Cheap Tip Saturday 8/6

Cheap Tip: Use coupons to stock your pantry with nonperishable lunch-box items.

Last fall, Z. and I came up with the idea to designate a bin solely to hold any items I accumulated that were meant for my lunches. Pictured are the items that I have accumulated this summer with the bin behind. I only paid $5.71 for all of these goodies. The apricots were the most expensive part at $1 a bag.

Stocking up on non-perishables that you will use for lunch and keep in their own designated place works great for a number of reasons:

• Packing your lunch and bringing plenty of snacks with you to work or school rather than eating out is a great way to save lots of money.
• Many coupons are available for snacks, crackers, snack bars, or other items that would travel well. I stock up on these when I can. Most of the time, these are not items I would go out of my way to buy. But including these snacks in my lunches has saved me quite a bit. I also appreciate the variety my the snacks gives my lunches.
• I find that with my budget and the time I can dedicate to couponing, $0.20 per serving is my cut-off for my coupon snacks. This leaves room in my lunch budget for more costly items like yogurt and fresh fruit. 
• By storing the stocked-up  lunch box items in their own special place, the likelihood that they will make it my lunch increases.
• We picked a bin on purpose. I can always easily see what is in the bin. I do not have to clear off a whole shelf to see what might be hiding in the back.
• Because these items are nonperishable, I suggest stocking up when you can combine sales with coupons and other promotions. I have been thinking about sharing my lunch bin idea for quite some time because after months of an empty bin, I have refilled it with a variety of goodies.