One of the biggest drains on people’s wallets is lunch. A lot of us are just not organized enough or too darned lazy to make our lunch the night before. I definitely fall in the lazy category.
So, I took inspiration from one of my coworkers, and decided I’d just stock up on what I needed at work, and keep it there In my case, there’s a grocery store in the basement of my building, so it’s fairly easy. If you don’t have one nearby, you need to do a little shopping beforehand and bring things in. I buy the following.
1. Deli meat for the week. Usually whatever is on special – turkey or chicken. Tends to run me about 4 to 5 dollars for the week.
2. Cheese. I have a weakness for Havarti. I pick up 1 decent sized slice for each sandwich. Runs me about 4 bucks for the week.
3. A few tomatoes. Adds some nice flavour and moisture to the sandwich. Usually about a buck for the 2.
4. Buns. I pick up a fresh one every day. Costs me 55 cents. If you have to bring things in, you will have to buy for the week, and put them in the freezer.
And I gotta admit – the finished product is fantastic. It takes me about 2 minutes to assemble and I definitely get looks of envy when I bring it back to my desk. It’s much cheaper than buying them in the food court, and I don’t waste half my lunch hour waiting in line for something that’s expensive and not very tasty.
Now – if your workplace isn’t so kind as to supply you with a fridge, alas, this won’t work. But hopefully they are. 
Have you ever tried assembling your lunch at work?
Sounds like a tasty sandwich. Of course anyone with a tighter budget could substitute in processed cheese slices and use bread instead of buns. I can’t say I ever really prepare my lunches at work. I think the only exception is if there is leftover stuff for fajitas or something. I wouldn’t want to leave the items at work though because I’d forget about them and they’d go bad. Someone else at work obviously had that problem too because there seemed to always be something moldy in the fridge. That fact doesn’t make you want to keep much food in there either.
Modest Money recently posted..Blog Commenting Etiquette Basics
I’ve never tried this myself, I usually make a bunch of meals then freeze them and bring them to work, but I know quite a few co-workers who assemble their own sandwiches at work and it’s definitely a money-saver.
Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses recently posted..My Slip into Shopaholism – Help Me Please!
Lunch is such a weird thing for me.
I work nights and I technically have a “lunch break” that I take somewhere between 3:00-5:00 in the morning. I still have yet to figure out what to bring with me to eat and it seems to vary greatly.
Sandwiches are fairly common and I usually try to do the following:
1. There is an Entenmann’s Outlet store nearby where we can get three loaves of bread for three dollars. Two of the loaves go in the freezer. I try to get different loaves that will lend themselves to different types of sandwiches.
2. I wish deli meat wasn’t so expensive but sometimes it’s so good—I haven’t bought it in ages though. We try to keep a healthy supply of PB&J on hand.
thethriftyspendthrift recently posted..Getting My Education — For Free (Almost) – Part One
MM – mold is a bit of a turn off, yes.
You could definitely cut costs lower, but I gotta admit – processed cheese only works for me if it’s melted on a grilled cheese or a burger.
Mo – your method definitely works too! Sometimes I do quinoa for the whole week, then cut up stuff each night to go in it.
Thrifty – that’s a great deal on the bread. Mr. Canuck Buck used to work shifts, so I understand about it really mucking up your “eating” clock.
I pretty much have a sandwich every day for lunch. My wife thinks I am crazy because I don’t get tired of them. Well its cheap and I change up the combos so I don’t get bored.
Sean @ One Smart Dollar recently posted..Tips for Staging a Home to Sell
Hey Sean – as long as it works for you, that’s all that’s important! I can do a month without getting board, but that’s it. Mr. Canuck Buck has been doing salad for a year, and I don’t know how he does it!