- Brown bag lunch on M W F. Brown bag lunches are cheap and healthy, and save about $3-4 per lunch. That’s $9-$12. You’ll save gas by not going lunch and you can go outside and take a walk (and save money on the health club).
- Quit giving the IRS money for nothing. 85 million American get income tax refunds. According to TurboTax, the average refund was $2,257. Stick that money in your 401(k) and you’ll still save it, but save the taxes: about $400. You now have your refund earning interest in your 401(k), and have $8 a week more for gas. Go down to payroll and change your exemptions. In general figure about one exemption for every $600 of federal refund. Change federal and Michigan, if you get a Michigan refund as well. Check with your tax guy.
- If you’re really stuck, you can take money from the refund and apply it toward gas. Michigan refunds are probably better to use, since you might have to pay tax on them.
- Go to the drugstore and buy yourself a little notebook. Write down everything you spend money on. I’ll bet there’s at least $20 extra bucks.
- Cut out the brown water. Drink a Coke from the Coke machine? $1.25 a day (or about $7.18 a week). Drink diet coke? That’s $7.18 of caffeinated flavored water. Decaf diet coke? Brown water. Same thing for the skinny half-caf latte at Starbucks. Except that’s $3.25 a day or $22.75 a week. Heaven forbid you drink a decaf diet coke AND a skinny half-caf latte, now you have $30 in brown water that could be going in your tank.
That’s five things that save you between $25 and 50 bucks a week and maybe even get you some retirement money.
Leon LaBrecque
