Is a Lunch Out Every Workday worth it?
A $15 lunch on every workday for a year. Quietly one of the highest food costs most workers don't track.
Less than one hour of work. If it brings you real value, it's worth it.
How long it takes to earn it
Below is what Lunch Out Every Workday costs in real working hours, depending on what you actually take home. The math is simple: $15.00 ÷ wage = hours.
| If you take home | Hours of work | Workdays | % of year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15/hr | 1.0 hrs | 0.13 days | 0.05% |
| $20/hr | 0.8 hrs | 0.09 days | 0.04% |
| $25/hr | 0.6 hrs | 0.07 days | 0.03% |
| $40/hr | 0.4 hrs | 0.05 days | 0.02% |
| $60/hr | 0.3 hrs | 0.03 days | 0.01% |
| $100/hr | 0.1 hrs | 0.02 days | <0.01% |
If this keeps happening
Lunch Out Every Workday is a dailycost. Here's what it adds up to over time at a $25/hr wage.
Frequently asked
How many work hours per year does a $15 daily lunch cost?
$15 × 260 workdays = $3,900/year. At $25/hr that's 156 hours — almost four work weeks.
What if I bring lunch from home half the time?
Home lunch averages about $4. Doing 50/50 saves ~$1,430/yr — 57 hours at $25/hr.
Is buying lunch ever worth it?
If lunch is your only chance to leave your desk, the mental break may be worth more than the time cost. The point of this calculator is to show you the trade, not judge it.
Over 10 years?
$3,900 × 10 = $39,000 nominal. Invested at 7% real return, you'd skip ~$26,000 of growth — about 1,040 hours at $25/hr.