My Eating Challenge Update

On Monday I announced my plans to eat healthier and save $200 a month. Here is a short recap from that post,

“Monday – Thursday I’ll be eating lunch here at work. And I’m not packing a lunch in the morning… that has been a pitfall in the past. If I was running late or felt slack I could just skip out on making a lunch for the day. Instead, I’ll be stashing some bread, lunch meat (turkey) and chips (or something like that) in a fridge here at work and will make my lunch on a daily basis. Friday will be a cheat day.

In doing this I will not only be cutting calories out of my diet and reducing the amount of fried food I eat, I’ll also be saving a nice chunk of money. If I can stick to this plan I’ve estimated that I’ll save, at a minimum, $200 a month by not eating out for lunch.”

I knew I’d be saving money by not eating out for lunch, but I’ve taken it one step further. I’ve given each meal of the day a dollar amount – $5 for breakfast and $10 for lunch and dinner. When I don’t eat out I transfer the dollar amount represented by that meal and transfer the money from my checking to savings account. It had made the process very real for me and has been very effective so far. Sure it’s only been four days, but that alone is a success compared to previous attempts.

I had dinner out Tuesday and Wednesday night (sorry, I’m social), but other than that I’ve managed to rack up $70 through lunch today. In addition to the money I’ve lowered my calorie intake which can only be a good thing. Oh… and the biggie, I’ve not eaten fried food all week!

PS – I got back on my road bike for the first time in several months last night and managed to get in a quick 23 miles. It felt great to ride again – very calming.