Sixty percent of Canadians eat out for lunch at least once a week, with many spending hundreds of dollars a year on their midday meal, according to a recent survey by Visa Canada.
The survey shows that the majority of those who eat out, 61 percent, spend between $7 and $13, and 9 percent spend between $14 and $25.
These expenses, said Melissa Cassar, Visa’s head of corporate and public affairs in Canada, can add up to a significant amount over the course of a year.
“With a little understanding of budgeting and a lot more brown bags in their briefcases when they head out the door each morning, it is easy to trim this unnecessary and costly expense,” Cassar said in a statement.
“If you think about a brown bagged lunch costing about $2 to $3 per day, compared with this survey’s national average of $8.80 for those who buy their lunch, getting into the habit of spending an extra 10 minutes each day preparing a sandwich or packing leftovers will put more money back in your pocket every week.”
Ontarians eat out more often than other Canadians, with 20 percent eating out three or more days per week, compared to the national average of 15 percent who buy lunch at the same frequency.
With 50 percent packing a lunch every day, Quebecors bring lunch to work more than other Canadians. They’re followed by Albertans at 43 percent and British Columbians at 39 percent.
According to the survey, 30 percent of Canadians plan to spend less on lunch this year.
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