount.
Don't forget to find out about what you can claim on your income tax and keep receipts of your stationery and other work expenses. It will add up to an even bigger saving at tax time.
Smoking
If you're a smoker, it's easy to look the other way and ignore the expense of it once you light up, but it's also becoming a social issue due to its third party effects and the ugly lines of smokers outside of workplaces meaning an exclusion of them from other workers. It's no secret that smokers carry the smell of their habit with them also so these are good reasons to quit. It's often the financial factor of their expense that causes people to quit. Cutting down on smoking during work hours will save you money, make you look and feel better and you may even be able to quit by gradually cutting down a little more at a time.