LUNCH – A Blog, A Magazine. It's JustsumInspiration!

I absolutely love to eat, but when it comes to having lunch, I don’t always have the money to go out and grab something at the local fast food chain. Sometimes, all I have is 10.00 for the whole week for lunch and you know (depending on where you go), you can spend that and then some in one sitting.

I am so guilty of that….Just look at my face. GUILTY!!!

I was making eating very expensive when it really didn’t have to be. If you’re anything like me then you’re on a budget and after taking care of the kids, the house, the bills, getting groceries and filling the tank with gas – I’d really only have just about $20.00 or less left over to have for lunch the rest of the week. What makes that whole scenario even worse is that I would go to work and spend half of it on lunch and it was just Monday. I had to get through the rest of the week on 10.00 or less….

Eating lunch used to be my most expensive meal of the day and to kick it up a notch, the food I purchased would make me sleepy and sluggish for the rest of the day. What was I doing to myself?, What was I doing to my pockets!

When I realized that I was spending way too much money on lunch, I decided that I had to come up with a plan where I could eat more for less as I was spending way more money on lunch than breakfast and dinner alone. Not only was eating out breaking my pocket each and every week, sometimes it left me hungry and money-less for the rest of the week without having any money to buy me anything to eat after Tuesday.

So, I came up with a plan that helped me save money and could help you too, Especially if you don’t want to eat the infamous PB&J everyday or Ramen Noodles, in which is nothing wrong if that’s what you choose but I love variety as I get bored with the same ole, same ole easily.

Listed below are a couple of suggestions on how you can not only save money but have a different variety to eat everyday of the week. At the end of the tips, I posted a short video of the things I look for when I go to the store.

A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR MY LUNCH CREW!!

We Have Leftovers?

I absolutely hate cooking and only do it because I have two kids and a kitchen (seriously)…but I noticed that when I would cook, I would never bring leftovers to work the next day. If I had money, I would just use that to pick me up something but why do that when you have leftovers. I know quite a few people may not like them as they have to have something freshly cooked everyday (I knew someone like that) but leftovers are a great way to save an extreme amount of money that could be used on something else, like dish soap to wash the dishes or other things. So, utilize and start to pack you up a lunch when dinner is over. Your pocket will thank you later..

Dollar Tree is My Best Friend

Okay, I love the dollar tree and it has really evolved since the 80’s and 90’s – do you know that now you can buy steak strips for a dollar at the dollar tree?, YES HONEY!!! STEAK!!! who would have thought. If you’re a big breakfast person that has to have something to stick to your bones then you can buy the pancake and sausage entree’s for a dollar. And they have a variety of other things that you can buy as well, from chicken and rib sandwiches to french fries. Why eat PB&J when you have the dollar tree. If you’ve been sleeping on the dollar store, then I would advise you to WAKE UP & SHOP! plus the food is actually delicious, trust me – it doesn’t taste like it’s only a dollar.

Wal-Mart is Cool Too

You can find some great deals at your local Wal-Mart Store. As you’ll see in the video below, I shop for quantities that last me a whole week. I’m not a big breakfast person so yogurt, fruit and granola are fine with me. I usually find the better deals in the evenings when things have been marked down from the morning. I can get a sandwich, burrito, a salad, yogurt for the week, cheese sticks and nuts for snacks and let’s not forget those Michelina meals that are only $1.00 and if you catch them on the right day, they may even be marked down to $.88 cents. Buy you five of those and that’s your lunch for the week. As far as something to drink, I’m a big fan of the Sam’s Choice Sparkling waters, they come in so many different flavors (mine is Blackberry Lemonade and Orange Cream) plus they are cheap, $.60 for a 33.8 fl oz bottle. I checked my Wal-Mart last week and they were marked down to $.50 (guess it’s time to stock up).

Sometimes I even buy a case of water, in which is really cheap – You can get 32 bottles of the Wal-Mart Great Value brand for less than 5.00 and you can head on over to the dollar tree to buy you a box of 10 flavor packets for 1.00.

So as you can see, Lunch really doesn’t have to be expensive at all. It’s all about your mindset and how that mindset views saving. I wish I had took the time to really sit down and figure all this stuff out earlier, I could very well be on my way to Paris right now.

But we live and learn and as GI-JOE says; “And Knowing is Half the Battle”

How much money are you spending on lunch a week?

(Please forgive any errors, it’s my first live vlog video I’ve posted to the page so it’s as professional as my phone would allow)

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Let’s Live Well, Laugh Loud & Love Hard!

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P.S. I am not sponsored nor have I been paid by Dollar Tree or Wal-Mart – these are just my observances and opinions.

IS IT JUNE ALREADY?

I promise you, It seems as if it was just a week ago when I posted the topics for May. I seriously need to put forth a protest to stop these months from moving so fast. June Already?? Wow!

Well, while the months are taking wings and flying away – so are we with the topics. I really appreciate everyone for reading and engaging in the topics we’ve had thus far. We have some topics for June that I’m sure you either can probably relate too or know someone whom has been through it.

So hold on June! Self-Help topics are back again. Without further ado, here are the topics and tips we’ll be providing for you this month.

Success in Mind, Not Wealth.

Do you really know what Success Is? I mean the first thing I used to think of when I approached the word was fancy clothes, cars, money and overall wealth of everything good. But Success is none of those things, as it starts in the mind and is exemplified in how you use that mind of yours. I’ll break down what success truly is and how you need to shape your mind concerning success by sharing my own story and provide tips of how you can obtain success now, not later.

A Renter’s Nightmare: Slumlords..

Most people rent because they either don’t have the money to purchase the home of their dreams at the time or if they owned a home; they wouldn’t have the money to fix something should it go wrong. Renters have a responsibility but landlords do as well; so, what do you do if you have a landlord that doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do, should you still pay the rent? What are your rights as a tenant? In this post I’ll be sharing my very recent experience with this issue, talk about what I learned and give you tips if you or someone you know is having issues with their landlord.

Did you say Divorce?

If you’ve ever been married and suffered through a divorce or have been separated and in the process of a divorce, then you know it’s not an easy road. No one ever thinks of the “D” word when they get engaged and eventually get married. The hope is to stay married for ever and ever and ever, unfortunately this dream doesn’t happen for everyone. In this post I’ll talk about my divorce and offer tips on how I got through it. Let’s face it, Divorce does happen and it can leave you in a rut (mentally, spiritually and physically) but you don’t have to let Divorce rule you, when you have the power to overcome it.

$20.00 or Less Lunch Week.

It may not seem like it to some people that actually know me, but I love a good bargain and I love to eat. So, when it comes to having lunch at work – I don’t have money to go out and grab something at the local fast food chain. Sometimes, all I have is 10.00 for the whole week for lunch and you know (depending on where you go), you can spend that and then some in one sitting. In this post I’ll show you how I get lunch for the whole week off of less than 20.00 and what I look for when I go to the grocery store to keep the cost low.

So stay tuned and be on the lookout every Thursday this month for a new topic. Feel free to comment, share, like or send us a message here at justsuminspiration@gmail.com. Justsuminspiration is geared toward helping you to live better and wiser, laugh louder and love harder. We don’t want you to just be Inspired but to Live an Inspired Life!

Sincerely Yours,

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager