From Point A to Point B: The Bar to Your Bed

by Melissa

When the night is ending, last call has been served, all I want to do is to be teleported to my bed. This is usually done with the easy task of calling an Uber or going out on the street to hail a taxi. At most, I’ll spend about $15 and probably less if I split fare the Uber with a friend.

Say, I’m doing this once every weekend… There is more or less $60 a month going out the window just on a ride home after a night out… (eek!!!!!)

I am a huge fan of Uber and think it’s a brilliant app, but it can add up. When there is a serge sometimes the prices are 2x – 4x of the normal cost, example: NYE 2016. This can easily be remedied by using my monthly travel pass and looking up night buses. If the weather isn’t too bad, walking home is always an option, a free option.

Sometimes, for big late nights such as NYE or Nuit Blanche, cities will have their public transit running all night and for free. This is something to definitely take advantage of as it will probably be a hassle to get a taxi.

If you don’t live in a city where public transit is as accessible, but you have access to a car, it’s always an option to assign someone as the designated driver. It’s a safe, responsible, and inexpensive way to get home…. Apologies to whoever gets the short end of the stick, but you’re all saving money in the end!

To sum it up, we all have our own route and various ways to get home after a late night out, but consider the following options:

• Night bus
• Catching the metro before it closes
• Walking home
• Assigning a designated driver
• Split faring an un-serged Uber with 2 or more friends

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend! Be safe getting home and take advantage of your feet and public transit… your bed will be there waiting for you!

Happy Friday!

Prep, Grab and Go

by Angela

One of the biggest money saving methods I can think of is packed lunches. To really stretch that argument in the long term (I’m a nurse I can’t help it!), given homemade lunches are a healthier option, you’re also investing in your health and therefore saving money on potential health bills in the future – it’s a stretch but fundamentally true.

They may seem cumbersome at first and a lot of the time when colleagues or friends see my packed lunch, their first reaction is to say that they just don’t have the time.

In my mind it’s all about your priorities. Are you playing the latest game on your phone before bed? On Facebook for a minimum of 15 min a day? While down time is important, your physical and financial health are too.

A packed lunch can be made in all of 15 min with good habits and proper planning.

All you need is a lunch bag (Lululemon bags can be just the right size, any reusable bags, brown bag or proper lunch bag) and some good storage containers which can be purchased fairly cheap both at Costco and Walmart.

You can do a Sunday  prep day or if you’re someone, like myself, that works shift work just pick any day of the week that you have off. This is going to be your prep day which can take up to an hour depending on what you’re preparing. I also make this my grocery day so that way I’m not overspending on food that I don’t need for my food prep.

Sit down to make your grocery list and pick two main meals that you want to eat that week.

My go to choices:

1. Soup – use up those wilted almost old veggies for a delicious and nutritious soup
2. Salad – Make it up without dressing to throw in a container with some protein
3. Protein – baked chicken, beans, boiled eggs, fish, quinoa
4. Good for the soul heartiness – stew, chilli (again great for using up leftovers) or sweet potatoes, brown rice to add to protein and salad

I go for a soup or salad, protein and hearty meal. That way you have something already premade for lunches, you have an alternate if you want to switch it up and if you’re at a loss on what to make for dinner you have an extra meal option.

Life is not complete without good snacks.

My top choices:

1. Veggies and hummus
2. Plain rice crackers and peanut butter
3. Apple and almond butter (life changing.)
4. Fruit/fruit salad
5. Plain greek yogurt with fresh fruit
6. Trail mix – buy your preferred nuts and dried fruit and make your own (without too many chocolate chips or sweetened dried fruit!).

Once you’ve picked up your groceries start the prep! Save time and multitask – while your chicken is in the oven, or your chili simmers in your slow cooker, chop up all your veggies, make your salad without dressing (It will wilt/spoil faster if you add the dressing!), combine the bits for your trail mix and finish all other snacks requiring prep.

If you’re super adventurous I strongly recommend even preparing some breakfast options. Overnight oats and slow cooker oatmeal are great options. When you’re short on time in the morning to make breakfast, skip the McD’s breakfast sandwich and save some money by bringing along some heart healthy oatmeal.

Once everything is prepared, cooled on the counter, store it in the fridge. I find that most meal options are good for 5-7 days. If you’re unsure about options made with meat, store half in the freezer and take out halfway through the week to thaw and eat.

Simply throw your options into containers the night before and store the whole thing in the fridge overnight.

Time to go to work? Wake up, grab and go!

One day of prep for a week of money saving and (hopefully!) healthy eating.

 

DIY Valentine’s Day Cards

by Melissa

Angela and I love buying cards for every occasion- birthdays, thank you, thinking of you, you name it. I personally am not a massive supporter of Valentine’s Day, but I do like any reason to send cards to the people I love that I don’t get to see very often.

This year Angela and I decided to make our cards. It can be time consuming, but it’s less expensive and it’s a chance to take a whack at your arts and craft skills.

Basic materials we used:

• Coloured pencils
• Construction paper
• Tissue paper
• Markers
• Glue stick/glue gun
• Scissors

For any DIY project, your local dollar store is your best friend. They have everything you need from Valentine’s Day themed construction paper, stickers, to glue gun refills and zig-zag scissors.

I spent under $5 at the dollar store on construction paper and heart stickers. Grace also had the brilliant idea to whip out her wrapping paper collection and there was a ton of tissue paper and gold bits left over from Christmas that came in handy.

Beginning the card making process can be difficult, but I think the best way to find inspiration is to have the person you’re making the card for in mind. Think about what you love about them, what they might like, let those creative juices loose, and see what happens!

Here are the finished products of what Angela (left) and myself along with Grace (right) came up with!

Whether your Valentine’s Day is with a loved one, a group of friends, or you’re cuddled up with a good book, have a lovely day!

When Working From Home Doesn’t Cut It

by Melissa

As of late, I have been working from home loads. It’s been great to be doing research and planning sessions in my pyjamas, but sometimes I need a change of scenery.

Going to a café is usually the answer. However, am I really going to pay $5 for a coffee and maybe another $3 on a muffin  just to do work and then panic to see who’s around to watch my laptop while I need to use the ladies room?

Mmmm ya probably, but then I thought about other options.

I’ve reached out to other friends who also work from home and some find it distracting to work with friends, but others don’t mind it… at least my friend Grace doesn’t mind it!

We’ve made it a point at the beginning of the week to do work together at her place (she has a massive workstation). We motivate each other, take breaks, make lunch, and bounce ideas off each other.

Half the time I have no idea what she’s talking about, something about 3D animation maybe? and the other half she’s a little lost at what I’m doing. Working in the same space has been a great motivator,  we procrastinate as little as possible, and I’ve learnt a little bit about her craft.

Studying or working with other people isn’t always easy, but it’s pretty special working around or with someone that is motivating me to get to it and get off of Facebook or the Ikea website.

Sometimes if Grace is busy and home isn’t doing it for me, but I know I’ll spend more than allotted in my budget at a café, the local library calls my name. I’ll bring a packed lunch and some snacks, and hope to find some inspiration.

I like to use this as an opportunity to explore the city that I’m living in. Currently, I call Montréal home and here are some other places I like to work at: the John Molson Building at Concordia University, the lobby of Tanna Schulich Hall at McGill University, and the Westmount Conservatory behind Westmount Library.

Where’s your favourite work space away from work (and home)?

Stay tuned for some contributing artwork by Grace. Thanks Sunshinable!