Thursday, July 25, 2013

My 2 cents: about tea...



Ok.   

We all have our splurges

Something that we just LOVE to treat ourselves to.

Mine is tea.  

Unsweet tea to be exact.

No sugar please, just pure, caffeinated, natural-tea goodness.

And I love to get it when I am out and about.

When McDonald's has this ice-filled-happiness in a cup JUST waiting for me for only $1, how can I refuse?

Well, I couldn't until I added up my the cost of my treat out vs. the cost of making it at home.  

A box of tea bags from Aldi (can't remember the exact price) is roughly $2.89.

for 100 bags.

I use 2 per cup of iced tea.

So we are talking $0.06 per LARGE CUP, just like McDonald's.  

So lets annualize and  get the big-picture here...  

A tea a day at McD:   $365

A tea a day from home:  $21.90

Savings of $343.10

That is 13 date-nights out; having a glass of wine for him, coffee for me and splitting a gourmet dessert. (Honestly my idea of a PERFECT date)

That is 11 family dinners out at our favorite local pizza place

That is a fun visit to Ikea

That is a wonderful day spent in Chicago, complete with nice lunch and dinner out and a little spending money for everyone.


My point is, it ALL ADDS UP!  And if we (mostly my hubby) works SO HARD for our money, shouldn't we do our best to keep as much of it as we can?  

Anyway, just my 2 cents.

We all have a treat we just LOVE, I'm just rethinking mine and planning to choose the homemade version so we can enjoy the money saved another way.

Hugs and Happy Saving!







Greek Salad



My current lunch obsession:  GREEK SALAD!  

With all ingredients (except the tomato which is from our garden) purchased at Aldi.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I LOVE ALDI!  

They have really increased their selection lately, including more imported items as well as organic.

This salad is made with:

Romaine Hearts $1.99
Hard Salami:  $2.79
Feta Cheese:  $1.99
Kalamata Olives from Greece:  $2.79
Cucumber:  leftover
Tomato: garden

Total:  $9.56 for an estimated 6 salads?  Pretty good deal.

For us, eating out is a big budget buster, so creativity in our meal-planning is IMPERATIVE in keeping us at our kitchen table instead of at a restaurant's table.  (We save that for special treats instead of it being the norm, like our pre-kid days when we ate out like there was no tomorrow.  Live and learn.)

Happy creative-meal-making!