With three young boys to clothe, feed and water, cutting the costs wherever possible is important. Packed lunches are an area we can easily spend more than we need to. I’ve figured out how to create 15 packed lunches, 1 for each child, 5 days a week, for under £9. Read on for some cheap packed lunch ideas.
Where To Shop?
Firstly, let me say that this is by shopping at Tesco. I’m pretty sure that you can save even more by shopping at Aldi or Lidl. As I wanted to make an online shopping list, I used Tesco for this example.
The Shopping List
What you need to buy for these cheap packed lunch ideas are as follows.
- Wraps 70p
- 3 Bananas 45p
- 6 fromage frais £1
- 6 eggs 70p
- Bread 55p
- Mayonnaise 41p
- 2 tins of tuna £1.18
- Cucumber 60p
- 6 Carrots 35p
- Cooked Ham 90p
- Chocolate Digestives 42p
- 10 pack of crisps £1
- 6 small apples 69p
Total £8.95
The Week
Below is how everything is divided up and made for each day of the week.
Monday
- Egg mayo sandwich
- Cucumber sticks
- Yogurt
- Crisps
Tuesday
- Tuna sandwich
- Carrot sticks
- 2 x choc biscuits
- Apple
Wednesday
- Ham wrap/sandwich
- Cucumber sticks
- Banana
- Crisps
Thursday
- Egg mayo wrap
- Carrot sticks
- Yogurt
- Apple
Friday
- Ham wrap
- Cucumber sticks
- 2 x chocolate biscuits
- Crisps
Is It Enough?
We’ve found that this amount of food is ideal for our young boys. They are at primary school so at break times want to eat and get outside to play. We make sure they all eat a hearty breakfast at home before school starts. They get drinks at school and also get a piece of fruit at morning break.
How To Save Even More
You can save even more by using cashback apps. There might be offers you can use week in week out to substitute and switch up different things. Maybe you do jam sandwiches instead of egg mayo. Maybe there’s an offer on sandwich fillers or a cashback on a different brand of tuna. Do your research to save even more cash!
How Much Do You Spend?
Does this sound good to you? Feeding the kids during the school day for less than £9 a week? How much do you spend? What are you best cheap packed lunch ideas and hacks? Let me know over on Twitter!
