The old adage of ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch’ certainly rings true as research reveals that the British workforce spends a staggering £162m on lunch every day. 

Research released by The Co-operative Insurance Personal Pensions shows that each person spends an average of £5.50 per day, which equates to £1,265 per year or £50,600 in a lifetime.

Additionally, the research shows that only 29% of the 3,200 people questioned take a packed lunch to work with them. Two-fifths of the British workforce purchase their lunch from the local supermarket while one in seven prefer to stay close to the grindstone and visit the staff canteen.

What’s more, 12% get their lunchtime fix from a sandwich bar with only 4% choosing to go for the fast food option, which is good news for the nation’s ever-expanding waistline.

And when it comes to the daily lunchtime fix it seems less a case of bringing home the bacon than taking the bacon to work as official statistics show that the Great British favourite is a BLT sandwich with a banana and a packet of crisps washed down with a café latte. If everybody took the time to make their own BLT sandwich at home and substituted the expensive caffeine option for water, they could save £4.36 every day which equates a total saving of over £1,000 per year.

Danny Hurley, head of pensions at The Co-operative Insurance, said: “Like most people in the rat race who cannot get through the day without a cafe latte and the luxury of strolling down to the nearest delicatessen for their favourite lunchtime treat, getting up earlier to make sandwiches isn’t easy to digest and just doesn’t sit well with the lifestyle of today’s generation of blue collar workers.

“However people may not realise that by being a little bit more savvy with simple things like making their sandwiches at home which is as easy as pie, they could be £13,800 better off per year when it comes to retirement.”