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Could you use an extra $1200-$2400 a year?
Brown bagging your lunch can save you that much.
It may sound boring, but it is an effective tactic to put money in your pocket
Why eating lunch out is expensive?
In general, eating out is a very expensive habit.
The latest statistics show that people spend as much eating out as they do on groceries.
That is huge.
If you want to save money, everyone knows eating out is one of the first areas to cut.
Eating out includes buying lunch out during the workday as well as enjoying restaurants on other occasions.
I am a foodie.
Later, I will write a post about how I eat out at nice restaurants outside of work for $50 a month or about $12.50 a week.
For lunch though, I brown bag it.
Personal finance is not about misery.
It is about putting money back in you pocket, building wealth, and doing the things you really want.
There are many areas of your budget that can be cut.
Lunch is a top one.
If you spent $5-$10 per day eating lunch out five days a week, that would be $1200-$2400 a year.
I have seen people spend even $25 day, which comes to $100 a week and adds up to $400 a month on lunch.
That is a lot of money.
What would you do with an extra $100-$400 a month?
With some recipe finesse, lunch is probably the area that won’t be missed either.
Why this is an easy category to cut?
Again, eating lunch is one of the easiest things to cut.
Eating lunch out is mostly done out of time management issues or organizational problems.
People think they have no time to prepare a lunch or meal prep.
I have seen people spend money on lunch that they did not even enjoy.
Lunch is usually rushed and hectic.
Again, for most people, it just requires some meal prep and planning.
I used to eat lunch out everyday.
I would eat at the cafeteria at work.
It was a ridiculous amount of money that I could have put to other things.
My cafeteria is not even expensive, but it still added up.
This also included daily trips to the vending machine.
One day, one of my friends told me to stop this expensive habit.
I thought it would be hard.
It was very easy.
I have never looked back.
I have never paid for lunch since then, except when my work cafeteria has something really unique.
It only required a little advance planning too.
Don’t believe you will save a lot of money?
Count how much money you are spending in an average week on lunch out?
Calculate how much you would save.
Even though brown bagging lunch is not completely free (grocery cost); I bet the saving will still be huge.
Go even a step further.
Put the money you save toward another goal.
I have started to do this lately.
I actually see money saved from cutting unnecessary expenses go toward major goals.
You don’t want to cut expenses and not see where your extra money is going.
Don’t believe brown bagging lunch is easy either?
Just give it a try.
Ways To Succeed At Brown Bagging Lunch
Again, brown bagging lunch is one of the easiest things to do.
In general, eating out (whether lunch or other meals) is enjoyed more when it is a special occasion instead of a daily occurrence.
Here are some tips for success:
1. Have the right equipment
You need the right tools to succeed.
You should include the following:
- storage containers
- a lunch box
- utensils
2. Meal prep
If you don’t have a plan, you will fail.
So have your pantry stocked with staples like frozen vegetables, salad greens, frozen chicken, brown rice, and fruits.
Do some meal planning throughout the week.
3. Pack a complete lunch
A complete lunch includes:
- fruit
- vegetables
- grains, preferably whole grains
- protein
This is based on MyPlate.
It could also include dairy like yogurt and snacks like nuts and cheese.
4. Find a good resource for recipes
You need a good resource for healthy, interesting recipes.
Two of my favorites are:
- EatingWell.com
- CookingLight.com
5. Invest in cooking
Many people don’t like to cook.
I did not cook in my 20s at all except rice and pasta.
After I learned to cook, it opened up a whole new world.
Many people don’t know how to prepare diverse meals that they would look forward to eating.
Something as simple as following a YouTube channel can expose you to more and make you excited for your lunch.
Many things I would order in a restaurant, like Chinese food, I have learned to prepare at home.
I even learned to make a healthier version of things like Sesame Chicken.
I learned to prepare the baked version at home.
It was easy too.
I just followed people on YouTube for free again.
Conclusion
Eating lunch out is expensive.
That could be $1200-$2400 a year saved.
The mission of Adding Pennies is to put money back in your pocket.
One of the ways we help you do that is by cutting unnecessary expenses.
Eating lunch out is an expensive habit that is not hard for most people to cut.
This usually just involves some advance planning and recipe knowledge.
If you eat lunch out currently, try cutting it.
If you eat out five days a week and you stop eating lunch out three days; you should still save a lot.
This is one of the easiest areas to cut that can save you a lot of money again.