It’s possible to save money by just making smarter decisions on lunch.
Did you know that an average household spends approximately $100 per week eating out?
The latest research by Intermedia into Australia’s eating out habits found this equates to 50 million meals out in Australia each week, or 2.5 billion in a year.
Even just a $15 lunch with the co-workers a few times a week can really start to add up.
Thankfully, you can save your wallet and develop healthier eating habits – saving you time to spend on the fun things in life.
So which option is cheapest?
Eating out, homemade lunches, or pre-packaged meals like YouFoodz, Thrive, and Lite’n’Easy?
Homemade lunches
If you swap your 5-day a week $15 lunches for a $5 lunch, then in one month you could save around $200.
It may seem daunting, but planning a weekly menu and making your own lunches to bring to work can be easier than you think.
We get it, grocery shopping and cooking is an effort, but if you find a couple of recipes you like you can make a list of ingredients and buy the same ones regularly.
Pre-packed meals
The 21st century brought the beginning of meal delivery services, offering convenient and healthy meal options for busy workers – and they seem to be effective.
People who use meal delivery services choose them for convenience.
And most reported weight loss when using healthy meal delivery services, whether it was their intention or not.
But can they save your wallet as well as your waistline?
Some meals are better value than others, so do your research.
Like anything, in the end, the choice comes down to personal preference and budget.
Eating out or a home loan?
Time to put your money where your mouth is. Let’s say that at a minimum, you were able to save $100 per month by changing your eating habits.
If you have a home loan and put the extra savings towards your monthly repayment, you may be able to save yourself some serious money.
For example, if you have a $300,000 home loan with an average standard variable comparison rate of 4.5 per cent, you could find that contributing the extra $200 to your monthly mortgage repayment you could save almost $20,000 in interest by the time your home loan is repaid, and you may potentially repay your home loan more than two years earlier.
Depending on how you manage it, both homemade lunches and pre-packaged lunches could save you money.
If you’re having trouble saving money because you’re constantly eating out, it’s worth experimenting to find the right meal method for you – you mind find that a combination of pre-packaged and home-made is a good recipe!
