…You Should Take Your Lunch To Work
1. Taking your lunch to work can save you money. Assuming that there are about 250 working days in a year and the average lunch costs between $5 (on the low end) and $10 (on the higher-side), midday meals can account for between $1,250 and 2,500 per year! You can imagine that this would be even higher if you throw in a few long lunches and even more if you toss in the occasional beer or glass of wine. If you packed a lunch, even just two or three times a week, you would save yourself a few bucks a day. Added up over the year and you’ve put a few hundred dollars back into your pocket.
2. When you decide and have control what goes in your lunch, not only will you eat healthier, but you’ll eat better. The quality of ingredients, particularly at fast food restaurants, is often marginal at best. And you never really know what goes into what you eat. Even when you think you’re being healthy, like buying a Subway Tuna Sub, a quick look at the nutritional value would shock you. That tuna sub just mentioned - 1,060 calories for a 12-inch! That doesn’t include the Coke you probably get with it.
3. Assuming you use containers that can be washed and resealed, you will reduce waste. So you can feel good about what you put in your stomach and what you leave out of the trash bin.
4. While there is no guarantee that it will make you day any shorter, spending the time that you would normally take out to lunch being more productive in the office may mean that you can justify leaving work early. Or at least on time. You can also use the opportunity to take that midday break in an environment of your choosing without having to waste time lining up for lunch. Get out on a nice day and sit in the sun!
5. Lunch boxes are cool. Go retro - dig up an old tin box from your basement or a local second hand shop. Or go modern - pick up a very cool Bento-style laptop lunch box from Obentec. Or go very traditional - get a furoshiki and learn how to wrap just about anything with a piece of cloth.
More: My Money Blog has some tips on taking lunch to work entitled Frugal Brown Bag Lunch Ideas + Cost Breakdown: Sandwiches Edition.
