Bringing my lunch to work a majority of the time (3-4 times a week) has three benefits for me personally.  One is to watch what I eat.  The second is to save money.  Third, and I consider this a key component in my “decompression time”, is to be able to read the newspaper or peruse stuff online during my break (followed by a short walk).  I’m fortunate where I have a job that allows an hour lunch break which allows me to eat and relax at a leisurely pace.

I bring all this up because, at the risk of sounding like an old fuddy duddy, I’ve noticed the increase in, at least what I consider, the Mendoza Line for a cheap lunch.  Back when I started working in 1995, you could find lunches for under $5 if you looked.  As someone who wasn’t making much scratch right out of college, I considered it a good fiscal move to eat at the Chinese outlet in the food court at the Merchandise Mart (Lai Lai) where the orange chicken, generously served, was just under $5 total if I ordered an ice water.

Now, $5 wasn’t a breaking point for me but I’d say most lunches at “quick eating” places in the Loop in Chicago would run anywhere from $4.50 - $8.  Obviously there were plenty more expensive options but those were not a reality unless my boss was buying.  Periodically I’d splurge but always have that guilt that I didn’t really need TWO Portillo’s hot dogs plus onion rings plus a drink or some other comparable lunch. 

There were always the exceptions like the time, as an intern, my boss took me and another intern to a bar where we proceeded to have a burger, fries, and pitcher of beer each.  A nice buzz at 12:30 sure takes the sting out of being in relative poverty but it also makes it hard as hell to concentrate on your afternoon tasks!  When a co-worker back at the office suggested we all should chew gum, I realized that a liquid lunch really isn’t a professional way to go about your business, even if it’s your boss getting you loaded and paying for your alcohol.

But I digress.

Fast forward to 2008 and any lunch under $8 or $9 is considered a bargain now.  If I go to the local noodle or sandwich shop, a basic lunch will be in that price range without any extras.  A walk to the local pub for Friday lunch with co-workers will set you back $15 with tip (no beer, just burger, fries and Coke).  This really isn’t a complaint but more of an observation, mixed in with the curiousness of what will constitute an “affordable” lunch in 2021.

Of course, with 2 kids who will be of college age by then, I won’t be worried about my “cheap” $100 lunch from the food court.  It will be the $15,000 per credit hour that will put Megan and I into the poorhouse.