While this will probably shock folks that knew me between 1997–2002, I’ve come around on the frugal lifestyle.
Today’s frugal tips happen to all be about eating and drinking at work, cheap.
- Poor man’s iced green tea blend: Step 1, buy some green tea tea-bags from your local health food store, I went for one package of regular and one decaf. Most companies provide regular black tea from Lipton on the kitchenette. Take one green tea and one black tea, add one equal and one regular sugar and fill with boiling water. Equal alone without some actual sugar was too bitter I found, splenda is a better choice but that isn’t offered here at my employer. Let it steep for a solid ten minutes and then pour the whole thing over a cup with as much ice as you can manage.
- Poor man’s protein shake: Milk. I used to actually blend Met-Rx at work with my own blender that I brought in, but now I just chug the free milk that is meant to go in the coffee. I go for the whole milk because the fat helps makes you feel full. It has loads of protein and works well for an after-workout drink. If you have a (free) login at FitDay.com you might be able to see the nutrition facts here.
- Poor man’s soda machine: Even though our soda machine is a reasonable 75¢ per can, the KSA consultant crew decided they could do better. They bought a mini-fridge for their communal room and use, offering “shares”, I have since bought in, and undercutting the MAN. DaveD brings in cases from New Jersey, home of the no deposit can and plentiful big box stores and resells them to us for 25¢.
- Poor man’s leftover plan: This one is a little bit counter to the spirit of the list. While the lovely Emily is a budding chef extraordinaire, and we always have leftovers since there are only two of us at home, and I do want to take leftovers for lunch, I can’t really bring myself to have just leftovers and miss out on some of the great lunch options available to me in midtown Manhattan. So my compromise is to pack a ½ size lunch portion and eat it around 3:30.
I read the Frugalforlife blog now too — religiously.