Lunch: Analyzing the costs of packing and eating out.

[rh71]

Originally posted by: woowoo
TV Dinners.......... There going to my head........

(And they can be had for less than $2)

I just picked up a few for $1 each at Walmart. I'll be eating 2 for lunch so that's $2 and some water.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: dainthomas
Are you kidding? Sandwiches are EASILY under a dollar for materials.

Sure, if you buy a 5lb multipack of Oscar-Mayer preprocessed turkey from Sam's Club and continue to consume it months past it's due date. :tumbsup;

One of the main points to bringing your own lunch is getting a quality meal for minimal expense. You want to be King Frugal, then eat Top Ramen every day. Congrats you r teh winnar!

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
LOL. You realize there is other fruit out there besides apples and carrots? You forgot grass.....that's like TOTALLY cheaper that $1. :roll: Oranges and Peaches and Pineapple and Cantaloupe and grapes, etc, etc, etc will all cost you easily close to $1 a meal for a modest sized portion.

Yes, if you shop like a complete fool or eat like a complete glutton, you CAN make packing your lunch cost you more than going out. That's not the point.

 

[Kerouactivist]

i've found a way to make good cheap BBQ sandwiches....

Got to Wal-Mart or to a grocery store, and buy a whole cooked chicken (they have a BBQ flavor but, I usually get the original flavor).... These chickens usually run about $3.50-4.00 sometimes you can even find them on sale for $2.50 if they have been out their for abit🙂......

I cut the good usable meat off of the chicken and chop the meat up really fine (thats how I like it anyway)...... Add a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (you can find a pretty decent one for under $1 at walmart) and heat it up on the stove and let it simmer for a while. I generally like served with onions (cheap).....

 

[Nightfall]

Originally posted by: DougK62
You eat a whole can of chunky soup AND a sandwich? Damn.

Pretty much.

I am not fat either. 5/9 and 170. Normal BMI for the most part.

My weight fluctuates cause I work out so damn much and play hockey a lot. Which is why I eat so much for lunch and dinner.

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
LOL. You realize there is other fruit out there besides apples and carrots? You forgot grass.....that's like TOTALLY cheaper that $1. :roll: Oranges and Peaches and Pineapple and Cantaloupe and grapes, etc, etc, etc will all cost you easily close to $1 a meal for a modest sized portion.

Yes, if you shop like a complete fool or eat like a complete glutton, you CAN make packing your lunch cost you more than going out. That's not the point.

i think what hero is trying to say is... based on the example u have given, that may be one somewhat extreme end of the spectrum. myself, i am not particularly fond of apples. i would prefer grapes, watermelon, honeydews, mangos, and other fruits. of the fruits i just named, with the exception of grapes, i think it would be very difficult to get them for $1 a day. and in the case of a watermelon, much of it may be wasted becuz it might go stale/bad before i am able to finish it off. realistically, i think the difference between eating out and packing is not that great. there definitely is a lower cost of packing ur lunch, but for me, it's not worth the effort to prepare. i guess that is the cost of my laziness.

and i just also realized that especially now, eating out also hits my gas tank. damn.

 

[Bozono]

Spaghetti/Chilli pre-made FTW. It comes to like $.80 a serving for a ginormous amount of caloric intake. Tack on some steamed broccoli($.60), a con of pop($.30) and a couple bananas($.50) and you're eating like a King for $2.20. Has the added benefit of not being laced with a near-lethal amount of salt.

 

[bleeb]

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: spanky
myself, i am not particularly fond of apples. i would prefer grapes, watermelon, honeydews, mangos, and other fruits. of the fruits i just named, with the exception of grapes, i think it would be very difficult to get them for $1 a day.

It's already mentioned in the thread - buy fruit that is in season, and, if possible, grown locally. It's cheaper and tastes better. In summer I can get blueberries for $1.50/pint. In winter the price is more than double that, and the blueberries are crap anyway. You have to be a smart shopper.

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor

Originally posted by: Jzero
Skip the soup and bring a piece of fruit, bag of chips, granola bar, etc, and drink tap water and you can easily pack lunch for $1/day.

#1, Yes the soup isn't much better for you as it's frickin loaded with sodium. Plus it smells too much and sticks up your office and the kitchen when you microwave it.

#2, No way a home-packed lunch is $1. Turkey is $7/lb and you'll easily use 1/5 lb in a stadard sandwich. $.20 for bread. Soda is a qrter, bag of chips probably $.50. Fruit will cost you $1.00....that stuff ain't cheap. Ends up being $4-5 easily and there's the time you spend preparing it in the morning.

aiya! learn to bargain shop!

luncheon meat (the ones in packages, not the fancy stuff from the deli) can be had for 1.50 on sale. don't be loyal to one brand, buy whatever is on sale. there are usually 3 servings in one package.

bread is as cheap or expensive as you want it to be, depending if you buy the generic store bread or if you buy the nicer breads (orowheat is usually 3-4 bucks a loaf.)

fruit - learn to buy on sale. if you only eat gourmet organic stuff it will be expensive. vary your fruit intake to whatever you can get on sale if you're concerned about price. bananas are 69 cents a pound regularly, apples are 2 bucks, grapes are 3-4, but one pound will yield more than one serving. use the ads they send you in your mailbox and maximize your intake - you can even get a good variety of fruit if you just buy whatever is on sale.

soda - purchase on sale. or if you're not choosy, buy store brand. safeway has their brand soda on sale 10/10 for the last few weeks. i just picked up 2 cases of diet pepsi and nesta at target for 2/5.00.

chips - buy the bigger bags, and put it into smaller bags to bring to work.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor

Originally posted by: dainthomas
Are you kidding? Sandwiches are EASILY under a dollar for materials.

Sure, if you buy a 5lb multipack of Oscar-Mayer preprocessed turkey from Sam's Club and continue to consume it months past it's due date. :tumbsup;

One of the main points to bringing your own lunch is getting a quality meal for minimal expense. You want to be King Frugal, then eat Top Ramen every day. Congrats you r teh winnar!

Whatever. I can get a can of tuna for 50 cents (2 sandwiches), or a pack of turkey bologna for 2-3 dollars (8 sandwitches). Enough cheese for at least a couple weeks is about 3 bucks. Plus in a pinch I could make pb&j if I was in a hurry. How many of those can you get out of a container of peanut butter and jelly? Like 20 or 30?

Say I save 2 dollars a day by packing lunch. That's 10 bucks a week, or $520 a year. What could you do with $520 at the end of the year that would be more rewarding than choking down some slop from BK every day?

 

[PHiuR]

great tips for the people who don't know how to shop for sale items 🙂

 

[sygyzy]

The cost that you are not realizing is what you are losing out on by not going to lunch with co-workers. Lunch culture at companies builds great friendships. The one hour you spend each day will make you closer to your colleagues faster than the 8 hours you spend. Now if you don't care about being good friends with the people you work with, go eat lunch at home and save some money.

 

[Billzie7718]

Originally posted by: dainthomas

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor

Originally posted by: dainthomas
Are you kidding? Sandwiches are EASILY under a dollar for materials.

Sure, if you buy a 5lb multipack of Oscar-Mayer preprocessed turkey from Sam's Club and continue to consume it months past it's due date. :tumbsup;

One of the main points to bringing your own lunch is getting a quality meal for minimal expense. You want to be King Frugal, then eat Top Ramen every day. Congrats you r teh winnar!

Whatever. I can get a can of tuna for 50 cents (2 sandwiches), or a pack of turkey bologna for 2-3 dollars (8 sandwitches). Enough cheese for at least a couple weeks is about 3 bucks. Plus in a pinch I could make pb&j if I was in a hurry. How many of those can you get out of a container of peanut butter and jelly? Like 20 or 30?

Say I save 2 dollars a day by packing lunch. That's 10 bucks a week, or $520 a year. What could you do with $520 at the end of the year that would be more rewarding than choking down some slop from BK every day?

Is eating the same crap everyday really worth it?

 

[PHiuR]

Originally posted by: sygyzy
The cost that you are not realizing is what you are losing out on by not going to lunch with co-workers. Lunch culture at companies builds great friendships. The one hour you spend each day will make you closer to your colleagues faster than the 8 hours you spend. Now if you don't care about being good friends with the people you work with, go eat lunch at home and save some money.

I agree, but if you are on a tight budget. Spending $5-10 a day on lunch is really tough on the wallet.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: Billzie7718

Originally posted by: dainthomas

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor

Originally posted by: dainthomas
Are you kidding? Sandwiches are EASILY under a dollar for materials.

Sure, if you buy a 5lb multipack of Oscar-Mayer preprocessed turkey from Sam's Club and continue to consume it months past it's due date. :tumbsup;

One of the main points to bringing your own lunch is getting a quality meal for minimal expense. You want to be King Frugal, then eat Top Ramen every day. Congrats you r teh winnar!

Whatever. I can get a can of tuna for 50 cents (2 sandwiches), or a pack of turkey bologna for 2-3 dollars (8 sandwitches). Enough cheese for at least a couple weeks is about 3 bucks. Plus in a pinch I could make pb&j if I was in a hurry. How many of those can you get out of a container of peanut butter and jelly? Like 20 or 30?

Say I save 2 dollars a day by packing lunch. That's 10 bucks a week, or $520 a year. What could you do with $520 at the end of the year that would be more rewarding than choking down some slop from BK every day?

Is eating the same crap everyday really worth it?

Don't people who eat out generally go to the same few places? I listed three different types of sandwiches, and that doesn't even take into account that I bring in leftovers once or twice a week.

Since $520 would equal a spankin' new high end vid card every year, I'd say that's worth it.

Originally posted by: sygyzy
The cost that you are not realizing is what you are losing out on by not going to lunch with co-workers. Lunch culture at companies builds great friendships. The one hour you spend each day will make you closer to your colleagues faster than the 8 hours you spend. Now if you don't care about being good friends with the people you work with, go eat lunch at home and save some money.

Everyone I work with packs their lunch. If I went out, it would be by myself.

 

[mdchesne]

bologna sandwhich (2 peices of bread, 2 pieces of bologna, mayo) ~ 0.40
iced tea in empty Evion bottle (lipton tea bags in big ol' empty applesauce jar with tap water from night before) ~ 0.10
salad (some peices of lettuse in a glad box with dressing) ~ 0.25

the pop and soup are hurting you. go for the basics. plus, mine is healthier than yours 😉 do you read those soup nutrition facts? ewww. and iced tea > pop (antioxidants, etc.)

 

[Dedpuhl]

I didn't realize how much money I was wasting on food until I switched my eating habits.

One year ago, I would spend about $75/wk at the grocery store (quick, no cooking required stuff), $35-50/wk for lunch, and I was eating out about 3 days/wk. I probably spent about $5-7/wk on junk food and cokes from the vending machine at work.

Now, I spend $90/wk at the grocery store. That's it. I cook enough food that I have leftovers for work the next day (generally a meat and a vegetable). I only drink water. I rarely snack and I rarely eat out.

I'm probably going to buy a vacuum sealer so I can start buying in bulk to save even more cash.

[edit]

My leftovers look, smell, and taste better than anything my buddies are eating.

 

[bonkers325]

drink water instead of juice or soda

bread, sandwich ingredients should cost you around $10 a week. (assuming you like lettuce, tomato, cheese, turkey/ham). fruit should cost you about $3 a week. you work 5 days a week, so lunch will cost you approximately $1.75 a day.

on the other hand you can go out and eat every day. $5/day at least for drink+food. more if you have to drive to the restaurant/deli! then there is the time used to get to/from lunch...

 

[Legend]

My packed lunches are about $1.50 or so.

Peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread
peanuts (buy bulk in a can from walmart for about $4.50. Lasts a month)
grapes (0.89/lb at walmart)
Carrots (2 weeks worth is about 2.00 at walmart. You've got to store it in a container to keep the moisture)
0.50 for yogurt
Free filtered water where I work or green tea (about 0.10 per bag)

I don't get hungry until dinner because the meal contains low GI foods.

Hell of a lot healthier than eating out on dollar menus. Do that if you don't have any respect for your body or wallet. Just because you're thin doesn't mean your organs are healthy.

 

[Garet Jax]

My wife and I make lots of extra food for dinner and then take leftovers in for lunch. Today I have pork, green beans and basil/butter rice.

 

[trmiv]

If I brought my lunch that would mean I would actually have to put some forethought and planning into it. Way too much for me. Easier just to grab something at work.

 

[homestarmy]

Originally posted by: Jzero
Skip the soup and bring a piece of fruit, bag of chips, granola bar, etc, and drink tap water and you can easily pack lunch for $1/day.

That's what I do. $1-$1.50 roughly...

...that's also because where I work they don't pay you enough to actually eat. I have to go into debt just for the $1 per day.

 

[D1gger]

I have tried to pack a lunch for work, but my plans invariably change and I end up going out with co-workers or clients for lunch. Then I have a leftover lunch that ends up in the bin. That is more costly than just buying my lunch.

If I had my choice, I would much rather eat a home-made sandwich and fruit for lunch.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Okay, in all seriousness, I actually prepare some dinner meals with the sole intent of having them for lunches over the course of the week. Meatloaf sandwiches, refried black beans on cheap corn tortillas with queso fresco, pizza, chili, mashed potatos, teriyaki chicken bowl. All will be solid meals and shouldn't cost more than $1 each in materials. FAR better than the bologne sandwiches and carrot sticks every else is recommending.