Ilyssa emailed in the following tip:
Since it’s back-to-school time, people are probably thinking a lot about the added expenses of going to school. I’ve found that one of the largest expenses is school lunches.
My children’s school charges $2.75 a day for lunch. That works out to be about $495 each school year (per child).
Since I’ve never been pleased with the school lunch options (a typical week at my child’s school looks like this: tacos, pizza, spaghetti, grilled cheese, nachos… ugh!), I decided to make sure my kids had a healthy, delicious lunch packed for them each day. It takes a little extra time each evening, but it’s worth it!
Entrees:
– Homemade pizza. An entire cheese pizza can be made for about $5. A slice in the lunchbox would cost about $0.60.
– Quiche Cup: (Can be made in a cupcake tin) A dozen eggs and a brick of cheese can make 12 quiche cups. The cost per cup is about $0.30.
– PB&J Sandwich: Costs about $0.35 to make at home.Sides:
Organic baby carrots go on sale at my grocery store for $0.49 a bag. They run this sale about once a month. I always stock up, because one bag lasts me a week. That’s only $0.10 a day! It’s a perfect side item in the lunchbox!
Crackers can be found for about $2 a box (without coupons). One box should last about 2 weeks. That’s only $0.20 a day. Cheese bricks often go on sale for $2. You could slice it up and add it to the crackers. One 8 oz brick lasts me about one week. Only $0.40
a day.Yogurt easily found on sale for $0.50 each.
You can easily put together a combination of these items for $1.50. And you can search through your stockpile to find items that might be even cheaper. At $1.50 a day, you’ll save $225 over the course of the school year. -Illyssa
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it 
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