Q. With the country in a recession, your 401(k) losing money and companies laying off workers left and right, you know it would be a good idea to cut back on your spending while you’re at work. What are some ways to do this?
A. Start with the money you spend on food and drink. Avoid impulsive spending on food and other items by leaving credit cards at home and bringing only cash with you to work. Decide what you can spend while at work during the week and put that amount into an envelope, said Dayana Yochim, a personal finance expert with the Motley Fool, the financial advice Web site.
“This brings a mindfulness to spending — it’s not $5 here, $5 there,” she said.
Bringing lunch to work, even two or three times a week, cuts down on food costs, said Susan M. Cooper, a certified financial planner and manager of the New York metro branch office of AXA Advisors. A survey conducted in October by ConAgra Foods showed that workers spent an average of $6.60 a day buying lunch.
Try bringing breakfast foods to work, too, like dry cereal and milk or instant oatmeal, and you won’t be tempted to buy an expensive pastry or muffin on the way into the office, she said.
Consider starting a snack pool, by asking co-workers if they want to donate a snack like granola bars or crackers to share with the group, said Beth Pinsker Gladstone, editor of WalletPop.com, a personal finance advice site.
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And try eliminating both your morning and afternoon latte. Bring in a French press — which you can get for under $20 — and make your own rich cup of coffee whenever you want, Ms. Cooper suggested.
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“If you skip the twice-daily coffee you can save $30 a week,” she said. “That’s $120 a month and about $1,500 a year.”
Q. What about your gym membership, which is pricey but enables you to work out at lunch or in the early morning, often the only free time you have? If you give that up, when will you exercise?
A. For some people, a gym membership is a vital long-term investment in their health. But if you feel you need to save money by forgoing it, try waking up earlier and going for a walk or a run before you leave for work, or squeezing in a walk at lunch. If you want more intensity, add wrist or ankle weights and stop to jump rope.
This would not be appropriate for every office, but Ms. Pinsker Gladstone says she exercises while she sits at her desk by using an exercise ball instead of a chair. “Sitting on it requires that you don’t slouch, which is great for your back and works your abdominal muscles all day long,” she said.
Q. How can you dress fashionably at work without spending a fortune on new clothes?
A. Shop at second-hand clothing and upscale consignment stores, suggested Rachel C. Weingarten, president of GTK Marketing Group in New York and author of “Career and Corporate Cool.”
For women, she suggested having “a few key separates: pants, a jacket, a couple of suits and blouses, and dress them up with a variety of accessories like brooches, necklaces and scarves. Look at fashion magazines and find similar items at discount stores.”
Men can invest in a couple of sport coats and use them again and again with different shirts and slacks, preferably all machine — or hand — washable, Ms. Pinsker Gladstone said.
Consider having a clothing swap party, she added, where you can gain clothes while getting rid of things you don’t wear anymore. You can also refurbish suits and shirts by having cuffs repaired, buttons replaced and hemlines adjusted. Extend the life of shoes by repairing the soles.
问：全国经济不景气，养老金帐户里的钱在流失，周围的公司都在裁员，我很清楚的认识到现在有必要在上班时继续省钱了。有什么办法做到呢？
（译注：401(K)是指美国的401K计划，也称为401K条款，是指美国1978年《国内税收法》第401条K项的规定。它是一种由企业和员工共同出资建立养老金账户的一项特殊的养老金制度，适用于私人盈利性公司。）
答：从在饮食上省钱开始做起。把信用卡留在家里，只带现金上班，避免在这方面冲动消费。理财咨询网站Motley Fool的个人理财专家Dayana Yochim建议，可以计划好一周的正常开销，把这笔钱装进一个信封里。
“这样可以促使你谨慎消费，不会这儿花五块，那儿花五块。”
AXA Advisors纽约办公室的注册理财规划师、经理Susan M. Cooper建议大家至少每周两到三次自带便当上班。ConAgra食品公司十月份调查研究上班族平均每天午餐花费为6.60美元。
她同时建议也可以带些干谷物、牛奶和即食燕麦作为早餐，以避免在路上冲动买下昂贵的糕点。
个人理财网站的编辑Beth Pinsker Gladstone则建议员工之间共享零食。
s. Cooper建议大家减免早上和中午的咖啡消费，花上不到20美元买一个法式压滤壶，就随时都能为自己冲调一杯咖啡了。
“如果你省掉每天两次的咖啡钱，一周就能省下30美元，一个月就能省120美元，一年就能省下1500美元。”
问：那些昂贵的健身卡也要省掉吗？只有那样我才能在午餐时间或者早上去健身了，那可是我仅有的空闲时间。连那都要省吗？
答：对一些人来说健身卡是他们在健康方面的最重要的长期投资。如果你打算省钱，就要放弃去健身馆。你可以早起一点，或者在午餐时间出去走走。如果需要更大强度的锻炼，可以试试腕部、踝部负重走，或者跳跳绳。
Ms. Pinsker Gladstone称她去掉了椅子，上半时坐在一个训练球上。这个办法不见得在任何公司都可行。“坐在训练球上，你就没办法驼背了，一整天都可以训练背部和腹部肌肉。”
问：每天穿得光鲜亮丽去上班，我怎么有办法不买新衣服？
答：GTK纽约的Rachel C. Weingarten建议大家去二手服装店或者性价比比较高的寄售商店买衣服。
对女性消费者，她建议大家衣橱里要备有几条裤子、一件夹克、一些套装和衬衫，然后搭配不同的胸针、项链或丝巾穿。可以看看时尚杂志上的物品，然后到打折商店买类似的款式。
对于男性，可以备好几件运动外套，搭配不同的衬衫和休闲裤来穿。这些衣服最好都是可以机洗和手洗的那种。
也可以举办个服装交易会，处理掉你不想再穿的衣服。缝补袖口、钉上扣子、补好边缘，坏掉的套装和衬衫就可以继续穿了。钉鞋掌还能延长鞋子的寿命。
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