I imagine most husbands and children ask their wife/mother this on a daily basis. In our house it has been more of , “Where are we going for dinner?” I went through our bank statements and calculated how much we spent on eating out the last three months.
October ($676.19), November ($727.36), and December ($772.97)- total of $2176.52.
Our set budget for “weekend/eating out” is $400.00 a month.
It isn't just about the money. Garrett's point was this - I don't usually enjoy cooking meals. He doesn't usually enjoy eating when I do. Garrett shared that he really enjoys the experience of eating out. This is evident by the fact that he eats almost the same thing every time (chicken fingers). I also am pretty busy during the work week. I do not want to cook for an hour when I get home, especially when my cooking is below average. If we were to stick to our budget, we could still eat out twice, maybe three times a week.
Plan of attack:
1) Eat lunch out only at the university cafeteria. The food is usually delicious and there are healthy options. Also, it is within walking distance (Garrett doesn't have a car) and is only $4 for each of us. I am in the office most everyday now. I can either go home for lunch, skip lunch, or eat with him at the cafeteria. For the price of one typical meal ($40), we both could eat lunch at the cafeteria.
2) Reduce my coffee habit to a couple of times a week. Consider taking a coffee pot to the office.
3) Plan ahead. I have been reading about cooking with a crock-pot at "A Year of Slowcooking". I borrowed Lin's pot to give it a test drive. All this week, I will be trying different recipes. If I find it tasty enough, I may invest in a large crock-pot next month.
4) Reduce the amount of times we eat out for dinner during the week.
5) Utilize coupons that I have accumulated.
Any other suggestions?
Crock pot cooking is easy and delicious. My only other suggestion is freezing. When you find a recipe your family enjoys, cook double and freeze half. I will keep you in mind when I come across new recipes for the crock pot.
ReplyDeleteThe freezing is a great idea. How could I forget that. Oh, wait... I remember. I tried it one time with a friend and we cooked for about 20 hours (not including prep time). It was wonderful... and I totally got burned out. I haven't really thought to just double what I cook and freeze a normal size portion. See, that shows how I am always going to one extreme or the other. Thanks for the feedback April. Awww, miss your face.
ReplyDeleteSuggestions:
ReplyDelete1. Utilize Restaurant.com (you can often buy $25 GC's for less than $5! However... I just checked and there are only two restaurants in your "area."
2. Stick to simple: Good eating doesn't have to be grandiose or time consuming. Try baked sandwiches drizzled with a little olive oil and sprinkled with herbs for starters. Use recipes that don't require a lot of preparation or effort.
3. Use recipes that have a proven track record: Allrecipes.com is great for this as people rate and review different recipes they try.
4. Use a credit card that gives you cash back - we don't use our Discover Card a lot, but a few months out of the year they run these specials where they give 5% back on restaurant purchases.
A couple of notes:
ReplyDelete- Reducing your weekend/eating out spending is great if you can do it without increasing your grocery spending. But if grocery spending increases, you might decide it is worth it to eat out.
- Usually the servings at restaurants are large. Saving half of your meal for later cuts your cost by half and helps the waistline too.
- My mom has a Tassimo she is no longer using. It makes one cup of coffee at a time. The T-disks can be purchased for under $1/piece. It would also be a nice option for clients. Bonus: Starbucks makes T-disks.
- Take advantage of "kids eat free" night.
- Don't make a habit of skipping lunch (or any meal) to save money. It slows your metabolism.
Your blog already encouraged me to make better spending choices today. Like it!
If you have an iPhone you can get Jamie Oliver's 20 minute meal app. The recipes have photos for each step and are very easy to follow. The ones that I've made have all been really delicious and pretty healthy. I've found that they sometimes take me a little more than the 20 minutes, but I get faster each time.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Trish [Modern Thrifter]