Brown Bagging It

I have actually been brown bagging it at work. I usually either go out to lunch or just do not have lunch. I have refused to brown bag up to this point. There has been a couple times where Diana has tried to switch me over, but I resisted. This time, I am not resisting. Diana and I have had a long talk about our current financial situation. Things are fine. We really have no money problems. Little debt, relatively cheap car payments, and I make enough money to be able to put some away at the end of every month. So you are now asking, why were you talking about your financial situation?

Well, Diana and I have plans, we want to progress in life. Once day move to St. George, buy a big house, ensure ours and our children's future by putting away enough for college for the kids, plus saving more for weddings and other things that will surely be coming. All this and my company has frozen salaries for the year. How am I going to get a raise to help us along our financial path? The only way I get a raise this year is to save money.

"Brown bagging is saving money." That is what I say to myself as I take my lunch in the morning and eat it in the afternoon. It is just so much funner to eat out. To make things fair, I am still doing Monday Wendy's and then one other day a week I go to Costco for a hot dog or a slice of pizza (I love Costco pizza). This seems like a pretty good trade-off.

We are doing other things as well. Refinancing the house to a better rate (a no-cost streamline refinance). I am looking at our car insurance to see where we can save (will be switching in April when current contract expires). We have also been looking at other items that we could reduce our monthly spend on.

It is going to be a long year, and it also looks as if things are going to get worse out in the world before it gets better.

Who knows, maybe a year from now I will like brown bagging it so much I won't even notice.