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Thinking of ways to save money? Bring your lunch to work or school instead of ordering or buying. Plenty writes that, "average takeout meal costs $6, while brown-bagging it only costs $2 per day. Over a year, you could save $2000 if you simply brought a homemade lunch every day instead of eating out."

By bringing your lunch you have better control over how much you spend, how much you eat, and, you are forced to make better food choices. Having a hard time getting the process started? Here are a few tips to help.

• Make enough food so that you have leftovers for the following days. Casseroles, stir-fry, meatloaf and pastas are great dinners that you can make in large amounts and bring to work for the weekdays.
• Get creative with your meals and switch it up with one great purchase…if you have leftover chicken you can make a chicken salad, chicken soup, chicken fingers, ect… then every day can be mixed up but you’ll save by using the whole chicken
• Make sure you pack a balanced lunch so you the vending machine doesn’t tempt you later in the day. A great snack like an apple and string cheese might help as well.
• Purchase a lunch bag and some Tupperware to reduce waste and add an incentive to use these great products: Plastic-free storage containers, reusable bags and lead free lunch boxes
  

Of course, here at Live Earth, we have to mention that bringing your lunch is more beneficial to the environment than ordering. "The food industry makes up 25% of total greenhouse gas emissions, much of which come from packaging and transporting food to restaurants and diners." Save your money, your health and our environment by paper bagging.