 WED, MAR 9, 2022 
Hi there! My name is Nick Vega, I'm a money reporter at CNBC Make It. I'm excited to be taking over newsletter duties and hope to deliver interesting insights to your inbox each and every week. Let's get started.
As a money reporter at CNBC Make It, it's my job to give people smart, useful tips to help them make the best financial decisions they can. But sometimes taking my own advice is easier said than done.
Last week, for the first time since March 2020, I went into the office. I've been at Make It for a year now, but this was my first time seeing most of my co-workers outside of a video call. To celebrate the first day back, we had lunch delivered from the famous Joe's Pizza.
Free pizza in midtown Manhattan is a big deal – Midtown is known for many things, but affordable food is not one of them.
One of the biggest perks of working from home for two years has been the proximity I've had to my kitchen. When lunchtime rolls around, I can walk to my fridge. If nothing piques my interest, I've got a supermarket five minutes away where I can stock up on groceries.
It's easy, convenient and, most importantly, saves me money. Sure, I'll occasionally buy lunch, but unlike when I'm at the office I only eat out when I want to as opposed to out of necessity.
As we begin to spend more and more time in the office, I'm going to have to get back into the habit of planning ahead for lunch. Before March 2020, I tried to be responsible about cooking regularly and not buying lunch too often. For me, it was as much of a habit as going to the gym — and it is equally as easy to fall out of shape.
And though I know packing my own lunch is the financially savvy thing to do, I'm pretty rusty when it comes to putting my money where my mouth is.
On my second day back last week I overslept. I didn't have yogurt or fruit in the fridge, so not only did I buy breakfast near the office (my sausage, egg and cheese sandwich cost me $5.50), I also spent around $10 on lunch.
If I'm eating out only once or twice a week, that's still an extra $60-$120 added to my monthly budget — those are dollars that would be better off in an investment account earning compound interest.
With that in mind, I'm trying to be proactive and not let my return to the office change the money-saving habits I've developed during the Covid pandemic. That means getting new Tupperware containers and brushing up on recipes that lend themselves to being reheated in a microwave.
I'm also reading up on Make It's past reporting on easy meal-planning strategies and ways to keep your grocery bill from getting out of hand.
It will take a while to get back into the swing of things. And I anticipate spending more money than I need to while I return to the habit of prepping meals for the days I need to report to work.
I'll be trying my best. But in the meantime, I'll be keeping my loyalty punch card from the sandwich spot near the office. After all, if I buy 10 sandwiches, I get one free.
Have any money-saving lunchtime tips or other thoughts you want to share? Email me at nicolas.vega@nbcuni.com!  Trending articles from CNBC Make It
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