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Saving Almost $800 a Year on Snacks

It may not be fashionable in the low-carb world, but I like to snack. I feel better when I snack. I don't feel good when I eat big meals and don't know how people put away three-egg bacon-cheese omelets with a bullet-proof coffee. The good thing about low-carb snacking is that by definition, you avoid eating junk like potato chips and fruit pies. The bad news is that low-carb snacks from the convenience store are expensive.

Time was when the only two kinds of coffee I drank were free and home-brewed. When I realized cream gave me problems, I started taking it black and then realized that the office coffee was terrible. But the little shop on the first floor made a wonderful cup for $2.11. An equally wonderful home-brewed cup is about 12 cents. Sleeping in an extra ten minutes, the time it takes to brew a 12-cent cup of coffee, is costing me almost $500 a year. I've set my alarm earlier.

The convenience store sells Kind bars for around $2.50 and large diet Dr. Pepper for $1.84; for me, that's 92 cents for one serving of soda. The grocery store sells diet cola and root beer $2.99 a six-pack, or 50 cents a serving. From now on, I'm bringing my own soda to work (and supporting a company I own stock in). That's $100 a year in savings. Yes, I could just drink water, but realistically, I want a soda when I'm stressed out at work, which is often.

I had a feeling I could make snacks similar to a Kind bar for less money. I made maple paleonola from 500 Paleo Recipes today, weighing the ingredients, and figured out it costs 90 cents a serving. Bonus: each serving has almost 400 calories (including 35 grams of fat) compared to 200 calories in a Kind nut delight bar. Ninety cents is cheaper than what 400 calories worth of free-range eggs costs me; all those nuts only seem expensive. Savings: about $192 per year.

Total savings from making, brewing and bringing my own: $792 a year.

Comments

tess said…
no kidding! we use premium ingredients, but in the end we get a better quality product with REAL nutritional value.... when you think of what that "doritos and a coke" or "starbucks and muffin" snack costs in money AND health, you wonder how you could have been so stupid for so long.

if you function best on smaller, more frequent meals ... that's what you should do!
Lori Miller said…
Suze Orman has always gone on about spending money on coffee, and I agree with her. If you're getting a fancy coffee every day (read: liquid sugar), you're really doing yourself a disservice.
Galina L. said…
At least you have the thing to drop from your diet (like snacking) if you need to .
No, I can't eat 3 eggs+bacon+bulletproof coffee in one setting myself, such coffee is a meal.
No-snacking took me from a weight-loss plateau for a while.
Lori Miller said…
The odd thing is, I'm not even hungry for lunch today, let alone a snack.
Guess we all have to plan our life/meals/exercise, sleep patterns etc that suit our life. For me the start of the day is so important. I find if I have a cooked breakfast for example eggs, bacon, mushrooms it keeps me going through to lunch etc. I am not a 'snacky' person, but whole-heartily agree if you can take time to make your own it is better than shop bought.

All the best Jan
Lori Miller said…
The maple paleonola is pretty tasty. And it's nice to not be rushed getting ready for work in the morning, since I get up a little earlier.

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