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If you’re looking for an easy and effective way to save money, making and bringing your lunch to work is a great option. It’s not an easy habit to break, but if you’re successful, it could mean more time, better health, and more cash in your pocket.
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Why Eating Out is More Expensive Than Bringing Your Own Lunch
When it comes to eating out, you pay for more than just the food. This makes since as the business you’re eating at has to pay for the building, the staff, and the food. When you make food from home, your house is the building, you are the staff, and you only pay for the food.
Also, some other things to consider include: the gas money and wear and tear on your vehicle, the lost opportunity time from eating out, and the potential health implications that could add up to doctor bills in the future.
How Much Money Can You Save by Bringing Your Lunch to Work?
Eating out at lunch for work is an expensive habit.
Let’s just say that the average takeout lunch for work is $10 (this varies by area and person, but I average about $10 per takeout lunch at work). Let’s assume you eat out every working day for lunch and take two weeks of vacation a year.
$10 x 50 x 5 = $2,500.
Now let’s compare that to making your own lunch. On average, I can make a healthy meal for less than $4. Let’s see what the difference is between making your own lunch and eating out in this scenario.
$4 x 50 x 5 = $1,000
$2,500 – $1,000 = $1,500
In the examples above, using numbers from my own experiences, you can save up to $1,500 a year by making your own lunch. If you eat out at work 50% of the time, it would be closer to $750 per year.
This doesn’t assume any gas money. If you have to drive a decent distance to eat out, then you’ll also save money in gas throughout the year.
Also, this only assumes one working adult. If you and your spouse both work and both eat out, you can double the figures above.
Whether you completely quit eating out or only cut down on the times you go out, that is a large chunk of money that would be better served either paying off debt, building an emergency fund, or making you money through investing.
Why do People Go Out to Eat for Lunch at Work?
I personally enjoy going out to eat for lunch because it gives me a chance to socialize with others and it forces me to leave the office and disconnect for a little while. Many times, if I don’t leave the office, I’ll continue to work through lunch and either work while I’m eating or skip lunch entirely.
Other reasons include the belief that eating out for lunch is faster than just making your food and bringing it or the belief that bringing your lunch from home will hold you back from moving up because you don’t “fit” as well as other team members.
How to Avoid Working Through Lunch if You Bring Your Lunch to Work
If you’re like me and end up working through lunch if you bring your lunch to work, I recommend taking your lunch somewhere else other than your office.
Do you have a break room or a conference room available? Are there picnic tables outside? Does someone else in the office bring their lunch; where do they eat?
Why Eating Out is Not Faster than Making and Bringing Your Lunch from Home
When you make and bring your lunch from home, the only real time involved is buying the ingredients (which you can do as part of your normal grocery runs), making the lunch which can be as simple as making a salad or sandwich, and packing it for work. If done correctly, you can prepare each meal in as little as 5-15 minutes.
When you eat out for lunch at work, you waste time (and money) driving to the restaurant, ordering, and waiting for your food. The drive alone can take longer than making your lunch from home.
How to Handle Missing Out on Socializing When Bringing Your Own Lunch to Work
If you miss socializing with your colleagues, maybe find other times to socialize. If the only time you get to see certain people is lunch, try cutting down on eating out for lunch to 1-2 times a week, suggest that you all bring your lunches and meet somewhere, or maybe even suggest a potluck type of meal that you all can enjoy.
How to Handle Preferential Treatment for Your Coworkers That do go Out for Lunch at Work
If you run into a situation where it seems like not going to lunch is holding you back in your career, find out why. I’ve never come across this in my own experience, but have heard others talk about it.
What I would probably do in this situation is probably make an effort to go out one or two times a week and just try and order cheap and healthy meals
How to Break the Habit of Eating Out at Work for Lunch
The habit of going out to eat for lunch at work is one that isn’t easily broken. To break the habit, it takes discipline and a long-term commitment to changing.
The weekends will be your friends. When preparing your weekly (or bi-weekly, or monthly) grocery store visits, make sure to think about your lunches for the week and add the ingredients to your grocery list.
If the lunches you have planned require cooking, try to cook them on the weekend to have them ready to go for each weekday. If they require prep work, do as much prep work as possible on the weekend to make assembly easier during the week. If you wait until the week, there’s a good chance you won’t do it because you’ll be busy with work or family (at least in my case).
If your coworkers try to peer pressure you, let them know what you’re trying to accomplish. People are typically very empathetic to saving money and bettering yourself.
Don’t feel the need to stop cold turkey. Like most habits, stopping cold turkey can be a recipe for disaster. If you cut out going to lunch at work all at once, it may make you resentful and eventually you’ll end up eating out again.
If you ease into it and set realistic goals like only eating out once or twice a week, you’re much more likely to succeed in changing your habits.
Bringing Your Lunch to Work has the Potential to be Healthier
When you go out to eat for lunch at work, you are forfeiting control of your options to an eating establishment. You can choose places that are known for having healthy options, but ultimately you have little control over what ingredients they use, how the food is prepared, and how it is handled.
When you make your own lunch and take it to work, you know exactly what is in that meal. You have complete control over the ingredients, food prep, and how it is handled and stored.
Cheap (and Mostly Healthy) Lunch Ideas for Work
- Sandwich
- Salad
- Wraps
- Yogurt Parfait
- Bowls
- Leftovers
These are just a few examples, but really anything that you can put in a Tupperware or Pyrex container is fair game.
If you don’t have access to a refrigerator, you can either bring a cooler with a freezer pack or just pack something that won’t perish in a few hours.
Also, if you work in an office or some place that you share with others, leave the pungent leftovers at home (looking at you, leftover fish!).
Conclusion
Your can save $1,000+ per year per spouse just by bringing your lunch to work from home. In addition to the savings, it can also be healthier because you get to choose the ingredients and how it is prepared.
Make sure to set reasonable goals and don’t think of this as all or nothing. Gradually taper down your eating out habit and you’ll find the sweet spot that both saves money and keeps you from completely falling off the wagon.
Do you brown bag it at work? How much have you’ve saved? What are some of your favorite lunches to bring to work?