Why You Should Pack Your Own Lunch

I remember packing my own lunch when I was younger simply because

A.) My mom would buy me some badass stuff and
B.) I could immediately sit down at the lunch table and have solitude before my friends could join me.
Yes, I liked being able to set myself up without people watching me, No, I disliked being social at a young age. I mean, really, how many times can we have the conversation about Johnny chasing you on the playground and about that new girl hogging the jumpe rope? Yeah, I know. But, old habits are hard to quit and I, being the frugal girl I am, love to pack a lunch. Although I have to get inventive with ways to keep my lunch cold because it’s 100+ in Las Vegas and I sometimes leave my lunch in the car, I still think it’s way important to pack my lunch. And I’ll tell you why.

Have leftovers you want to eat again? Going through a phase like me when you only want to eat Fruit Loops? Packing your lunch is for you. You can pack it the night before after you go grocery shopping and pick what makes the lunch pail and what doesn’t. When all of your work buddies are trying to decide where to go for lunch, you’re busting out with your cool Hello Kitty lunchpail and getting ready to relax.

A lot of resturants have scewed portion sizes. A lot of stuff on the fast food menu isn’t healthy. Wouldn’t you rather eat healthy and know what exactly your putting into your body? Heck, prepared food isn’t even that healthy for you but it’s at least way better then going to McDonalds and paying $6 for a heart attack. If you even feel the need to eat stuff that isn’t healthy for you, you can at least do it frugally. On and upwards to the next point I’m about to make!

Not only can you decide what goes in your lunch pail ( see up above) you can also decide how much money you’re going to spend on you’re lunch. Only want to pack a lunchable, bag of chips and Capri Sun? $2, there ya go. Even if you pack more things, like snacks, it’s still usually 10x cheaper then going out to eat for lunch. Unless you frequent the dollar menu, lunches out and fast food, add up quickly! Wouldn’t you rather buy a Starbucks with that $5? Mmm, Starbucks! Okay okay, I guess the responsible frugal thing for me to tell you to do would be save that $5 and invest it, but the honest part of me will tell you to buy some Starbucks. Or save it up for new shoes.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t work anywhere close by food places. My work is located inside an apartment complex, which is by a 7-11, but I would rather not buy lunches there. My next option is over a mile away, and even more options are about another mile on top of that. It doesn’t seem far, but say I only get a half an hour break. I’d have to load up my stuff, get in my car, drive in my car, wait in drive through for other people to twiddle there thumbs and decide what they want to eat ( I don’t care what you say, I’m always 10x faster then everyone else!), order my food, pay, drive back, and then set it up to eat it. Yes, I still set my food up before I eat. All this takes at least 20 mins. And then what am I suppose to do, shove it down my throat and feel uncomfortable for the next five hours? No thank you. When I pack my lunch, I simply have to take it out of the fridge and eat. Done! I even have time to catch up on my blogs and emails and even some Facebook. During the summer, I plan on reading somewhere quietly if I can! Did I even mention that I’m even saving on gas and something way more valuable, like my time?

You can do it. Packing lunch might seem hard, might seem like a waste or not even very fun. And you know what? It does have it’s drawbacks. It’s not necessarily cool to sit in the break room with your book and lunch or sit at your desk with leftovers. It might seem way more glamorous to go out to eat with your coworkers. And sometimes, you might need to for networking opportunities. But, who cares if you look cool or not! If pissing away over a $100 on lunch is cool to someone, I say SUCKER! I’d rather sit with my pf blogs any old day.

As Dave Ramsay says, “If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.”