Food & Finances

I rarely buy anything fun for myself. If I do splurge, it’s always something on sale. My point is that almost all of my money is spent on food — and coffee. So, why is it that when I’m at the grocery store, I have an inner struggle paying $20 for dinner ingredients that will feed me and my roommate a home cooked meal AND leave leftovers for us both, but I don’t think twice about dropping $9 for one meal at school that is made from processed ingredients that has been sitting under a heat lamp for 3 hours? Why, you might ask, will I debate paying $10 for a pound of coffee that will yield 48 cups, but I will unconsciously spend $2.24 a day on ONE at school? It leads me to wonder how much being lazy is actually costing me in terms of calories AND cash!

My personal rule is that you can eat anything you want IF you prepare it on your own. That way you have control over the distribution of calories, carbohydrates, proteins and fat that will be most beneficial for you and your needs. For example, if you prepare a hamburger and French fries at your own house instead of grabbing one from the drive through, you can save yourself over 600 calories and 40 grams of fat! And although we think fast food is so inexpensive, preparing this meal at home will also save you over 3 dollars!

My original motivation for writing this blog was based on a delicious yogurt parfait at school that I keep purchasing despite its ridiculous price of $4.08. I knew that if I replicated this creation at home that I could reduce the price. Imagine my surprise when I found I could make it for ½ the cost. I wish I could say this revelation means the café will never get 4 dollars and 8 cents of my money again. Realistically, this just means that I’ll think twice and might avert a few purchases in the future with my newfound knowledge. Stay tuned for my next blog where I will divulge some quick and easy DIY calorie and money savers.

(Calorie counts were determined using NutritionCalc Plus and pricing was determined using Harris Teeter express lane. Also, I’m from Pittsburgh where we drink pop and not soda in case you needed any clarification!)