CASH MONEY: Cook at home to save some dough
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When I was in college, I made some financial mistakes, namely maxing out a credit card and acquiring a taste for pricey call girls.
But, during my university years, I did acquire a skill that's been a fiscal godsend: I figured out how to cook.
What does that have to do with money? you may ask. A lot.
While my classmates were spending their money on tacos for breakfast, burgers for lunch and pizza for dinner — and selling their plasma to do it — I was whipping up home-cooked meals for a fraction of the cost.
It saved me, both financially and by preventing my ass from having its own ZIP code.
Let's face it: Eating out is a costly addiction. Even if you think you're being thrifty when you do it, the expense adds up, big time. Let's say you spend just $7 a day going to lunch at Taco Grease-o (that's the No. 2 special plus a Coke and a tip). By the time a month rolls around, you've dropped more than $200.
Of course, we rationalize the expense by saying we don't have time too cook or that our favorite places to eat are so inexpensive we couldn't prepare food at home that cheaply.
I call bullshit on both counts.
We may be busy, but if we time it right, we can cook at home. And you don't have to eat the food the same day you make it. That's why God created Tupperware.
Here are some tips for keeping your food bills low as you cook for yourself:
Buy what you need: I hear friends complain that they drop $50 at the grocery and have little to show for it. Plan your meals, and stick to your shopping list.
Talk to Mom: Sometimes, the foods we crave the most are those faves we remember from living with Mom. Ring her up, bond and learn.
When you can, cook from scratch: That bag of sliced carrots might cost twice as much as a carrot you have to (gasp!) spend a whole extra minute peeling and chopping.
Cook in quantity: Whip up one big pot of something — lasagna, soup, curry — and eat on it for the week.
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