? For the Budget Masters: Cost of Lunch from Home?

Loaf of bread - $2
Can of tuna fish - $1-3
Lunch meat - $4
Lunch cheese - $4
Mayo - $4 squeeze bottle, 1-2 squirts/sandwhich, 2-3 wks worth of sandwhiches - $1.25/wk of mayo

With this list I can probably make a weeks worth of sandwhiches for $13.50, if that's all he brings, which comes to $2.50/day. Not bad considering he can easily spend $5-10+ each time he eats out for lunch.

My husband won't come with in a mile of a tuna sandwhich and we actually tend to take last nights dinner for lunch most days. If I have wraps I can put last night's dinner in most cases on a wrap, add some extra cheese and it tastes like a high end masterpiece.

We do however enjoy tuna salad over pasta and a bed of greens. I can make the most delicious salads that are economical, healthy, filling and tasty. I buy whatever is on sale and 1 splurge item and toss it all together to make the most delicious salad you ever laid eyes on. The more variety in color I can get the better the salads become. For my husband I can throw some grilled chicken over it and he is too happy. At other times I throw some beans or pasta over it and it becomes some transformed culinary delight.

Ultimately the cost to expand dinner is perhaps $4 - $6 more per meal but can last for two or three lunches and perhaps leftovers on Friday nights when we eat off the fat of the land. Yum.

just want to mention that while yes you may get off cheaper by the other mama's math if your husband agrees to only take a sandwich you need to also factor in

chips or veggies
fruit
treat (cookie, brownie etc.

any hardworking man is going to need more than a sandwich for lunch he is going to need some side stuff and something to drink. you can still do it cheaper but need to figure it in to the budget don't just figure the sandwich lol

Don't know what you do with leftovers but that is all we use for packed lunches. Just have to be creative.

So far as a tuna sandwich goes, make yourself some tuna spread, see how many sandwiches it makes and do the math. :)

-- peanut butter and bannana sandwich all the way! Cost -around 30.005 cents (banana 20.005 cents, bread 7.4 cents and peanut butter 2.6 cents)=)
-- ham and cheese on bread
--leftovers- free=)

you're definitely going to save money packing. i am bad and but in the cafetria at my work. i have to start packing..even with cheap discounted lunches it adds up

my boyfriend used to J. take a loaf of bread, jar of pb and jar of jelly and have it in the cooler at work until it ran out

If he's eating out everyday, figure $12 per meal at 21 meals per month - that's $252 per month you save - subtract the cost of the homemade lunch - I myself hover around $2 to $5 per lunch and I bring a lunch almost everyday (I have this down to an art). Tuna salad would be in the $2 range depending on your side dishes.

So if you can save $200 to $250 per month, that's almost doubling a car payment? Digging into the principal of a credit card? Totally worth it. We got debt free about 9 months ago. The past 9 months has been like living on easy street.

New bed - paid cash.
New tv - paid cash.
New couch - paid cash.
Window coverings for the new house - paid cash
custom bed frame - cash
family photos at some fancy photographer's - cash

It has been like a dream.

Do it.

We just pack left overs for lunches. Doing it that way I don't think it really makes much of a dent in our grocery bill. My hubby only drinks water with his meals.

I think the best way to test your idea is to shop for a week and add the groceries for lunch. Then you'll be able to see the real cost. Figuring the cost for one tuna sandwich isn't going to help you budget, since you can't just buy one tuna sandwich. I hope what I am saying is making sense. Besides, I think most people will want a variety of choices for lunch. I know my hubby can handle the same things few days in a row, but then he starts begging for something different.

If you are comparing bringing a lunch to going out to lunch, bringing lunch will absolutely save you money.

Good luck mama!

You can also buy bulk meat and make a tad more for dinner and then use the leftovers for lunches. My DH packs leftovers from dinner before I pack up the leftovers for anything else. Even making enough for 2 tacos can be a simple thing to do to save money and it's factored into the 1-2 lbs of ground beef I already bought (depending on who is home). If you do a stir fry or chili, it is easy to pack some up. If you rarely have leftovers, then consider packing his lunch first. So I don't really know the cost b/c he doesn't have specific lunch items. In the office, he will drink coffee or water and rarely get a can of soda from the machine. When he was a struggling single dad, he would pack tuna with avocado mixed in for flavor, on white bread (often less than $1 a loaf). Or he'd eat ramen noodle cups.

The other thing you can do is stock up when you see a sale. If he likes tuna, buy several cans or get the lunch packs when you see them on sale or have a coupon. Invest in some little tupperware type containers so that you can build your own lunchables. Often a little work is a cost savings - so get the chunk of cheese and cut it yourself. Buy the box of crackers vs getting the prepackaged crackers with spread. Buy bread on sale and freeze a loaf. Eat things that are in season. Consider buying from Farmer's Markets. Etc. I do not plan to pack raisin packets for DD's lunch - the bulk boxes are cheaper and I can scoop out what she needs for the day for her reusable container.

Jo is right. If tuna is $1 per can and you can make 2 sandwhiches, then its .50 for just the tuna. Do the same for some mayo, 2 slices of bread, etc. It will give you a general idea. Good luck!