There’s often been a stigma that came along with taking your lunch into the workplace that somehow, you must be struggling if you couldn’t go out to eat every day with your co-workers. But now, faced with the recession, more and more people are coming to terms with this simple money saver and are trying it out! If you’re spending $5 a day over the course of a 5 day work week, you’re looking at a cost of $1300 in 52 weeks!

Here are 5 quick and easy tips to make brown bagging not only the thing to do but a great money saver.

Take Leftovers-Make an extra chicken breast or half pound of pasta when cooking. Add some fruit and a pudding cup and you’ve got a great brown bagged lunch here.

Buy in Bulk- Buying in bulk doesn’t necessarily mean buying 30 bags of chips. Instead, the better plan is to buy a large bag or box of your favorite treat and portion it out into smaller bags. No need for those 100 calorie packs that are more costly when you can do it yourself!

Buy on sale- Instead of buying green grapes year round because you LOVE them, buy items in season instead. Those green grapes will come around again!

Make it easy- Have everything you need in the house before the work week even begins. You’re more likely to say, “forget it”, if things aren’t easy to grab and go.

Splurge some- That’s right, sometimes you just have to splurge! Take the last Friday of the month and go out for lunch with your friends. You’re more likely to stick to the plan the rest of the month if you know there’s a reward at the end.

Now, what are you going to do with that $1300?