I need to stop eating at Pret

[CherryBlossomPie]

I cannot afford it. I'm living like its the 00s and its not. Its 2025 and I need to just save the money.

If I invested the £7 a day I spend there do you know how much I'd have in 16 years when I turn 60?

£53,000.

Anyone else up for a starting from scratch to stop eating lunch out thread?

YABVU to eat at Pret, it used to be really nice but recently when I've had to grab lunch there at work I've been disappointed.

Yes. I’m not at quite that level but I do get lunch from M&S at least three days a week.

let’s do it.

I get lunch from Waitrose 3 days a week. I just find my pathetic packed lunches so depressing. I only get a £5 meal deal.

It does mount up though, you are so right. I’d love some packed lunch inspiration!

I make my own lunch now as I refuse to buy lunch out as the best part of £10 each day. It does save you a lot.

I’ve been making a huge effort since New Year to bring my own lunches to the office. I’ve been focusing on how to make it easiest - making bigger dinner portions so I can take leftovers, cutting up fruit and veg portions at the start of the week, and keeping a few ‘snacks’ at my desk that aren’t so tempting that I’ll eat them all in one day (for me it’s protein bars, rice cakes, nuts).

I used to always spend the fivers as it was ‘so little money’ - meal deals, coffees, crisps, chocs etc - but now I’ve tried to switch mindset to not spending the little fivers and it really adds up!

My boss laughed in my face when she saw me eating their little apple and almond butter pot a few years ago, and asked why I was unable to make it at home. It was the wake up call I needed!

good luck to you!

Haha I sometimes fall back into these habits but for the last 6 months or so I’ve been pretty good about not doing it - I love their cheese and pickle baguette but I now stay off carbs during the day, wheat in particular doesn’t do me any favours. Instead what I do is walk to M&S instead and buy a salad 😳😂
But sometimes I do bring my own salad in. The benefit of me buying it at work is that I can do a 10 minute walk to the M&S and 10 minutes back again so at least I can get some fresh air. However saying that it’s nicer weather now and there are canal walks I can do at lunch instead so perhaps it’s time to take lunches in more consistently and then enjoy the walk along the water…
I go to the office 3 days a week and hate prepping food 😭

It’s actually so expensive now it’s not enjoyable to me- now a Starbucks has creeed over £5 I’m officially done with my twice a month habit. Put the money in a separate account or pot and buy yourself something at the end of the month.

I refuse to pay £8 for a substandard sandwich.

What fruit can you prep at the beginning of the week that's nice later on? I'd like to do prep like this but don't want it to go funny before I've eaten it.

I would stick to a clementine, banana, bunch of grapes, rather than prepping! Strawberries in June.

I am astounded that anyone can afford to eat there. I am on a very good salary, but no way am I paying that much for lunch!

I've heard so many people banging on about it that I decided to try it last week - saw it was NINE POUNDS for a sandwich and changed my mind
admittedly this was at an airport so maybe slightly more expensive than their normal shops but that is insane.

I can understand paying more for something nice or different but so many sandwich/coffee chains seem to offer absolutely basic food that it is so simple and easy (and cheap) to make yourself - things like porridge, a basic cheese sandwich, tomato soup, or coffee!

I am terrible for buying lunch instead of making it. I used to regularly go to Pret when I worked in a city centre - my travel expenses were very low though. Yes, I could make more effort to make my own lunches, but I do find someone else having made it much more appealing.

I love homemade sandwiches with smoked salmon, low fat cream cheese, bit of pepper and lemon juice. Tastes better than the sandwiches you buy and as I buy smoked salmon from ALDI, not too expensive. Also left overs from the previous night are a good shout.

I do sometimes think I live on a completely different planet to the posters of Mumsnet

Why would anyone with half an ounce of brain be spending that sort of money on a substandard pretty crap lunch?

Agree, I went from buying 1-2 takeaway coffees a day to 2-3 a month, total waste of money

They often have offers on Too Good To Go app. You wouldn't know what you get in advance but it's usually a good deal.
I love their oats with pomegranate, apple and pistachios and I make my own now. Very easy and healthy.

As an aside, I find the cold baguette sandwiches really chewy, the bread is always a disappointment because I actually really like the fillings. Very annoying when buying full price.

I’ll tell you why I do this for my two office days a week. I am 52. I have lived alone since I was 28. I no longer work in catering and haven’t done so for decades but I am a trained chef and very good at it. I have made probably 99% of all the meals I’ve eaten in the last 25 years.

So the reason I buy my lunch at Pret, or M&S, or Katsouris, or KFC, is just because once or twice a week I just want to fucking eat something that has been made by another person.

I buy from Pret weekly and have never seen a sandwich for £9! I can get sandwich, crisps and maybe a pudding for £10 (which I don’t do anymore but used to).

Which sandwich is £9?

I need to sign up to this too. i’ve fallen into the trap of being extremely time poor with a long hours job and young children. But it’s not doing me any favours.

should save me about £80 a month I reckon - worth it!

Same here (not the chef bit!). Just rings the changes and is my treat when I work in the office.

Other people spend thousands on their holidays, or hundreds per child at Christmas.

I buy a couple of sandwiches a week.

Being gluten free means 75% of places are a no go. Unless I'm in Central.

It's not substandard crap, HTH