How I did it: Let's face it: As a working adult, sometimes you feel like you don't have the time to pack a lunch to bring to work.  So, what made me start?  My biggest incentive is this:
My husband wants to take a trip to Europe!
"Great.  What part of my discretionary income am I going to have to make adjustments to?," I thought.
Bringing lunch to work just seems like the easiest, most practical thing I could do to save money. 
It wasn't the easiest thing to get used to at first, but now that I've been doing it for almost 2 months, I don't know why I didn't do it sooner!
Steps: 
1. Plan your week.  This is the hardest part.  Make sure you buy enough groceries to cover your week's worth of meals.  If there are two of you in your household (like mine), you will essentially have to double your meals (1 for lunch, one for dinner per person). 
2. Buy storage units to store your lunch in.  Glass containers with lids are ones I love.
3. Set time to pack your lunch or do it during a commercial break.  If you're forgetful, set a timer to remind yourself to do this or else you will be lunchless tomorrow!  No excuses.
4. Put it in a bag.
5. Do I really need to go through the rest of the steps?! 

Lessons & tips: - Envision what you will accomplish by doing this.  Are you trying to save more, lose weight, get out of staff lunch meetings? 
- Pack things that travel well.  Sandwiches always work, but maybe homemade soup should just be for home. 
-Don't forget to pack some snacks.  If you don't, you may get hungrier than what you packed, and feel tempted to just go out for lunch again. 
- Keep a calendar of what you brought to lunch.  Sometimes, we have the best intention of eating our brought lunch, but since we just had it a week ago, it just isn't that appetizing.  Keeping a calendar helps create variety.
- Each day you bring your lunch, give yourself a small reward.  A pat on the back for me usually suffices. =)

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Jan 02, 2012, 09:55PM PST | 0 comments | 13 cheers