ditch all the sugar drinks and drink plane old water, like out the toilet.
Rice and beans can be made in 1000 different ways. $1/lb uncooked.
Eating out is almost never a healthy option.
Healthy and expensive don't correlate in my outlook. I spend less eating better. Factor in not eating out and my pockets are fat, but not my ass.
If someone sends me a check for $500 more than they should have, I would just have them send me another and void the incorrect one. Checks that don't match invoices make for sloppy books.