Is the Convenience Really Worth It?

Trent, writing for The Simple Dollar, calculated the price premiums of pre-cut produce at the grocery store compared to buying whole items and cutting them yourself. The conclusion? Unless you earn over $50 per hour, it probably is not worth the extra cost.

Read the full article here.

McDonald's Sandwiches

McDonald’s, my favorite source of fast-food based breakfasts, currently has their Sausage McMuffin on sale for $1. This would be very good for me, except for one problem, I really enjoy the Sausage McMuffin with Egg sandwich much more than its eggless cousin. The Sausage McMuffin with Egg sandwich is still priced at $2.49 (or $2.59 at some locations around here), that’s $1.49 simply for an egg fried into the shape of a patty. That’s roughly half the price of a dozen free-range, organic, large, AA grade eggs from Amazon Fresh.

Being my usual, frugal self I asked how much it cost for the egg patty by itself. Those are 65¢. So I ordered a few of the $1 Sausage McMuffins and an equal number of egg patties. I saved 84¢, plus tax, per sandwich just by adding the egg myself.

McDonald’s would be making 84¢ additional profit by paying an employee to put that egg on my sandwich. Assuming a very slow employee takes 15 seconds to get an egg from the warming box and place it on a sandwich, and that employee has no other job requirements during the breakfast rush, that egg placer would be generating $201.60 in value per hour, minus the cost of the eggs and the local minimum wage as their pay.

Me, with experience working in very high-volume, fast-food production could probably do that egg placement in 3-4 seconds, generating 4-5x the value per hour. If they were to offer me $100 per hour I could probably bring myself to inserting myself in the machine known as the McDonald’s kitchen. Sadly, I do not believe there are any fast-food restaurants in this area that receive the volume of business required to keep me completely busy during the breakfast hours.

This is not an endorsement of McDonald’s as either a healthy meal option, nor as a good value for your money. Their breakfast food merely tastes good to me, and therefore I am writing about my experience.

Gas Saving Tips

With gas in Seattle above $3 a gallon people are more concerned with fuel economy. The easiest way to improve your car’s gas mileage is to replace it. The Volkswagen Lupo TDI has one of the best MPG ratings in the world (over 80mpg), yet is not a hybrid, nor is sold in the US. However, replacing your car solely to save a few cents per mile is neither practical nor economical.

Many sites give you tips on maximizing your gas mileage in your existing vehicles that have been around for many years. Things such as proper engine maintenance and tire pressure are a given and are important in maintaining maximum mileage. Here’s a few that aren’t normally listed (some for good reason).

1) Kill your engine. Your engine is burning gas whenever it’s running. There are times when you don’t actually need your engine. When you’re waiting at a long red light, turn the engine off. This is not recommended if your battery or starter motor are bad as you could get stuck in the middle of the road.

2) Extreme drafting. One of the biggest factors that reduce your gas mileage at high speeds is air resistance. You can eliminate much of this air resistance by tailgating larger vehicles such as semi trucks. As ninjawords defines tailgating as driving “dangerously close behind another vehicle,” do so at your own risk.

3.) Shed extra weight. I’m not talking about emptying the random junk out of your trunk or the garbage out of your back seat, although that can help too; I’m talking about your waistline. That extra Big Mac may add a few cents you your gas bill. If you weigh less, your car weighs less on the road which means less gas is burned. You might also end up a little healthier and you’ll save a few bucks a year on your gas bill too.

Thus concludes my first addition to this blog. Enjoy.