Whether it was wasting dollars on square slices of cardboard-like pizza as a seventh grader, or buying frozen burritos from the snack bar in high school, the money I have spent during lunch throughout the years could have been many fashionable outfits or even the $700 Vitamix blender I would die to have in my kitchen right now.

What is it about the food on campus that makes us spend hundreds (yes, hundreds – check your bank statements) anyway? I think I have an answer: laziness.

If we all chose to wake up a little earlier to prepare a lunch or take time out of our days to make batches of food for the upcoming week, we might all be healthier, happier and probably even wealthier people.

We would be able to buy a few extra beers during a night on the town, afford a new outfit to wear to Mom’s for Thanksgiving dinner and stop having to worry so much about whether we will have “spending money” after the rent is paid or not.

In the moment of purchasing a hot, fast meal during lunch every day, most of us do not stop to think about how much money we spend on lunch every week, month or even year.

Take a look at your bank statements and do some math. Add up all the money you spend on eating out and become amazed at how much more money you could have for bigger, more important things. Also think about all the groceries you could buy with that money and how much you could save by simply preparing your own meals to take to school every day.

Buying a burrito on campus can easily cost more than $5, which can add up to more than $25 a week if you are doing it every day. Some days you spend more, some days less, but I will bet if you are a frequent Union-dweller, you are most likely spending over $100 per month on food that does not include groceries.

HowStuffWorks says the average brown bag lunch costs $4 and if you are a conservative or bulk shopper you can probably get away with having a $2 brown bag lunch.

Some of the cheapest food on the shelf is food that can be easily prepared and taken to school without much hassle. For example, tuna, bread and pickles for a hearty sandwich; peanut butter, bananas and bagels; fresh fruit and small yogurt packs (big ones if you want to save money and divide it up yourself); turkey slices, cheese, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes and onions for a filling sandwich; pita bread, feta and hummus; and many other things.

One of the best things about packing a lunch – other than saving money and knowing what is in your food – is you can get as creative as you want with it. The sky is the limit and, although people may stare sometimes – it happens to me all the time with my mush-looking blend-of-a-bowl consisting of beans, guacamole, rice, raw chopped onions, baked tofu and hot sauce – it will be worth it when you can afford to buy the few extra gadgets you don’t need, or when you have realized the pants from middle school fit you again.

Janice Daniels can be reached at [email protected]