Money & Finances

8 Ways To Save Money On School Lunches

It's amazing to me how much money we spend simply for convenience when it comes to school lunches.

We purchase lunchables, those little bags of chips, juice boxes and the like paying huge amounts of money -- just for the convenience of being able to drop them in a lunch bag or lunch box quickly in the morning.

But it doesn't have to be that way. You can save a lot of money just by spending an hour or so one day a week. Here are 8 tips to save money on your school lunches:

• Fill a thermos half full with your child's favorite juice and then put it in the freezer. In the morning, fill it up the rest of the way and pack it in our child's lunch box. This way the first half of the day the frozen juice will melt and cool off the rest of the juice, and the thermos will also keep the rest of the food cool.
   
• Instead of buying snack bags, make your own. Purchase plastic lunch bags that seal up, and then buy a large bag of chips, pretzels, or whatever snack your kids like and make up enough snack bags for a week.
   
• Make your own lunchable kits. Buy crackers, lunch meat, and cheese. Cut up the lunchmeat and cheese to fit on the crackers. Then, pack them each separately in lunch bags or washable plastic containers. You can even make your own pizza or sub sandwich kits.
   
• Make up a large batch of gelatin or pudding. Then, separate portions into small plastic containers and put them in the refrigerator. You can make enough for a week. Then, just drop one into your child's lunch box each morning.
   
• Make your own brownie bites. Simply mix up a batch of brownie batter. Then, use mini muffin tins to bake the batter in. Pop out the brownie bites and store them in sealable plastic lunch bags.
   
• Buy enough fruits and vegetables for a week. Then, cut them up into smaller pieces and put them in sealable plastic lunch bags. You can do this for a few days at a time. Then they are ready for snacks or lunch boxes.
   
• Buy cheese in large blocks. Then, simply cut small pieces off to be added to sandwiches or to sealable plastic bags for your child's lunch boxes.
   
• Don't throw away those extra catsup and mustard packets and napkins. Instead, save them to put in your child's lunch boxes.