Brown bagging it

I bring my lunch to work most days. I've been doing this for a couple of years, and it looks like I'm not alone in brown bagging it. I probably save anywhere from $50 to $75 a week by making my lunch at home. (That's money I can use for a cocktail or two after work!)

It's not just the young, entry-level workers who are cutting back. In March, after price increases of 10% to 20% at his favorite midtown Manhattan eateries, Marc Haskell gave up his gourmet spinach salads and turkey wraps and began packing turkey sandwiches from home. The 47-year-old executive vice president of the Glazier Group, a restaurant and hospitality company, says he now saves around $50 a week on lunch.

Eat healthier

I remember when I was a kid my mother used to make my father lunch to take to work. This wasn't necessarily to save money (although that was a plus), but to make sure he didn't eat junk at lunch. You can eat much healthier by bringing your lunch.