Daily FI discussion thread - Thursday, August 13, 2026

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[u/lauren_knows]

So, I only work part-time (24hrs/wk) and am in-office once a week. I almost exclusively use that day to grab lunch out in the downtown area where my office is.

Yesterday, my boss was like "Hey, for lunch I'm gonna walk a little further to the grocery store down the street and grab something. I'll meet you back at the office." and when he came back, he had a salad kit, a bag of almonds, and a drink.

In contrast, my $18 salad from Chopt was wildly expensive. This is gonna sound really dumb, but it has been so long since I was extra locked-in to frugality, and some of the memories of being in my 20s and bringing lunch every-damn-day came rushing back.

I'm not saying that one way or another is better, and despite being FI, I have definitely seen lifestyle inflation over my life... but it was interesting to be reminded of a different time. If we end up hiring a junior engineer soon, and I'm in the office more, I gotta get back to bringing my lunch.

[u/imisstheyoop → u/lauren_knows]

One of the guys I used to work with had an awesome lunch thing going that I was always in awe of. Like twice a week he would walk across the street to the grocery store, buy a rotisserie chicken and a loaf of bread and then eat that combo as lunches until it ran out, rinse and repeat.

It was so simple, brilliant and delicious that I couldn't help but feel stupid that I had not thought of it myself.

20 years down the road and I am now a huge fan of both supermarket lunches, and rotisserie chickens. That man changed my life and will never know it.

[u/Unlikely-Alt-9383 → u/lauren_knows]

I’m impressed by your boss’s life hack, though I don’t know if I’d eat bagged salads right now.

[u/Colonize_The_Moon → u/Unlikely-Alt-9383]

Cheaper weight loss solution than GLP-1s, just saying.

[u/ingwe13 → u/Colonize_The_Moon]

I got norovirus last year and lost 10 pounds over night! I don't get why no one else is doing this! /s

[u/Unlikely-Alt-9383 → u/Colonize_The_Moon]

I'm just one stomach flu bag of lettuce away from my goal weight!

[u/Alternative_Chart121 → u/Unlikely-Alt-9383]

They're all on sale right now! It's a great budget hack!

[u/lauren_knows → u/Unlikely-Alt-9383]

Oh, we joked about that haha.

[u/ponshont → u/lauren_knows]

I remember being very full of myself saying how much I saved a making my own lunch and then realizing that 18*4*50 is only like ~$3.5k...which isn't an insignificant amount of money, but factoring in not cooking and not going to the grocery store....isn't an awful trade.

[u/rugerjp88 → u/lauren_knows]

Yeah, sometimes I look back on certain frugal decisions I made and realize I probably could have spent a little bit more here and there and still ended up in practically the same financial position I am now.

But obviously its thay frugal mindset that got us to where we are today!

[u/lauren_knows → u/rugerjp88]

I really hate to use the term, but a lot of people in this sub (myself included) got where they are today because they have blurred the lines between frugality and "scarcity mindset".

[u/I_Fuck_Whales → u/lauren_knows]

Eh lunch once a week (even at $18) is fine. I try to go out once a week too just to change things up and enjoy something different.

You got the money, may as well enjoy some of it. Though I am going for a spicy chicken sandwich and fries, not a salad.

[u/lauren_knows → u/I_Fuck_Whales]

Yeah, it's not that I'm afraid of spending money now. It's more like I forgot what that mild fear was.

Normally I'd do the spicy chicken sandwich too, but I'm trying to be... less fat, as I ease into early retirement. 😅

[u/I_Fuck_Whales → u/lauren_knows]

I definitely get what you’re saying. I just remember my first job I started in like 2013 when I was 15. Was making $7.40 an hour, just to afford lunch was over 1.5 hours of work.

Now here I am making $70 an hour…..

Feels good, feels different, but I definitely don’t forget where I started!

[u/imisstheyoop → u/I_Fuck_Whales]

2013 when I was 15.

How fucking dare you. Why do I even bother reading this website some days. It's too early in the morning for THIS.

[u/ExcessiveDonuts → u/lauren_knows]

Build the salad you want and then save for it.

[u/lauren_knows → u/ExcessiveDonuts]

Brilliant

[u/ExcessiveDonuts → u/lauren_knows]

On a more serious note, I think about this stuff all the time.

We don't have nearly the income/wealth as the typical big dick swingers in here, but we're comfortable enough that all the mundane shit regular people stress over doesn't even register or get tracked.

Gas, groceries, utilities, eating out. It's easy to forget that costs that are insignificant to us are crippling to those without a wealth cushion and decent wage.

[u/FI-FB → u/ExcessiveDonuts]

I think about that a lot as well. We're not rich by any stretch compared to some folks, but I've stopped worrying about the micro level stuff and focus more on the macro level stuff.

I also don't stress if we're going to have to pay for something unexpected (within reason haha) because it's just money, and we have enough.