My buddy Derek called me out on my old grocery habit and it stuck with me

He said I was spending $8 a day on sandwiches at lunch when I could make a week's worth for the same cost, and somehow hearing it from a dude who drives a 2002 Corolla made it click. Anyone else have a friend who casually drops a truth bomb that rewires how you think about money?

3 comments

3 Comments

oscarw8315d agoMost Upvoted

Start tracking what you actually spend on lunch for two weeks. I did this and almost choked when I saw it was nearly $50 a week just on sandwiches and a drink. Now I make a big batch of chicken salad on Sunday and portion it out for the week. Costs me like $12 total and tastes way better than the gas station ones I was grabbing. The key is having it ready so you don't talk yourself into swinging through the drive thru when you're hungry.

lunakim15d ago

That "you don't talk yourself into swinging through the drive thru" part really hit home for me. It's like my brain has this ability to completely forget about the leftovers sitting in the work fridge the second I smell fast food. But here's something I haven't seen anyone mention yet - the time of day you prep matters way more than you'd think. @oscarw83, you said you do Sunday prep, but I tried doing it on a Wednesday evening instead and it made a huge difference. Sunday prep always felt like I was wasting my weekend, but doing it midweek felt more like I was setting myself up for the second half of the week. Plus there's less pressure to make it perfect when you're not staring at a whole week ahead of you. It's still the same chicken salad, but my brain just cooperates better when prep feels like a quick task instead of a big Sunday chore.

graygonzalez15d ago

$50 a week on gas station sandwiches? That's wild but also I've been there lol. @lunakim's idea about midweek prep is actually lowkey genius though, might have to steal that since Sunday is my lazy day too.