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This article is by staff writer Honey Smith.

Eating out for lunch. For many of us, it’s one of the biggest temptations we face at work every day because it’s a tasty, convenient excuse to get out of the office and socialize (or not!) with our coworkers. But there are good reasons not to eat out for lunch too — like how long it takes, how bad it can be for the waistline, how much it costs (not to mention that it just makes it harder to reach your financial goals).

A couple years ago, Visa’s 2013 Lunch Survey pegged the expense at about $10 per outing and “an average of $18 per week or $936 per year.” (The national average is 1.8 times per week according to the survey.) It might be even more today.

This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle.

Have you ever received a financial boost by being part of a community?

Back in April, I wrote about how (and why) to build community. Along with the article, we also conducted a survey (both of the GRS community and, later, of the general population) about points in the article. The survey covered questions such as:

• Does your community improve your lifespan?
• Can you rely on them during hard times?
• Can your community help your finances?

Ready for some results?

This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle.

Are there seasons in your life where you’re more likely to swing through the drive-thru because you’re tired, stressed, or overwhelmed?

Fall is like that for me. My friends start talking boots and flannel. Pumpkin Spice Lattes start showing up in my Instagram feed. And the corn mazes and pumpkin farms open for business.

And me? While I love colorful leaves and impossibly blue autumn skies as much as the next person, I cringe when fall arrives.

It has nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with my husband’s busy season. As a farmer, he is busy harvesting, usually gone before the kids get up and home after they’re in bed. By the third (okay, second) week, the kids and I are cranky, and my car veers into the drive-thru. By itself. It’s the craziest thing.

But I resolved this year would be different.

This article is by staff writer Richard Barrington.

You pay for convenience. That’s the simple reality of economics. Having a cab — or even an Ubermobile — pick you up is more expensive than catching a bus. Eating out costs more than making a meal yourself.

So, when you consider the tremendous convenience credit cards offer, it should be no surprise that consumers end up paying a hefty price to add convenience to their lives. In many cases, though, the price is higher than it should be.

You can’t fix everything about the high price of credit cards; but the more you know about the various ways they can cost you too much, the more you can eliminate at least some of that unnecessary expense. Here are eight examples: