All posts tagged: cheap

HEALTHY EATING: A CHEAP ALTERNATIVE?

Do you share the common belief that eating healthy is costly? If you do, you may be surprised to know that it is not. By eating healthy, you can—in reality—save some bucks while improving your health.   EAT LESS Although choices are available when dinning out, like portion size, menu choice, and price, opting to eat at home is not only a money-saving strategy but also healthy. Did you know that our stomachs are maxed-out with two handfuls of food? Think about that the next time you gorge yourself at a Swedish buffet. To prevent undigested food from sitting idle in our intestines, we should only eat when hungry and stop when satisfied. If we use the hunger scale 0-8, where 0 represents “total hunger” and 8 represents “completely stuffed,” you should begin your meal somewhere at level 3 and stop at level 6.   STOP SNACKING Eat three meals a day and nix the snacking bit (snack only if you need to; like if you’re diabetic or work long hours). If you snack out …

Top 5 Swedish apps that help you save money

If you’re like me, a young professional making a decent income and living in Scandinavia, chances are you’re not as clever as you think; that is, with your finances. You’re probably hitting the nearest convenience store on your way to work and picking up a yummy latte, or heading out for lunch on occasion. In any case, you probably also consider the money left over from your salary as “savings.” The reality is that “savings” should be invested wisely and grow, grow, grow. Eating out and consuming lattes do not pay off. For instance, you would save roughly 7000 SEK per year (about 760 EUR) “if” you didn’t stop for that latte everyday. At ten percent annually, that 7000 can grow to 10,000 SEK in only five years. How many “obvious” saving methods can you accomplish? Let’s not kid ourselves, saving is hard work. Unless you’re an accountant, and love being one (who in their right mind would do this anyway? :-), you most likely hate spreadsheets. Imagine constantly hunting for a better price, or entering all your receipts onto a spreadsheet every month. Or, evaluating your budget goals every time you make a purchase. It can be time-consuming and frustrating. Investing, on the other hand, is another …