Packing Lunches

Since money is extremely tight we had to cut out all the extras. No more grabbing lunch out. This is easier for me since I am not in town. Hubby however works two jobs. I had to get in the habit of packing two meals for him each night before bed. He leaves around 530 in the morning, so there is no way I am going to pack something then. I have found if I pack his lunch the night before I am more likely to actually do it, and he can grab it and go in the morning. Something I have done to help make packing lunch time easier, is to divide up lunch items as soon as I get home from the grocery store. Before putting snack items away, I divide them into the jelly size mason jars (more on the plastic lids later). It takes more room in the pantry, but its incredibly easy to grab and go. Same principal applies to yogurt in the fridge. That way when I am gathering lunch items, I can spend the least amount of time needed. Typically I will pack two leftover meals (one for lunch and one for dinner) as well as a dairy snack (yogurt with home canned jam or applesauce) and one or two snacky snacks (think pretzel bites, trail mix, etc). I will also fill a mason jar or two with water and crystal light). I hate spending money on individual packages of a larger item because you are mainly paying for the packaging. It takes only a couple minutes extra for me to divide up a larger package when we get home from the store. Packing lunches has saved us soo much money, especially on the double shift days (where hubby goes from one job to another). Before packing lunches, we would just grab something quick $5-10 each meal per person. If hubby works 7 days a week and 4 of those are double days, we would be spending $55-110 on meals a week. There is no way we have that kind of money to throw away on cheap food- not even good quality food, Im talking about fast food here. So not only are we saving money we don't have to waste, but we are eating more healthy home made food. Let me tell you though, it does take dedication and planning. Some nights I just want to fall into bed and sleep but I will remember I need to make his lunch. Yes, he could pack his own, but I think he is already doing so much by working two jobs. My "second' job is to support him in as much as I can. I don't think its fair to make him pack his own lunch at 11 pm when he is getting home. Call it an act of love if you will... Do you pack lunches? Buy food out? Eat at home?