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Do you think that you don't eat out much but can not figure out just where you money is going? It's time to do an experiment to find out just how much you are eating out, how much it is costing you and how much you could have saved by making that meal at home. Did it save you time? Probably not. Did it give you a healthier meal? Most definitely not. So, what's the point in going out to dinner again?
Meet Ann
Ann is a very busy woman. She is married to Aaron and the two have three children. Since they are working most of the time, they often find themselves ordering out, ordering in or eating at a restaurant a few times per week. Yet, is this costing them anything?
To find out, Ann decided to track how much they spent on eating out in just one month. In fast food stops, the family would spend about $20-$25. If they went to a family style sit down dinner, though, they would spend from $40 up to $60 or more. If they ordered in, it could range from $20 to $35. Al in all, it was costly. In one months time, Ann determined that they were spending about $375 per month on eating out.
But, this doesn't tell us if in fact it would save money to make foods at home. To figure this out, Ann decided to try to make some of their favorite dishes at home to see how much it would cost them.
The kids love chicken fingers, fries and grilled cheese. Sometimes they ate pasta too. Here's the breakdown:
- Chicken fingers: At the local supermarket, 1 bag that was large enough for 2 meals was $5.50.
- Fries: 1 pound bag, good for one meal, $3.79
- Grilled cheese, 99 cents for a loaf of bread, $3 for a chunk of cheese.
- Pasta: $2 for one full pound of pasta, sauce was only 99 cents!
To eat this meal at home, they would have saved considerably. Ann found that the foods she ate at home were also less expensive to make than the fast food location.
Time? Where's The Time?
If you are not sure that you can find the time to make dinner every night, or you feel that you are just too tired to do it, you need to consider a few simple solutions. Here are some that will reduce the number of times you eat out.
- Get into a habit of pulling something out in the morning for dinner that evening. When something is defrosted, you are more likely to use it.
- Use your crock pot in the morning. Fill it with great stew, soup or a variety of other meals. When you come home, it is done for you.
- If you are cooking tonight, make enough for two dinners, freeze one for a night when you are just too tired to cook.
- Cold cuts work! A salad, sandwich and a vegetable work just fine for dinner too.
How much are you spending by eating out? Find out and start saving your money!
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RE: How Much Do You Spend On Eating Out, Really?
This was a good post. I have wondered why we eat out since so many times I am not that thrilled with what I get....actually I cook most nights as I do not work outside the home....and I really like to cook (the cleaning up is another story tho!) I think there is more to eating out tho than just the food....it can just be a fun activity, a time for a family to enjoy themselves. Our kids are finally getting much better behaved in a restaurant and now Mommy & Daddy can have a good time and not feel like we have to gobble our food. One of the things I do now when we eat out is ask for water....the drinks in restaurants are outragious and I'd just as soon drink good old H2O anyway! Also, since our kids are still small and don't eat a lot, we might have them share a meal. For example, a family type restaurant in our town has a kid's meal for around 5 bucks....all the kid's meals come with a bowl of soup and the table gets a basket of rolls. My daughter likes to fill up on rolls and she really likes soup....so we order a grilled cheese w/ fries kid's meal, our son eats the sandwich and fries and our daughter has the soup and bread....then our meals come with dessert which we let the kids have....works out well, we don't spend as much or waste as much. It's nice to bring home food for later but many times we don't get around to eating it!
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