Day 1 - Formulating the Plan

While a full account of my current financial standing is forthcoming, looking in my fridge suggested to me my first easy and obvious budget planning measure: cooking more meals at home rather than eating out.

I went to BJ's today and bought a full stock of pasta, deli meats, and other basic salad and lunch combination items and then spent the next 3 hours preparing different choices for the next week. Lunch typically averages about $7.50 a pop, while the food I bought will probably be about $4 a pop, saving about $14 a week. While small, this also has an immense health benefit.

In addition, I had already embarked on my coffee savings plan by grinding and brewing my own morning coffee, but I have now also decided, for both health and economic reasons, to forgo my afternoon cup of joe. The afternoon coffee alone will save me about $11.25 a week.

By tomorrow, I should have a full financial picture and better Excel accounting sheets to track my expenses and then budget out each of my bills. But already, with these two measures, I can save an extra $100 and put it toward paying down my debt.