I’m going to try to quit Pret for at least four weeks, starting Monday

[PersonaNonGarter]

I need to kick my Pret habit. It is draining cash I could better use elsewhere.

It’s going to be hard. Pret is opposite my office. it is so convenient.

Why kick it for just four weeks? I have a Costa in my work, and don't go in. And colleagues wonder why I have spare money.

Good luck, I really love Pret but as I live in a rural backwater the one positive thing is no temptation , I take really good ground coffee & an individual filter to work so that I can drink decent coffee & treat myself to a nice Pret lunch about once every couple of months when I go to a city !

Brilliant - think of the money and non-recyclable waste you will save! Second the take-your-own-coffee idea, and if you are also going to Pret as somewhere to pop to so you get out at lunch, can you designate another place like a park? The other option that worked well for me when I was wasting lots on buying lunches or breakfasts was to start by cutting down on one item, so for example you will buy a coffee but bring your own sandwiches to eat beforehand.

What are you buying from Pret, just coffee?

I used to work somewhere where nearly everyone brought in their own cafetiere and fresh ground coffee. First thing in the morning people would make up a pot for the morning. I highly recommend it. If you're also buying pastries etc then why not get the equivalent from the supermarket in a pack for the week, or some nice fruit or some such that makes you get the same "treat" kick but for a fraction of the price.

Friend of mine kept trying to quit the Pret habit but failing so she sat down and worked out how much she spent in a month (looked over several bank statements) then took that amount out in cash and kept it in a separate coin purse and only allowed herself to use that to go to Pret and physically handing over the cash and watching it dwindle massively helped her quick the habit!

Pret habit - I really don't get it.
Food of no discernible difference to supermarket fare, and loads more money.

It’s lunches not coffeees. Fortunately we have a good machine at work and coffees aren’t really my thing.

But I do love the ginger shots, the miso soup, the jambon buerre, the red Thai soup....

I agree with others - bring your own coffee/tea/croissants/fruit/toasties/whatever in. If you see Pret/eating out for lunch as a treat maybe designate one day a week to do it.

Miso soup is an easy one - you can buy decent sachets for it and just add hot water.

Yes to miso soup in sachets.

I like to walk at lunchtime. No spending but keep fitter.

Oh but the new omelettes are so lovely.

And the hummus and crunchy veg wrap.

And the little vastly overpriced mango pots.

I love Pret.

Does the jambon buerre sound as appealing when you call it a ham baguette?

How much do you spend each day OP?

you can make all those things for much less money than pret charge

The loveliest lunches I've ever seen were brought in by a workmate on a covered plate. It was leftovers plus salads from home and always looked beautiful.

Why don't you allow yourself a treat on a Friday and get your lunch there, but for the rest of the week you bring your own lunch to work. It must be so expensive to buy from there everyday so you'll save a fortune just going once a week. You'll probably enjoy it more as an occasional treat too.

I visited London last year (for the first time in years) and couldn't get over 1) how many Prets there were, and 2) the fact that every one was rammed full of people.

There are two in Glasgow and while the food is okay, the prices are abhorrent and don't reflect the taste. There's just nothing that exciting or different, unless I'm missing something?

Omelettes!!!! Since when??

Pret is massively overpriced but I got a little addicted to them when working in the city.
Stopped when I realised I was spending £15 + on just two lunch breaks a week.

I swopped them for fresh soup from Sainsburys and/ bringing in my own lunch.

Easy to do this time of year, live off of soup at lunch.

Make a fresh omelette at home for your tea. it will taste a thousand times nicer!

Bring a slice cold into work the next day with a side of salad, it will be a thousand times cheaper. ( Ok maybe I'm exaggerating!)

Well, I would have to be extremely desperate to eat there after their child killer baguette incident. DD is anaphylactic and I would not risk them killing her with their dodgy labelling.

About £6-9 a day .

I love the bang bang chicken wraps! And y y to the mango sunshine pots for breakfast ...

Think what you could spend the money on instead (about £150/ month)
A massage
Posh gym membership
New hobby
Shopping spree

Could be a good incentive!

I buy frozen mango in Tesco- 3x big bags for £5. Decant into a plastic tub = cheap healthy snack. It defrosts by lunchtime and tastes just as good as fresh mango. Wraps are cheap and easy to throw together.

Buy the cookbook, make it yourself! Unfortunately it’s from before the days of the hot meatball wrap, and doesn’t have the lemon cheesecake recipe (do they sell sell that?).

Thankfully I live and work nowhere near a Pret but used to spend a fortune there when we lived in London.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1921208910/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ST0lCbGJRNVK0?tag=mumsnetforum-21

I used to do this. I worked from 1pm-9pm and got Pret for supper because it was close, and also because it was cold. No hot food in the call centre.