Hi Renee,

Yep, gotta love those PhD programs that lead to starving-wage jobs -- let me guess, something in the liberal arts, right? ;-) (I'm a classicist.) I feel very blessed not to be carrying student loans on top of my cc debt.


I'm currently looking for ways to cut my expenses, and I know the biggest place is eating out lunches. This is tough, because usually a group from my company goes out every day, and it's often frowned upon if you bow out too many times.

Would it be so terrible to take a bag lunch to eat with your colleagues? If you go to a restaurant, you could order a soda or an appetizer for appearances' sake. Or, even better, encourage your colleagues to think take-out so you can walk with them while they buy their lunch & then sit down somewhere & eat with them. I often do this with my colleagues (being all starving PhDs, we are all either carrying bag lunches or buying the least expensive sandwich from the lunch wagon!).

I have found that restaurant meals are a HUGE drain on the budget, far worse than many trips to Half Price Books. Good luck & I hope you get lots of good suggestions!

Tanaquil