This will be the first installment about living on less without the pain of being a penny pincher. All the ideas won't work for everyone. But there will be some useful things that can easily be incorporated into almost anyone's daily routine to cut the ever-increasing cost of living. These excepts are taken from my "Dollar and Sense" workshop workbooks.

This installment will be ways to save on workplace lunches.

Make and pack ahead ideas:

If you consider what buying lunches at work actually costs it would be like getting a raise if you could cut that cost in half. With that in mind, consider carrying a lunch just 2 days a week and joining a friend who is willing to do the same thing. Find a local park or shopping mall where you can sit and enjoy your meal together. A walk in the sunshine will refresh you and a chance in the menu will save money while offering a more healthy alternative.

Your entire meal can be put in small zip bags and tucked into a lunch pack. Cold chicken in one bag. Sliced carrots, cucumber and grape tomatoes in another. A few crackers, bread sticks or an English Muffin in another. Skip the sweet desserts by trading for a bag of walnut halves and raisins. Your drink can be a sports bottle filled with iced green or black tea.

Another day try a fresh salad with a light dressing in a small container to add at the last minute. For dessert make a fruit salad of fresh seasonal fruits. Add a small bag of saltines and for your drink try icy cold 50/50 mix of black tea and OJ. Keep the drink on the light side by adding more water for a delightful, refreshing treat. Eat slowly while you enjoy the company of an office friend. Such simple lunches can cut calories and costs. If you want to keep clean up to a minimum bring paper napkins, plastic forks and add the toss the trash. All you have to carry back will be your sports bottle.

For me, keeping the cost as low as possible was challenging though. So I made a small canvas bag that included a 24"x24" square of fabric and 4 - 12"x12" squares.  I simply tore the fabric and fringed the edges ( no sew ). Then I had a small tablecloth and 2 napkins each fo the 2 days we met to share with my friend. We would find a park bench or sidewalk cafe where we could sit, chat and eat. And at the end of the meal I could carry my bottle, napkins and tablecloth back to the office, often with my afternoon snack, if anything was left over. I tossed the bag in the laundry once a week and was good to go for another week.

I found it was very quick and easy to pack my lunch after dinner each evening and put it in the fridge. That way is saved me time in the morning. This plan also inspired me to plan my lunches around my dinner menu. I found that this requires very little addition food and no extra effort which adds up to another savings of time and energy. And it is as easy to pack lunch and to put the food away.

My office friend and I often share part of the meal with each of us bringing part: salad, meat, fruit and light desserts.

Give it a try and see if you don't enjoy the change of pace and see the savings too. Check eBay for containers, lunch cookbooks and other things like lunch bag fabric that you may need to make your healthy, money saving plan work.

Thank you for reading my guide. Once you get started the ideas will flow for other menus and ways to save money and time on your food bill. I will be adding more tips in later guides.

JJG