food

6 Things People Spend Too Much Money On

You work hard for your money—don't throw it away where you don't need to. Check out this list of things people regularly waste their money on.

There's an unfortunate trend nowadays where people who don't really have the luxury of excess money spend what they do have on things they don't need. This isn't completely the fault of those people; saving is hard. If you believe your money isn't really working for you, there are a few things you should reexamine. Here are some of the common things people spend too much money on.

Groceries

As an unavoidable part of living, many people don't put too much thought into how much they spend on groceries. If you're strapped for cash, you shouldn't frequent the more expensive grocery stores. Instead, try to focus on buying in bulk. While this may seem more expensive in the moment, the long-run savings you'll make by buying in bulk will actually end up saving you money.

Clothing

If you're always buying brand-new clothes from department stores, you are not working with your clothing budget at all. There are plenty of secondhand and thrift stores that you can get clothes from, often the same quality at much better prices. You don't have to give up your shopping trips, you just need to adjust where you're buying from.

Eating Out

Many of us treat going out to eat as the norm for most of our meals. However, you should try to rethink this. Takeout and delivery are great, but restaurants charge extra for the convenience that they bring to the table. To go along with buying in bulk as we said above, flex your cooking muscles a few more times a week and you'll have much more money in your pocket.

Gym Memberships

There's nothing wrong with paying for a gym membership, as getting equipment for your home can also be cost prohibitive. However, there are different levels of gym memberships. If you are subscribed to a gym that offers saunas, massages, hot tubs, and steam rooms but never use those services, you are letting your money slip away with every month that goes by.

Coffee

You can't talk about things people spend too much money on without mentioning coffee. If you are someone that gets coffee on your way to work every day, you are flushing money down the drain. Unless you're just desperate for a sugar high, buying and making coffee at home is a much more cost-effective way to get your early morning caffeine.

Cable Television

Let's face it, when was the last time you really watched cable television? If you're like many, you're much more focused on streaming services for your viewing pleasures. Don't pay for something you never use. Drop the cable subscription and you probably won't even notice it being gone, but your wallet probably will.

From Your Site Articles
money
PayPath
Follow Us on

Perfect Your Meal Prep For Healthy Office Eating

Getty Images

It can be a real struggle to stay healthy at the office. It's tempting to eat out every day for lunch, or to grab something quickly which isn't always the best option. Processed snacks fill up vending machines and seem like they're taking away your choice to eat something fresh. It's hard to consistently eat well, but here are some great tips for clean eating and saving money by bringing your own food to work.

Make It Convenient

Keep healthy foods at the front of your fridge and junk foods at the back.Getty Images

Eating healthy can be a huge pain, but if you lay the groundwork it can be a lot easier. People eat what's convenient because that's the way our brains are wired. If the easiest thing to eat were also the healthiest, you'd see a big difference in your habits. Cut up big bowls of fruit salad and take some to work to snack on, bring healthy alternatives to chips like carrots and hummus, and always check your processed food labels to make sure your 'healthy' granola bar doesn't have twice the sugar of a can of Coke. A big help with convenience is meal prepping so you can just grab your lunch on your way out.

Prepping Is Key

Prep in stages or all at once. It's on your schedule. Getty Images

Prep can be the worst part of making every meal. It takes up the bulk of the time. Still, it's crucial to make healthy meals in advance and luckily, there are different ways to do it. You could break it up so that you don't have to do it all at once, or you could make a big day of it. I find it easier to clean and cut up a whole container of strawberries and leave them ready in the fridge rather than clean a handful of strawberries each time I want a snack. It takes more time in the moment, but the rewards are substantial throughout the week. Yes, prepping also includes making a shopping list and planning the type of meals you want and what you need to buy. It's a process, but it's something you get better at with practice.

Give Your Meal a Home

Use Tupperware containers to prepare several meals for the week. Getty Images

Invest in your Tupperware if you want to bring your own lunch to work. If you have a nice set of containers, you can meal prep multiple meals for the week, and you don't have to worry about needing to wash the one you used the day before just so you can repack your meal for the next day.

Mix and Match

Roast veggies and meats together to save time and make multiple meals. Getty Images

If you get easily bored eating the same meal for lunch every day, learn how to prepare foods you can mix and match. Make more than one type of meat, grain, and vegetable, and rotate the combinations. This variety will make it easier to get excited about your lunch and cut down on the craving to eat out. You don't have to prepare a lot of each item, but be mindful of things that will taste good with a different range of sides.

Bring Your Own Snacks

Nuts and fruit provide a healthy energy boost that won't make you crash.Getty Images

If you suddenly can't make it to lunch and you're too hungry to go on, then you're going to rush to grab whatever snack you can find. If you pack your own snacks and have them on hand, then you don't have to worry about being forced to make unhealthy choices. A bag of nuts kept in your desk drawer won't go bad quickly, and bringing fresh fruit and veggies each day will be a nice reprieve from salty processed snacks.

Making healthy choices is difficult in our modern culture, and especially in our modern workplaces. If making better selections is important to you, then learn to love the groundwork and all of the benefits it brings.

Good luck and happy prepping!

Related Articles Around the Web
meal prep

Why restaurants are moving away from tipping

pixabay.com

To tip or not to tip? That is the question these days… not on the minds of patrons, but from restaurant owners themselves. Would eliminating the common, longtime practice of tipping waitstaff benefit employees as well as diners?

As per H Careers, "Some activists and commentators criticize the practice of tipping at restaurants, often alleging that tipped workers like servers and bartenders are underpaid. According to supporters of the so-called 'no-tipping movement', restaurants should eliminate tipping and instead institute a service charge or raise prices in efforts to pay their workers higher wages. The discrepancy in pay between servers and back of house employees is a reason some restaurateurs want to end tipping (as well)."

This seems like a reasonable notion, as some people are poor or inadequate tippers despite satisfactory service. And restaurant employees like waitstaff, bartenders, runners, and bussers rely heavily on tips as part of their take-home pay.

pexels.com

"Employees in other occupations know their pay rate before starting work. Waiters, waitresses and bartenders, on the other hand, often have no idea how much they will earn from a day's labor," as per The Conversation. "Shifting to a model where labor costs are built into food and drink prices has many benefits. It shifts risk away from workers by eliminating uncertainty and by providing more stability in a server's pay."

Danny Meyer of the Union Square Hospitality Group is one of the more well-known restauranteurs aboard the no-tip train. As of Nov. 2015, Union Square Hospitality Group, "roll(ed) out an across-the-board elimination of tips at every one of its thirteen full-service venues, hand in hand with an across-the-board increase in (menu) prices," as per Eater New York.

Meyer stated, "The American system of tipping is awkward for all parties involved: restaurant patrons are expected to have the expertise to motivate and properly remunerate service professionals; servers are expected to please up to 1,000 different employers (for most of us, one boss is enough!); and restaurateurs surrender their use of compensation as an appropriate tool to reward merit and promote excellence."

Some other popular restaurants which don't take tips, as per CNN, include Manhattan's Dirt Candy, Chicago's Alinea, and San Francisco's Bar Agricole.

Thrillist notes two main reasons to get rid of tipping. "The first is moral. Studies have shown diners judge servers (and therefore adjust their tips) based on looks and race, and servers judge diners (and therefore adjust their effort) on age, race, and ethnicity. The server is incentivized to drive up the check and manipulate the diner. And the diner can use the tip as a weird form of punishment/reward. The second argument is wage discrepancy."

unsplash.com

Do diners prefer tipping or is this no-tipping method on its way to becoming the new norm? Cake from Sysco suggests some pros of a no-tip policy. "Guests may be excited to try a brand-new way of dining. Raising ticket prices allows restaurant operators to raise wages for all employees, including servers, barbacks, and kitchen staff. Higher wages increase employee loyalty and morale." That said, there are the cons. "Some critics are concerned that without tips, staff will be less motivated to provide great service." Plus, the adjustment will take time to get used to.

If a restaurant-wide end to tipping ever comes about, it is sure to be gradual, but as more and more restaurants adopt the payment model, the more customers will get accustomed to it. Would you like to see an end to tipping and an increase in menu prices to make up for the change?

'Till then, tip your server fairly and if they've gone above and beyond, generously.

pixabay.com

Related Articles Around the Web
tipping

How to save money while eating out at restaurants

I'll just come right out and say it — I hate cooking. When I have the energy to meal prep on Sunday's, I'm all set but every other time I'll end up going out or ordering in. And sitting down at a restaurant can get very expensive even at the cheapest restaurants.

I don't know why but eating out with friends is even more expensive — probably because you don't see the bill adding up when you're having fun. Anyways, old habits die hard so here are some ways you can save money while being lazy about cooking.

Keep readingShow less