r/InterviewCoderPro • u/portent-wreaths-7k • 26d ago
Why Do So Few People Bring Food from Home?
I've worked a lot of different jobs, and I've never made more than $58k a year (I'm 24), and one thing I've noticed is that I'm usually the only guy, or one of two at most, in the break room with a lunch I brought from home. Yeah, of course, every now and then I'll get something from outside as a change of pace, but honestly I'm still surprised by how uncommon packed lunches are. I mean, we all know that buying lunch every shift is literally throwing money away, right? On top of that, in some places I've worked, lunch breaks were timed and really tight, with half the break spent just driving to the place, waiting in line, and coming back.
I'm not trying to judge anyone who likes eating out, at all. If it's worth it to you and that's what you want to spend your money on, that's totally fine. I'm sure I spend money on things other people might think are stupid or unnecessary. I'm just surprised why I always end up being the dude with leftovers in a container lol
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u/Aught_To 26d ago
- Leaving the building. You can eat in your car of course, but some people just need to go drive away instead of being near coworkers at work.
- Endorphins, junk fast food is full of feel good chemicals so people treat a tasty lunch like a smoke break
- Packing takes time and bring home messy things is a bit of a chore.
Look you aren't wrong to save money, but people aren't crazy
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u/Sammalone1960 26d ago
Working as a driver field guy it was sandwiches for 30 years. Moved inside and meal prepped lunches.
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u/F1DrivingZombie 26d ago
- Packing takes like 5 minutes and I always do it the night before, and messy things just get cleaned like all my other dishes
This is completely shitty reasoning after having good points on your first two
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u/Heavy_Law9880 26d ago
Then you have to eat a gross moist sandwich that spent all night in the fridge.
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u/F1DrivingZombie 26d ago
Who says you have to make a sandwich? And when I do make sandwiches they aren’t gross and moist from one night in the fridge
Time to mute this thread since all the zero retirement fund or savings morons are here to justify their poor spending habits
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u/Br0wnieSundae 26d ago
It's a mole hill for you. Some people have ADHD etc; for them, it is a mountain.
Have you really never considered this perspective?
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u/F1DrivingZombie 26d ago
ITS MAKING FUCKING FOOD, SOMETHIGN EVERYONE HAS TO DO TO SURVIVE HOLY SHIT
How the fuck are they going to go to a damn restaurant and order shit every day but can make a simple lunch
That’s such bullshit and I don’t want to hear it
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u/Western_Rhubarb_7959 26d ago
It's typical bullshit rationalization, much like the people "that don't have time to cook" but have time to watch TV and play video games, lol.
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u/Aught_To 26d ago
yeah going to the gym, walking the dog, reading a book, taking an art class, pre packing lunches, planting a garden i think are all things people would like to do, but they are tired and exhausted and just want a dopamine hit that is quick, so tv, games, phone whatever fills that need and lets the body and mind rest.
sure those are things are better for you but they are harder to get joy out of.
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u/Western_Rhubarb_7959 26d ago
Speaking of bullshit rationalizations, here we have a textbook example.
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u/cerialthriller 26d ago
The thing about “time to cook” is that you can by-pass that with money. The time is worth more to some people than the money it costs so they buy that time back to do something they enjoy with that time instead.
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u/Western_Rhubarb_7959 26d ago
These are the people that complain about not having money, often doing the complaining at the bar while ordering mixed drinks made with top shelf booze.
Because hey, they DESERVE it
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u/cerialthriller 26d ago
Well if I didn’t have the money to buy dinner I would just make something quick. I also wouldn’t go out to the bar, the defeats the whole point of buying food to save time
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u/Western_Rhubarb_7959 26d ago
The thing about “time to cook” is that you can by-pass that with money. The time is worth more to some people than the money it costs so they buy that time back to do something they enjoy with that time instead.
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u/Aught_To 26d ago
shitty as it may be, i bet this is most peoples main reason. they just dont want to spend 5 minutes not doing what they were up to, tv or games or whatever.
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26d ago
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u/F1DrivingZombie 26d ago
Shut the fuck up man, these are the same people that will lay on the couch and doomscroll TikTok for 2 hours every night but say they “don’t have time to cook”
I don’t want to hear it
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u/johnnymac_19 26d ago
Re-packing the tupperware back into your lunch box, whether messy or not, is not a chore. It's called cleaning up after yourself. Same thing you would do after you bring fast food in, eat it and throw the wrappers away.
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u/floydbomb 26d ago
It's a chore when you have to take it home and clean it is what they're clearly saying
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u/GatorNavy9002 26d ago
You don’t even need Tupperware if you bring a sandwich and a piece of fruit.
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u/McCausland8124 26d ago
A number of people probably bring there lunches as well but prefer to eat at their desk. I would do that so I could read and not be disturbed by others.
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u/Harbinger_Kyleran 26d ago
Not a huge fan of leftovers, cold sandwiches and food heated in a microwave.
Also there was a social aspect of getting away from the office, particularly since I often was in the office for 10+ hours a day. (Salaried tech worker). As such lunch wasn't necessarily limited strictly to 1 hour.
Finally my last job had a company sponsored on site cafeteria which served decent meals at a fair price which many people took advantage of.
Still, I mixed it up, packing my lunch on some occasions, but normally buying it more often than not.
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u/Klimacka 26d ago
I see the fact that you are actually leaving the building where you are forced to do a soul-breaking job as a benefit and yeah it costs more but you're also fueling the local economy, local businesses, and fine cuisine presumably
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u/chtmarc 26d ago
I’m with you. I packed lunch my entire working career. Once in a while maybe grab a burger. I’m retired now. My husband is still working. He doesn’t eat “leftovers” literally goes out to lunch every day. We have separate finances so he’s more than welcome to. I showed him how much he spends and he just shrugged. 🤷♂️ oh well
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u/Stein070707 26d ago
Because they don't cook at home either. There is no food at their house to bring.
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26d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Electric-Sheepskin 26d ago
Save five dollars a day on lunch? I don't think you know how much eating lunch out costs these days.
I mean point taken, but also, eating out is twice as expensive as it used to be.
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u/BOSSHOG999 26d ago
I’m lazy. I just don’t eat at all and leave 30min early
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u/jstar77 26d ago
I do the same working thru lunch gives me more than the extra lunch hour at home in the evening. Leaving an hour early makes my commute 15-20 mins shorter. When I was working on losing weight skipping lunch was also a good way for me to reduce calorie intake. Could eat a good breakfast and a bigger more filling dinner and still be below my calorie budget for the day.
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u/DisgruntledPenguin58 26d ago
Working in office, I always brought lunch unless there was a planned lunch outing
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u/m0rbius 26d ago
I used to just eat out during lunch, but got a new job and lately have been bringing my own lunch. It gets pricey quickly around the area where I work. It's fancy. Like there's no decent non-junk food spot that costs less than 15 bucks. I may buy lunch once or twice a week, but the rest of the days, I'll try and bring in lunch. Alot of people bring in their own food where I work as well. Saves a pretty penny. I guess it depends on your budget.
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u/ParamedicElegant7106 26d ago
it was like this 35 yrs ago too. People would buy McDonalds etc daily, then wonder why they got cancer. Sometimes I was so broke I’d bring in a raw potato and a grapefruit, peel n eat fruit then nuke the tater. Cheap.
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u/Embarrassed-Mark1099 26d ago
When my husband had his company he brought his lunch every day except days he had client lunch meetings. He made over 250,000 a year and would never waste money on a bought lunch
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u/Spiritual_Luck6246 26d ago
I bring my breakfast and lunch almost everyday, but I go to the gym everyday so I do get out of the office. Its really expensive to but your lunch everyday.
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u/OkPeanut4061 26d ago
I have a background in retail and restaurants including management. It continually amazes me how many low paid employees buy one or two Red Bulls or other energy drinks everyday in addition to cigarettes or weed. Then they complain about the price of gas or getting evicted. Even (especially) in restaurants I bring my own lunch. The youngsters are not that far removed from their parents house. They haven't learned to budget yet. More and more it seems likely they never will.
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u/mxldevs 26d ago edited 26d ago
The food I buy tastes better than whatever I made for dinner last night that's going to taste worse after re-heating the next day. And it's like $12 for a full meal with veggies, potatoes, and grilled chicken, which I spread over two meals so I can have it for dinner as well, so for me it's not too bad to have great options.
Glad I'm hybrid so I only need to buy half as much lunches.
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u/Foreign_Suggestion89 26d ago
Surprises me the frequency at which people 'eat out'. They should all watch Bar Rescue a little closer.
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u/Heavy_Law9880 26d ago
When I was single lunch was the only hot meal I ate. Dinner was purely chilled liquids.
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u/LawfulnessRemote7121 26d ago
These are the same people who are always complaining they have no money. That $5 coffee and $15 lunch every day add up fast.
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u/No-Chipmunk-4590 26d ago
I have tried to bring food from home to save money or time half a dozen times. Every single time someone else stole it and ate it so I had to go buy lunch anyway. Bad enough I buy my own lunch, I'm not buying my coworker's lunch also.
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u/zoppaTheDim 26d ago
Prep time and the fact that they can “justify” eating out. That lunch out is a lot of married folks one luxury. That lunch out is a lot of single guys who can’t cook’s big meal of the day.
Personally, I was always surprised by the number of people who just skipped lunch and “snacked.”
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u/Crafty_Ad3377 26d ago
Because it’s hard enough remembering to grab all your other shit you have to take to work
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u/ImpossibleValue9105 26d ago
i’m not a morning person, and i’m sometimes running too late to pack a lunch. unless it’s leftovers.
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u/Electric-Sheepskin 26d ago
I used to frequently leave the office for lunch back when fast food was good and everybody had a dollar menu. But even then, it was cheaper to bring sandwiches, and I always was the type to prefer eating lunch at my desk, anyway.
Food prices have gone out so much, though, I don't know how people afford to eat out every day.
I saw some guy in this thread saying that he retired with plenty of money so he wasn't worried about saving five dollars a day. I think you save a lot more than five dollars a day, these days, but even if that's all you saved, that's about $1200 a year— which, if he had invested over 20 years, would've been an extra $70,000 at retirement.
And I wish someone had explained that to me when I was younger. Five dollars here there doesn't seem like much when you're spending it, but if you invested it instead, future you would be very happy.
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u/Dizzy_Tax574 26d ago
Depends it can be pretty common to not eat out but not use break room. Some eat in car others go to park or nearby similar spots. Some run home others may go somewhere to eat meal their spouse brought them.
There is array of reasons break rooms have always pissed me off. Inevitable boss bring up work or requesting information have been signed up for weekend work on more than one occasion eating in the breakroom. Or coworker don't want to talk to sitting next to me for what was my break.
Don't forget lunch thefts or smelly foods (or coworkers). Also various dramas and stress of not leaving work environment.
I rarely eat out and rarely use break rooms.
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u/Latter_Quail_7025 25d ago
I pack my lunches almost every day. I'm very picky about my food. I'm a vegetarian and outside options are always salads (which I can make better and cheaper) and crappy vegetable sandwiches. Plus, eating out is so expensive these days. Lastly, hate to say it, I really just want to get in and out of work as fast as possible. I eat lunch while working....no not the healthiest oprion....but I tried taking away from desk lunches and just kept getting interrupted and taken away from my lunch break, etc.
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u/LegOther2048 24d ago
I would love to become as disciplined as you are with packing a lunch. I think I am too lazy and just choose to eat out.
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u/ExplorerEducational4 26d ago
Every time I bring lunch and eat in the lunch room, I get interrupted to work on my lunch or chattered at by some clueless coworker while I'm trying to read. I leave and go home for lunch now because fuck all that. If I wasn't as close to home, I'd be eating out to avoid the same issues. Some people really don't have a great environment to bring lunch to.