2013 Spending Challenge - Work Lunches/Snacks

[angierae]

I'm in! My goal for 2013 was to go "as long as possible" without buying lunch at work. Four work days so far in 2013 without buying lunch at work!

 

[ColoradoLime]

Today is my Day 1 since I was on vacation last week. So far so good.

Had oatmeal and a grapefruit at home for breakfast instead of my usual stop at Del Taco for a breakfast quesadilla (4.50).

Right now I'm eating my Amy's Black Bean Enchiladas for lunch and not going to to Chipotle (10.00).

Savings to day: $14.50!

 

[ColoradoLime]

I AM IN!! I love hot food - makes me feel taken care of even if I made it all! My BF works in the same building and we had gotten into the habit of going out for lunch two to three times a week - With what I was ordering, both my waist and my budget went through the roof!! Fortunately she and I now work part-time from home at least three days a week, an hour and a half away from each other, so that will stop.

I was so confused when I first read your post because I read "BF" as boyfriend but was thinking husband and then when you said "she" that threw me off and then I was like, "Why do her and her husband live so far apart?!" LOL

Totally my fault for reading too fast!

 

[annsteere]

Target has Lean Cuisine on sale this week. Between getting a $5 gift card and using the coupons on their website you can buy 10 for $10.

Yes, leftovers from home might be cheaper. And fresh fruit might be healthier.

But, having 10 in my freezer where DH or I can just grab one and carry lunch for a buck sounds like a realistic plan for the days when life is hectic.

I did this last semester and the 5 I bought as back-up lasted two months.

 

[Ava]

The only thing that stopped me from spending money in vending machines etc is to not take money with me!
Within a couple of weeks I'd got used to not having snacks so starting bringing my purse to work again!!

Same here! I've found if I have change or $1 bills in my wallet, I have a hard time resisting the vending machines. If I only have larger bills (or no money at all) it removes the temptation because I don't have the ability to purchase from the machines. I can only remember one time when I was desperate enough for a soda that I asked my co-workers for change.

Thankfully my office has free coffee (although its not that good, it's something) and tea available, so if I need an afternoon pick me up I have one of those.

 

[queenbetsey]

i have some of those glad containers that have snap in holders for salad dressing/ or dip. they hold one serving so i can control portions of dressings, i go to costco and buy that big bag of salad for around 2 bucks some crutons and maybe a bit of leftover chicken and i am good to go. The vending machines can kill your budget and your calorie intake so as stated before grab a bulk package of single serve snacks if you really need a snack. I usually keep a 2 pack of diet coke in the trunk of the car just to keep me away from spending a dollar on one can. just grab what I need for work.
saved me a bunch of money and have kept off the weight i worked so had to loose and hopefully will help me loose that last pesky 15lbs if I can stay away from that extra snack this year.
I'm all for a thread that can keep us all on track.

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

I teach nutrition to K, 1, and 2nd graders in different schools with different schedules every day, so I have to pack my lunches, eat at the cafeteria or not eat.

Last semester, I went out of my way to eat at the cafeterias as much as possible- the kids see me eating the school lunch and it helps me reinforce the nutrition message as well as get a healthy lunch (3 veg and 1 fruit at each lunch)
But at a cost of $3.50 per day it cost way too much, so my New Year's resolution is to not buy lunch all year.
I can do this!

I actually prefer to take my lunch because I eat whenever I can catch a break and some days I am teaching classes that are rotating to lunch, then going right into teaching a class that has just come back from lunch,
and my break may not occur during cafeteria time.

I buy bottled water by the case $2.39 a case at Wal-Mart and keep it in the trunk of my car.
I drink 2 - 3 bottles a day.
I pack a sandwich (ham or turkey with cheese or peanut butter and jelly or peanut butter and marshmallow), a piece of fruit, a veggie, and pack a cookie or breakfast bar or a jello or pudding cup.
Sometimes I pack a hard-boiled egg instead of a sandwich, or leftovers from dinner and heat them up in the microwave, or a big salad.
I love Healthy Choice lunches if I can get them on sale.
I love packing leftover popcorn as a side with my sandwich.

Mostly, packing lunch means planning in advance and for me, I am committed to save $ for our next trip to Orlando, so I'll be packing my lunch the night before to make sure I follow through.
Another helpful thing that prevents me spending $ on eating out-
I simply do not carry cash.
Not for vending machines, not for McDs or anywhere else.
Carry lunch, don't carry cash.

I know for many people it's easy to cave in when co-workers want to go to lunch-
why not plan a day when everyone brings a salad or dish or dessert to share?

 

[danygirl]

DH wants to play baseball this spring and go on one,maybe 2 golf trips. I told him the only way he could do this is if he stops buying lunch so we can save the money. He spends a LOT to eat at work. His coworkers go out a lot, and he loves to eat fast food, too. So in an effort to improve his health and give him an incentive to bring home food we made a deal.

He spends at least $10 per day, because he likes to grab breakfast, too. So I think we are looking at $200 per month in savings, more than enough for a golf trip or two and fees for baseball.

I won't make his lunches, I am doing weight watchers and don't want to handle any extra food. I almost always take my lunch and bring soda from home, too, so I don't spend much on lunch. It is a long walk to the dining hall or the food court here on campus.

 

[edk35]

I definitely need this! I'm a Chipotle addict. And now I work across the street from one and on bad weeks I've been known to eat there all 5 days in a row!

I use budgeting software too ( You Need A Budget), and my Chipotle spending alone had an all time high of $600 one month.

I've been on vacation this week and haven't eaten out at all. I'm hoping that will help kick start my ability to eat what I bring to work once I return.

YOU WOULD BE MY 19 YEAR OLD SON'S HERO!!! He would love to eat there that often.

I SAY!!! LOL That's a lot of CHIPOTLE!!

 

[ColoradoLime]

YOU WOULD BE MY 19 YEAR OLD SON'S HERO!!! He would love to eat there that often.

I SAY!!! LOL That's a lot of CHIPOTLE!!

I actually saw a video on YouTube of a guy who ate only Chipotle for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 30 days straight. And he lost 10lbs!! I told my husband this was my new diet plan.

 

[mom23boys]

YOU WOULD BE MY 19 YEAR OLD SON'S HERO!!! He would love to eat there that often.

I SAY!!! LOL That's a lot of CHIPOTLE!!

I actually saw a video on YouTube of a guy who ate only Chipotle for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 30 days straight. And he lost 10lbs!! I told my husband this was my new diet plan.

LOL You would be my 18 Year old son's hero too!!! I am suprised he did not find the you tube video yet. That's all he would need. He was upset that during his Christmas break from college he didn't spend all his gift cards there, $70 total.

 

[ColoradoLime]

i have some of those glad containers that have snap in holders for salad dressing/ or dip.

Ha! I just bought some of these yesterday at the store!

why not plan a day when everyone brings a salad or dish or dessert to share?

Because I work with a bunch of men who think veggies are poison.

 

[donac]

I have to bring my lunch every day. They got rid of the teacher's cafeteria at our school. If we want lunch we have to fight in the kids line and I refuse to do that.

 

[angierae]

Brought breakfast, lunch and snacks to work again today. I made an extra chicken breast at dinner last night and packed that up, and I have some broccoli and salad stuff. Breakfast was grapes and boiled eggs.

I should go back through my bank statements and see how much I spent last January on eating out at work. It would probably make me

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

I'm IN!!!

When I started my first FT job right after college, I would eat out with co-workers every day for lunch. I think I spent $50 a week b/c each meal out with drink & sometimes tip would be $10/day. It was insane. I think after a few months I realized I had to stop doing that!

Now years later, I am still bringing lunch or going home for lunch and you can see a tremendous diff in my bank account. I still need ideas for bringing lunch as it can get boring.

I typically bring PB&J (with ritz crackers stuffed inside). Or I'll make a salad. Not big on lunch meat. If I have time I will make an egg salad sandwich. I also bring my snacks- pretzels, apples, bananas, yogurt.

 

[LovesTimone]

When I was working, I always took my lunch, I saved my lunch money for trips to see Mickey and the gang.

Here are some of the things that I did that really worked for me. On monday I would bring in water, soda, juice for the week, and I kept it a frig. that we all shared, If I bought a case or whatever I kept it under my desk as not to take up more than my share or the space. I did the same with snacks, I kept, 100 cal packs, granola,and cereal bars in a desk drawer along with soup, peanut butter to go, crackers. Now I did not have all that at one time stored. I still packed my lunch everyday, sandwiches, salad, or left-over from the night before. But some days your in a hurry and don't have time to make it, so it was nice to know that I had soup or a frozen dinner at the office, so I did not have to buy anything.

I worked with 9 other women in one office, sometimes, we would each bring something for lunch for the week, someone would bring bread, some-else would bring, lunch meat,or cheese,or salad fixing, and we would put it all together and share. nothing fancy just reg, lunch type stuff. Once a month when we would have " MOnthly Office Meeting" we would splurge and order out at a local deli, we all would pitch in for the total, and enjoy.

I saved about 200.00 a month and that's low balling it on lunch and snacks, just by taking my own. For some the number would be more or less depending on where you live and such.

 

[Ginny Favers]

I did this amazing thing a few months ago! Before, I used to get an hour lunch, so I'd go out and eat fast food every day, just to get out of the office.

Back in September, I asked if I could shorten my day by an hour and then not take a lunch. My supervisor said yes.

Now if I don't bring a lunch from home, I don't get to eat. It works wonders. I have not bought a single fast food lunch since. And I have more time home with the kids!

 

[Disneyhayes]

I bought 2 bags of pizza rolls (40 in each bag) for $6.70. I eat 8 for a meal so that will feed me for 9 days. That's about .75 a day for lunch and it's here at work in the freezer so there's no leaving my lunch at home. I bought a 12 pack of soda for $2 and it's last me about 3 weeks cause I keep forgetting to put a can in the fridge in the morning. It's easier when there's a fridge/freezer at the office and/or you have a desk where you can store stuff. I will grab a yogurt occasionally in the morning for breakfast or I just skip it all together. We go grocery shopping once a week and buy whatever meat is buy 1/get 1 free and make meals out of it for the next week. We usually spend $25 a week to feed a family of 4. The hard part is sticking to it. Thankfully I love pizza rolls but we'll see how I feel after these 2 bags are gone

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Best thing to do is first don't deny yourself the pleasure of going out for lunch. I only allow myself to go out one day a week.

I pack a sandwich in the summer time which gives me the ability to go outside for lunch. I keep some snacks at my desk to avoid feeding the vending machine my $$. I love trail mix as a snack. It cures the craving for sweet/ salt mid afternoon craving. I buy the 1lb bag of Walmart brand for $5.00. Cheese, stringed or cubed is a great snack. Oatmeal cookies are a good snack. Bring my own soft drinks.

In the winter I eat a lot of soups. I bought an oversized coffee mug and it prefect size for a whole can of soup. I also like to do frozen lunches. Lean cuisine have a lot to chose from.

Oh saw a show on bringing salad to work. Take a mason jar put the dressing in the bottom then layer in the veggies. At lunch take a plate put it over the top of the jar. Invert the jar and you have a salad on the plate with dressing on top.

 

[DawnM]

I am not working currently, but I always make enough dinner so DH can take leftovers. He prefers that over sandwiches.

I think he spent *maybe* $100 on lunches out in 2012.

However, there are often work lunches where his work pays for them and he goes to those fairly often.