You don't need that: Average American spends almost $18,000 a year on nonessentials

Recently crossed paths with a kid who used to play for the junior hockey team I worked for. Very bright 27-year-old, never got drafted so he didn't go pro, got a degree instead. He spent three months this year touring the Middle East (and losing most of his spending money to some sketchy customs types who wouldn't release his luggage without getting paid; he started a Go Fund Me to replace the money he lost), Europe and Asia, just had a baseball weekend in Chicago and is now in Puerto Rico working on restoring his tan. "Funemployment" he calls it.

 

Everybody wasting their money on nonessential garbage disposals.

 

The thing about lunches ... you don't save that much over going out for lunches if you spend money on the good lunch meat, quality bread, sides, condiments, etc. Sure, you could eat PB&J at work every day, but who the hell wants to do that?

 

Here's my "quality bread":



69 cents a loaf.

 

You shocked? I worked for a newspaper that emphasized the word "watchdog." They wanted us to be a watchdog of every government agency for spending. Meanwhile the company we worked for was filing for bankruptcy. Managing editor didn't seem to impressed when I said, "maybe we should have put a watchdog reporter on them."

This is the new game of media. Make 'em look over there so they don't notice what's happening over here. They can't write about stagnating wages because it'll make their friends at the country club mad.

 

Where are you eating lunch out that cheaply? Off the Taco Bell dollar menu? A six-inch Subway sandwich, chips and a drink runs $7-8. Two meals there would pay for the good lunch meat, bread, etc. that would last a week.

 

Good lunch meat itself is $7-$8 per pound. I mean good lunch meat. Not store brand variety or that Hillshire Farms prepackaged shit.

 

Gotta find the deals. A lot of places in my rotation have $5-6 specials depending on the day. And as Regan points out, a pound of good Boar's Head meat and a half pound of cheese will run you close to $20, at least where I shop.

Also, I just don't want to have to eat the same damn thing every day. I have the means to afford to go out for lunch, so I do. Where I save is on dinners at home. I don't break the bank there.

 

Dude, c'mon. Step up!

Russian Black Bread Recipe

 

I eat out at lunch more days than not, so I'm not judging here. That said, personally, I know if I eat lunch at home for a week we've got more money in our accounts on Sunday night when I do the books/pay bills.