For those of you that cut back on eating out....

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We're taking a bit of a different path. Eating out had become kind of a habit and we were doing it about 2 x / week. Dh or DD would suggest it and I'd go along because it was a lot easier than cooking.

So we went cold turkey as of Jan 1st. No eating out at all until our Disney trip (early Feb) and then we're doing it again after we get back. Our goal is to make our new "norm" Not eating out and have eating out become something special / rare again. Once we start eating out again - in a few months we'll do it only once/ week.

 

[princesspeach]

We used to eat out a lot. We stopped a couple of years ago. Now we only eat out on vacations. We usually have about 3 weeks of vacation a year and we splurge big time. Deluxe dining at disney all signatures , 4 star restaurants, bottles of wine etc etc. We used to waste alot of money eating at chain restaurants and fast food. Now we save and splurge on the real good stuff. I don't even like the chain places any more. We also stay in nicer hotels. When we were eating out all the time I could never afford $300+ a night hotels. Now its no problem. I am amazed at how much more money we have for vactions since we stopped all the nickel and dime eating out.

 

[AnninIowa]

It is just me and my dad but we are cutting back on eating out. I don't budget an amount for groceries, just try to meal plan, shop sales and use coupons. We have decided we will eat out once per week and we try to stick to places where, with tip, it will cost less than $25. Little things like not getting drinks, just water; sharing an appetizer and entee rather than two entrees, skipping dessert, etc. We have also been having lunch rather than dinner at some local restaurants - lunch is cheaper, we get to try some new places, we don't have to go out when it's dark and snowy, and filling up on a big lunch makes me only want a snack for dinner.

 

[bonjoe07]

OMG I can't imagine that.

We NEVER eat fast food, it's terrible and it is so unhealthy. We just say no. We have to pass every fast food restaurant in town but when we moved into this house we agreed..NO. If ones of us gets weak the other one stands up and says NO. So far it's been a year and not a single time. You just have to stand up to it.

We almost never eat in chain restaurant. Again, they are high calorie and the food is crap. I know someone is going to debate me about their favorite meal. I seriously think that if you knew the calories and the preservatives that are in that food, you might rethink it. All we have in my town for chain restaurants is Applebees and Ruby Tuesdays. That food is terrible so we don't ever give in. Unfortunately when we moved last year we had to and I was miserable.

Once you get used to healthy delicious food you won't want to eat out. I learned how to cook and I am a great cook. Every week I make meals that my family is excited about. I change things up and always make old favorites. It didn't just happen. It takes effort but it's worth it.

I started to cook and freeze favorites so even night when I am tired or we are out late there is always something to eat.

It takes some effort and some planing but trust me it's so much cheaper, so much healthier and your family deserves the best don't they? We are not doing any kind of favor for our kids by giving them fast food or eating out too much. We have to teach them how to be adults and you want then to sit down at home with their family and share a meal.

I wish I had 1,500 to eat out because that is a Disney trip to me. I would be going a lot more than I do!!!

Lisa

Maybe I should have been more clearer! We DID NOT spend $1400 on fast food! We had a get together with about 30 people and buying food (not fast food haha) for the whole meal (adds up), travelling 6 hours for another family trip twice in december(adds up) We had 2 birthdays last month (cake, etc). I am guessing you make your own meals at WDW too, since you never eat out? Yup but $1500 is what we spend in December which also included our groceries for that month. I am happy that we had a great get together might not happen again. I eat healthy as much as possible (I am a nurse, I see the down side of eating unhealthy all the time!)

 

[ChisJo]

I make the budget for my husband, step son and me for groceries. We limit ourselves to $500/month. Most months, I don't go over $400. A month or two a year, I may go over. It usually balances out.

I used to spend around $750/month on food. Thats way too much and we were wasting food. I started couponing (I know this isn't for everyone) and I really watch the sales. I also live really close to a produce outlet and bread outlet, so I am able to get my fruit and veggies for about half the price. I get all my meat in bulk and I divide it up (and date the package...I don't let meat go beyond 3 months in my freezer). I always make extra for leftovers. This helps save against eating out. I buy snacks so I always have something on hand in case I get hungry on the road - this usually ties me over until I get home. If we eat out, we limit it to once a month, and we usually ensure that if we do, we get a discount on groupon (or other website like it). We hardly eat fast food....that stuff is so unhealthy for you. I make all my food from scratch (I work full time - 5x 12 hr shifts a week....)

If I am at the end of the month and I have reached my budget, I look through my cupboards to see what I have, and if I think I could make something out of it, I go to a website that has a recipe finder based on the ingredients that I have. 9 times out of 10, I can find something that is tasty and works, and is quick to make. This has helped me immensely! Also, you can cook anything in a slow cooker. I use mine about twice a week! I'll throw it all in before I go to bed, and my husband turns it off in the morning. We then both have something for a lunch.

We may be frugal, but we have really learned to utilize our money for other areas in our life. We are basically debt free, and we have the luxury of travelling now 3-4 times a year. When we do travel, we also try to eat in as much as we can - this saves us money for other things on our trip!

 

[lady_bug_888]

About a year ago we took a hard look at our spending habits and eating out was definitely an area where we were spending too much! We vowed to cut back on eating out and it's been a long road for us but we have definitely cut back a LOT!

First, some background info here. We live in Canada and we live in a hamlet (less than 200 people in our hamlet). The nearest town is a half hour drive and the nearest city is an hour and a half drive. I am a substitute teacher and our district is so large that it takes more than three hours of highway driving to go from one end to the other so I work all over the place! My DH thankfully works in the nearest town so his commute is only about 35-40 min (he works just outside of town...the other side of course!).

Anyways, taking that into consideration, we realized that basically everytime we went into town we were stopping for something: a cheeseburger, coffee, sandwich...whatever. Not always unhealthy stuff but definitely more expensive than cooking at home. We started by trying to set a budget. We were realistic and set a $125/wk. budget to include groceries/eating out (family of 3...now 4). We blew our budget every week and dipped into other budget categories. We gave it a few months but it just didn't work for us because we didn't stick to it!

Next we tried having a seperate budget for eating out. This worked better but we would still dip into grocery money if we wanted something. At this point I think we were stopping for something about 50% of the time. BIG improvement...but still not enough. I wanted to stop eating out so much for my health (I'm pooh sized, my DH is piglet sized...kids are so skinny and grow slowly) because I want to set a good example for my kids and I also wanted to control our budget.

Since our second attempt helped but really wasn't working for us, we went to #3 which is what we do now. My DH gets paid 2x/mth. We get take-out 2x/mth usually just after he gets paid. We DON'T eat out after my paychecks. In addition everyone in our house gets an allowance. DH and I both get $20/wk. and kids get $1/wk./year of age. That money can be used for coffee or whatever (I buy coffee...DH buys beer!). We have been able to stick to this so we eat out WAY less than we used to...twice a month with the odd coffee thrown in! It must be mentioned that I don't spend my whole allowance on coffee...I buy things for the kids, gifts for my DH or family and a LOT of my allowance goes into our Disney jar!

What has also helped my family is that I develop a monthly menu and I do a monthly grocery trip. After that grocery trip I go to the grocery store 1x/wk. to get bread, produce, lunch meat and milk. I am very good at resisting any other impulse buys.

Sometimes it's still hard to be in town and not grab something. If we're hungry we have to wait half an hour to get home (at least) and then the amount of time it would take to make something so to combat that, I carry snacks in my van at all times so we can eat crackers/granola bars or drink water to help combat the hunger (although it's hard to keep water in the van right now because it always freezes!).

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

I find it helps to spend a little more on better quality Food to cook at home. In the end it saves from going out because "there's nothing to cook"

This!

If you have a meal idea for home every night, you'll be less apt to come home from work and call for pizza or go out. I make a list of meals I have food for and choose one in the am. Sometimes I even set out some of the ingredients to help remind me when I get home or at least be able to call the kids and have them start

 

[lucyem]

We weaned ourselves off using a lot of the tips people mentioned. We made sure we always had easy meals on hand for those nights we wanted something really quick. We made an effort to make better foods at home. Tonight we are going out but having a small dinner at home and then will have some drinks, split an appetizer and dessert out.

 

[java]

Also having emergency parts to go in the freezer- For example I have frozen pizza dough*homemade- and sauce for emergency calzones or pizza for dinner. I also have chicken cutlets (also homemade) frozen and ready to go for whatever.

If on the weekends you can make 2 Emergency night meals to go into your freezer you'll be ahead of the game.

Also find a couple 10 minute dinners you can make- I have used the sauted chicken, broccoli with ramen in a crunch.

Having chopped ingredients also helps.

I have a couple no-brainer kind of recipes that I can fall back on too.

In fact today I am making one of them - breakfast fried rice (has bacon and eggs in it- cheap easy and filling!)

On healthier notes- I always have salad and grilled chicken breasts ready for a quick salad dinner.

And breakfast for dinner is always a hit too.
Good luck and once you stop it is actually easy. It's making the break that's hard.

 

[Ava]

To stick with eating at home, you have to have a meal plan. Know a week ahead what you will be having each night for dinner and have the needed groceries on hand to prepare. If you work outside the home, look into freezer meals to make on the weekend and do most of your prep work the night before. If you don't plan ahead, dinner time just sneaks up on you and you will be to tired and hungry to cook.

This was key for us in sticking to eating at home. I grocery shop once a week; as I'm making my shopping list, I also make a list of 7 dinners for that week. That way I can make sure I have all the ingredients on-hand for what I'm going to cook that week and base my meals around what's on sale as much as possible. I also try to keep ingredients for some easy meals in the pantry (pasta & jarred sauce, rice & beans, etc) just in case something happens & I can't cook what I planned, we have a back up & don't have to order out.

It's hard to resist eating out sometimes when you first start cutting back, but the money savings (and health benefits, since restaurant food is often higher in fat/calories that what you'd cook at home) is worth it. It also turns eating out into a treat & something you can look forward to doing on occasion, instead of something that's just the norm.

 

[njmomtoone]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I made up a menu for tonight through January 31st. I allowed us take out next week ($5 pizza on Wed) and take out the following week. I have some new recipes as well as some old standards. I hope to not have to go in the food store after this unless I need milk or bread.

I also need to work on bringing lunch to work too..hoping some of those leftovers will work out.

I am also going to stay out of WalMart and Target which are also money traps!!

Wish me luck!

 

[luvmy3jewels]

My family has definitely blown entirely too much money (and calories) on eating out in the past. Dh and I both work, and with three busy kids we were finding it way to easy to just eat out (at around $50 a meal). I have been doing much better since November and the following are tips that have helped me.

1) Plan ahead and start with a survey of your freezer and pantry to use up what you have.

2) Cook extra servings to freeze for an easy weeknight meal. This works especially well for things like soup, spaghetti sauce, etc.

3) When you are making a meal that calls for fresh veggies (carrots, onions, peppers, celery, etc) chop up enough to freeze a couple of baggies that can be frozen and used for a quicker weeknight meal.

4) Plan at least one meal a week as a "budget" meal. For us, this is often a grilled cheese with soup kind of night.

5) When you do want to avoid having to cook, get take-out instead of eating at a restaurant. You can save the money from not paying for drinks or a tip and it may keep you from splurging on that spur of the moment appetizer or desert. We have found that we can easily save $15 - $20 from the cost of restaurant meals by getting take-out.

6) Use a crockpot. I try to use our crockpot on the nights that I know I am going to have the greatest temptation to eat out. If I know that I have a meal mostly cooked already at home, it's much easier to resist that temptation!!

Good luck. Once you break the habit, it becomes a lot easier to cook at home.