Lunchtime plan to save money at work - lets see how much we can all save in a month!

sophiesmum_2

well its Friday and I have done a week of packed lunches for myself DD and DH. I deducted the cost for ingredients from what I normally spend and as of today I am £35 in credit :T
So that is another £35 going towarsds xmas savings.
I am going to try and continue this if I can stay organised,
sophiesmum:D

Molanole

This is such a brilliant thread. I waste so much of my money by buying bottles of pop and bars of chocolate not to mention spending about a fiver a day on lunch. Do you know, it had never occured to me to leave my cards at home. I'd probably feel lost without them there but I'm going to start doing so next week. I work on Tottenham Court Road and the temptation to window shop is vast, I never buy anything though as I can't afford it anyway!!

sophiesmum_2

how is everyone doing with this challenge.
i have saved £70 so far over last two weeks by making packed lunches for myself DH and DD to take out. Its also made us eat more fruit and salads etc.
sophiesmum:D

lynzpower

this is without doubt the most gratifying moneysaving there is.

Ive been doin this for some months, and last week, I was so disorganised I kinda fell off the wagon. I had to buy my lunches a couple of days and they ewere SO RUBBISH, turkey salad sadwich was so much poorer than I could make! Not doing that again lol

Jaymz

I had fallen off the wagon too (its very easy for that to happen)!
Last night I made my lunch for today though so thats another few quid saved

Zabl

I was in a rush this morning, so brought a random selection of things to make for lunch.....

Got pesto, cheese, tomato, chicken and mayo!! I hate mornings :mad:
Bread already in work freezer from last wk!

Should save me some cash this week, plus have decided i will walk to post office if i have ebay parcels instead of driving there :rotfl:

gaspode_2

Great Thread!

No-one has mentioned that taking fruit into work is also cheap and healthy. It's also obviously easy with no prep. I always take bananas in which is more satisying than having a chocolate bar. I also buy large bags of nuts and keep them in my drawer - ideal as snacks.

Another thing I can add to the list of meals is quiche - It may not be very cheap but it's still less than the £3 I used to spend on sandwiches and it's also a lot more filling. Making pasta the night before is also quick, easy and satisfying but I must admit that I'm looking for new ideas.

Anyway, we have now got a microwave at work and would like to know of any quick and easy meals I can take in to use it?

thanks.

jobbingmusician

3 suggestions for cheap/easy microwave meals

1. Baked potato - best if you can be bothered to pfaff around with baked beans, cheese and coleslaw IMHO, but quite good just with butter. Or if you've got weird tastebuds like me you can have a really slimming lunch - baked potato and mint sauce! The only disadvantage of BP is that they tie the microwave up for 10 mins, so can make you unpopular (although you can take a pre-cooked potato and just blitz it for a coupla mins, if this is a serious problem)

2. A tin of spag bol is really tasty - Netto do a good one for 33p

3. The ultimate in cheap healthy meals - porridge!

Floss

Some more ideas for lunches.....

1. Cold roasted peppers in pitta bread - scrummy! I always buy the Tesco Value bags, slice them up, dribble on some oil (olive is gerat but whatever you have) & roast for about 45mins on gas 4-5. Cool, put into dish in fridge & then use to make butties - the juicey oil is full of flavour but can make the bread a bit soggy though.
2. Roasted tomatoes & mozzarella - again, use any toms (doesn't matter of they are a bit sad-looking, you're going to cook them!). Same as before but DON'T SLICE! Mozzarella is a good "reduced fridge" item, and does keep for at least a week after its date.
3. Mixed salad - buy a cheap bag of salad - the ones with cabbage in are good, plus a lump of cucumber, some tomatoes, and any other salad stuff eg celery. Chop/slice your extra veggies, add some raisins, chopped cheese ("Value" lumps are great in this), a chopped apple & voila! should be enough for at least 2 if not 3 meals.
4. Savoury rice - make it up the night before & fridge it. The "Value" ranges all have them in different flavours. You can add extra bits too - sultanas are good in the curry ones.

I have a breadmaker which saves a fortune on plastic sliced for my 18yr old son, and is good for me when he leaves his butties on the kitchen worktop!

I always have peanut butter in my drawer, and often bring oatcakes & pate or cream cheese & crackers. We're lucky where I work - we have free drinks, free "cow" for milk, subsidised (on some things, anyway!) canteen, microwave, fridges, free cold & hot water. Lots of people bring cereal in, or buy toast at 10am (at 14p a slice! 3 days of that & you've bought the loaf!), then you have to queue for the microwave, but at least we have one.

katyk_2

Some other good ideas for cheap meals include cooked pasta and veg (whatever you have in the fridge), mixed through with a cheap jar of bolognese sauce (or other type). Alternatively just use tinned tomatoes. Healthy, spicy if you want to add spices, and dead easy. Just zap or a couple of minutes in the micro at work to heat.