Menu planning on my fridge

This week I start a four-month editing contract. Nothing out of the ordinary but this time my client wants me in the office. That means I’ve got to do some planning so I don’t fall off the wagon and end up buying lunch every day.

That gets expensive. I’m going to average $10 for lunch with a drink. Factor in coffee, say, $2 (rounded up) for a large Tim Hortons coffee or $4 for a tall coffee at Starbucks, maybe $1.50 for the mid-afternoon vending machine snack and the day’s spending is anywhere from $13.50 to $15.50.

Multiplied by five and that’s $67.50 to $77.50 a week. If I multiply that by 16 weeks, that’s $1,080 to $1,240 spent (maximum).

I could buy with that money:

A plane ticket to somewhere

Hardwood for one of the rooms in my home

Stocks, bonds, RRSPs etc.

Clothes, shoes, accessories

Two iPads or a nice camera with money left over

A lot of groceries

I’m writing this down so I can see the numbers, not just have them float around in my mind where I can ignore or justify them. Seeing that four-figure number makes it plain that I’m going to have to do some grocery shopping and some meal planning. I know myself. If I don’t plan this out now and come up with enough creative meals, I will get bored and lazy and end up buying my lunch and multiple coffees.

I’d prefer to have the money to spend on a plane ticket.