The 2011 Lunch Challenge

A reader asked me how I’m doing with my 2011 Lunch Challenge. For those who are new to the blog, one of my goals for 2011 was to challenge myself not to buy lunch, snacks or coffee tea lattes during the work week for the entire year.

The only exception is for work-related purposes (which almost never happens, and even then I can write the expense off), or if I’m on a business trip and will get reimbursed for the cost.

I challenged myself to this for 3 different reasons:

1. To save money. BF and I are trying to save as much as we can over the next 12-18 months so that we can save for a home of our own. My goal is to have a $80,000-$100,000 down payment by the time we are ready to buy – and we’re halfway to that goal.
2. To eat healthier. I know that when I pack my own lunches, I eat much healthier than when I go out and buy something.
3. To challenge myself. I’m always looking for new ways to make personal finance interesting and challenging. And I know that if I can be organized and disciplined enough to pack my lunch every single day for a year, then I will be much better off if I am ever in an emergency financial situation. It’s like a fire drill, but with money. How hard do you think it will be if you’re ever in a situation where you have to cut out all luxuries in your life? Well, if you’ve already gone through a dry run of it, then it won’t seem like such a shock if (knock on wood) it ever happens to you.

Well, I’m into Week 7, and I feel pretty good. I’m making interesting food to bring to work, and I’m never feeling too much jealousy when my co-workers go out for lunch. It has made me realize how often my co-workers spend money on lunch and snacks each week. And since I used to buy my lunch whenever they went out, it made me realize how much I was really spending too. Even if you bring your lunch every day to work, just saving $10 each week on coffee and other miscellaneous snacks will add up to a savings of  over $500 a year!

Here is what I’m usually bringing for food:

Breakfast/Morning Snack
- Fruit smoothie: 1/2 banana, 2 tablespoons of yogurt, 1 kiwi, 3-4 strawberries, 1 cup of mixed frozen berries (I drink 1/2 of it for breakfast, and 1/2 of it for a mid-morning snack)

Lunch
- Pita, hummus & cucumber slices
- Multi grain bagel w/low fat cream cheese & cucumber slices
- Sandwich (on whole wheat bread or multi grain bagel) w/lean chicken & whatever veggies we have in the fridge
- Mixed greens salad w/whatever veggies we have in the fridge, low-fat balsamic dressing & maybe some tuna or salmon (but only if we have any)
- Leftovers from previous night’s dinner (usually only happens a couple of times per month)

Afternoon Snack
- Granola bar

The best tip I can give you is: pack your lunch the night before. Make it part of your evening routine – maybe just after you finish dinner. You’re in the kitchen anyway, might as well take 10 extra minutes to prepare food for the next day!