Save Money (and Your Health) by Bagging Your Own Lunch
Filed under: Money Management
Ahh, lunchtime… My midday sanctuary from (and at) work. Oh, how I love the tasty treats you provide me each day!
When I started looking for ways to turn around our family finances and really save some money, lunch was the first money leak I took care of. I was driving out from work, purchasing some extremely unhealthy fast food, and driving back to consume the “meal” at my desk. Not only was it adding to my waistline, it was also lightening my wallet.
Consider, for a example, the medium Quarter-Pounder with Cheese Value Meal at McDonald’s. If you order it with a medium Coke, you’ll consume 1,100 calories and 46g of fat and since I haven’t been to McDonald’s in ages, we’ll say that it costs $5.30 after tax (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong). And that’s just the food!
According to Google Maps, the nearest McDonald’s to my office (the one I used to visit) is 2.1 miles away. Last month, I estimated that I spend 23.44 cents per mile driving my truck. That means that the 4.2 mile round trip to McDonald’s also wasted another 98.45 cents just to pick up that weight magnet of a “meal.”
Altogether, my fictional McDonald’s trip cost me $6.28 and more than 1/2 of the normal daily allowance of calories.
To contrast that, let’s take a look at one of the lunches I make for myself now: Today I will have a bologna and cheese sandwich on wheat bread (with just a touch of Lite Miracle Whip), a Diet Dr. Pepper, and a bag of Baked Doritos. The soda and chips each cost $0.50 since I got them out of the cabinet at work. I purchased the bologna on sale for $1.50 for 16 slices, which comes to 9.375 cents per slice. The cheese was $7.38 for 72 slices at Sam’s Club, so that adds 10.25 cents per slice. There are 22 slices of bread in the loaf I bought for $0.99, coming to 4.5 cents per slice. And I’ll estimate way high on the Miracle Whip at 10 cents for the little bit I used. After adding on an estimated sales tax to my homemade lunch, I will have spent $1.50 on my whole lunch and just $0.50 on the sandwich I made for myself. On top of that, my lunch weighs in at a diet-friendly 439 calories and 16.5g of fat.
That means by not going to McDonald’s today, I have saved $4.78 from leaving my wallet and 661 calories and 29.5g of fat from entering my body. It took me less time to make and eat that sandwich than it would have to drive to McDonald’s, wait in the drive-thru, drive back, and eat - giving me more time to sit here and actually enjoy my lunch hour (not to mention give me time to type up this post).
If you have the means to bring your lunch to work (and you almost certainly do), you should really take advantage of its financial and health benefits. And if you don’t have access to a “safe” refrigerator, you can always bring things that don’t need refrigeration, such as peanut butter and honey (another of my favorites). Even a can of soup and a microwavable cup can bring you great nutrition for very little money. Give it a chance and you’ll be amazed at the savings you can realize.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I’ve also found Dr Thunder to be a good substitute for Dr Pepper. A 2-liter bottle costs less than 70 cents at our local Wal-mart.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
They have “baked” dorritos? Yum!
It’s always to good to have foods prepped ahead too.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:45 am
I agree that this is an excellent place to start when trying to lower your expenses. I bring my lunch every day to work. I may go out with co-worker’s on a special occasion 1 day per month, but that is all. We have a cafeteria in the building where I work and it amazes me to see people dropping $5, $6, $7 a day on lunch 5 days per week. I must admit that I do have one weakness at work which is to buy a 20 oz. Diet Coke every couple of days ($1.00 a bottle). I am trying to break myself of this habit and bring it from home, but the fridge at work is questionable so I buy instead.
June 30th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
No matter how busy we are, we always see to it that everybody brings his or her own lunch at school or in the office made at home. My wife always sees to it we eat organic foods like fruits and vegetables. Eating at fast food restos are very expensive and can deliver an unhealthy punch while bringing your own lunch do save time and your health, too! Yeah, you’re right in saying this and it’s good that you have spend some time making this article and sharing it to the whole world. Great job!
June 30th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I think that’s a great way of approaching lunch. It may be inconvenient at times to prepare your own food to take to work, but you’re just trading time for money in that case. Good job on eating healthy!