SILLY KITTY

Every Fall when “Back to School” shopping was in full swing, Old Mother Frugal would give thought to the purchasing of new lunch boxes for Mother’s Little Helpers.

As they grew older, the “sack lunch” replaced the lunch box as brown paper bags were shoved into an already full and heavy backpack.

When it came time to return to the workforce, my lunch box of choice was “HELLO KITTY”. Pretty in pink, this insulated lunch bag was used for years and it contained breakfast, snack and lunch items to sustain me throughout my work day.

In the last twelve years, I went through four lunch boxes. Rarely did I go out to eat or order lunch in the office. The pay check just never was large enough to include dining out and there always seemed to be some other priority than spending money on lunch when there was food from home.

“HELLO KITTY” did draw a fair share of attention during those years. Sure, it may have looked silly to have a kiddy lunch box. It was a good medium to spread the word on frugality and bringing lunch from home. But my savings, they were anything but silly!

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: If you dine out daily for lunch, take this frugal challenge: eat in on Mondays. Pack a lunch using leftovers from your weekend. Do this for one month and set those dollars aside in a jar or an envelope. If you spend $7 to $10 on lunch, a nice nest egg of savings will be yours at month’s end!

                                            INSULATED LUNCH BAGS

                                                          LUNCH FOR THE WEEK