brown bag lunch

That box of store-brand cereal is looking more tempting to a lot of Americans: A new Harris poll lists buying generic as the top way consumers are cutting back on everyday expenses. What other methods are we using to stretch out our budgets, and how much more frugal are we getting? Read on ...

A recent poll shows that penny-pinching is still on the rise in the wake of the Great Recession: 62% of American surveyed are buying more generic brands, and 45% are brown-bagging lunch to save cash. Moreover, the direction of the poll numbers suggests permanent changes in the way Americans spend.

Eating out for lunch instead of brown-bagging it can cost three times as much, so eating out for 50 work weeks a year can add up fast. If you don't believe it, add it up with a lunch cost calculator. But leaving your lunch in a refrigerator at work can sometimes lead to thievery, leaving you...