Cookie calculator
Posted on September 6th, 2007 – 3:03 PMBy Kara McGuire
We all have our vices. I love chocolate chip cookies and if I bake a batch, I can barely stand to have the darned things in the house. Good for co-workers, bad for my husband, who can say no to cookies and there never is any left when he finally wants one.
I’ve been working on the latest update of my Financial Fixups series about three families in debt and have been practically glued to my desk going over interview transcripts and poring through credit card balances.
When it gets to be too much, my mind turns to cookies. They’re soooo good. In the past week, I’ve spent $3.21 on the surprisingly tasty cafeteria version we have here at work. They come in a two-pack, so I guess I could save one for the next day, but who am I kidding?
Really, the “cookie factor” isn’t breaking my budget. But it’s not a good habit to get into. So….I toggled over to my favorite Lunch savings calculator at calculator clearinghouse dinkytown.net.
It’s not set up for cookies (the total cost of a snack from home has to be at least a dollar), so I put the weekly cookie estimate of $5.35 in the eating out lunch price and $1.00 for the bagged lunch price (the amount I figure it would cost me to bring a couple apples or granola bars from home for the week). If I switched from buying cookies to bringing a healthier snack 4 times a week, (I think I get one cookie per week), and stuck the rest in my online savings account earning 4.5 percent, I’d have $214 in a year.
Running the numbers, even small ones, using a calculator like this can show how a little bit adds up. And if you have no will power, the idea of an extra $214 to spend on a fabulous dinner or a couple pairs of new pairs shoes, or an extra night in Mexico can sometimes stop the cookie bug from biting.
17 Responses to "Cookie calculator"
lesson: small savings can add to big numbers.
… or, small savings can create big numbers.
Or small savings have a way of disappearing in other ways. Do you really think that you are going to have an extra nights’ worth of money in a vacation account at the end of the year if you stop eating cookies at work. This type of argument, although common in financial columns/internet chats is misleading. Give up your cookies for a year and modify nothing else about your life- I suspect that you will not actually find $214 at the end of the rainbow. My suggestion: enjoy the cookies (both of them).
Jake, here’s what happens: if you let one area slip, an avalanche effect happens. Once you spend $214 for cookies a year, the IPOD seems ok, then an HD tv, then a new SUV and then a bigger house. Then credit card debt piles up. I’ve seen this happen to too many people.
Good point Jake. It did prevent me from eating cookies though. At least, until I went home and baked some for a potluck thingy dingy later that night!
Jon
It is okay to sometimes spend money on certain things.
All work and no play makes Jon a dull boy.
I aint that boring - hahaha!! 
But, I learned a while back a good formula and it works - that becoming undisciplined can create an avalanche effect.
@ Jake: I think you’re right, if you don’t do anything to counteract that tendency to spend the saved money on something else. So I keep track of what days I bring my lunch or otherwise have it comped (employer-provided box lunches for meetings, etc.) by making a tick mark on my day planner, which is always open on my desk anyway. At the end of the month transfer the money I’ve saved to savings–$5 a pop, which is my average cost of a lunch out. Depending on how diligent I am about packing my lunch every month, it ends up being between 60-100 bucks extra going into savings.
k– I love that approach. Anyone else have ways they keep track of small change that doesn’t take too much time or effort?
In the end, now I just want some cookies.
Don’t tempt me MR– it’s that time of day!
Your post. Your fault.
Jon-
You write: Jake, here
Is one person’s vice another’s necessity? I know a young couple who are always running out of money near the end of the month and hitting up their parents for help with diapers, groceries, gas money, even the rent. Their total household income is more than $60,000 a year. But they both blow lots of cash every month on cigarettes! I’ve encouraged them to think about the opportunity cost of each carton and pack, so far to no avail. The habit is too strong.
Jake, I’m not one of those that preaches “teachable momements”. I don’t like that phrase. I’m just chiming in on what I see out there and that’s a lot of people that have very little discipline.
Thanks for the link to the calculator! I’ve never seen one compare costs of bagged lunch and calculate over time. I know I spend too much when I eat out regularly, but seeing the $$ amounts hits home. My colleague is doing a blog on packing vs. eating out for students so I’m passing the link on to him.
