Working World

We’re all looking for ways to cut costs, but cutting out a meal or two, especially lunch, does nothing for your health or your productivity at work. You still have to eat, which makes a lunchtime strategy important if you’re pinching pennies. Fortunately, we’ve got four ideas to help you get started.

Pack It Up
Brown bagging always makes sense if you want to avoid dropping $6 or $7 or more a day on “casual dining” at lunchtime. (Some fast food outlets can supply a meal for about $3, but if you saw the movie Super Size Me, you know you don’t want to do that too often.) Taking a sandwich or salad made with fresh ingredients is so much healthier and cheaper. And now that fall is here and winter is around the corner, it’s the perfect time to spend Sunday afternoons or evenings whipping up big batches of hot, hearty soups, savory stews or a favorite casserole. Then, in addition to having something good for Sunday dinner, you can pack individual portions for lunch on Monday and maybe an additional day during the week.  

Social Savings
Collect restaurant discount coupons and encourage your friends to do the same; then make a point of getting together to take advantage of these at least once a week. In groups or pairs, you and your fellow coupon clippers can use those that require more than one meal purchase to get the discount. Using buy-one-get-one-free offers and splitting the savings will get you and a friend lunch for half the price. These coupons are often found in junk mail and newspaper inserts, so be sure to scour them for savings before tossing them in the trash.

Individual restaurant websites often have coupons available, too (which sometimes requires registration). More general dining sites like Almost Free Lunch may yield tickets to cheap eats, and Restaurant.com gives you the opportunity to purchase gift certificates at a steep discount after purchasing a minimum amount at their participating restaurants. 

Working Together
Bring back the office potluck. Get a group of people together who will enjoy making a favorite dish to bring in and share. If you make these a regular event, say, once a month, people will get in the habit of planning for them and you won’t have to reinvent the wheel in terms of organization. To make it successful, invite only those people who are really interested in participating; lukewarm enthusiasm will only lead to people flaking out. And if those who are not talented in the kitchen want to join in, assign them to tableware duty or let them supply crudités, beverages or condiments. Go to www.workingworldblog.com to see how our potlucks have panned out!

Collective Bargain
Get your company to spring for lunch once in a while. Sure, businesses are also hurting financially and don’t provide all the  perks they used to, but you may be able to make a case. Perhaps you can convince your supervisor that bringing in pizza or subs once a month to celebrate collective birthdays, or to recognize the attainment of a quota or other department goal, can be good for morale. Bonding with co-workers and enjoying the camaraderie of your office mates without a business agenda can be good for establishing rapport and relationships. It can also lift people’s spirits, especially if your workplace has seen its share of turmoil and stress during the recession. Happy people are more productive, and a well-fed crew is a happy crew!  

Suzanne Ridgway is a freelance writer and regular columnist/contributor for Working World and Working Nurse magazines. Suzanne also writes grant proposals for nonprofit organizations and can be reached at suzrdg@earthlink.net.