If there’s one thing talked about more in the PF world than the Latte Factor, it’s the “bring your own lunch every day to work” factor. Both can save you tons of money, and both are fairly easy to do (if you like that kinda thing).

With the Latte Factor, you cut out Starbucks every day and save yourself $1,000,002 a year (estimated), or you just brew it at home for $0.32 a pop. With the brown bagging idea, you bring your own lunch to work every day thereby saving you a $10 spot out at the fast food joints or local deli.

If you could pull off any of the two, I’m officially impressed. Personally, I just can’t do it – at least the “all or nothing” part of it. I love my coffee too much, and I love eating out when I’m in the mood. The problem being, I just never know *when* I’m going to be in the mood to eat out. And if I take the time to make some sandwiches at home, then you bet your ass I’m gonna eat it no matter what I feel like doing that day ;) So what’s a brotha to do?

Here’s my 2-step plan to happiness:

1. I bring in a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and jelly. Sometimes I throw them in the company fridge, and others I just leave in my drawer. But either way it’s there for the taking when necessary.
2. Then, I just do whatever I feel like doing come lunch time! If I can stomach another pb&j (I usually last 1-2 weeks straight until I bore myself), then I eat away! If, on the other hand, I feel like roaming the beautiful streets of DC and crave something in particular, then I go and do that. And like Obama, 5 guys is usually on that list ;)

Nice and easy. I get to save some money eating my yummy sandwiches a couple times a week, and I get to splurge a little on the rest. This keeps both my wallet AND me happy. There’s nothing wrong with going cold turkey and saving a ton of money in the process, but just make sure it fits in with your lifestyle. Not everything has to be all or nothing with this sorta stuff.