As an aside, I save ~$1300 a year by bringing in lunch, and ~$550 per year in breakfast, in addition to controlling portions and nutrition. If I had been doing that for the past 10 years I could buy a new car by now, or put a pretty decent chunk into retirement. I now find it absolutely bizarre how many people at work go out for lunch.
As an aside, I could save $XXXX a year by having a roommate/living in a worse house/having a crappier car/never going out for drinks/etc. The list goes on. There is an incredible number of things your average first world worker could give up to save money per year. The reason people spend money on these things is that they spend 40+ hours a week working so they CAN afford to spend those unnecessary dollars a year on things they enjoy, that enrich their lives. Otherwise we would all have plenty of money in the bank while we live in a 5x5 concrete cell and literally only go to work/sleep. Some things are not about maximizing profit.
Sure. It's worth a consideration though if that specific thing is one that's actually something that enriches your life, or just something you're doing because it's what you've always done. (personally, the best places have been those where a group cooks their own lunch every day, but that's somewhat rare)
I often hear my co-workers complain about their bland green smoothies or salads without enough walnuts. Meanwhile, for lunch I prepare moroccan lamb stew, chicken cordon bleu with pasta, szechuan tofu and green bean stir fry, ham and gruyere with tomato soup, pear and blue cheese salad with rotisserie chicken, loaded sweet potato with curried fried cauliflour, and quiche lorraine, among others.
I'm not saying nobody should eat out, but to do it every day just seems wasteful. And I find cooking to be quite a bit more enriching than takeout.
I spend time cooking for the family and then eat the leftovers for lunch. Just like a lot of swedes do. Make a dinner that works in the microwave for lunch and you are all set. No time wasted on going to the restaurant and waiting for food. More time to talk over the lunchtable in peace. Maybe even switching lunch with a coworker.
See I eat lunch out so I can use those leftovers for dinner the next day. Gives me and my girlfriend more time to spend together or on our hobbies if we only have to cook every other night.
This is what I do. I can cheap food every day for lunch for about $6 and longingly look at, but not purchase, nice food (like salmon) for $10-12. Or I can cook and bring my own nice food for $2-6. It's kind of a no-brainer.
In my experience, there is a good chunk of people who have to eat out every day because they have no time for cooking, because they work 40h/week and have a one hour commute (, to pay for the lunches and the car).
I wondered the same thing (how do so many people buy lunch daily) but concluded - at the time and the context I was observing it - that there were two main factors.
Number 1 was social. People went out for lunch in groups, and it was an "enforced" break in the day. It's a cultural issue that can be hard to replicate for "lunch bringers" in some places. Not so fun to eat alone in a drab lunch room if your friends and peers are down the street having pizza, I guess.
Number 2 was time, or at least the perception of time. Tech people (in my context) tend to work long hours and whether you are trying to maintain a social life or bring up a couple of kids, once you add that to work hours there isn't a ton left. More than one person I know had commented that they didn't find the time to make and bring lunches that didn't leave them feeling left out. It's easy to bring a crappy sandwich, harder to bring something you really enjoy. At least for them.
This is what I liked while working in HP. We had a canteen where pretty much everybody went. You could buy a number of simple cheaper meals, a fancy expensive meal, or bring your own thing. Everybody could still sit together.
Yes, I think there is a different dynamic when your company scale runs to "I work on campus". In smaller offices, particularly in dense cities or "business parks", I think it's more common to go to the restaurants nearby. Those are really not open to people bringing food.
Both of these match my experience. When I was living off the wages of a young intern, I was working or learning almost every waking hour, and sleeping on a sheet on the floor because I didn't own furniture. But, whenever he group would go out to lunch, I'd go, for the socialization -- it was very consciously the only thing other than rent&utilities that I spent money on. (Fortunately, we had some amazing strip mall restaurants nearby that weren't too expensive.) When the group didn't go to lunch, I'd usually get by with whatever food I could scavenge, because I was so busy, and felt like I had to always be in the office. I hadn't yet even tried to figure out how to make and bring a lunch.
Number 3 might be exercise. If you live in a cold weather city, you can't eat outside all year (i.e. bringing lunch and walk to a park and eating). Walking to and from lunch might be 3,000 steps.
Absolutely no shame at all in ordering takeout for lunch every single day as long as you can afford it and it brings you joy. The goal of personal finance isn't to die with the highest score, its to organize your money to make you the most secure and the most happy, both now and in the future.
It's really good for the economy to go out for lunch. You create a lot of jobs by doing that. If you're mindful of where you eat you can also support immigrant and minority owned businesses.
It's good for the LOCAL economy. Eating expensive lunch in a restaurant will increase local spending, but reduce your other consumption by the same amount. You create jobs by letting people work for you, and you get means to make them do it by working yourself. Nothing special about going out for lunch in that regard.
And if everyone chooses to eat cheap lunch, we could all just work less, and the system would be balanced again ;).
Maybe there is more to life than buying a new car every ten years? Maybe some people enjoy variety and a nice proper good sit down meal?
I am really NOT questioning your choices. Totally cool if it works for you. But please don't call people who live a different life style "absolutely bizarre"
