When I was young(er), I used to work a 9-5 job and noticed how lavish people got when it came to buying takeaway coffee and lunch. Some even bought 2 cups of takeaway coffee every day.
So instead of randomly giving you 20 ideas to save money, in this blog I’ll dive into details of how much you can save if you make your own lunch and drink free coffee that most offices provide for their employees.
The Calculation
Supposed your takeaway lunch costs approximately $8. Then you buy two cups of takeaway coffee, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon, each costs $3.90 (that’s the latest price I got when I bought a takeaway coffee a few weeks ago here in Melbourne, Australia).
Assuming you work 5 days a week and 48 weeks a year, the total of your takeaway lunches and coffees is $3792 a year, as outlined below:
| Item | Cost |
| Lunch (takeaway) | $8.00 |
| Coffee – Morning | $3.90 |
| Coffee – Afternoon | $3.90 |
| Total Per Day | $15.80 |
| Total Per Week (Monday to Friday) | $79.00 |
| Total Per Year (48 weeks) | $3,792.00 |
Let’s Compare
Now let’s compare that with making your own lunch at home, which is not only healthier, but also much cheaper. We can even include buying a brand new high quality Multi Cooker that tends to last decades. This brand, Phillips, I know, have high quality and long-lasting products. My toaster has been there for 20 years and I still use it, and the cake mixer I use quite often is also more than 20 years old and still works well.
You can get some inspiring budget meal recipes from here and here. But to make it practical, let’s assume that one home-prepared lunch meal is $3, and home-prepared coffee is $0.17 (assuming that it takes 12 grams of coffee per cup, from a $6.99 per 500 gr pack). Let’s calculate:
| Item | Cost |
| Lunch (home-prepared) | $3.00 |
| Electricity for cooking with a slowcooker | $0.18 |
| Coffee – Morning at Home | $0.17 |
| Coffee – Afternoon from the Office | $0.17 |
| Total Per day | $3.52 |
| Total Per Week (Monday to Friday) | $17.60 |
| Total Per Year (48 weeks) | $844.80 |
| Plus Multicooker | $179.00 |
| Total | $1023.80 |
How Much You Save
As you can see from the comparison above, you’ll save at least $2,768 per year. There are so many things you can do with that amount, such as holidays, buy some shares to grow your portfolio, save it in the bank as an emergency fund, or if you have a mortgage, simply put them in your mortgage account so you can pay it off faster.
Let me know if you have any comments, tips to share, or questions via the comment box below.
