« Getting a Patent on... | Main | Word of the Year: ... »
 

Entry bubble Bring Your Lunch and Save Money!

By: Jake | January 12, 2009 | Category: Money

A Bagged LunchThe news these days is chock full of tips for saving money. We even have 66 simple ways for you to do that. But an alert Pueblo.gsa.gov visitor recently touched on an idea so obvious that most of us take it for granted. Simply, do you know how much you can save each month by bringing your lunch to work?

Like I said—it's obvious. You save more money making your own sandwich than you do paying Tony at the local sub shop, but have you ever sat down and quantified it? This alert reader sent us a lunch savings calculator from Bankrate.com which lets you calculate your savings from bagging your lunch over a long period of time.

To grab lunch in D.C. it costs me an average of $10 depending on what I get. The average cost for me to bring lunch is about $4. If I bring my lunch for a whole month, which is very doable, the calculator says I'll save $120. If I bring for a year, which is unlikely, I'll save $1,440. Bagging it for four years (impossible), will save me over $5000.

I don't know about you, but I'm able to really stick to something if there's a clear benefit to it. I won't be saving $1500 on lunch this year, but I know I can save at least $1000. While I'm bagging it, I can also focus more on my nutrition.

| Post a Comment | View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: financial_savings   jake   lunch   lunch_cost_calculator   money   savings  

Comments (4):

blue comment bubble Posted by Jack on January 12, 2009 at 08:12 AM EST

My wife gets "tired" of the same thing day after day but wants turkey beast sandwiches every day. I know she will "burn-out "eventually so I vary her sandwich daily. The same turkey breast but some days I'll use mayo, some Honey Mustard, and even raspberry preserves (THAT gets a rave review) and I'll put in slices of Granny Smith apples at times. I vary rthe bread between light whole wheat, pita, rye or wraps. It keeps her from being bored and me as well. I couldn't make the same sandwhich day after day. With both of us "brown-bagging" our savings are doubled. Good Luck and thanks for this site.

Comment Permalink | Post a New Comment

blue comment bubble Posted by Jake on January 12, 2009 at 08:30 AM EST

Jack,

Thanks for your suggestions! Maintaining some variety is a big key to brown bagging it. Not sure if I'll true raspberry jam, but perhaps one day I'll give it a whirl.

Comment Permalink | Post a New Comment

blue comment bubble Posted by Frugal One on January 12, 2009 at 11:51 AM EST

Wow, this article reminded me of a fun post I saw about how eating baked beans for lunch saves one guy $1500 a year. He also has some lunch ideas for 50 cents or 80 cents per lunch. Some of the readers may be interested in reading more here:

http://www.engineeradebtfreelife.com/2008/08/how-eating-baked-beans-saves-me-over.html

Comment Permalink | Post a New Comment

blue comment bubble Posted by a little less frugal on January 13, 2009 at 10:37 AM EST

Yes, Frugal one, eating baked beans will save you money, but if oyu don't cook them properly your co-workers might not be some enthusiastica about your savings. When i tried the baked bean diet i got anonymous gifts left on my desk, beano, air freshener, toilet tissue rolls.

I decided to try a different way of saving money. Now i buy those little drink mix packets, and only buy 1 soda out of the machine each day. I refill it the rest of the day with the packets. I buy boxes of 50 for $5. I used to use the same bottle more than one day, but i kind of like the caffien boost in the morning, and i don't have to worry about stuff growing over night.

Comment Permalink | Post a New Comment