I like a snack after lunch. Snacks from the vending machines cost between $1 and $2 each. So this past weekend at Costco I bought a box of 36 snack-sized packs of applesauce. The box weighed about 9 pounds and cost about $10. I think it was on sale, so, thanks to that I’ll save a bit more than I otherwise would have. I can substitute a serving of applesauce for whatever I might buy from the vending machine. At one snack per day, 36 snacks from the vending machine would cost $45 over the course of about seven weeks With my applesauce, I can snack for about $10 over that period. Thus, a savings of over $30.
I’ve done the same thing the large bags of dried apricots, figs, prunes, and Craisins. I could also do the same with a box of single-serving bags of potato chips or microwave popcorn. The principle is the same: instead of paying the guy that stocks the vending machine to bring snacks to your workplace, bring the snacks yourself and pocket the delivery fee.
Think about product delivery: A large part of retail prices, especially for food in serving-size packages, is the cost of convenience: the cost of delivery and stocking in convenience stores and vending machines. Do the inconvenient thing, get these food items from a superstore and do the delivery yourself. Your bank account will thank you.
* I’ll save, or I’ll or earn, depending how you look at it; a penny saved is a penny earned. In a sense, I’ve earned that $30 by doing the delivery and stocking work myself.
