Is all this food gone by the end of the week? Is that 2 regular sized loaves of bread? Our entire family uses 2 loaves a week. I'm thinking all this food would last at least 2 weeks if it's used JUST for lunches... that's more like $3.50 a lunch, right?

Am I reading this wrong?? I'm so confused!

__________________
Stay at home mom to my 3 boys... ages 5, 3 & 1!

I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Brown bagging it always works out cheaper for us . . . and it's definitely healthier for dh, given his other choices. My dd's don't like 90% of what the school serves anyway.

Reading through your list, I see that you're paying more than I do for quite a few things. I try to buy in bulk, and it saves money (ex.: 3 lb. bag of apples for under $1 per lb.). Usually though, leftovers of some sort are my family's lunchboxes. I'm reading "The Tightwad Gazette", and although some of it is extreme for me, I have gleaned many easy, money-saving tips from it, and practical advice on how to/what to bulk buy, and how to make a lot of things from scratch . . . this book is at most libraries.

Every weekend, I'm trying to bake something(s) for lunches the following week - granola bars, muffins, brownies, etc. Homemade chocolate dipped pretzels and rice crispy squares are also easy treats.

__________________
Attaining financial freedom is like eating an elephant . . . it takes one bite at a time.

Would you share your recipe for granola bars with me?

__________________
September Coupon Savings: $146.56
October Coupon Savings: $209.08

Good point, yes I think that list could make it for two weeks.

__________________
"Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body." ~Anonymous

Let's assume you want to spend about $1 per meal, per person.

2 loaves of bread @ 50 c each = $1 - good price for bread. Each serving is a few pennies.

cheese - 1/2 lb @ $5.99/lb = $3 = that's the same price we pay for cheese. I remember when cheese was $2 a pound. I'm still looking for that deal. Until then, 8 ounces of cheese over 5 days is a little over the normal serving size of one ounce, so that is 60 cents per serving. On days he get cheese, I wouldn't put in another protein.

lunchmeat - 2 lb @ $5/lb = $10 = I never buy lunch meat. If I'm adding another protein (other than cheese), I use leftovers like chicken salad, meatloaf sandwich, etc.

pretzels - 1 bag @ $2.00 = $2 = Yikes! Given that he already has bread in the lunch, I wouldn't add these. If he likes a salty snack, consider adding popcorn.

water - (3 jugs separated into bottles for each day) = $2 = Perhaps bringing water from home in re-usable bottles would be cheaper.

fresh fruit - 1+ lbs apples @ $1.70/lb = $3 = again this ends up being 60 cents a serving. You're inching up past $1.50 a meal.

fresh fruit - bananas 2 lbs @ 50c/lb = $4 = These are 80 cents a serving, if you only bought 5 bananas. That's too pricy for my blood. I'd do one fruit or the other but not both. Since this is winter, I'd instead buy a veggie like carrots or cauliflower.

peanut butter - FREE through WIC = Technically the peanut butter isn't for you husband, it is for your child.

gatorade - 5 @ $1 each = $5 = Again, I wouldn't buy this at all.

granola bars - box of 6 = $3 = I'd either make my own or make cookies or cake for hubby to pack. He'll enjoy it more and all his co-workers will be jealous.

TOTAL: $35 for one week! - Calculate the price of your meals not on what you buy but on what you USE. As others have pointed out, many of the items you listed would be listed for more than one person. Besides, what about variety? My hubby would be bored silly and give up brown bag lunches if he had the same thing every day.

Brown bagging is a great way to sneak in little treats for hubby and the kids. I make homemade pudding or jello. Cakes, cookies, and turnovers (with fruit that is going bad unless I use it up). I grate raw veggies like carrots or zucchini into muffins. Sometimes I make muffins with added cheese or crumbled bacon. I slip in a hard-boiled egg. I pack a thermos with soup.

Around our house, brown bag lunch (which I take, too, if I'm going to be out running errands) is comprised entirely of stuff we already have on-hand. SOMETIMES, DD spends a quarter to buy milk at school. I rarely buy anything special just to pack in lunch.

__________________
"I've been rich and I've been poor but independently wealthy is where it is at."

I think you must have figured your lunches wrong or else your dh eats more than I've ever seen a human being eat for lunch. That's enough bread for 24 sandwiches!!! That would have him eating between 4 or 5 sandwiches a day!!. Plus 2 lbs of lunch meat would probably be enough for both my kids every day for a wk. That seems like a lot!

So if your amounts are right he'd be eating:

4-5 sandwiches per day
several bananas per day
several apples per day
PB
1/5 bag pretzels
granola bar
gatorade

If he had to buy the equivalent in fast food it would cost him fortune!!! So somethings not right with the amounts you listed.

__________________

You mentioned that you don't make much extra for dinner but maybe if you made an extra serving or two that would help cut down on some of the lunch costs. That is what we do when we make things like pasta.

__________________

I finally got DH to start "brown bagging"... basically, I take our leftovers from dinner the prior night and plate it up for him - we have a couple tupperware divided dishes he can take and put in the microwave at work. PLUS, he finally started buying stuff to keep in his office should there be no leftovers - things like tuna, bread, granola bars, yougurt, cereal, etc. That way, instead of having to go out and grab something (at a minimum of $5-$10) he is all set.

As for DD, she gets hot lunch once a week - at her school it's $2.50, which I think is a little high. I generally give her a juice box (or milk money), PB&J or just baloney - whe won't eat the bread - pudding, yougurt, granola bars, krispie treats, etc. I just stock up on snackes when they are on sale.

We are lucky that dh can come home for lunch, so I don't have to buy anything for that....we just eat leftovers or sandwiches. Could you buy one of those brickes of cheese slices and use that instead? I rarely ever buy sandwich meat or cheeses from the deli becuase they are so expensive. Mabye you could try making a roast, chicken or turkey and then slice and freeze the meat to use for sandwiches?
For ds lunch he eats PB&J every day, and then I pack a generic applesauce cup, some chips or cheese puffs in a bag and then a hm cookie or a fruit snack( bought for 1.00 a box when on sale) and a Capri sun. He would have to pay .50 for a milk and the juices are cheaper. My son also has sensory/food issues and would never eat any of the school lunches and is happy to eat PB&J everyday.

I agree with the other posters and see if you could mabye make a little extra supper to make for his lunch the next day.

That is a good idea to figure the cost of lunches though....I never even thought of it since ds eating school lunch isn't an option. But I might be able to save some money though.

$6/lb for cheese? Wow. Just regular old cheddar, you mean, or something special?

Around here, our Kroger regularly has sales for $3.50/lb and less often, but occasionally, for $3/lb. Cheese keeps pretty well while it's in its vacuum pack, so I try to stock up when it hits its low point.

And apples have been frequently in sales flyers right now for 0.79/lb here, or as someone said, the big bags are often cheaper. Maybe that would help.

I also like to make something Sunday that I can use a couple times during the week for lunches. Tabouleh is one of my favorites. But that's for me, my idea of lunch is very small, so it might not work for your DH.