When you’re
looking for helpful hints on how to save money, you will always find the three
basic topics: never buy coffee from a restaurant or café, never drive anywhere,
and always pack your own lunch.
While these
may very well save you money, no one ever talks about how hard these three
“simple money saving ideas” are to implement. That’s where I come in.
In the past,
I’ve discussed the Driving Debacle, the Coffee Conundrum, and today I’ll be
talking about the Food Fiasco. Sure, we all know that buying lunches from a
restaurant or café can rack up the big bucks, but is packing your own lunch
really worth it?
You can
start off with good intentions of making the perfect sandwich for your break,
but after hours in a lukewarm communal work refrigerator, it’s not going to
look or taste as good as you thought it would. Plus you have to contend with
those office thieves we’ve talked about in the past, not to mention days where
you have no time to eat or where there are workplace lunches you have to
attend. It can all seem stacked against you.
But, there
are ways to save money fast by bringing your own lunch to work with you.
When it
comes to making big changes in your life, quitting cold turkey can feel
impossible. If you start off slowly you’ll find that you’ll stick to it for
longer. Rather than bringing your lunch to work every day, schedule one day as
a “cheat” day, either in the middle or at the end of the week, to give yourself
something to look forward to. Just remember not to spend all of your savings in
one hit.
Not every
meal is going to turn out looking like it does in a magazine, and that’s okay. Pintrest
and Instagram have given us some great recipes and food ideas, but it’s best to
keep in mind that the images shared can be taken by professionals, and are
usually filtered within an inch of their lives.
Don’t beat
yourself up if your food doesn’t as good as you thought it would.
Just because
you’re making it yourself, doesn’t mean it can’t be interesting. Many of the
foods you might be buying from a takeaway shop can easily be replicated at home
for half the price. You don’t have to stick with the staples like a ham and
cheese sandwich; mix it up with a chicken schnitzel and salad, or a heaty beef
stew.
Making your
own lunch can also have benefits other than saving you money. When you prepare
the food yourself you can make it to suit your own personal tastes and dietary
requirements, and when you know what you’re cooking with you can easily cut out
ingredients like extra salt or sugars.
So let me,
and others, know if you have any great tips on saving money by bringing your
own lunch to work.
Thanks,
Kathy
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