I noticed I was spending a significant amount of money on food, and we’re not talking groceries here. My best estimate is that over the past few months I’ve spent over a quarter of my paychecks on eating out at various restaurants around town.
With the rising cost for mostly everything, I opted to work on changing my current eating habits. Starting this pay period, I’ve resolved to give up eating out. No restaurants and no delivery if I’m paying for it (I will not turn down an offer to go out for food of course). I’ve made only one exception to the rule, which is the Kalamazoo Ribfest that’s going on this weekend.
We’ll see how my resolution holds in this coming week.
Tags: food, saving money
10 Aug 08
9:52 pm
I’ve been trying to do the same time. I think it’s damn near-impossible to go Cold Turkey, though, so giving yourself a once-a-week allotment or whatever might be good. Especially if you plan it out in advance for perhaps a Saturday Night or so, so that way you can look forward to it all week! haha, that’s the tactics I would use . .
Learning to cook also helps this out, since the more tasty things I can come up with at home, the less inclined I am to eat out. Do you cook very often?
10 Aug 08
10:50 pm
Yeah I’ve learned to cook a variety of foods, but I’ve kept to some basics right now to maintain the general principle of spending less money.
Big items on the menu currently are hot dogs/chili dogs, chicken, pasta (spaghetti & chicken Parmesan), tacos, sandwiches, and pork (loin, ribs).
Also, I’ve limited myself to one soda a day right now, of course that being a Den Pop.
12 Aug 08
12:12 pm
I’ve been doing very similar dishes . . you’re right, we’ve got to stick to the basics and work our way up!
I used to drink soda on a daily / hourly basis and I’ve changed that habit. Now I try not to buy it unless it’s when I eat out–only once in a great while do I buy a bottle from the store, and luckily since I don’t go near the Den very often anymore, I’m not tempted to drink it. It’s a whole lot of calories without much purpose than draining your wallet, tasty and tempting as it may be!
I wish you the best of luck in sticking with your goal!