Dh and lunches - aibu

[MyKingdomForACaramel]

I think I probably am being unreasonable, however dh and I are on a bit of a mission to make some savings to our everyday outgoings.

I wfh so just make lunch from whatever’s in the fridge and I suggested the rather than him spending £8 a day on food, that I instead make dh sandwiches or similar.

The £8 is croissant/coffee and then a meal deal lunch so it’s not like he’s going for a slap up warm dinner so can’t see why he won’t agree to something that’s likely to be nicer!

I checked if it’s an “office culture” thing, but no, most of his colleagues bring lunch. So it’s literally just his aversion to brining it in.

I know in the grand scheme of things it’s not a big deal - am I being unreasonable to think this is an easy change.

(I will point out though that there are things I refuse to budge on too - decent quality wine, certain treats for the dog etc). So aibu?

That's £160 there, packed lunches would cost about £60 per month saving £100 per month, and £1200 per year.

His spend on lunch is my entire food budget for me for 3 meals a day, 7 days a week
I take my own in but vary it, salads etc
If someone offered to make my lunch I would be over the bloody moon

Would it be cheaper to take his own drink & crisps & just buy the sandwiches?

There's a nice variety of stuff that can be taken in from home, but often effort needs to be put in.

If he takes stuff in he can surely get out of the office for a walk & then back to eat?

Or take his from home lunch to wherever he currently eats if not at work?

He could buy a tassimo happy for the cost of 5 days coffee and croissant...

You are wrong though it is a big saving in the scheme of things.
Not drinking wine will help you save too.
I'm always amazed at how much money people needlessly continue to spend whilst trying to save.

That’s nearly 2 grand a year (assuming 48 working weeks).

I bet you’re not spending that on wine or dog treats.

I would choose a shop bought coffee and croissant plus home made lunch over the alternative. Maybe take one homemade and buy one meal? As a pp said some nice food that I haven't made is one of the perks of going to work!

Obviously you are not being unreasonable.

£8 a day on food for work? £40 a week?!

Piss take!

Do you know what it actually is he is buying in this meal deal? You could subtly recreate this one weekend just to make the point.

YABU. Don't get into the habit of making his lunch. He sorts himself out.

Channeling my inner Greg Wallace eat well for less! 😉

For info the waitrose frozen croissant that you bake at home are just like the fresh ones in Costa.

Unless you are thoughtful with making sandwiches bought ones are 100 x nicer and less likely to be squashed and warm - yuck !

What kind of piss poor sandwiches do you make at home? Home made is always better - you control filling amount, seasoning etc and Tupperware box and fridge solves the other problem!

@AtleastitsnotMonday I believe a variation on chicken sandwich, chicken pasta salad, and salmon sandwich. All of which could be so much better home made! He’s a bit of a creature of habit when it comes to lunch I think

£8 a day is crazy if that's just for snacks and lunch at work!

£40 a week.

£160 every 4 weeks.

$400 every 10 weeks.

and so on

It adds up really fast. If he is serious about saving money for more important things, he is literally pissing his -and your!- money away while you eat leftovers. In it together?

DH takes leftovers from the previous evening's dinner. It is far far nicer to have lovely leftovers than a soggy sandwich or meal deal.

it is no harder to make a couple of extra portions of dinner so that the family can take it with them the next day.

I buy lunch. Meal deal all the way for me! Partly to get out the office, partly because I like fizzy drinks. £3 to £4 for sandwich/salad, crisps or sweet and a drink is actually crazy cheap when you think how much the individual bits cost. Multipack cans and small packets of crips are not the same size as a 500 ml drink and 50g packets of crisps. It also keeps the junk food away from the children's eyes....

So I think YABU about the lunch, but YANBU in wanting him to give up the coffee and pastry (which is what I am trying to do).

YABU. Don't get into the habit of making his lunch. He sorts himself out.
That's the point of the thread. He has been sorting his own lunch out- at a tune of £8 a day!

My adult DS's take those small supermarket ready meals to microwave at work. Iceland in particular do some that are okay, sainsburys do some very nice ones.
Small cafitiere at work will make really nice coffee very cheaply.

YANBU if you followed a similar pattern and reduced the wine you buy down to a cheap one but why should he have a lunch he doesn't want if you won't have cheap wine?

Also, it's his choice to make not yours just like it's your choice about the wine you buy.

I used to take lunch mom-thurs then buy a nice lunch on a Friday. It worked and helped me budget better.

If OP drank a £10 bottle of wine every week that would still only be £520 a year compared to nearly 2 grand on his lunches.

£1,920 a year on food for work ! He wants you to save so he can spend.

What I used to do (and still do) when making my own lunches would have 1 day a week which was a 'treat day' - e.g. sandwich/lunch out but bought etc - I still moreorless do this.

On the days when I still wanted a treat day but was low on funds I'd get one treat (muffin etc) but make the rest.

Now I do a combo of both, but generally prefer homemade. DH is a banker so doesn't care that much about homemade lunches (prefers Pret etc) (but does like my occasional luxury salads, quiche etc).

Oh and my homemade cheese and branston pickle and homemade egg/mayo/cress sandwiches (vogel and soya bread) are far nicer than shop bought ones!

Bbang - snap.

I always get into the habit of tea in a metal Costa cup. DH sometimes brings his own or takes a reusable cup to the artisan cafe at his station. When at work he tends to do posh coffees externally, his treat, his choice. I've also got into the habit of Caffe Nero free drinks with my O2 app etc.