Lunchbox Economy

Making lunches for my family has been an important part of my thrifty ways.  The above lunch was for Reese to take to college one day this past week.

This lunch included a white bean burrito with cheese. I would have preferred adding onions, lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers or any other fresh vegetables; no, sadly this is how he likes it. There are a million different combinations of ingredients, but this happened to be what I had in the refrigerator. I roll the burrito up in wax paper then tape the edges shut. It is convenient because he can eat it while working and without washing his hands, afterward he throws the wax paper away. Since he is not always near a microwave, this is something which can be eaten cold. While I had all the ingredients out together, I went ahead and made an extra one then tossed it in the freezer for another day.

The previous day's lunch included a fruit salad. He said it was too much food. Dare I throw it away? Of course not! I recycled it. My men have a saying, "If you don't eat it the first time, you will eat it the second, or third, or fourth or..."  I am proud to say they are right. Since Reese had eaten out of the salad container, no one else would eat after him so it was used to make a "special treat" just for him.  A little milk was added to the leftover fruit salad along with a splash of vanilla, then blended.

The smoothie was sent it in his lunch the next day. It made more than would fit in the drink container so I put the extra in a fancy wine glass and took it to him while he was studying in his room. With a sweet smile on my face, I told him I had made him something special. He was skeptical and eyed it like it contained arsenic, but drank it anyway because he was too hungry to care. My husband wanted to know where was his special drink? I informed him it was made from Reese's uneaten fruit salad and he could have some also. He declined.

Anything with meat is never resent since I fear the lunchbox may not have stayed cold enough. We never take chances with meat. My standards are low, but not food poison low.

Next step is to pack everything into the little lunchbox. It is hard to see the burrito but it is smashed inside the front. Smashing it does not hurt anything, it just mixes the ingredients better.

The second step is to shove the lunchbox into the backpack. The force required to do this varies with the number of books inside.

The potato chips will be crushed in the lunchbox so they go in the right pocket of his jacket so he can grab one with his left hand and continue writing. 

The muffins go into this pocket where they are convenient to reach while in Marketing class. 

But wait you say.  Where does the bagel smeared with butter go?  Well here of course, on top of the defrost vent in the truck so the butter will be melted and the bagel warm and chewy by the time he gets to his first class.

Why do I send such a big lunch? He is always hungry, plus we grow them big in Tennessee.

Now for a detailed breakdown of the savings from packing a lunch and my labor costs.

Reusable items
Lunchbox (a gift when I toured the Titanic Museum in Branson, Missouri years ago)
Cloth napkin (a gift from a friend)
Drink containers ($.99 each from Goodwill)
Blue ice packs ($.99 each from Wal-mart)

Plastic bags, saran wrap and wax paper (These will be thrown away so maybe $.03)
Drinks (Milk $2.00 per gallon. 1 gallon equals 16 cups / $2.00 divided by 16 equals $.13 per cup)
Fruit smoothie (The fruit salad was considered garbage so I am not counting it. I added 1/2 cup of milk so garbage plus 1/2 cup milk $.07)
Tortilla (Aldi 8 per pack for $1.29 equals $.16 each)
White beans (32 oz bag for $1.49 equals $.05 per dry ounce. I guess 1/2 oz so $.02 for beans)
Cheese (One tablespoon??? $.10)
Potato Chips (Aldi Bar-b-que 9.5 oz for $1.49 equals $.15 per ounce. Who can eat only one ounce of potato chips?  $.15 per ounce times 3 oz equals $.45)
Muffins (Wheat was $12 for 50 pounds which I grind myself, the sweet potatoes I added were from my garden, that leaves oil, sugar, and eggs in small amounts. I will guess about $.10 for all of them)
Bagel (I got these at the day-old bread store for $.50 for 8 which equals $.06 for each. I did slather on the butter which I made myself from the $2.00 gallon of milk. I am guessing another $.03)

Adding everything together equals $1.15 which is impressive for one meal, but for math, I am going to round up to $1.50. His college charges $6.00 for one meal so $6.00 minus $1.50 equals $4.50 saved. Sounds good but let's take it one step further.

It only takes a few minutes to fix one lunch but I am adding time to clean out the lunchbox, laundry the napkin and put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, so I will round up to 10 minutes. That means I am making $4.50 for 10 minutes of work which equals $27 per hour. I consider that great pay but let's take it one more step further.

Reese will often eat the bagel for breakfast, the burrito and chips for lunch, then muffins and smoothie for a snack. Once again guessing, but this one lunchbox meal can feed him for at least two meals. Doing the math again $4.50 in savings times 2 meals equals $9.00 saved by 10 minutes of work which equals $54.00 per hour. I can work for $54.00 per hour every day.  Let's take it, even more, steps further.

From the first to the last day of class for one semester is roughly 100 days. You must buy a meal plan to get the $6.00 per meal price, but if you miss a meal or decide to go home for the weekend, money lost. If you want to buy a lunch for your friend to make up for a lost meal, no way. If you don't buy a meal plan the price of each meal is about $9.00.

This is why our children are leaving college with crushing debt. They are not being taught how to economize. When each of my sons got their first job or started college, I told them I was proud of them and would support them by making their lunches. Each one has come to appreciate the value of this simple daily gift from me. How do I know they appreciate it? They thank me constantly and that is all I ask in return.