Saving money on lunch

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Working in an office allows me to see a lot of different people and observe what they eat for lunch. More specifically, how much they spend on lunch. Fortunately for me, I am pretty easy to please when it comes to food. As long as it isn’t horrible I can eat it. That makes it really easy to find options, but usually I go for price and amount (quantity) over taste (quality).

My favorite lunch is anything leftover from dinner the night before. My wife is a great cook and taking leftovers meets two of my lunchtime criteria – quick and cheap. Remember, I am eating for sustenance not necessarily taste. Whenever I take leftovers it is like a bonus because like I said, my wife is a great cook, so I get quick, cheap and great taste. However, there are times when there are no leftovers, it is then that the decision on where to eat comes in to play.

There are several people in the office that go to Subway almost every day. Not me! Too expensive. At least for me to get filled up. The six-inch sub isn’t enough so I always get the 12-inch. If I go with the combo meal it is close to $7. For those that do that each day, they are sinking $35 a week into lunch. If they do that for 50 weeks (two weeks of vacation) they are dropping over $1700 a year just eating lunch.

If I go out, I usually grab a couple of McChicken sandwiches from the Dollar menu. I also get a cup of ice water so I get lunch for $2.18 (including tax). Now I would never recommend anyone eating at McDonalds every day, but once a week is all right. I have also found that the prepackaged soups from our local grocery are very inexpensive and provide a nice size serving for lunch. Last night I bought a bunch for $1 a piece. Not the most nutritional lunch, but once in a while isn’t too bad.

If you are looking for a way to cut some spending out of your budget look at your lunchtime spending. You may find out that you are spending a lot more than you realized. Not going out with the rest of the group will take some discipline, but if you already have leftovers, it is easier to say no.