Okay, it’s Sunday of back-to-standard-time weekend and not many of us are working (except blog writers!). But here’s a money-saving tip from Beth Heins of Oakland, Calif., that can start saving you money when the job starts up again tomorrow …

“Start a lunch group at work! There are four of us, and we take turns bringing lunch for everyone else. I bring in a homemade vegetarian meal on Thursdays, and get to eat someone else's cooking Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I usually bring in leftovers for Friday. I'm never tempted to eat out -- the food is delicious and healthy, and it doesn't add much work or expense to my week. Another bonus is that we are each building a nice repertoire of recipes and, of course, it's nice to share a meal with friends. To make it more enjoyable, we even went the extra mile and got real plates and silverware -- from Goodwill -- as it seemed a shame to eat such good food off of disposables. We've been doing this for a year and a half and I appreciate it every day.”

We love it. Other creative ideas for reducing meal costs? Post them here or write to us at tightwad at cro dot consumer dot org.