Strategies for Eating Out Less
It’s day 5 of 33 Days and 33 Ways to Save Money and Reduce Debt. The subject for today is eat out less often. I have a big problem in this area. In fact, this month I’m challenging myself to not eat out at all. Up until now my family has easily spent at least $100 every month on eating out, and that needs to stop.
I’m obviously not an expert in this area, but I do know that if I want to change my behavior, I have to have a plan. Here are some of the things I’ve done to prepare myself for this month.
I make a menu for every meal every week. This week I know what I’m having for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. Once I made the menu, I made a list of all the food I needed and bought everything I need to cook for the week. Now I can’t use the excuse that there’s no food in the house to justify eating out.
I also plan to use my crockpot on nights that are going to be busy. Soccer season is starting up soon, so I know there will be nights when we don’t get home until 6:00. On those nights, I plan to have dinner waiting in the crockpot, so I’m not tempted to stop for fast food on the way home.
I also bought ingredients for quick, easy meals. I know that I have a tendency to get headaches, and there’s always one or two nights a month when I don’t feel well enough to cook. I knew that I needed a plan for those nights, so I bought some pasta and canned sauce, frozen pizza, and cans of soup. If I’m really not feeling well, even my husband and daughter could make these things.
The bottom line is that you need to know why you eat out. Once you know why you do the things you do, you can work on implementing strategies to avoid your behavior. So why do you eat out? If you’re trying to cut back, what are you doing to help yourself with that goal?
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Author
By Lynnae McCoy, on Sep 2, 2007
I'm Lynnae, wife of one and stay-at-home mom of two. I'm committed to getting out of debt by being frugal with my choices in life.
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I have found that menu planning, and having ideas of things that are quick and easy to make help to make it so we don’t eat out that often. Usually less than once a month. I hope it all works out well for you!
Abbi
Thanks! You’re success is a great inspiration to me!
I think that a reason I want to eat out a lot (although I can’t) is because I love delicious restaurant food. SO if I want to eat at home, i figure I’ve got to have something delicious or something I crave at home about once per week. That means that my grocery bill might be slightly higher, but I will be more satisfied, and it will definitely cost less than eating out. Otherwise, I can’t plan to eat rice and beans or hot dogs every night.
Heidi, I’ve also found that I have to like the food I make at home, or it won’t work. I’ve made the mistake of cooking beans because they’re cheap one too many times. I don’t like beans. My family doesn’t like beans. Eating beans doesn’t save us money, because nobody actually eats them. :)
I save money cooking at home, even if what I make is home is fancier. We can have roast beef & potatoes at home for less than $10 for the entire family. A relatively high priced dinner, but not as pricey as $10 a plate at a restaurant. When I’m thinking I want a dinner out, making the same thing at home is cheaper, plus there’s more leftovers and you don’t have to fight with kids in the restaurant. A few fancier meals at home mixed in with the regular “budget gourmet” we eat, really goes a long way toward saving us hundreds on eating out.