Reigning in the Dining Out Budget
Posted by Lise on 29 Aug 2009 at 01:18 pm | Tagged as: frugality
I have a confession to make.
I am a bad frugal blogger. I’ve spent over $350 this month on dining out.
To be perfectly honest, restaurant meals regularly make me a liar when it comes to frugality. Every month I tell myself, “Okay, Lise. You can’t afford to spend more than $100 this month on dining out.” Every month I fail.
Back in October 2007, I even set a goal of not eating out for a month. I met it… then when to Outback Steakhouse the very next evening for dinner.
I hate this habit of mine, not only because it’s a budget buster, but because a lot of the restaurants near me aren’t even that good. Considering that I live in throwing distance of several farm stands, in the right season, I can easily create my own meals out of high quality ingredients.
… well, except for that whole hating to cook thing. Oh, I suppose I don’t hate it. But I don’t derive joy from it, either. When I cook, my only goal is to get out of the kitchen as fast as possible with something edible.
My husband does a lot of the cooking, and often he aims for the extravagant. He’s been perfecting a coconut-lime cheesecake recipe for a month and four iterations now. Man cannot live on cheesecake alone.
Plus, what I like about eating out is more than just the food.
Let’s take the Breakfast Issue. I’d say probably 85% of our restaurant expenses involve breakfast. Breakfast, in addition to being my favorite meal, is one of the least adultered meals. There is only so much you can fake eggs, bacon, toast, etc. On the weekends, it’s not unusual for us to eat breakfast out both Saturday and Sunday, usually at Bickford’s or the local cafe, The Ugly Omelet.
There are added benefits to these meals, however. If I get out of the house in the morning, I’m less likely to nap later in the day. I love the opportunity to sit across the table from my husband and have somebody else wait on us. I like to support local businesses. In the end, breakfast out is more of an event than it is a meal.
So where does the solution lie? One meal out per weekend isn’t going to break the budget… but more than that probably is.
Anyone have any experience with or advice about keeping dining out bills in line?
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That’s so funny you posted this. I just posted the other day about how to eat out for free, or really cheap.
http://under1000permonth.blogspot.com/2009/08/yep-i-eat-out-lot.html
Hi Lise,
A few ideas that will unfortunately put you in the kitchen but may help with the eating-out bill.
1. Making up food ahead of time. You could cook up burritos, biscuits with sausage/bacon and egg, pancakes and waffles, freeze them and reheat when needed. Burritos and sandwiches can be reheated in the microwave. I like reheating frozen pancakes in the toaster. Dress up the burritos and pancakes with different kinds of toppings.
Same cook ahead and freeze could help with other meals. Even cooking up chicken or browning ground beef in big batches and then using as needed would help with the reluctance to cook.
2. Make an eating out spending category and stick to it. This is a tough one but I believe firmly in working within limits. If you know that there is only $10 left in the eating out budget and it is only the 15th of the month, it may help encourage you to eat in rather than out.
3. Keep lots of bread and sandwich fixings around. I am a big believer in the toasted cheese sandwich–easy and quick. It never hurts to have cold cuts, cheese, tuna salad or other items for quick assembly and hunger satisfaction.
4. Make it to the farmer’s stand once a week and buy a new item to try along with old favorites. Who knows what you might like?
Just a few thoughts that might get the creative juices flowing.
Thanks for linking that article, Emily. I’ve heard mystery shopping recommended before, but for the reasons you state (it’s stressful, time-consuming to find jobs, etc), I’m not sure it would work for me. I suppose I could look into a little bit more.
Those are some good suggestions, FP. When I’m on top of things, I use the universal quiche and universal casserole recipes out of The Tightwad Gazette to pull together bits and pieces of food that are lying around. This week, too, I’ve been putting together a single microwaveable serving of dry oatmeal, cinnamon, brown sugar, and raisins in one of those quart containers with the cup markings on the side, and adding a cup of water when I get to work and nuking it. A very inexpensive and tasty breakfast!
I am trying to get my husband on board with the envelope method for budgeting dining out. It’s kind of a challenge to get him to do anything with cash, though.
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You can do a dinner swap- If you have folks that also like to dine out- you pick a night each week where you cook for BOTH families. The next week they cook for BOTH. Or you could both take a night each week. This way you both get a break and get to try something different. You can save money by buying in bulk for that meal, you get your night off and it can be alot of fun-
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