We're doing an "eating-out challenge" this week

[happybratpack]

Today we decided two things...one, we need to save more money and we spend a ridiculous amount on eating out. Two - we need to get into better shape and we eat cruddy out all the time. I know it's horrible, but we eat out almost every evening of the week even though we have stuff here to make.

So we decided to try for one week to ONLY eat at home at night. We'll eat whatever we already have here and take the money that we would have spent and apply it to Disney at the end of the week. For example, tonight we would have eaten Jason's Deli which is usually about $20, instead we made frozen food so that's $20 in the pot. I know to be "true" we should have taken what the frozen food costs and deducted it but we already had it so I'm taking the easy way out. ;)

Anyway - I'll let you guys know how it goes. I'm sure the amount of money we normally spend will be scary. Anyone else do this?

[Savin4Disney]

That is a great idea. Mind if I join you? We don't eat out so much at night. But I seem to eat lunch out every day at work. Even though I say I am going to bring my lunch. I spend about 5 to 7 dollars each time.

So for this week I will not eat out for lunch (unless someone else is buying) and for every day I don't I will add 5.00 to the change jar.

:cool1: That would be 25.00 in Disney Dollars.

[happybratpack]

The more the merrier! :) We'll have to check back in next Sunday to see what we saved. Good luck!

[vanyel]

I put money in my jar for each time I don't use the vending machine at work ( a really bad habit with me trying to lose weight!).

My husband and I were both spending too much money on eating out during the day so we now have a weekly allowance. Whatever is left at the end goes in the jar. So far, I've been putting most of mine in and he is looking to borrow from me by Friday.

We also only go out to eat if we have a coupon from the Entertainment book or other. That money is supposed to be saved for Disney - we're working on perfecting that!

Isn't it amazing how much money we all spend on eating out?

[Savin4Disney]

Okay I already made lunch for tomorrow. I did a baked potato with some FF cheese on it.

I to have a vending machine habit. I am trying to break. I only use dollars in it. and the change goes in my jar at work.

Since I have recommitted to WW I won't be putting dollars in the machine anymore.

[CinderellasMama]

I was always hitting the vending machines at work because they were there and something easy. Now I skip the breakroom and go in the training room where there aren't any vending machines. I try to keep healthy snacks in my locker. Also, it's quite in there for when I read :flower: .

Brenda

[RobinMarie]

We were getting carried away with eating out too. I like the idea of eating out once a week because it makes it more special! I am also carrying this idea with dessert too - no need to have them in the house at all!

[Local_Girl]

Oh yes...we were eating out waaaay too much also. :sad2: DH and I finally decided that in order to save for our trip in April we had to cut that down. Last week, we did only 1 fast food night. We haven't done a sit down meal out in a couple of weeks...which is good for us! And DH has been taking lunch to work every day (often leftovers, which he likes) and that's saving even more. Good luck to all trying to cut down...it's tough when you get into such habits. We can do this!! :cheer2:

[ncbyrne]

DH and I (no kids) eat out once a week, usually Sat or Sun and I thought THAT was a lot. I feel better now...LOL

[kid@heart-karen]

I am with you all the way. I am going to bring my lunch to work this week and put the money i saved in my disney account. I have been eating out way too much myself, and would save sooo much money, and calories if I didn't. So i will start with bringing my lunch this week, and most likely won't get take out for dinner, I seem to go on a binge, do all the take out in one week, then i am ok for awhile. Lets see how much all of us save in a week. :banana:

[marcyinPA]

We cut down on our eating out too, but not for Disney. My husband took a new job, but it came with a pay cut. Sometimes you need to do this in order to keep your sanity (i.e. he HATED his other job and was very unhappy). So, now we eat out only once every two weeks when he gets paid. (and we use coupons!)

I am amazed at how many less transactions I have on my Disney Visa! LOL That's how I know we are saving money. My visa bill has gone from about $1500 a month to about $600 a month (I use it like a debit card and pay in full every month) Unfortunatley, that's less Disney Rewards, but what the heck??!! :rotfl:

You can actually cook some very nice meals, comparable to a restaurant, and save tons of money!! It is just SO much cheaper to eat in!! The key is to plan interesting meals at home so you don't get bored!

Good luck on the challenge!

[CajunDixie]

We've been cutting down on our "eat-out" nights too. It's amazing how much we were going out just to save time. But in reality by the time everyone decided on where to get food from, order the food, go get the food and drive home we were taking longer than if we had made some sort of quickie meal. Not to mention all the money we were spending. Funny how much we eat out compared to when I was growing up. We used to only eat out on our Bdays and only part of the time on vacations since we had a camper.

[pearlieq]

We've cut down too. I'm trying to keep up to one meal out per week and one fast food/takeout/pizza night. This is a stretch for us, who could go weeks without eating in.

I'm finding it's easier than I thought. We eat better when I cook because I always include fruits and vegetables. It's so much less expensive. DH and I used to spend upward of 300 or so per week on eating out. Now I cook double and triple portions and freeze them and I'm learning to love my crock pot. I plan our meals a week in advance and we pretty much eat whatever is on sale.

One thing that has definitely helped is that we moved into a new community. It's still pretty much farmland, so the best restaurant we have within a reasonable driving distance is Chili's! That made eating out every night much less appealing.

[mrsboz]

I, also take an allowance. I try to put some in the bank right away and then I am so proud of myself when I have some left over and that goes right in the bank. A lot of times I am running around doing errands and my little one says Mickey D's - hard to resist. But, you know you go out too much for dinner when the kids say - no, let's stay home. My husband is only home two nights a week so when he is home he likes to go out. He works the 3-11 shift so he wants to make it special for the kids so we usually go out one night and get take out one night. We just said that we have to cut down on this so, I'm in. I'm really going to try to cut down on the lunch thing since that is where I will see the biggest benefit - I have my own money stash.

[welovedis]

We've are doing a February Challenge with the families who are enrolled in my daycare. For the entire month my family has chosen that we will go out to dinner 1X for a sit-down meal and get take out 1 other time. We already did both so far and have been home for the remainder of our dinners. It isn't easy but considering how much $$$ we spend on going out to eat it will certainly add up in our savings account.

GL with your challenges!

[ceecee]

We eat out on the weekends and usually once during the week. Usually it's fast food,Pizza or Steak and Shake, Subway, etc. We can get two subs at Subway for $8.00 (dinner for 3 and lunch the next day for one) on Sunday. We get baked potatoes and chili at Wendy ($6.00 for 3 of us). I tried only eating at home, but for $6.00 a meal it's hard to beat. Tonight's dinner is costing $10.00 and we're eating in! (Chicken, salad, bread and brocolli....nothing fancy).

[CinderellasMama]

When cooking at home, I try to do some meatless meals to keep the cost down. We have beans and cornbread, cheese enchiladas, spaghetti and sauce (no meat), etc. I also buy bulk packages of meat and divide it up into smaller packs and put it in my freezer (now remembering to defrost is a whole other story..lol!). I also watch the sale ads and buy when things are on sale. I keep a pantry so I always have food for when we have weeks when we have bigger bills, less pay or whatever. I don't use coupons because I buy store brands.

We also cut out our weekly lunch at the cafe. It was costing us close to $20 with 3 of us eating and tip. That's $20 a week that can go into the Disney fund. Now DH comes home that day and we have lunch at the house~~he also gets to rest and play with our DD more. I usually eat leftovers or sandwiches for lunch since I'm at home.

Brenda

[jenr812]

Guilty as charged. We eat out WAY too much. I keep saying I'm going to sit down and plan meals, and I've done it a few times with some success, but (you know excuses are coming!) I'm a nursing student and SAHM to 3 kids. I barely have time for sleep. I'd love to try this challenge :)

[disneymom3]

We eat out on the weekends and usually once during the week. Usually it's fast food,Pizza or Steak and Shake, Subway, etc. We can get two subs at Subway for $8.00 (dinner for 3 and lunch the next day for one) on Sunday. We get baked potatoes and chili at Wendy ($6.00 for 3 of us). I tried only eating at home, but for $6.00 a meal it's hard to beat. Tonight's dinner is costing $10.00 and we're eating in! (Chicken, salad, bread and brocolli....nothing fancy).

Yep, those are pretty cheap, but think how cheap that Wendy's meal would be at home--$1.60 for a 5lb bag of potatoes, $1 or so for 3 cans of chilli beans another $ or two for canned tomotoes and sauce and $3 for hamburger. So, maybe $7 and you have way more than one night's dinnner.

Not picking on you or saying you shouldn't do this or whatever, just saying as a general comment that sometimes even the things that seem so cheap are more than we realize compared with cooking at home. :wave2:

[wide awake]

I don't want to pick on ceecee either, but even the sub thing is much cheaper at home. Figure a large loaf of fresh french bread at my local grocery...fresh and hot three times per day, $1.49....lunch meat, another $2, condiments $1, and cheese $1...works out to $2.50 cheaper. I know not a huge amount but it adds up. As for the potatoes and chili....say 10 cents per potato, and chili...I can make a whole pot for $5...there would be chili for baked potatoes for a month...so once per week would work out to $1.55, and lets add another 45 cents for chopped onions, margarine, salt and pepper. I have no choice but to cook at home, my DS is on a special diet, but I am always trying to save money for vacations and look for all the "small" savings. For those of you trying to eat at home...easy meals are : pasta, olive oil and butter, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, and fresh grated parmesan...scrambled eggs with chili and tortillas, fried rice, anything in a crock pot, fresh french bread, brie, and raw veggies and fruit, quesadillas, bean burritos with salsa and avocado, nachos with refried beans, taco meat, chili, cheese, avocados, chopped tomatoes, olives, and onions, whatever your family likes, frittatas, meatloaf with baked potatoes and a veg casserole, salad with seafood or meat, and soups or stews that you cook on a weekend. All of the above take very little effort, they're much better than what you get out when you're just stopping anywhere for a quick meal, and you end up eating fewer calories.

[fspbt2]

This is a great thread. My family has always spent way too much eating out. We're saving for our May trip to DW, and now I have another (obvious) way to force savings. So I'm joining you too. I'll leave my eating out to 1x a week & see what happens. I can tell you that I'm probably looking at $700-800 savings a month. I can probably PAY for our trip just in my eating out savings. Wish us luck, and good luck to all of you as well.

[jeancbpugh]

We used to eat out several times a week. Now we eat out 1x a month maximum. When our youngest developed a food allergy, eating out became impractical. Now we DISLIKE eating out. Home cooked food tastes so much better! And it is cleaner and safer (ever been in a restaurant kitchen??? yuck).

When we go on vacation to Disney we eat out every meal. Everyone comes home feeling a bit sick, and definitely sick of restaurants!

So you can successfully make the change to home food.

[pjlla]

:jumping1: (That is a picture of my family, jumping up and down as we say...) US TOO, US TOO! We decided a few months ago to cut WAAAAY back on our eating out to save $$. The problem is, I HATE to cook, but I love to eat! (And I am easily swayed, even when I am trying to save $$) Plus, with DH on Atkins, me on WW (off and on), and DS with food allergies, I make 3-4 different meals many nights.... it gets tiring! Anyhow, I figured out how much it costs when we go out to a few of our "regular" places, and then figured out if we skipped them for a month how much we would save, and then figured out what that would buy at WDW or DL. I made a big poster of "saving" ideas for the hallway and posted our goals.

For example, the poster reads....

Skipping three meals (for 4 people) at Friendly's during one month = approximately $90= 1 night hotel while at Disneyland!

Skipping 3 meals (for 3 people) at McDonald's x 1 month = approximately $33 = about 1 day of a 3 day child's park hopper to DL.

It really helped to break it down and see EXACTLY what we are saving for! Hopefully it will help the spenders in my family (kids and DH) and encourage them to help me save! ..................P

[jlb]

We were eating out and ordering out way too much before our last Disney Trip, then I bought a cook book from Southern Living at Home called Easy Weeknight Favorites. I have recommended it to all my friends and they can not believe how much easier it is with some of these ideas rather than ordering out. It is awesome, now we compare notes for our typical order out nights and share recipes. This cookbook is worth taking a look at, even my husband agrees that we saved the price of the book in three take out meals.

Good Luck.

[CajunDixie]

Well, since we're all picking on ceecee I'll add a few more cents savings to wide_awake's idea. :wave:
Figure a large loaf of fresh french bread at my local grocery...fresh and hot three times per day, $1.49
Instead of paying $1.49 for 1 loaf of bread you could look for a bread outlet. I pay $.39-$.59 for all kinds of bread including the low carb breads, wheat, honey, buttermilk, sub buns, mini sub buns, rolls, pita pockets, English muffins, hot dog buns, hamburger buns (sometimes the restaurant big packs), and bagels.
I've copied a few of the Subway subs in the last few weeks to help save money. Kids love the Chicken Bacon Ranch, meatball, or Chicken Pizzaolie (ok can't remember how to spell it :rotfl: ) It's very handy to buy chicken breasts on sale and precut and cook it. Then freeze in small bags. Whole chickens I cook extra then use the food processor to "grind" the meat up and freeze. When needed for sandwhich spread simply thaw and toss in the other ingredients.

As for me...I did work today but came home for a quickie lunch and saved myself $5. That $5 I'll transfer to my ING account Friday. :banana:

[DisneyPoly]

Count me in on this one. I just got done telling my family the same thing. We could save so much money if we ate in. It's not even a treat to eat out anymore. There are some nights the kids actually ask to eat in.

I have put my foot down and the money spent on dining out is going in the Disney fund. I told them they will appreciate eating out in Disney when we go in March.

Good luck everyone :wizard:

[happybratpack]

We were eating out and ordering out way too much before our last Disney Trip, then I bought a cook book from Southern Living at Home called Easy Weeknight Favorites. I have recommended it to all my friends and they can not believe how much easier it is with some of these ideas rather than ordering out. It is awesome, now we compare notes for our typical order out nights and share recipes. This cookbook is worth taking a look at, even my husband agrees that we saved the price of the book in three take out meals.

Good Luck.

Thanks for this tip, I'm going to check it out! Hope everyone has good luck saving $$$ this week! :)

[Savin4Disney]

Okay I went out to lunch..but Lisa paid. We had a coupon too. But I will be putting 5.00 in the basket.

I will have to eat out Thursday-Sunday since we are traveling to a funeral. but I am going to keep up with this until then. And I am going to be careful eating out not getting combo meals, drinking water etc.

[MrsPete]

I'd never make it to Disney on this challenge! We eat out about once every three weeks. However, it's probably a good idea for most people for both financial and health reasons.

Here are some ideas to help you in your new "eating in" challenge:

When you make a casserole, make up two and freeze one. You now have an instant meal to be used on a night when you just really don't want to cook. Making double the same thing doesn't take more time or more clean-up effort, but you reap double the results.

Look into the "once a month cooking" concept. It takes organization and a whole day's work (once a month), but you can fill your freezer and remove eating-out temptation.

Buddy up with a friend who's also trying to do the same thing. You make dinner for her family on Monday night, and she makes for your family on Wednesday night. Again, double the results.

When you just can't manage to cook tonight, run by the grocery store deli. You can pick up a ready-cooked chicken, potato salad, and some green beans. Yes, it'll cost more than cooking from scratch, but it'll be less than half the cost of eating out. It's better to compromise than to give in altogether.

When you do eat out, skip sodas or alcoholic drinks. You can really slice your bill this way.

[happybratpack]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone here for the support since I posted this yesterday. It's fun that everyone is getting involved! :cool1:

[fspbt2]

Happybratpack--Thanks for starting this post. I can't believe how motivated I've been since reading the suggestions. I'm even going to join IMG. I've heard about it from this and other posts. If this works out, I'll just keep going. My family LOVES going to DW, and the idea that we could afford a yearly trip really gets everyone excited. My kids are mostly grown (19 & 21), but even they get really geeked when we've planned another trip. As a status report, I figure we saved about $40 yesterday by eating food at home that I ALREADY had in my cubboard & frig. Can't wait for May......(my trip to DW).

[ceecee]

All right....I'm convinced. Since this is grocery day, I will make my own "fast food". I make chili quite a bit but end up throwing a lot away, since we have no freezer space and after having it for dinner 2 times and lunch we are tried of it. I will try a smaller batch this time.

[reesecup]

Let's see here; before our Disney trip this past Dec., my DH and I (and the kids, usually) were eating out way, way too much. Our lives get so busy, that it was just easy to grab something out. So, I started thinking about it. And really, we were eating out at least three times a week. And not cheap meals either.
I thought we needed to eat out after church every Sunday. Since we got back from Disney, we have eaten at home every Sunday so far. Yipeee! Don't know what that saving is yet and I haven't been putting it into a jar or anything.

I think we have eaten out, sit down, since we got back two or three times. And I started a "your special night" deal that everyone is enjoying. The kids get to chose what they want to eat on a Fri/Sat. (We had pancakes for supper one night for DS). We all take turns. BTW...my turn, my DH said he was going to take me out, so that was nice.

But , honestly I was figuring that we were spending a good $75 or more a wk on eating out. That sure adds up over time. And it would pay for some really nice meals at Disney that we know we are going to do when we go!

I don't eat out that much at lunch time. I usually take my lunch so that saves.

I think I might start putting our money saved in jars as well. If only I would stop finding other things to buy, like DVC!!! :teeth:

[jeancbpugh]

I used to spend $ on lunch out on busy days. Noone wants to cook when they are starving and in a hurry! They want to eat right away!

I save lots of money and calories by making soup once a week or so for my lunch, then freezing individual bowls of it. I got ceramic soup bowls with rubber lids (by Corningware), so I can freeze, then microwave, then eat out of the same attractive container. :banana: It is easy and superfast. :banana:

By making a different soup each week, I have choices in the freezer.

[ncbyrne]

When the kids were home, we used to have an international night every week. Each week a different country. Everyone in the family had to help - DH and I would decide on a menu (tons of recipes to choose from online). The kids had to research food customs, and a bit of geography, history, whatever. We would also learn one phrase in their language. Helped keep us all interested in eating at home! Fun, and educational at the same time.

[marcyinPA]

When you do eat out, skip sodas or alcoholic drinks. You can really slice your bill this way.


I totally agree with this!! My dh took me to lunch for Valentines Day yesterday, and we used a coupon. It was for a "buy one get one free entree". Lunch cost us $7.49, (yes for the two of us!) but we both got sodas which were $1.99 each. I NEVER get soda (only water) for this very reason, but yesterday I was just in the mood for a diet coke. What a splurge! LOL But it tacked on $4.00 to our bill, and neither of us got refills!! What a waste of money!!

Marcy

[ceecee]

Ok....I made subs tonight $1.50 for the bread, $4.50 for lunchmeat and cheese, $1.00 tomato. We normally get tons of veggies at Subway so there were complaints there. I saved $2.00. With meat and cheese $4.99 a lb (only 1/2 of meat on the whole thing) I couldn't have done better. The chili fixins are up to $6.00.

[fspbt2]

Keep up the good work Ceecee!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:

[torianne31]

We've cut down too. I'm trying to keep up to one meal out per week and one fast food/takeout/pizza night. This is a stretch for us, who could go weeks without eating in.

I'm finding it's easier than I thought. We eat better when I cook because I always include fruits and vegetables. It's so much less expensive. DH and I used to spend upward of 300 or so per week on eating out. Now I cook double and triple portions and freeze them and I'm learning to love my crock pot. I plan our meals a week in advance and we pretty much eat whatever is on sale.

This is a little off topic, but you mentioned learning to love your crockpot. Well, I love to cook, so any time I have a chance to share this website with a fellow crockpot-er I do.

http://southernfood.about.com/library/crock/blcpidx.htme

I have to work late two nights a week and with a dh, ds14 and ds11 to feed my crockpots (I have 2) come in VERY handy. I hope it helps!

For the record, my dh and I have both committed to taking our lunch to work instead of eating out to help save money for our WDW trip in June. Our kids have also volunteered to take their lunch two days a week. Aren't they sweet???

[Bellefan66]

Isn't it funny how much we eat out,and yet as kids,it was a "treat"? I gave up my latte at Dunkin Donuts every work morning. I added it up,$80 per month...ouch!!!!!!!!! Now,it's really a treat,only Sat.mornings.Guess when you sit down and add up how much we spend on "treats",it's a shocker!! ;)

[BostonRob]

Isn't it funny how much we eat out,and yet as kids,it was a "treat"? I gave up my latte at Dunkin Donuts every work morning. I added it up,$80 per month...ouch!!!!!!!!! Now,it's really a treat,only Sat.mornings.Guess when you sit down and add up how much we spend on "treats",it's a shocker!! ;)


Good for you. I'm amazed at how much money people 'waste' every day, buying coffee in the morning (and afternoon) and buying lunch every day. I look at all these people in my office and wonder, "Are they made of money?"
We're talking about expenses that easily exceed $10 per day. That's $50 per week and $200 per month. $200 per month! Thats a car payment! So that's the way I look at it. Do i want fancy coffee in the morning and afternoon and a big, overpriced lunch everyday, or do I want the convenienve of being a two car family? I'll take the car.

[ElaineHN]

About 2 years ago my hubby was the victim of a 'corporate reorganization' which left him in a job position making about $20,000 less than his previous salary. Due to various issues which I won't go into on this board, he did decide to stay with the company instead of leaving for somewhere else. When it first happened I was envisioning major changes ... having to have the cable cut off, never going to the movies, never shopping for new clothes, scrounging for things to sell on ebay, having to worry about the house payment and utilities, etc. But honestly we've made NO major lifestyle changes ... we haven't had to sell a car or our house, our utility bills are paid on time, we aren't charging our credit cards out the wazoo ... we've made two cuts that have made all the difference in the world ... no daycare/afterschool expenses and much less dinning out!

One advantage was that in his new position his work hours were different and he was able to pick up our kids from school and cut out the need for daycare or after school care ... and he is also able to take college courses two days a week. (He's been trying to finish a physics degree one course at a time for over 10 years now.)

Anyway, the 'no daycare' savings was tremendous, but the only other really big difference we made was that we stopped eating out ALL the time ... we still eat out a couple of times a week, but it's not every night of the week and it's not as expensive of meals as often.

Cooking at home ... especially if you are a careful shopper and buy things that are on sale and stock up when you have good coupons on items ... is much less expensive than eating out all the time. I know some people think using coupons is too much trouble or it really doesn't save you money, but honest to goodness, if you buy things that are on sale and that you'd be buying anyway, you can get some fantastic deals with coupons. Just be smart about it, don't buy things that you wouldn't normally buy or that you could buy a different brand cheaper, just because you have a coupon.

There are some great websites that have done a lot of the work for you already. Cutouthunger -http://www.cutouthunger.org/ has a list of local sales and the matching coupons to help you plan your shopping. Refunding Cents http://www.refundcents.com/ has so much useful money saving information it's impossible to summarize it here. I've bought more 'free' food in the past year than I ever imagined possible ... also free shampoo, toothpaste, cleaning products, etc. And I'm not talking off brands or poor quality stuff ... I mean Crest, Aqua-fresh, Loreal, Kix, Chef-boyardee, Pillsbury, etc. And as for the time involved in clipping and organizing my coupons ... I figure if I save $50 on a shopping trip and I spend 2 hours a week on my coupons then I've made $25 and hour ... not a bad wage! And a lot of weeks my savings are way more than $50. I usually clip my coupons while watching TV in the evenings so it's not taking time away from anything 'more important' anyway.

When we do eat out, I've been trying to stick as much as possible with local restaurants that are available on http://www.restaurant.com/ ... a $25 gift certificate costs $10 ( a savings of $15) but you can almost always find a coupon code to get 50% off that price, meaning that a $25 GC will cost $5 (a savings of $20) ... most of our local restaurants require a $35 minimum purchase to use the $25 certificate. So in the end, I've spent $10 at the restaurant + $5 for the certificate ... a total of $15 for a $35 meal. The tip is extra of course and I usually tip $5-$7 on a $35 check ... but I'd be tipping anyway if I went to a restaurant so that isn't an 'extra' expense. Anyway, we spend around $20 which is more than we might spend for a super cheap fastfood meal ... but these are 'real' meals ... yummy food, some veggies, some non-fried/non-burger kind of meals. When we do eat fast food, I tend to stick with a 'happy meal' for myself ... it's enough food and it's cheaper than the adult combos. Of course this isn't enough food for my hubby or teenage son, but we can usually find something that is on 'special' that they'll eat.

:cheer2: Saving money rocks!
Elaine

[CajunDixie]

:Pinkbounc Bumping :Pinkbounc
How is everyone doing? We have eaten out a couple of times but the one meal was at Cabela's which is 3 hours away so no good way to avoid that since we took our Scout troop there. The other time we ordered pizza.....DH was having withdrawal. ;) I did make 2 larger deposits to our ING accounts in addition to the automatic deposits we have set up.

[pjlla]

We were doing terrific until this week. Had lunch at Uno's after church this past Sunday (but we used a $5 coupon!!). Also, had lunch out at the mall with the kids yesterday... lunch and ice cream totalled about $21. But that was about all I have spent this week for school vacation ... oh, except for renting a few movies ($12). But we have managed to avoid all other eating out over the past few weeks..........P

[jeancbpugh]

:Pinkbounc Bumping :Pinkbounc
How is everyone doing?

Not so great. We ate at McDonald's twice this week! No meals out for the three weeks before though.

[mom23boys]

After reading this post, my DH and I decided to try not to eat out dinner only till the end of Lent. :worried:

Lunches are still okay, he eats almost everyday, he travels and cannot help that, besides his expense account takes care of that.

For me, I am a SAHM and eat out once a week, usally with other mothers and our tots.

Dinner has been hard, I really do not feel like cooking every day, but I have made the most of it. I make a healthy full meal (three course) 4-5 times a week and we have sandwiches or frozen pizza the other nights.

We figure we save about $60-$80 per week and I am saving that for our trip in August. :cool1:

[HenDuck]

This is a great thread, and perfectly timed for me. I just redid my budget and I have vowed to bring lunch 4 days a week from now until I can't take it anymore :teeth: . I figure I have to give myself one day out with friends a week so I don't go completely nuts. :rolleyes:

My goal is to use the money saved to pay for 3 10-day MYW for my trip next year (which is only in the dream stages, at the moment).

We don't really eat dinner out that much, but we do spend a lot of money on 3 things we don't need - soda, ice cream and cookies (of course, my DH and DS would disagree that these things aren't necessities... :rolleyes: )

So I am planning on cutting back on these items too and the money saved there will go towards food for the vacation home I hope to rent when we go to WDW.

I hope we all meet our goals!

Thanks for a great thread!

:banana:

[RobinMarie]

To add to our savings I am trying to use my restaurant.com gift certificates on the one night a week we do eat out.

More savings!

[cocowum]

We used to eat out every night!! it was some kind of fast food during the week then on the weekends it was sit down resturants. I HATE to cook and so does DH. Well DH got offered a great new job, he hated his old job. So I quit my job to move. So I am temporarily SAHM. So I have been cooking every night and after several months I'm getting used to it. Not to say I enjoy it, but I don't hate it as much :rolleyes: What is shocking is the amount of money we are saving!! We always knew we were spending too much money going out to eat but never realized how much. We go to TGIFridays about once a month. gotta have my double glazed ribs fix :teeth: But overall we are eating in. I think it is much easier to cook every night when you don't work outside the home.

[pjlla]

Even got DH in on this one. He will take lunch to work if I pack it, but he has NO motivation to pack it on his own, even to save $$. Well... he has been away for work all week and the expense acct per day is not really generous. But he mentioned he was able to use some coupons, etc to eat cheap lunch to stay within his expense account to "save money for Disney" he said! Three cheers for him!! Maybe all our (me and kids) money saving ideas are finally rubbing off on him!!...........P

[MickeyMonstersMom]

Thanks to everyone for the tips! I'm a single mom and find it hard to work up the energy to cook dinner after the long day at work, not to mention cleaning it up! Using the crock pot more often will certainly help reduce after-school preparation time and generally mean only one cooking pot to clean afterward. The freezer in our new house is too small to even hold the week's groceries, but after some of you reminded me of how economical it is to make more and freeze (especially to take for lunch later!), I'm seriously considering investing in a small chest freezer. I also love the idea of a motivational poster to keep us on track: actually seeing what our savings can bring us may even spur the kids to pack their lunch more often. :)

[pjlla]

Glad to hear that my poster idea could be helpful! I was astonished to realize that skipping three meals out (for the 4 of us) could actually save enough $$ to pay for a child's 3 day park hopper to DL! It certainly helped my motivation to save! I also thought of some smaller savings ideas, like saving a few cents by using less paper towels when we dry our hands, which could equal a few more pressed pennies! It helps you see that it takes big ideas and small ideas to save for something you want! ............P

[Julia M]

I have also been trying to reduce our eating out time. With three kids, a sit down dinner at an inexpensive restaurant can be $60!

So, I try to do some take out, which saves me from cooking, but is less expensive than a resataurant.

Two of my three kids love Chinese food. So I'll buy two 3 items meals at a local fast food Chinese place, for about $11, and it feeds the whole family for dinner.

We have a Papa Murphy's near us, so I use coupons and buy two pizzas for dinner, which also gives lunch leftovers. Cost is about $15.

At Xmas time, many local restaurants give "bonuses" if you buy gift cards. A favorite of ours, the Elephant Bar, gave a $5 gift card for every $25 you spent. I spent $50 and ended up with $60. Then I use one gift card to help reduce the price of the bill.

My kids also like slurpees after school. If they have a friend over, the cost can be over $5! So I make homemade slurpees. And the guests think it's SO cool, especially when I make frozen lemonade.

Julia

[disneymom3]

Hey, guys, I just got a book yesterday from the library and thought of this thread. It is called "How to Feed your Family for $12 a Day." It has a lot of money saving ideas in it and also some really good recipes for various items from soup to bagels to meatballs.

I have gotten really into frugal mode in the last couple of months--sadly I am not trying to save for WDW, I am just trying to pay all the bills, but hey, that is okay. Feels great when everything is paid!

Anyway, I am planning to go through this week and figure out pretty closely how much I am spending on food for the day and then see how much better I can do it. I started today. Bought hamburger for $1.99 lb at Costco and made meatballs instead of buying the Simeks meatballs in the store. So, I figure that was a 50% savings right there. We are also going to make bagels this week. I know I can do it for way less than even the Costco price of $3.49 per doz.

As for eating out, I did go out with friends for brunch today but that was planned long ago. Since the OP started this thread, we have ordered pizza once (and that night my kids declared they like my homemade pizza better. Okay.....note to self, homemade is amazingly cheaper!!) and McDonalds twice in days of desperation. Next Sunday we are going out to dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory and I have already decided that my kids are getting a regular serving of spaghetti to share and DH and I will be drinking water while the kids get the milk that will come with the three dinners we are ordering. They all like hte special cheese there and you can't get it on a kids meal, so they can share a grown up one and mommy will save money! (Shhhh, don't tell that that is the real reason!!)

[wide awake]

As I've posted before we never go out because DS is on a restricted diet. Also I am spoiled on service after being on 2 DCL trips. Anyway, we went to dinner tonight because DS asked...went to Outback Steakhouse because they have a gluten free menu, and they have tips on their web site on how to avoid dairy. Anyway, the meal was good, service was excellent, a nice change from me having to cook, DS was happy...but with tip it came to $80 for the three of us...wouldn't take long to save up enough for WDW.

[mickeyluv]

I really like this thread. I am going to join all of you and take my lunches to work this week. I don't mind sandwiches every so often, but can anyone lend some suggestions on taking lunches to work? Not leftovers though because we rarely have any!! I can't wait to see how much I save this week!! :flower:

[HenDuck]

Just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration!

I just made up my envelopes for MYW tickets and Food. And I've already put my extra money saved from bringing lunch for the week and shopping wisely at the grocery store in each! :cool1:

Woohoo! I can almost smell those churros now... :banana:

I'm slowly starting to realize that I might be able to pull this trip off after all, with a little help from you all! :worship:

Keep the inspiration coming! :cheer2:

THANKS!!!!

princess:

[Gymbomom]

I love this thread too!! :goodvibes
We have been eating out way too much lately. I just love Chick fil A for lunch, so we are trying NOT to eat out this week. I pre planned meals for three nights, the others, will be frozen pizza or such. Friday night we are going for drinks and dinner with three other couples, so I want to save my money for that night as it is unavoidable.
I am going to make my envelopes too! :cheer2:
One for me and DH's AP. I am buying my DS and DD this week with my vacation check. I am giving my mother the money as she is going to buy them with her DVC discount, so that will save some money. I will have to buy ours with no discount, so many dollars to save for that! Then a $200 a day food and expense budget for a family of four for 16 days =$3,200. I hope we don't spend that much but that is the budget. I am planning on bfast in room, lunch sit down meal, and dinner counter service.
We need 3 nights accomadations the first 3 nights, so I need about $450 for that.
Travel will be around $800.
So around $5,000???? I need to get saving.... :blush:

[tinaluis]

I've been following this thread from the start and have finally decided to join you guys too! We don't eat out very often but this thread (and seeing SuperSize Me last night) have finally clinched the deal. DH and I have decided that if we have to get fast food while we're out grocery shopping/running errands because our DDs will just die if they don't eat something right away (LOL), it will only be sour cream and chive baked potatoes at Wendy's (because everything else is SOOOO bad for us). We're really going to try to limit this too for the $$ savings as well as the health savings. Thanks all and keep the suggestions coming!

[Carrie Ellis]

My husband was buying salads everyday at work! I don't know if any of ya'll have ever seen the "buckets" of salad that Costco carries! But they are great! It is fresh green of all types except iceberg lettuce. You can make at least 10 large single servings of salad. it is prewashed. OH! and the best thing! It is $3.99!! wow! :earseek: Now my husband makes a bowl of this almost everynight for work the next day. He keeps a jar of dressing at work. Plus Costco sells 6 cans of chicken breast (really good chicken) for 9.99 (about $1.65 a can). He will take a can to put on his salad somedays. Other days he will take a pouch of tuna or albacore. He get so much more food and healthy for under $2/day. He was spending around $6. Plus I use the salad for dinner at least twice during the week. That 3.99 goes far! ha!

[Gymbomom]

I just wanted to bump this thread. :Pinkbounc
This thread has been the biggest inspiration to me to me to cut back to be able to go to Disney!!! :goodvibes
How is everyone doing this week????
I have been adding to all of my envelopes this week, I have even made some for my upcoming trips later next year.
keep the posts coming as you inspire me to keep at it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:

[MickeyMonstersMom]

I managed to go a full week without eating out, and rewarded myself with $40 for dinner at 'Ohana (already in its designated envelope). However, I brought my lunch only one day last week, and caved in to dinner at our local Mexican restaurant yesterday. Actually, as I see it in print now, that's better than what we had been doing - buying every lunch and eating out 4 or more times each week - so it's still progress...

... I feel better now. :flower:

Best of luck to everyone!! :wizard:

[wide awake]

I really have to admire some of you. We don't really have much choice on the eating out because of DS's diet, so for us to eat at home is just the way it is. Most of you though are making that decision every day, and that is much harder. Even if you cut the lunches and dinners out by half that is a huge improvement and savings for Disney.

[HenDuck]

I just added $$ to my MYW and food envelopes! :cool1: I also rolled some of DH's quarters and put them in with my secret stash.

It was a pretty good week although my one allotted lunch out ended up costing me way more than I thought :guilty: ...I'll have to remind myself to check on the location of these lunches before I agree to attend.

Oh well, still added some nice cash to my stash for WDW!

Hope everyone else did well this week too!

princess:

[Gymbomom]

I was trying to think of more ways to cut back. I told hubby that we are going to get rid of the movie pass at Blockbuster. We love to rent movies, but I am willing to go back to one a week, or not at all.
Then I am going to call the phone company to try to get rid of everything on our phone except call waiting and caller ID. (We have voicemail, etc.)
Total Savings at least $45

[HenDuck]

forgot to add...

I also did some creative grocergy shopping to set myself up for home lunches this week. So I'm all set for the week!

Have a good week everyone!

princess:

[Gymbomom]

Okay....LOL
What was the creative shopping?????

[DissyLove]

I recently booked a Disney trip for June, so until then, I am not doing my usual eating out at lunch, and am making most dinners and bfasts at home. I estimate I will have about $300 in spending money by my trip.

I'd rather spend it at disney!!! I'll keep you posted..

[HenDuck]

Okay....LOL
What was the creative shopping?????


Well, creative for me means planning more than one day in advance! :teeth:

I bought foods that I know I can stretch for dinner and then at least one lunch - lasagne, pork and cabbage. I also bought some lunch items that were on sale - Chunky clam chowder, some oriental noodles and fish cake. And I even had enough room in the old budget to buy a couple of goodies so I won't feel deprived after eating my home lunch!

And, I actually still kept to the weekly grocery budget with $10 left over to kick into the WDW food envelope! wooohooo! :banana:

I know this doesn't sound creative to most people. It's probably what you all do every week, but hey, I'm learning!

princess:

[Gymbomom]

WTG!!!
I know, my latest budget grocery find is the Ramen noodle soup cups. I think they are 29 cents and my daughter LOVES them, like she wants them EVERY day for lunch. I pair with an apple, how cheap is that! She is a great eater and is happy with leftovers and not the norm food.
We homeschool, so that makes it easy not to have to by prepared foods, fun fruits, etc.

[wdwpluto]

We're in the "trying to use up what's in the pantry mode" starting today. I just went over our budget numbers for Jan & Feb and we spent $400/month for groceries for 2 adults :earseek: (we don't eat out much, we had chinese take out at $25 once each month... and we got 3-4 meals out of that, that's included in the $400). We don't have a trip on the horizon, but that's gotta get trimmed regardless. We already bring lunche so I think the problem is that we buy too many pre-package convenience foods. Which is gonna stop unless they're free (or nearly) with coupons.

[Gymbomom]

I agree, I am going to coupon this week with ads on Wed. Plan my menu for NEXT week with the sales. I am going to the store tonight for bread, milk, and yogurt.
That's It. Everything else is coming from the pantry or freezer. I even found strip steaks in the freezer. :)
That way, I can put my $100 grocery allowance in the envelopes. Then whatever I save from entertainment $100 goes in the envelopes. but, my hubby goes to see a concert tonight with buddies and the Mavs game on Thursday night, so he might drink :drinking1 some of that money. :(

[disneymom3]

Well. I gave in to being lazy last week on Monday cause I was sick of eating by myself with the kids and took them out to dinner. We all ordered water though and went to a pizza buffet where it is .50 for each year of age for kids, so we all ate for around $16. NOt too bad for 4 of us. We also went to McDonalds one day and then DH and I had a free evening as G'ma had the kids so we did go out to dinner. Split a burger, but each ordered a drink (We were at Champps--the burgers are big but the beverages not worth it.) So, about $20 for that. More than we would usually spend in a week actually. My kids couldn't believe we were going to McDonalds. We hadn't been there in ages!

I am having success with planning not only our meals, but WHEN we will eat out. It is easier to resist the temptation if I can tell myself--we are going out on such and such a date. For instance, the first Sunday in April, we are going to the Old Spaghetti Factory. It's a long way off, but we are busy unitl then so it will go fast.

I find that once we do go out, it is so much easier to just fall back into the old routine. And then it takes a little while to get back to economical meals at home. Anyone else notice that?

[Gymbomom]

On alot of the threads, I see people putting their saved money into ING accounts. How do I go about doing that?
For the next 4 vacations I am trying to save about $200 a week, I was planning on turning them over to travelers checks, but wonder about the ING thing....

[Gymbomom]

Never mind............. :teeth:
I saw the thread at the top of the board.......... :rolleyes:

[torianne31]

I know this is a little off topic, but after I started putting money in an envelope for money I'd saved by not eating out at lunch, I started looking for other ways to cut corners. I started evaluating how much DH and I spend on our DS'S (14 and 11) "entertainment" every month. I was flabbergasted (and a little ashamed) when I saw it on paper. Needless to say, our family is now cutting BIG corners here on our way to saving for our first trip to WDW in June!!

This is the breakdown of what our kids USED to do:
--Skating every Friday night with friends - $20 per child
--Movie or Arcade every Saturday evening with friends- $15 per child
--New music cd or used video game every week - average $12 per child
--Drum lessons for oldest every Monday night - $25
--Electric Guitar lessons for youngest every Monday night - $22
--"Snack Money" for school - $10 per week per child (This is over and above regular lunch money - for things like icecream at lunch, drinks at afterschool activities, etc.)

Total spent on kids per month for entertainment (and that's not even counting stuff we do as a family - that's just "THEIR" stuff!) - $636 month. Needless to say I've sat them down and told them we are paring down our spending in honor of our trip to WDW in June (and probably some things for good....$636 JEESH!!).

DH and I have now agreed to pay for skating 2 Fridays a month (at only $10 per child), 1 movie a month (at only $10 per child), NO CD's a month - they can buy these with their allowance (YES they get their age in allowance every week and we were STILL footing the bill for all that stuff!!), two guitar / drum lessons per month, and $5 for snack money a week. We went from $636 per month to $210 per month for a savings of $426 per month which is going into the Disney envelope. We started this the beginning of March, so in time for our trip in June we should have over $1200 saved. I'm thinking about starting to eat out again!! :rotfl2:

Seriously, if you have teenagers or "tweens" evaluate how much money you spend on them...you might get as much of a shock as I did. And it's not hurting me a bit to save that money... :smooth:

[HenDuck]

wow torianne31, good for you!

It's amazing how much we can spend on our loved ones and not even realize it. I used to buy DS a book or toy a couple of days a week at lunch time because I had nothing else to do. It's so easy to justify because it's not for ourselves, but for our kids.

Now I eat my home lunch at lunchtime and read the DisBoards! :disrocks:

I just added up my upcoming April expenses, birthdays for 2 relatives, secretary's day, etc...OMG...I feel a little ill... :sick:

But at least I've been making a dent in my WDW envelopes.

I'll just have to suck it up until May... :worried:

Hope everyone's doing ok this week. Have a great weekend!

princess:

[ElaineHN]

For gifts for grown-ups ... I just ordered lots of Calphalon cookware. Several different pieces are $9.99 on Amazon right now and ship free with a $25 order ... Calphalon Commercial Hard-Anodized 9-Inch, 2-Quart Chef's Skillet with Lid
- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004WYJS/104-7604285-6019944?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance
Calphalon Commercial Hard-Anodized 2-1/2-Quart Shallow Saucepan with Lid
- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004WYJU/ref=k_deav_acc_1_1/104-7604285-6019944?v=glance&s=kitchen
Simply Calphalon Nonstick 1-Quart Saucepan with Stainless-Steel Lid - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001POJF6/104-7604285-6019944?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance


Gifts for little boys ... Amazon.com has LOTS of little tykes $9.99 and $19.99 toys that are "Buy 1 get one FREE" and they ship FREE too. So two nice gifts for $9.99 or two very nice gifts for $19.99 ... http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/13892231/ref%3Damb%5Fleft-2%5F192974%5F1//104-7604285-6019944

For little girls ... you may find some things in the Little Tykes deals ... but you might also want to check out the 'SALE' section on the American girl website and use code 137807 for $10 off your order (order must be at least $10.01 before shipping)

http://store.americangirl.com/pls/ag/ag_sale_splash?catid=382085
this link goes to the 'sale' section but you can click 'Back to All' to see the entire menu. You can use this code over and over, so if you want lots of things, don't put them all in one order, break it into however many $10+ orders that you can and that way you can take $10 off each order ... though you will have to pay shipping on each order, but it should still save you $5-$6 per order.

My daughter has given several of the Angelina Ballerina puzzle sets as gifts ... other good deals are the books and some of the clothing. The "Girls of Many Lands" dolls are collectible dolls and are more for display than really intended for playing with, but for $10.95 with shipping they make an impressive gift.

Hope this helps!
Elaine

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Want to save $$$, find GREAT deals, and stretch your budget
as much as I do? Check out "Refunding Makes Cents" -
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[l2much4u]

We have a family of six and also eats out at least x2-x3 a week... Lunches for just us 2 during the week at least 3 times... Now, we eat at home...everytime one of us say "oh let's just grab something while we are out" we owe the jar $10 for every person that would have been eating out... it's worked great... "jinx Jar" is what we call it...if we "borrow" from the jar... we owe the jar back the amount that was in the jar... trust me...we haven't touched it... all has worked great for us....

[CajunDixie]

Anyone feel like Wendy's tonight? Check out this thread and I'll bet you save yourself a few $$$. Maleficent2 's Thread (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=773730)

[CajunDixie]

Ut ohhhhhhhh did I kill the thread with the nasty Wendy's prize? :blush:

This week we did great!! No eating out at all. The crockpot came to the rescue twice this week. This coming week though is Spring Break and I know I'll be taking the boys out at least one day when we travel to a larger city to do some clothes shopping. But since it's just the boys and I, it will most likely be a fast food restaurant like Coney Island or Fazoli's.

[happybratpack]

Just seeing how everyone is doing this last week. :flower:

We've really cracked down on not going out, especially this last couple weeks. I had house problems come up and dumped all of our spending money on that so we're really having to save.

Something I find really interesting from my personal point of view (and remember, we usually used to eat out each day). Usually every night when I go to bed I have stomach problems, bloating, yucky feeling, etc. Since we stopped eating out I haven't had the problem once since the first day of stopping. So, it's another perk. ;)

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm going grocery shopping tonight to try to get some new things to make, I'm tired of eating the same stuff. :)

[mrsboz]

On the contrary, referring to the Wendy's post. I am pleased that people make us aware of how disgusting these places can be. I haven't been able to go to Wendy's or McDonald's these last few weeks. It can only be good for my wallet and waistline. I used to love to go to these places but can't seem to bring myself to do it anymore.

[mrsbornkuntry]

Just seeing how everyone is doing this last week. :flower:

Something I find really interesting from my personal point of view (and remember, we usually used to eat out each day). Usually every night when I go to bed I have stomach problems, bloating, yucky feeling, etc. Since we stopped eating out I haven't had the problem once since the first day of stopping. So, it's another perk. ;)

:)

Our family rarely eats out because it's so expensive to feed a family of 7, but we travelled from NC to WA last month and ate out lunch and dinner nearly every day and my dh commented that it upset his stomach, too. I usually stick to salads and other light foods when we eat out because it will bother me, also. :wave2: I'm so proud of everyone who's taking this challenge!

[MickeyMonstersMom]

Unfortunately, we fell off the food cart in a big way this past week - but it was because my mother had surgery, with significant travel to get to the hospital and then eating either there or on the road for each of the six days she was hospitalized. My budget was shot and then some! On the fortunate side, my mom is home now, so it's just a matter of getting back into the routine of eating at home. I'm actually so glad to be back home that cooking dinner sounds good!

[Barbmouse63]

Hey guys! Check out www.savingdinner.com for menu mailers, grocery lists, books, etc. There are also frugal and low carb options! Saves $! :cheer2:

[CajunDixie]

:jumping3: Huge bump for those making New Years Resolutions to save money.