Ways to Save Money- Lunches

We are finally back to healthy here.

And now I hope to get back on track with my Ways to Save Money series I had planned to do last week.



This first post will focus on lunches.

Now common sense tells you brown bagging lunch saves money. It is usually more of a motivation issue to actually do it. Your head says save money and your body says oh- just grab a $20.



So for Lunches: Motivation and Ideas to make it easier:

First, Motivation:

Looking at lunch as $5/day doesn't seem like much, but if you add it up.. let's say you buy lunch only 4 days a week for $5/day- and you work 48 weeks (take out vacation and some sick days) , that works out to $960 A YEAR!!!! And I think $5/day is a very conservative amount. If you normally spend $10/day and eat lunch "out" all 5 days each week, in 48 weeks you will have spent $2400 in a Year!!!! That's a lot of money!!



Hopefully that number is a bit shocking. Is McDonald or cafeteria food really as good as $2400?? So now that we have some motivation there is still the battle with your body to actually pack and take your lunch.



To make it easier:

I have some tips but since you may be new to this I will start with the basic.

**Keep all supplies for making lunches together. Either clear a cabinet in the kitchen or put all the "lunch supplies" in a basket on top of the fridge. Lunch supplies might include: bread or rolls, snack packs of chips, zip-lock bags, snack cakes, drinks, and brown bags or an insulated lunch bag- buy snack that you like so you'll be more inclinded to pack a lunch- you can always convert to "healthy lunches" once you have the brown bag routine down.



**Ideally, pack your lunch the night before. This way if you are running late in the morning you do not revert back to the "I don't have time, I'll just buy lunch today". Also, don't forget your lunch. Put a post-it note on your keys, or the door you leave out of in the AM. My SIL says she puts a plastic bag on the door knob - so when she leaves she see it and remembers to grab the bag in the fridge.



** great quick lunch ideas: Left overs- especially in winter , when come lunchtime you want something hot (not a cold sandwich). Invest in a thermos, and bring in soup or chili. My daughter hates sandwiches, so for her I pack (in her thermos) chichken nuggets, pizza bites, mac & cheese, or spagetti. If you have access at work to keep your lunch in a fridge and have a microwave, stock up on "frozen dinner" style packaged food. Weight watchers, Lean Cusine- when they go on sale for $1.77- $2.00 each- grab a bunch of your favorites to take for lunch. Add a snack and a drink and you are ready to go. Or just keep them in the fridge for those days you are rushed and didn't have time to make lunch.



**Last note: Bring your drink and pack snacks for your work day. Vending machines are a financial nighmare. You can buy a 12 pack of Coke cans for under $4 in your local grocery store, that's about $0.33 each can. The vending machine would cost you $1.25 per can. If you grab a soda everyday for that 4pm sugar fix, by bringing your own you can save $20/month. And you aren't even giving anything up- you still get your soda- just bring your own. The same holds true for an afternoon snack-fix. If you hit up the vending machine for a snack each day- bringing your own also saves you another $20/month. Most snacks cost about $0.20/serving when brough at the grocery store.



All-in-all, you can save up to $3000 a year by bringing your own lunches and snacks to work- PER PERSON. By even changing a few of your habits- only bring snacks or buy lunch 2 days a week and buy lunch the other 3 days. You can save significant amounts of money. This is only the tip of the iceberg. We have lots more to save.