Lunch time pity
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Lunch time pity
| Tue, 12-28-2004 - 1:14pm |
Well, my co-workers just left for lunch. They get to go to a restaurant and pay $8-10 bucks, take in more calories, and feel sluggish this afternoon. They look at me sitting at my desk with some ham, cheese, and crackers. They feel sorry for me and offer to bring me a doggy bag. In my mind I feel sorry for them. These are the co-workers that get collection calls at work. That can't have their payroll direct deposit because their checking accounts are overdrawn. That have major anxiety because the paper checks are delayed by slow mail delivery.
I guess I'll eat my light snack lunch and save my money. I just don't understand the need for instant gratification over having a secure and stress free future.
Julie

Take the doggie bag ! :)
I occasionally go with my co workers
for the $6-8 lunch. Only one can
really afford it, the others are spending
their children's futures. They go every
day, so on a WEEK I don't feel like cooking
much, I'll go on Monday or Tuesday.
Let me back up: the first time I went with
them, I noticed every one of them only eats
1/2 their meal, and they don't take the rest
home.
I take every bit that they don't eat. Even stuff
maybe I don't like. It's enough for me for
2 dinners, or dinner that night and lunch the next day.
For $6-8, I get 3 different resteraunt meals!
When you're retired living in a tropical paradise,
they'll be eating dogfood having the government
tell them its steak, AND still paying on their debts
at 29%!
You're doing the right thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't let them suck you into spending your future on 'lunch'.
I can remember going out to eat every day at work also. Now I'm a stay-home Mom, but I still remember the days of lunch and sometimes even dinner at Fast Food places, and ordering pizza most nights of the week. Food in the fridge went bad while we enjoyed eating out. Since tackling our debt, we have only gone out to eat once, and it was as a family. We drove around looking for the perfect place. It wasn't fancy, but it was a nice sit-down meal, and I savored every moment of it. I used to take eating out for granted, but this time, it was a real treat. I soaked up the decor, I savored every bite of food, and I really enjoyed the experience. I would rather have had that one moment than go out every day.
Btw...those ham and cheese crackers sounded yummy! :-D
I agree with you on the lunch part. Lunch, IMO, is just not worth spending money on. I dislike spending money on food that isn't substantially better than what DH cooks at home, and since he's a VERY good cook, that eliminates pretty much anything other than very high-end restaurants. ;)
Lunch is bought and paid for where I work, so I can't complain about that at all. But for years before I joined this company, I ate PB&J for lunch every single day. I just never could see paying good money for fast food, bad Chinese food, or any other typical lunch food. And of course buying lunch out when you can't even pay your bills is either crazy or the worst kind of ostrich behavior (and as a recovering ostrich, I *know* what that's all about!).
Kelly
I know what you mean. Often, I bring in PBJ sandwiches and carrots on the side or tunasalad sandwich with cucumbers on the side (I don't like chips) and some people may think me as juvenile, but I don't care. However, since I am making headway with my debt and I don't live close to work like I used to and go home for lunch, I find myself eating out more like 2-3 times a week, either lunch or breakfast. I avoid places where you are obliged to tip, and sometimes I even shop at the grocery store - buy the materials and make the sandwich or salad at work! I don't eat out at dinner unless I have something planned, which is rare, and I mostly eat home on the weekends b/c I'm too lazy to go out, and I LOVE to cook! =P
YOu are doing the right thing, and maybe you can set an example.
slojuly
p.s. I'd accept the doggy bag offer if they were going someplace nice! =P
I can see the need for instant gratification over long-term planning, ROFL!!! Sorry, but I really can!
I *hate hate hate* packing my lunch. Hate it. Would rather go out into the freezing cold, waste half my lunch hour and go eat food that isn't good for me than pack a lunch. (No, I am not being sarcastic here). So, yes, it's built into my blow money envelope. Usually, though, I go over to the WalMart store right across the street from school and buy things that I can leave at school for the week. That way, technically, I'm NOT packing my lunch, LOL.
For me, it's not a 'hey, what's a few more bucks' kind of attitude. It's that I feel POOR when I *have* to pack my lunch. Next term, when I have 3 long days in a row (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday), and will be at school for roughly 12 hours each day, I will undoubtably buy stuff I can leave in the fridge/cabinet to male 'fresh' that day. And, no, I don't like leftovers either, lol. Sad, but true.
On the other hand, DH LOVES leftovers and packing his lunch (when he worked outside the house). He thinks it's a special treat. So, it works out fairly well.
~Lisa