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?
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:
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.
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.
How much are you spending by eating out? Find out and start saving your money!
About The Author: Sandy Baker is a freelance writer for a variety of online newsletters. She is a published writer who regularly provides useful tips that people can use to better their lives. Contact her at ContentBySandy@verizon.net
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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.
Ann didn't really cook it from scratch, which would have saved her more. Instead of buying a bag of fries for almost $4, I could have bought at 20 pound bag of potatoes for that same $4 that would have lasted several meals.
Those are good ideas. But I don't cook from scratch and we are not big eaters on left overs. Some foods we do enjoy eating the next night or two. A bag of potatoes goes to waste every time I buy it to make a certain dish we like. I use a few out of it and then the rest ends up in the trash can.
We use coupons and special deals most of the time when we eat out. For example we go to pizza hut who has their pizzas for 10.00 dollars and we order 2 and we get 2 meals out of it and sometimes enough left for me to have for lunch one day.
When we eat out we use 2 for 1 coupons, eat from the dollar menu or we share meals. Instead or ordering $2+ drinks, we order ice water with lime or lemon which can save around $10 for a family of 4! If it's carry out, instead of fries with our sandwiches we will eat chips or pretzels to save money and don't forget a side salad is also easy to make and healthy. Also you can buy salad fixings and use those same things for tacos and pocket sandwiches or even omelets, that way they don't spoil on you.
I buy up ground beef when it is on sale and make patties, meatloaf, taco meat and sloppy joes. A lot of this can be frozen and thawed when you don't have time to make dinner from scratch. I also share these with friends when I know it's been a particularly difficult week for them.
When I make a casserole I try to make two so I can freeze one and use it when I don't feel like cooking.
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