Money Monday: Lunch- My Daily Mid Day Dilemna and a hole in my wallet

One of the big things that I have learned in the first half of my 20s is how much it costs to feed myself. (Thank you Mom for feeding me for the first 18 years of my life.) I mean, I am in theory, I'm still paying for meals on my credit card from my first senior year of college. (Lesson learned: "Do not charge food and /or booze"... but that's for another Monday...)

I read this article on MSN (http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/MoneyInYour20s/HowToBuildYourFirstBudget.aspx?page=2) about making a budget and this is the part that stuck out to me:

"Food: Basic groceries should cost a single person about $150 a month. You'll spend a lot more if you eat out frequently, however, or if you buy lots of processed foods, frozen dinners and gourmet stuff. Cut your food costs by bringing lunches and snacks from home. Substitute potlucks or picnics for expensive socializing at restaurants. Shop grocery-store sales, and learn to make a few healthy meals at home."

Makes sense right? One problem: I personally don't have/am willing to take the time to make lunch every morning or even every night.

Solution: Pack lunches for 5 days on Sunday afternoon.

This is what I did (with the assistance of Lil Lisa):

1. Decide on the menu for the week. (Morning Snack: Yogurt and an orange; Lunch: Ham sandwich, orange, and salad; and Afternoon Snack: Fiber One Bar)
2. Bought materials. (A loaf of bread, a small jar of Fat Free Miracle Whip, sliced deli ham, alfalfa, a half pound of Spring Mix salad, a bottle of salad dressing, pudding singles, 6 pack of yogurt, 5 oranges, and a box of Fiber One bars.)
3. Got out 10 (5 sandwich ones and 5 round 2 cup) Glad plastic containers and 5 sandwich bags.
4. Put a serving of ham in each sandwich bag.
5. Layer contents of sandwich container as follows: 2 slices of bread, plastic bag with ham inside, and then alfalfa. This order will prevent any of the contents of the container from getting gross before Friday.
6. In the 2 cup containers I put salad and croutons.
7. I packed up my lunch and snacks for Monday and then put the rest in the fridge.

And now my fridge looks like this: (This is on Monday night so there's only 3 cause my Tuesday's lunch is already packed.)

Now all I have to do is put the lunches in my lunch box every night and then grab the lunch box in the morning when I get my water before heading to work.

Easy...and cheap. Total savings between last week (in which I ate out every day for lunch) and this week... $25. YAY!!!