Bringing lunch to work v. eating out?

[BlueEyedFunOne]

Sorry if this has been covered already, but I'm wondering how many of you bring your lunch to work everyday, compared to those who eat lunch out everyday? Or some of you who do a mix of both?

Of course, the argument is that brown-baggin' it is much less expensive. I definitely bring my lunch everyday - leftovers, sandwiches, etc. I just find that eating out is a bit pricey (for me) and that the options are not always the most healthy. I'd much rather eat something I've made myself. Plus, I'd get sick of Subway on a regular basis.

I find that lower-level employees here usually brown-bag it, and the managers & higher ups usually eat out.

I got into an interesting discussion today with one of the managers here - he said that eating out might be less expensive, because you're not shelling out for a big grocery bill every month and buying all the food you'd pack for lunch.

Not sure if I would agree, but I figured it would make for some discussion on here. What do you all think?

[Kitty]

I think I eat out more - but, it's relatively inexpensive eating out. I either eat from this truck where it's $5, or I get a subway for $6. If I bring lunch, it's usually a frozen meal, an apple, and some type of drink. It probably ends up being around $4 to bring my lunch. I also go out to lunch at least once or twice a week with my boyfriend - who pays :)

[paiger81]

Currently, I'm a combo eater. Tuesday's we work late (8-7), so I always go out to eat on Tuesday's simply to get away for a little bit. Other than that, I'm a fan of Lean Cuisine's, Sandwiches, and Left-Overs.

[WorkInProgress]

I bring my lunch (generally leftovers, sandwiches & wraps), and definitely don't spend what I would if I were eating out every day. Some things can get expensive if you buy them in single servings, though.

[spokes]

i don't consider myself a lower level employee, however I am certainly not in the "higher-up" category either.

I personally do a bit of both. as a single person sometimes I don't eat food quick enough at home before it goes bad or is not as fresh as i would like ti to be, and sometimes I'll have cereal or something like that for dinner, so there will be no leftovers. Other times I cook and freeze stuff for lunch or future meals.

i would think that it would always be cheaper to make your own lunch, because there is a labour cost involved to prepare food purchased at a restaaurant, however I suppose that you could always make an arguement for your personal labour cost involved to making lunch.

[Winter Storm]

A daily brown-bagger here. I only eat out every so often and that is treating myself.

And there is no way eating out here is less expensive than buying gorceries for me. To buy lunch everyday for me would be to shell out $5 a day ie, $25 weekly or $100 monthly for one meal.

I buy groceries for the month for about $100 and that covers ALL my meals.

And like you said, I'd rather prepare my own meals because I can then better control my portions and caloric intake. When I eat out, I have a tendency to not only eat more but eat fatter, more indulgent foods. That I won't do daily.

[cheshrcarol]

I got into an interesting discussion today with one of the managers here - he said that eating out might be less expensive, because you're not shelling out for a big grocery bill every month and buying all the food you'd pack for lunch.

Not sure if I would agree, but I figured it would make for isome discussion on here. What do you all think?I think it's a miracle that guy got into management :rolleyes: . No matter how much your grocery bill is, you're probably going to pay several times that for the same food out. Think about even something easy like sandwiches - there's a deli near where I used to work where It would be $6.25 for a turkey wrap (if it was the special it would include chips and pickle too) and a small bottle of soda was $1.25. So one lunch of a sandwich and soda costs $7.50. For about the same amount or a little more, you could buy an entire package of wraps, a 1/2 lb. turkey, a jar of mayo or mustard, and a case of soda and have lunch for an entire week. Plus there are some things you wouldn't need to buy every week, like the soda and the condiments.

Personally, when I'm working I try to take lunch but even though it's a lot less expensive it's just not that convenient. Plus, I hated my last job and I liked to get out instead of sitting in the tiny lunch room by myself.

[Kitty]

Personally, when I'm working I try to take lunch but even though it's a lot less expensive it's just not that convenient. Plus, I hated my last job and I liked to get out instead of sitting in the tiny lunch room by myself.


That's kind of how I feel about it. I usually walk across campus and then eat in the quad w/ all the students. It's nice to get outside, walk across campus, etc.

Also, sometimes I literally just forget to bring my lunch because I'm in a rush in the morning.

[coll214]

I'd say i got about about 1-2 times a week, depending on the week. We also from time to time will order in food. Or i bring leftovers, Lean cuisines, etc. Sometimes I just don't go grocery shopping in a week and i'll just go out for that week, but it gets too expensive.

[and1grad]

I mix it up cuz I get bored. The lunch I bring is usually something I picked up on the cheap from a grocery store so its not remarkably different than eating out anyway.

[cache]

I eat out about twice per week. Today, I have ground meat & macaroni:

$2.00 1 lb. ground meat
$.50 8 oz. macaroni noodles
$1.50 1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
$.20 various seasonings

Thats $4.20 which makes 4 meals, or $1.05 per meal. Most expensive part of that meal: The plastic container that I will probably forget to bring home and will get thrown out. :huge:

[mishl982]

I do both. I'm more of a leftovers type of person but once in awhile I eat out to mix it up or if my dinner from the night before didn't produce leftovers.

[HIKU]

Very Un-healty but here what I get LOL... so we have these dollar value meals

With $3 bucks I can get:

Jack in the Box:
- 2 tacos
- chicken sandwich
- small fries
- small drink

Mc Donalds:
- 2 double cheese burgers w/ big mac sauce (try it)
- small fries

Burger King:
- 1 chicken sandwich
- baked potatao
- 2 tacos

[wordsmith]

I mix it up.

But I do have to say that the taqueria across the street from my work makes the "it's cheaper to bring your own food" argument hard to make. They are psychotically inexpensive, and delicious.

Three steak tacos, a side of beans, a side of rice, and a drink can be had for under $3.

[cheshrcarol]

Burger King:
- 1 chicken sandwich
- baked potatao
- 2 tacosYou have tacos and baked potatoes at your Burger King? Wow. We just have burgers, chicken, fries, etc.

[WorkInProgress]

I mix it up.

But I do have to say that the taqueria across the street from my work makes the "it's cheaper to bring your own food" argument hard to make. They are psychotically inexpensive, and delicious.

Three steak tacos, a side of beans, a side of rice, and a drink can be had for under $3.

If I had one of those nearby, I'd be there at least once a week. Sadly, no.

[paiger81]

Very Un-healty but here what I get LOL... so we have these dollar value meals

With $3 bucks I can get:

Jack in the Box:
- 2 tacos
- chicken sandwich
- small fries
- small drink

Where do you live? At my Jack, that should be 4 dollars, not 3!

Also, if you ever wanted to make it somewhat healthy, switch something out for a $1 side salad!

[Winter Storm]

Ya know, I'd eat out more often but it really isn't convenient for where I work.

One, I work at the ballpark so the closest food place charges an arm and a leg (and its not that good). Second, I work downtown so any other decent place would be a drive and guess what? There's nowhere to park for free down here. Some places have NO parking. And if you wanna walk to the nearest places, it's gonna be several blocks (10 minutes plus) and again, minimun $5-6 purchase.

Just inconvenient. :frustrate

[pisces2473]

Ya know, I'd eat out more often but it really isn't convenient for where I work.

One, I work at the ballpark so the closest food place charges an arm and a leg (and its not that good). Second, I work downtown so any other decent place would be a drive and guess what? There's nowhere to park for free down here. Some places have NO parking. And if you wanna walk to the nearest places, it's gonna be several blocks (10 minutes plus) and again, minimun $5-6 purchase.

Just inconvenient. :frustrate
Yo, I thought you worked in publishing?

[Winter Storm]

Yo, I thought you worked in publishing?

Yeah! We rent offices at the ballpark. Aint too shabby! :)
See this really long building right behind the ballpark? I'm in there.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/oriole70.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/oriole.htm&h=285&w=400&sz=45&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=qJe-mXaLCDtrvM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCamden%2BYards%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den %26lr%3D

I'm waving from the window. Kidding.

[spoco]

but my company gives every employee a $5 credit in the employee cafeteria every day. We have a salad bar, potato bar, dessert bar, along with three entrees of the day, a cook-to-order grill and a lite bar.

Once a quarter, the menu is upgraded to incluude steak, shrimp, etc., if we have a successful quarter financially, which we have had lately.

We believe in the philosophy where if we make our employees happy with great benefits and perks, they will make our customers happy, which in turn brings more money to the company. Its simple, but effective.

But even with this, once a week or so, half my office ends up at Fridays or somewhere. It does get old. I compare our employee cafeteria to a college cafeteria - better than high school, but far from a five-star restaurant.

[and1grad]

but my company gives every employee a $5 credit in the employee cafeteria every day. We have a salad bar, potato bar, dessert bar, along with three entrees of the day, a cook-to-order grill and a lite bar.

Once a quarter, the menu is upgraded to incluude steak, shrimp, etc., if we have a successful quarter financially, which we have had lately.

We believe in the philosophy where if we make our employees happy with great benefits and perks, they will make our customers happy, which in turn brings more money to the company. Its simple, but effective.

But even with this, once a week or so, half my office ends up at Fridays or somewhere. It does get old. I compare our employee cafeteria to a college cafeteria - better than high school, but far from a five-star restaurant.
Thats actually really cool. My workplace has this too...but generally calls it "my paycheck." ;) :razz:

[wordsmith]

I work in a tiny storefront newspaper office in a small town, so, yeah, surprisingly enough, no employee cafeteria. We barely have a kitchenette. What we do have is a little room with a fridge, a sink, and a microwave.

[WorkInProgress]

...no employee cafeteria. We barely have a kitchenette. What we do have is a little room with a fridge, a sink, and a microwave.

That's what I've got! And I'm happy to have it.

[cache]

Ended up going out to eat with a coworker today. Spent $9 instead of my $1.05 gound meat & macaroni

[pisces2473]

I work in a tiny storefront newspaper office in a small town, so, yeah, surprisingly enough, no employee cafeteria. We barely have a kitchenette. What we do have is a little room with a fridge, a sink, and a microwave.
Ha, at least you have that. Our microwave is on a table w/ our fax machine and our copier. Fridge is next to that. Sink? You have to use the bathroom one.

[jrwilheim]

Sorry if this has been covered already, but I'm wondering how many of you bring your lunch to work everyday, compared to those who eat lunch out everyday? Or some of you who do a mix of both?

Of course, the argument is that brown-baggin' it is much less expensive. I definitely bring my lunch everyday - leftovers, sandwiches, etc. I just find that eating out is a bit pricey (for me) and that the options are not always the most healthy. I'd much rather eat something I've made myself. Plus, I'd get sick of Subway on a regular basis.

I find that lower-level employees here usually brown-bag it, and the managers & higher ups usually eat out.

I got into an interesting discussion today with one of the managers here - he said that eating out might be less expensive, because you're not shelling out for a big grocery bill every month and buying all the food you'd pack for lunch.

Not sure if I would agree, but I figured it would make for some discussion on here. What do you all think?

I tend to eat out more...I find I need the excuse to get out of the building during the day. My attempts and brown-bagging have usually been less than successful.

[wordsmith]

That's what I've got! And I'm happy to have it.

Me, too. I actually keep it better stocked than I do my kitchen at home. Of course, I'm here a lot more than I'm there...

[Kitty]

We don't have any sort of cafeteria or break-room here, either. The room w/ the fax machine and copier in it also has a small fridge, a coffee machine, and a water cooler. I don't mind, though, because I'm on campus and there's lots of little cafe's and places to go eat.

[spoco]

we have about 4000 employees. Our employee cafeteria is actually the largest classifed restaurant in our state.

[pisces2473]

we have about 4000 employees. Our employee cafeteria is actually the largest classifed restaurant in our state.
Dude, I worked for an Ivy League university with more employees than that and we NEVER got free lunch. Dag, yo.

[wordsmith]

we have about 4000 employees. Our employee cafeteria is actually the largest classifed restaurant in our state.

Hah. We have eight.

[yankeeyosh]

I rarely eat out for lunch...hell, I hardly eat lunch (usually just a yogurt). Today was an exception since a colleague is moving to the NYC office (hopefully for bigger and better things), and we went out to eat. It was $15...if I do eat out, it's usually a $2.50 Vietnamese sandwich in Chinatown.

[beeblebrox]

we have about 4000 employees. Our employee cafeteria is actually the largest classifed restaurant in our state.

I have two guesses for where you work: Google or Northwestern Mutual which is known for their cafeteria.

[CuranderaC]

I bring my lunch Monday through Thursday unless there is no food in the apartment or I'm running seriously late. I buy my lunch on Friday because it feels like a reward for making it through the week.



I find that lower-level employees here usually brown-bag it, and the managers & higher ups usually eat out.


I have to disagree. I find that most "lower level employees" tend to have bad money management skills and they "spend it til it's gone", at least in the places that I've worked. Also I've noticed people eat out less the further we are from pay day.

[yankeeyosh]

I have to disagree. I find that most "lower level employees" tend to have bad money management skills and they "spend it til it's gone", at least in the places that I've worked. Also I've noticed people eat out less the further we are from pay day.

Very few people bring their own lunches...at least on my floor. However, it's mostly management on my floor.

[EmberMae]

I bring my lunch. Usually leftovers. I spend a lot on groceries, which I don't really understand actually...but I can tell you right now I don't spend $10 a day which is what I'd be spending to eat out on average. The leftovers would have probably gotten thrown away, and sandwiches are extremely cheap...you can get 1-2 weeks worth of sandwiches for the price you'd pay for one at a sit down restaurant. Sometimes I'll go to taco bell because they have bean burritos for a dollar and that's a pretty good deal.

I used to bring frozen meals and those can get quite expensive though, not much advantage over eating out, and the food usually isn't that good.

I'm the only person at my office who brings my lunch consistently. But...I spend too much on food already and I can't spend any more.

[SpaceMonkey]

95% of the time, I just bring a sandwich from home.

[wordsmith]

I'm way more inclined to eat out if I can get a good meal (i.e. not a bean burrito and call it a meal) for under $5. Fortunately, due to where I live and its general inexpensiveness, this is doable.

[capella]

Unless I learn how to teleport out of my classroom during my 15 minutes of actual lunch time.... I bring my lunch. Everyday. If it is a teacher work day and there are no kids I go out for my full contractual hour lunch without fail. It happens so rarely during the year. I do, however, get to eat lunch where and whenever I feel like it during the summer, spring break and winter break so that sort of makes up for it.

My day is almost constant work. No eating out for me. I kind of like it that way because it saves me lots of money. When I was at the newspaper it was almost an office ritual to go out for lunch. Trader Joe's, Panera, Chipotle, etc. It was breaking my budget completely. I am thankful that I don't have that sort of office pressure on me anymore. It was almost antisocial to not go out to eat with the other copy desk staff. :(

[GoogleGirl]

Unless I learn how to teleport out of my classroom during my 15 minutes of actual lunch time.... I bring my lunch. Everyday. If it is a teacher work day and there are no kids I go out for my full contractual hour lunch without fail. It happens so rarely during the year. I do, however, get to eat lunch where and whenever I feel like it during the summer, spring break and winter break so that sort of makes up for it.

My day is almost constant work. No eating out for me. I kind of like it that way because it saves me lots of money.

I've also noticed with teaching, you save a LOT of gas in your car. Over the past year, I worked within the hospital system HQs and I would drive 15 min. from work to my apt every day to each lunch. I would have to fill up my tank at least once a week if not a little more. Now that I'm student teaching, I eat lunch at school and barely drive outside of school. Now it's more like every 2 weeks I will have to fill up my gas tank. The last time I filled up was last Sunday and I could go at least another week on that one tank of gas. Its amazing. Just because I eat lunch at work now.

[beeblebrox]

I bring my lunch almost everyday consisting of alot of veggies and fruit, sandwich, and applesauce or yougurt. I think I'm one of the few people who consistently brings in their own lunch. I usually treat myself to one or two times of fast food. This week was celebrating someone's birthday and I went for that and I ate with my coworkers. My boss asked me if I had my lunch and I say yeah, but I don't have to eat it, so I saved it and ate with them to social and good. On the weekends, my bf comes home from his client site and we eat out, but I'm getting better about the food too on that with less burgers and fries and more shrimp and chicken.