by Diane Palmer

Created on: February 25, 2008   Last Updated: April 06, 2010

Before you start turning off the heat or living off mac and cheese, take a look at your daily expenses. Those little things you probably purchase throughout the day on working days. A coffee here, a muffin there.. vending machines... all those quarters here and quarters there add up big time.

If you are like most of us, and are basically running as soon as your feet hit the ground with kids, work etc, then it can be hard to pass up on these treats that get you through your day.

But if you stop and really add them up, you may not actually have to turn off your heat, or not eat for a week to save money. Here is an example.. a friend of mine needed a better car, and she told me, she just could not afford the payment, but when she looked at her salary, she realized, that she should be able to live better than what she was. Other women in her office were making the same money, and just seemed to be more organized, and leading a better life.

We sat down one night when she was not frazzled from work, and actually wrote down her daily activities. She got a latte (not just a plain coffee, but an expensive latte) on the way to work, because she felt she deserved it. Plus a gourmet muffin, these both together cost her 5.00 dollars.. and that's even before she got to work.

At work, she would get a sandwich from the deli at lunch and a drink.. 8.00 dollars, and in the afternoon, she bought a vending machine chocolate bar, and another coffee, which was 2.00 dollars. That is 15.00 dollars right there. Assuming a 5 day work week, that is 75.00 dollars a week, just in "treats". That's not including the nights she was so tired, she bought take out for dinner.

Now this may be extreme for most people, but even those coffees, or vending machines, or takeout add up - even 5 dollars per day, is 25.00/week. That could take two of you to the movies on the weekend.

So, for my friend, she started organizing her life better, she got up 1/2 hour earlier, and put on a pot of coffee and would make her lunch and snacks while it was brewing. She ate breakfast instead of the muffin, and found the time, because she was actually wasting 1/2 hour getting those latte's and muffins in the morning. She put a crock pot on for dinner, and is renting movies and magazines from the library. She said she was actually saving 100.00 per week doing all of this, that is 400 dollars per month towards her car, just from latte's, muffins, take out, and chocolate bars.

She was so excited with this result, that she started looking at other parts of her life, and where her money is going. I could have told her that...clothes shopping!, but I will let her figure that out. So, before you start getting extreme, and start turning off the heat, and the lights, and eating mac and cheese, just check your daily spending habits and see if you can't just "find the money"... even those quarters add up.

Learn more about this author, Diane Palmer.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.