My first discovery was just how much money I was spending on my lunch. I worked out of an office in London, which meant my daily routine included popping out for a bite to eat.
For 50 weeks of the year, this routine was costing me 10.65 pounds, or $17.04 every day. It's hard to believe, but when you factor in $10.40 for a salmon salad or similar meal, $3.20 on a drink, and then a sneaky $3.44 on a dessert to get through the afternoon, it quickly adds up.
When I realized I was spending more than $850 a year on dessert alone, I knew was definitely time to get organized.
Instead, I started buying in bulk at the start of the week, stocking up on salad items including a bag of spinach or lettuce, a pack of fruit, a big bag of nuts, and some decent cheese. Even with a bottle of balsamic vinegar and some good quality olive oil thrown in the basket, I was only spending $17.20 on average each week.
I added to this an avocado or two for dip ($4) with a packet of wraps ($1.60). For afternoon snacks, I threw in a multi-pack of chips ($2.88) and yogurts ($2.64 for four), plus a liter of rich fruit drink to keep in the fridge at work and last me most of the week ($5.60).
You can see I didn't scrimp on treats, but for the price of some Tupperware and 10 minutes prep each morning, I ended up spending a mere $33.92 a week on my lunches — saving $51.28 a week, which added up to $2,564 over the course of the year.