Day 7: Brown Bag Your Way to Savings
Welcome to the seventh day in our Month of Savings series. Today we will be talking a little bit about how you can brown bag your lunch and save your family loads of money.
I stay home with my kids, but I still go to playgroups where the opportunity arises for a lunch to be bought. The temptation towards going out for my husband though is prevalent every single day, since most of his coworkers forgo the savings and enjoy lunch out daily.
The thing that has always been important to me is that we don't feel like we are being deprived of anything. For me, being deprived of things makes living a frugal life hard. I don't like to feel like I am missing out on anything and I try to reflect that in what we do in our house.
My husband takes his lunch daily to work and I try to take great pride in what we eat for dinner so that pride can be reflected in his leftovers the next day. For him, sandwiches aren't as filling as the leftovers. For us, the leftovers are cheaper than the sandwich meat and snacky type of foods that I would pack for him.
I go to our Dollar Store and get the sectioned containers there for our lunches. These run $1 for two containers or $1 for four smaller containers. The containers weather the trips to work and back, but they don't cost very much so I am not worried about them returning.
We put our containers right underneath the area where I serve our dinner. Immediately after I have dished up everyone's plate, I fill any leftovers into these containers for my husband. We have designated a special section in our fridge for the leftovers so they are easy for him to find in the morning to take them into work.
I always try to include any condiments he might need and sharp cutlery for tougher cuts of meat. You can save ketchup, mustard and mayo packets from restaurants to include in your lunches. Syrup can be poured into a baggy and tied with a twist tie for brunches on the go.
Fresh herbs sprinkled on top give the food a more finished touch, but dried herbs can add a splash of color to your leftovers (although not as tasty!)
If you have a place that you can keep snacks, at work, hit your local superstore and pick up soda and snacks to keep in/around your desk. This can save extra money too, by not visiting those pricey vending machines.
Potential Monthly Savings- $100 or more
Sound Off: Do you have any brown bagging tips to share? How do you save your family money in this category?
Labels: Budget, Frugal, Month of Savings
7Comments:
justelise
"If you really want to save money, quit buying soda in cans or individual bottles altogether. When they are individually packaged, you're paying for even more in packaging. If your family insists on drinking soda, however bad it is for them, stick with 2 liter bottles.
The best way to pack drinks on the go would be to get a reusable drink container (a metal one rather than a plastic one) and pour drinks that you have mixed or purchased and have around the house into it. Iced tea (or any cold tea), sports drinks, lemonade, and juices all work well.
You should avoid plastic drink bottles at all cost. Since they are made from petroleum products, they help to drive up the cost of gas. Furthermore, a lot of them end up in the garbage when they should be recycled after use. Just because you recycle at home doesn't mean your husband's office does. Furthermore, some plastics leak chemicals into the liquids they are containing. These chemicals have been associated with a number of things including reproductive disorders in women and various cancers. Bottled water (however useless it is) and individual bottles of soda are pervasive in this country, and cutting back on them can help both the environment and your wallet."
Lisa
"I just saw something that ties in so well to your brown bag topic today, that I had to come back around to comment. Check out the PB&J Campaign http://www.pbjcampaign.org/ You can be frugal and green at the same time!
My husband takes leftovers to work as well. I will sometimes buy deli meat for those weeks I know leftovers will be sketchy (taco night, spaghetti etc), but he ends up not taking deli. Often times he takes leftovers and supplements his lunch with dessert. It doesn't save as much but is cheaper than nothing!"
MyHeartIsAlwaysHome
"Amy, Such a great reminder. It is easy to fall out of this routine.
I try to pack hubby's lunch while we are cleaning up dinner. One thing that I do is pre-cut the meat. It takes less time for him to re-heat and then he does not have to take a knife with him."
thehomespunheart
"Amy - these are great ideas! I pack my husband's lunch as well and I find that he likes it better than other alternatives as well! :)
I could not agree more with you than when you said it is important to you that you and your family don't feel deprived. That just nails it! I feel that way as well! I think that is one of the keys to being satisfied with a frugal and thrifty budget and life.
Keep up the great work!"
Mary Ann
"I pack my husbands lunch every day as well and normally do it right after dinner with leftovers. His work has a water cooler available so I pack a large cup each day to fill with fresh water. I use cloth napkins for his lunch and often will pack a plate to put everything out on if it is not a meal in a sectioned container. He says this feels more like eating at home and he doesn't feel deprived at all."
"Amy - you are doing a great job on your series this month. My husband and I also brown bag our lunches - it really helps the budget. My husband enjoys drinking soda with his lunches so we buy by the case and he takes a couple cans with him to work. He then brings the cans home and we recycle them.
Justelise you need to get your own blog and leave Amy's alone."
justelise
"To the Anonymous commenter who was not brave enough to leave a name or a link to their own blog:
I have my own blog and I've been participating in the blogosphere (if you want to call it that) for over 7 years. My blog is located at http://itsreallyjustme.net, and its mostly focused on technology and my day-to-day musings.
I feel that even though a lot of the advice given here is good, it could be better. If you look through the posts on this blog, a lot of people give advice, provide links, and give feedback. If the creator(s) of this blog did not want to spark a dialog with their readers, they would not allow commenting at all. I think that you should read other comments and realize that I am not the only person contributing additional references but also a different point of view.
I am very concerned with the state of the environment, and a lot of my posts reflect that. There are a lot of little things that we as Americans can do to not only save money, but help to slow climate change, reduce our waste, and have a positive impact on the environment. I think a lot of what I have written will allow people to not only save more money, but also be better consumers by making better choices rather than opting for the cheapest items available.
On this particular thread I advised that you can save a lot more money by eliminating soda, or at least eliminating individual bottles. They cause damage to the environment, kill animals, cause cancer, and drive up the price of gas. I am astounded that someone could take issue with something that is pure common sense. Furthermore, it is sound advice from a health standpoint because soda has no nutritional value and contributes to obesity in children (who are the ones that generally want it the most).
If you are going to mock what I say or disagree with me, I would appreciate it if you had a real counter opinion or at least had the courage to tell the readers who you are. Then I would be more than happy to engage you in a debate on any of the subjects I have commented on."
The best way to pack drinks on the go would be to get a reusable drink container (a metal one rather than a plastic one) and pour drinks that you have mixed or purchased and have around the house into it. Iced tea (or any cold tea), sports drinks, lemonade, and juices all work well.
You should avoid plastic drink bottles at all cost. Since they are made from petroleum products, they help to drive up the cost of gas. Furthermore, a lot of them end up in the garbage when they should be recycled after use. Just because you recycle at home doesn't mean your husband's office does. Furthermore, some plastics leak chemicals into the liquids they are containing. These chemicals have been associated with a number of things including reproductive disorders in women and various cancers. Bottled water (however useless it is) and individual bottles of soda are pervasive in this country, and cutting back on them can help both the environment and your wallet."