Era, how much do you spend on lunch a day?

[HamSandwich]

Excuse the odd poll choices, but curious as to how much people spend on lunch a day. I commute two hours to work each day so I don't really bring anything.

But during lunch I easily find myself spending on average 14 bucks a day on lunch which really adds up. Wish I could find cheaper places in NYC to eat but I don't think I could eat food trucks everyday lol. Even salads like 12 dollars.

Era, what's your lunch spending like?

 

[_bemusedchunk]

Due to living in the Boston Metro area, lunch is easily 10-15 bucks, and could be upwards of 20 depending on where you go and what you eat.

However, my PERSONAL answer is to just bring your lunch.
Make more than you would for dinner, and eat the leftovers for lunch the next day.

This helped me stretch my budget further, and also lose some weight over the past 2-3 years.

 

[wholahay]

I'm in NYC too and yeah my lunch is routinely in the like, $13-16 dollar range. It's not great but I'm not fully broke so, like, I dunno. I'm living.

Before the packed lunch evangelists arrive: I have one very simple rule. I don't bring food over rivers. You will not convince me.

 

[LakeEarth]

If I'm working, < $5. Sandwich with a slice of cheese and some ham and mustard, a couple of apples and a banana.

If I forget my lunch, I try to keep it under $10.

 

[T002 Tyrant]

I dunno I make sandwiches so that probably works out as just under £1 a sandwich? Crisps, can of drink. About a rounded £2 a day perhaps?

Edit: £1.37 a day.

 

[finalflame]

$0, work provides all meals/food/snacks/whatever. Back when I didn't have the luxury, I usually just skipped lunch and fasted.

 

[Deleted member 12129]

I buy sandwich ingredients and keep them in the fridge at work, and sealed bread or wraps at my desk. I'd say it averages to about $2-3 a day.

 

[HamSandwich]

I buy sandwich ingredients and keep them in the fridge at work, and sealed bread or wraps at my desk. I'd say it averages to about $2-3 a day.

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That's actually a great idea, I should consider doing that

 

[shadowkat]

I bring my lunch everyday. On the rare occasion I don't, I try to keep it to 10-15.

 

[subpar spatula]

i just order food or go get something. i am lazy. usually ranges between 15-30 a day.

 

[SpottieO]

I bring my lunch usually every day of the week. So I probably spend like $3 -$4 per lunch at the grocery store?

 

[Rocketz]

I tend to eat leftovers from the night before.

On the chance I do buy something out, I keep it under $10.

 

[Deleted member 1478]

Depends how lazy I am in the morning. If I can be bothered then I'll make myself a sandwich, if not I'll usually spend about £5 on some lunch.

 

[MechaMarmaset]

I take in leftovers from the previous night's dinner. It saves between $200 and $300 a month. I also go home earlier because my lunch is shorter because I don't have to spend forever deciding what I want, waiting in line, picking it up, etc.

 

[ned_ballad]

Nothing

I usually just eat an apple and maybe a piece of candy. I like eating really big dinners.

 

[Mullet2000]

I bring lunch pretty much every day. Saves an insane amount of money.

 

[Deleted member 9479]

Usually bringing from home. Today was a dark quarter roast chicken and a small salad. Easily less than $5, probably around $3.

Tonorrow is roast chicken breast, curried sweet potatoes, broccoli. Again, probably around $3.

 

[DarkChronic]

$11-13.

NYC sucks sometimes.

 

[WedgeX]

I bring my lunch just about every day. Which runs me likely about $2.50 or so.

If I ate out, it'd be between $12-$15 daily, with the prices around here.

 

[frankenstrat]

I work in food delivery while I go back to school and help support my family. Being able to have lunch free saves me something in the realm of $100+ per month if I were to go buy things, and maybe something like $50 per month if I were to bring it.

 

[WascallyWabbit]

Prob eat out once a week with coworkers but bring food rest of the time so it prob averages closer to the $1-5

 

[Untzillatx]

Between 11-15€. Lunch is the main meal of the day.

 

[eXistor]

Usually I just bring home-made sandwiches, but I don't feel like them having them every day so I stop by the local bakery and get something like a ham and cheese croissant for €1,80.

 

[Tempy]

I have lunch at the work cafetaria. Only costs roughly 3 euros a day. Rest is paid for by work. Some of it is tax-deductible for the employer I believe. It's a proper lunch, not sandwiches or fast food.

 

[I Don't Like]

$0

I can bring lunch but I normally don't. There's usually catering leftovers 2 or so times a week and if not I just eat some free fruit from the kitchen at the office and that's it. It's a good way of keeping up intermittent fasting for me. Plus saves money. I do get hungry but work through it and around 3pm I take my preworkout mix which kills my appetite until dinner.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

I skip it.

 

[Jeronimo]

I bring lunch to work most days (most days is now 3 days, since I work from home twice a week). Lunch is usually something my wife or I made, leftovers, sandwiches, or salads.

I sometimes buy lunch on Friday, but I don't like to spend a lot, because we tend to get doordash or go out for dinner on weekends.

 

[LosDaddie]

$1-$5 per day.

I used to bring my lunch (usually leftovers or a struggle sandwich), but my new position (with much higher pay 🥰) allows me to live a little.

so.....nowadays I walk to the nearby Publix every other work day for a whole sub sandwich (that I split for 2 days), some pork rinds, and some berries.

I have a mini-fridge in my office that keeps the stuff I don't eat cold. It's great.

 

[Aske]

Nothing. I prefer to eat one meal in the evening, when I can relax and enjoy it. I voted $1-5 simply because there was no $0 option.

 

[eosos]

Typically $0 since work provides all my food. When I worked someplace where this wasn't the case it was like $12 a day. Never going to pack my own lunch tho, not worth my time and I like the small luxury of a lunch that's better than a boring sandwich.

 

[Bear]

I'm in NYC too and yeah my lunch is routinely in the like, $13-16 dollar range. It's not great but I'm not fully broke so, like, I dunno. I'm living.

Before the packed lunch evangelists arrive: I have one very simple rule. I don't bring food over rivers. You will not convince me.

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Seems kinda pricey even for NYC. I usually can keep lunches to $8-$11.

 

[FliX]

I bring lunch to work every day, and for the most part that should work out to about $3 a portion.

 

[GlacialTruffle]

$11-15 'cause I'm in the Bay Area, and I need to step out of this fkn office.

 

[nullref]

I bring my lunch from home once or twice a week (on average), but that varies based on what leftovers we happen to generate that week—I don't put much effort into planning ahead for lunches. Otherwise, I'll mostly eat in the office cafeteria, since there are limited other options nearby. Lunch there is typically in the $6–10 range, depending on what you choose. Possibly the company subsidizes it to some degree.

 

[Nivash]

About $10. I commute 2 hours a day like you, OP, and I try to go out with colleagues every day. Just getting outside and getting some fresh air is what keeps me going some days. Swedish lunch box culture is very strong but I refuse to be part of it. Why people who could easily afford a proper meal insists on constantly eating last night's leftovers for lunch will always be beyond me.

 

[LtCasual]

I bring lunch as often as I can. My "eat out" budget for lunches is $100 a month.

 

[Eros]

I eat mostly homecooked. But if I have to buy something, I expect to spend around the 10 dollar range.

 

[Shadybiz]

Why does the length of the commute matter, OP? You can do a meal prep like every Sunday or something and put 5 lunches in 5 separate containers or something similar. If it's something that needs to stay cold, you can get a small insulated bag and put a freezer pack in there.

 

[mhayes86]

I bring my lunch to work and usually go out on Fridays, which is typically $10-$15.

I don't know how some people can go out and get a $10 lunch every day.

 

[Rivenblade]

I normally bring my lunch, but I just dropped 20 bucks on ramen, followed by a muffin and a ginger ale. IT'S A SPECIAL DAY, DON'T JUDGE ME.

My daily "money spent on food" average at work is probably around the 6 or 7 dollar mark.

Usually drop 3 to 5 bucks per day on coffee, soup, chips, or muffins, and one "out" meal, like ramen, per week.

 

[HamSandwich]

Why does the length of the commute matter, OP? You can do a meal prep like every Sunday or something and put 5 lunches in 5 separate containers or something similar. If it's something that needs to stay cold, you can get a small insulated bag and put a freezer pack in there.

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I try to carry as little as possible since the subways can get jammed packed in the mornings and afternoons. It's really just for convenience sake.

Edit: Plus it's nice to walk away from the office to recollect myself.

 

[Bio]

The instant ramen I eat 99% of the time for lunch costs $0.79 each, pre-tax, so I can't vote in the poll

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

I'm over $10 more often than I'm under it.

I really should be bringing lunch, but I really like having an excuse to leave the office for a bit at lunch.

 

[Borgnine]

I buy 4 of those ready to eat salads from the grocery store on Sunday and eat them Monday through Thurs. I think they're like 5 or 6 dollars each. Friday I'll eat out for like 15.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

I put them all on the company credit card so ask them.

 

[roflwaffles]

Alot of the tech firms in San Francisco subsidize your lunch so the majority of the time I don't pay for it. If I do go out for lunch, it usually runs $9-13

 

[The Albatross]

We have pretty decent subsidized caf at work, so I usually spend between $2-$5

 

[Seirith]

I eat at home since I work from home and I voted 1-5. I usually eat a sandwich, leftovers or random things I find in the kitchen. My husband takes a frozen meal every day, which is between 2-3. I do eat out with my parents on Wednesday when we visit the antique shop we are part of but most of the time they pay.

 

[Dr. Giggles]

About $6. I eat at my universities' dining hall/food court. I should probably buy stuff to make my own lunch. I spend way too much on food.

 

[Failburger]

1 dollar bag of steamable veggies
Whatever I bring from home (usually beans)
1 passion fruit monster if I'm willing to walk

 

[Deleted member 23381]

Why does the length of the commute matter, OP? You can do a meal prep like every Sunday or something and put 5 lunches in 5 separate containers or something similar. If it's something that needs to stay cold, you can get a small insulated bag and put a freezer pack in there.

Click to shrink...

Because fuck carrying anything on a commute.