Do you buy or make your lunch for work?

SunnyDub1

I use to buy my lunch and get a coffee on break everyday.
Would spend anything from €8-€15 daily, depending on where I was eating.

The last few months I've been making & bringing my own lunch to work.
I decided to start doing it cause I wanted to look after what I was eating and stop eating and buying crap, plus I needed to cut back on my spending!
Have being saving myself a fortune and look forward to a lunch out on a Friday

Anyways, with all the recent cut backs, I have notice there is still a large number of people that go out daily for their morning coffee and lunch.

For those of you who work/go to college daily, do you buy your lunch or make it? and why?

MurdyWurdy

I make my husband's lunch for him every night before I go to bed - much cheaper and he actually prefers it. He said the he is one of the only people in his office to bring his lunch. Most of the others go out every day to buy it. Just seems like a crazy waste of money to me!

bacon n eggs

Used to make husbands lunch till I realised he a big boy and can make his own, guess what he did and does. So proud.
.

MurdyWurdy

bacon n eggs wrote: »

Used to make husbands lunch till I realised he a big boy and can make his own, guess what he did and does. So proud.
.

I am guilted in to it because I'm at home all day and because I "make nicer sandwiches than he does"!

Kylo Ren

bacon n eggs wrote: »

Used to make husbands lunch till I realised he a big boy and can make his own, guess what he did and does. So proud.
.

I'm guessing he does bacon and eggs. I bet he does them all day...

Esoteric_

Don't bother with lunch most days when I'm in work tbh. If I do want lunch, I'll buy soup or a salad, generally ends up costing me about a tenner a week for coffee and that's about it.

Arcsin

I always do now. I have a relatively strict diet I have to follow when I'm training so not much choice really.

There was a time not too long ago that our company kept the local O'Briens franchise in business. Nearly everybody brings their own now.

efb

Since I bought my house I try to make it everyday costs a small fortune eating lunch out

Bring it three days and buy it two days or vice versa depending on how lazy I am. Its only 3 euro for a hot chicken roll in work so it would only cost 15 euro a week even if I bought it everyday but to have some variety I bring it some days. I'd actually prefer to buy it everyday as in general bought lunches are nicer but to get variety I'd have to start walking around to different places.

I always buy fruit for the week at the start of the week and leave it in my drawer at work so have that whether I bring a lunch or buy it.

Most people I work with buy a roll everyday (most in shops rather than the canteen) or get a dinner in the canteen.

vitani

I started making mine and bringing it in at the start of the year. Same with breakfast - I keep porridge, coffee and milk in work.

I was spending about €3 or €4 every morning, and then about a fiver every lunchtime, so I'm saving about €40 a week. I've also lost weight because the me who prepares my lunch is a lot more disciplined than the me who'd buy my lunch and throw in a 'treat' as well.

I still buy lunch the day or two after payday, but it just doesn't feel worth it to do it every day.

kylith

I buy salad stuff and make it in work. Nothing better than a big bowl of veggies. I've been able to tighten the belt on my trousers, while simultaneously loosening the one on my wallet a little. I treat myself to some noodles or microwave dinner on Fridays.

bacon n eggs

I used to be guilted into too and then thought why? He a person who can do it just chooses not to because you do it for him, I am at home now too but I will not go back to being the slave I was I do the usual run of mill stuff but draw the line cause it was beyond a joke how he and children were treating me. Glad I did.

MurdyWurdy

bacon n eggs wrote: »

I used to be guilted into too and then thought why? He a person who can do it just chooses not to because you do it for him, I am at home now too but I will not go back to being the slave I was I do the usual run of mill stuff but draw the line cause it was beyond a joke how he and children were treating me. Glad I did.

I like making it for him too - he does a huge amount for me so it's something nice I can do for him

Also, I do make better sandwiches!

Shenshen

I always bring mine, either leftovers for dinner the day before, or more often a nice big salad.

There aren't a lot of places around here where you can buy lunch, there's a hotel which is overpriced and frankly disgusting and a kind of sandwich shop which is just as bad really. I've come to the conclusion that I must be a really fussy eater - if I pay 6 or 7 euro for my lunch, I expect the food to taste nice.
And as I'm vegetarian, most places seem to find it impossible to put a plate of nice food in front of me, unfortunately.

vitani

vitani wrote: »

I started making mine and bringing it in at the start of the year. Same with breakfast - I keep porridge, coffee and milk in work.

I was spending about €3 or €4 every morning, and then about a fiver every lunchtime, so I'm saving about €40 a week. I've also lost weight because the me who prepares my lunch is a lot more disciplined than the me who'd buy my lunch and throw in a 'treat' as well.

I still buy lunch the day or two after payday, but it just doesn't feel worth it to do it every day.

You will save over buying it everyday but you probably aren't saving 40 a week as you still have to buy all the food to make your breakfast and lunch.

bacon n eggs

aye tis grand if you dot mind doing it, I minded in the end.

crusher000

I have been making my own lunch and bringing it to work for years. Eat it in my car and read a book. It's my time out time every day and love it.

vitani

Alaya Sharp Bazooka wrote: »

You will save over buying it everyday but you probably aren't saving 40 a week as you still have to buy all the food to make your breakfast and lunch.

That's true but the coffee and porridge doesn't need to be bought weekly and the lunches are either leftovers from dinner, or homemade soup and salads. So, weekly, I'm not actually spending that much more in groceries.

osarusan

Make it about 3 times a week, buy it the other two. I always eat more when I buy lunch though.

NothingMan

I try bring it in but if I run out of bread and ham but still have enough food in the house for dinners I'll just eat out until I go shopping again. This can be up to 2 weeks...

Even if I bring it in I end up buying crisps or something anyway.

Tar.Aldarion

I usually buy cheapish things to bring. Soup for 1.50, had a half a quiche today which = 75c. Spend 1.50-3e per day on average and eat out on friday. 2 course meal with a cappuccino for a tenner, bargain!

I eat breakfast for free in there, have free coffee etc and cycle in so I don't spend too much. Some people spend crazy amounts. My weekly spend in one day etc.

GLaDOS

Bring it in, unless I've stayed over at my girlfriends the night before, in which case I'll buy a wrap/roll and soup. Usually only once a week.

vitani

vitani wrote: »

That's true but the coffee and porridge doesn't need to be bought weekly and the lunches are either leftovers from dinner, or homemade soup and salads. So, weekly, I'm not actually spending that much more in groceries.

I do the same with breakfast, have a box of cereal at work and we have milk provided and this is a big saving but for the days I do bring lunch it means I buy more groceries so I don't really save much over buying the cheap roll at work, though I would save a lot compared to buying a dinner or getting sandwiches in other shops etc.

The Backwards Man

I'm self employed. What is this 'lunch' you speak of?

MurdyWurdy

bacon n eggs wrote: »

aye tis grand if you dot mind doing it, I minded in the end.

Ah yeah, if I felt like I had to I'd be getting annoyed quickly!

Gone Drinking

Canteen is subsadised here. I can get a sandwich, soup, a bread roll, butter and a can for less than a fiver. So I usually do that.

mathie

I spend 23 euro a week on lunch.
A sandwich three days a week and a takeaway chicken curry and a burrito the other days.

I wouldn't save too much making them at home and I'd rather spend my time at home more productively.

The Master

Gone Drinking wrote: »

Canteen is subsadised here. I can get a sandwich, soup, a bread roll, butter and a can for less than a fiver. So I usually do that.

Same here and I'm also far too lazy to make my own

TheChevron

Some days I do, some days I don't

Shenshen

mathie wrote: »

I spend 23 euro a week on lunch.
A sandwich three days a week and a takeaway chicken curry and a burrito the other days.

I wouldn't save too much making them at home and I'd rather spend my time at home more productively.

Why, what are you producing at home?

I Heart Internet

Arcsin wrote: »

I always do now. I have a relatively strict diet I have to follow when I'm training so not much choice really.

Thinly veiled "I do exercise" post. You're shaming us Arcsin!:D

I try to bring mine most days but my discipline comes and goes. Typically bring 70% of the time and buy 30%.

If I buy lunch I find I usually add extras to it I wouldn't have otherwise - crisps, chocolate, maybe a coke. Not great on the pocket or my rock-hard abs.

force eleven

Lunch is for wimps.

So, generally, I'll make a sandwich and bring some soup.

KERSPLAT!

I'd probably bring lunch for three days and buy for two. Rolls and sandwiches are pretty cheap now so I'm probably not saving too much but I'd imagine the food I bring from home would be healthier

Ruu

Strict diet so I make my own.

mathie

Shenshen wrote: »

Why, what are you producing at home?

Tins of condensed awesomeness.

Irishcrx

I buy it and bring it in , some days I bring in a sandwich other days I buy something in Tesco for a few days and bring that in. They have these great Pasta pots for €2 which are nice , or a subroll for €2 then just add a bar or something with it if I fancy it.

I find that when I don't , I'll spend €2 in the morning on something and then between 5-7 Euro on lunch so that's about say €8 a day x 5 €40 a week. Tesco lunch will cost me €10 a week , save €120 a month.

Tesco - Every little helps!

MurdyWurdy

Working places with subsidised canteens is great - I've worked places like that before and it can often work out cheaper to buy lunch every day in those cases. Especially if you have a cooked meal at lunchtime and then something light when you come home in the evening. I love canteen food

Creamy Goodness

My time is more important to me than saving a couple of extra euro. buy lunches all the time.

Pumpkinseeds

MurdyWurdy wrote: »

I am guilted in to it because I'm at home all day and because I "make nicer sandwiches than he does"!

Hee, me too. Plus I used to make sandwiches for a living years ago. So making them for strangers but not making them for him would make me feel to guilty. Anyway there's nothing wrong with looking after the one you love:D

MurdyWurdy

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

Hee, me too. Plus I used to make sandwiches for a living years ago. So making them for strangers but not making them for him would make me feel to guilty. Anyway there's nothing wrong with looking after the one you love:D

Definitely! He always texts to say how nice his lunch is too which is sweet.

I would have thought that the best sandwiches are the ones you make yourself because you know just how you like them but apparently not

SunnyDub1

mathie wrote: »

Why are you attributing that quote to me?

Because you said "I usually add extras"
I did also, as do others!

TPD

I bring my lunch in to work. I'd normally make two 3-portion meals during the week for dinner, eating one of each and bringing the other two of each for lunches. Then maybe a salad or noodles or something the extra day. Not sure the cost, but my weekly food shop is 30-40 euro. Free tea/coffee/fruit in work too.

mathie

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

Because you said "I usually add extras"
I did also, as do others!

No... that was "I Heart Internet"

SunnyDub1

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

My time is more important to me than saving a couple of extra euro. buy lunches all the time.

For me I'm saving more then a couple of extra euros, and it takes 10-20 mins max each night or morning to make up a sandwich or salad :rolleyes:

It's not even just about the money, I'd sooner know what exactly I was eating and how much of it I was eating. Always found that food portions in restaurants/cafés/deli counters etc are way over the top.

Creamy Goodness

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

For me I'm saving more then a couple of extra euros, and it takes 10-20 mins max each night or morning to make up a sandwich or salad :rolleyes:

It's not even just about the money, I'd sooner know what exactly I was eating and how much of it I was eating. Always found that food portions in restaurants/cafés/deli counters etc are way over the top.

I may spend 50-80 a week on breakfast/lunch/coffee. But I work hard and late so my time at home is actually really precious. The last thing I want to do getting in at 11pm most nights is to whip up a salad for tomorrow (you don't win friend with salad*). I spend that time catching up with my girlfriend and my family.

Not saying this works for everyone, my situation is different than most, I enjoy my job, I don't work a cushy 9-5 and I value how precious my time is.

* obligatory Simpsons reference.

hardCopy

Aside from the financial benefit, homemade sambos can be so much nicer than anything you get the average 'deli'.

Unless you're lucky enough to work beside somewhere like Morton's then the best lunch you can get is one you make yourself.

SunnyDub1

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

I may spend 50-80 a week on breakfast/lunch/coffee. But I work hard and late so my time at home is actually really precious. The last thing I want to do getting in at 11pm most nights is to whip up a salad for tomorrow (you don't win friend with salad*). I spend that time catching up with my girlfriend and my family.

* obligatory Simpsons reference.

You can catch up with your girlfriend & family while in the kitchen preparing your food, I'm sure an extra 15 Min's away from them each evening wouldn't hurt. Just saying :cool:

Creamy Goodness

she spends enough time in the kitchen, whahwhahwhah :pac:

The Cool

I buy my lunch every day. I used to buy breakfast as well in the Spar beside the office on my way in, but since I found some hair in a sandwich I stopped that - I now bring breakfast biscuits (like the Weetabix ones or whatever those new McVities ones are called - whatever's on offer in Tesco) and a yogurt or banana. I used to be buying a pastry or a fruit salad in Spar and then of course I'd get a fizzy drink or coffee while I was there, so there were mornings I'd spend a fiver if I was getting a few things. Now the biscuits cost about €2 for a box of 6 and it's €2-3 for the yogurts, so it's €1 per day for breakie now.

I do still buy my lunch though, mostly because I like going and sitting down with a book and a sandwich. We have a grand little kitchen in the office building but nowhere to sit other than your desk. It's usually a sandwich from Centra, or else the Boots lunches which I quite like. When I started working in Dublin last summer I was doing an unpaid internship and made and brought my lunch, but I was already getting up too early to function and I don't like making stuff the night before.

kylith

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

I may spend 50-80 a week on breakfast/lunch/coffee. But I work hard and late so my time at home is actually really precious. The last thing I want to do getting in at 11pm most nights is to whip up a salad for tomorrow (you don't win friend with salad*). I spend that time catching up with my girlfriend and my family.

Not saying this works for everyone, my situation is different than most, I enjoy my job, I don't work a cushy 9-5 and I value how precious my time is.

* obligatory Simpsons reference.

That's why I leave my salad stuff in the fridge in work, it only takes 10 minutes to chop stuff up at lunchtime. I might be fairly lucky in that no-one is a lunch thief.

I probably only save about a fiver a week, but I feel much better than I did when I was buying stuff every day.

ibarelycare

I bring it in most days, might treat myself to lunch once a week. I cook chicken breasts at home the night before and bring them into work and have them in a wrap with some relish, spinach, peppers, etc. Works out really cheaply. I bring yoghurts in for breakfast and we get free fruit in work so have that at breakfast and lunchtime too. We also have one of those charity boxes full of goodies where everything costs €1 so might have a bag of crisps or a bar of chocolate once in a while too.

On the days I buy my lunch it costs around €6. The cost of the lunch I bring in myself costs less than €10 a week.