Snacks on the go

I've realized that I talk about food a lot on this blog. I have a hard time parting with more than $40 at a time (an additional part of the dilemma in yesterday's post) but going out to eat and other food spending was derailing my nonbudget.* As a result I look for ways to keep myself away from restaurants and drive-thrus.

I spend a lot of time in my car. Most is work, but there’s also errand running, socializing, and the different ways I earn money on the side. Some days this means going from the office to an event without time to stop home for dinner. Other days work visits run late and by the time I get back to my car I could eat a vegetarian horse.

To help tide me over until I can get to real food I keep a bag of snacks in the car. Right now its 100 cal snack packs. Over the winter I did a research study that involved snack packs and at the end they gave me boxes and boxes to take home. When those run out I’ll probably make my own snack packs with dried fruit, trail mix, and whatever else I can think up.

To keep my car from looking like a vending machine I stash the snack packs in a tote bag on the floor of the back seat.** Any time I feel hungry or start thinking about a Starbucks run I reach into the backseat and grab a snack.

Thats what works for me!

*I didn't have an official budget until recently. My previous method was to keep a running tally of approximately how much went onto the credit card for the month, trying to stay below a preset amount.

**I live in a two person child free household. As a result the back seat is rarely used. Some other options at the glove compartment and the hump between the front seats.

Planning ahead

The most important thing you can do when trying to keep your finances on track is plan ahead. Even if you have impulse spending under control a lack of planning will derail all of you efforts

Today I bough ink for my printer, so I’ll use that as an example. If I’d waited until my printer was low on ink I’d have to go to a local retailers and spend double the money. Instead I planed ahead and ordered online. Even with the price of shipping I saved half of what I’d spend at a big box store.

That’s one example but it extends to all areas of life. A big area for most folks trying to reduce spending is food. Planning ahead can ensure that you have food for the week to avoid ordering pizza or going out. Making sure you have something to make a quick breakfast on busy morning will help you avoid the drive through.

In addition to keeping you budget in check planning ahead can help you create a more accurate budget. At my last oil change they told me the tread level of my tires. Instead of saying ok and going home I asked when I'll need a new set. He let me know that by summer I should get new ones. With three to four months I can do research on the best tires for my needs and shop around for the best prices. I can also write the amount into my monthly budgets to save up.

Anything you wish you'd planned ahead for? Or an example of planning helping you?