Author Topic: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017  (Read 26746 times)

SoccerLounge

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Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« on: January 13, 2017, 05:55:07 PM »
Yeah, all my fellow restaurant suckas! YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS! Because, I mean, everyone's cellphone has a clock on it. Except mine just says "IT'S NOT TIME TO GO TO A RESTAURANT!" Bam!!

Let's bring this back for 2017, which I would have done earlier if I hadn't been neglecting the forum so much since the New Year (sorry!) My personal goal this year, having ummed and aahed about the way I approached it last year, is to keep working on the habit that going to restaurants had become. Like many habits, it had crept up on me without me realizing and needs continual mindful engagement to keep in check.

Sound off, and let the good home-cookin' times roll!

recklesslysober

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2017, 07:14:42 PM »
Posting to follow. I've been doing pretty well the past couple of months, but I want to keep it up! I was able to pay so much more on debt by eating out less.. Losing weight and eating healthier are a bonus too!

mires

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2017, 07:58:07 PM »
It's incredible how easy it is to fall back into the habit and how much it adds up! Behind groceries, cutting out restaurants (mostly fast food) is the second largest change I made since discovering MMM. I was spending roughly $100 per month just on lunch and about the same on dinners. Now I am down to under $25 eating out per month total. This is for my girlfriend AND myself.

Secretly Saving

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2017, 10:13:58 PM »
We made a commitment to cut our food costs at the start of 2017.  Now, almost two weeks in, we're doing ok.  I think we can save a huge chunk of cash this way.  Time will tell.

Miasmata

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2017, 10:28:05 PM »
Always a tough start coming off from the holidays, and hopping back into work and being so tired.  Done well so far -- 1 restaurant, 1 pizza.  Both due to renovations ongoing on the house, so I feel justified.

Hit a good glide slope at the end of 2016 -- Kids like Pho, and a family of 4 can be done for <$30 at a nice place we found.  Sweet Pea Chef subscription for meals and recipes help plan, shop and stick to that plan much better than we tried to pick out all recipes ourselves.  Usually swap out one of hers a week with a family favorite, but fun to see some stuff you would never have thought of and give it a try.

We will see if we can keep it below $100/mo dining out.  Rule for the 2nd half of 2016 was that it was ok to go over that if it's because you were working more or doing a side hussle that brough in more than the dining out cost -- I just can't wake up early, take care of some side stuff, work out, work all day, grab kids and take care of more side stuff and also cook dinner.  One has to give if I have to take care of consulting or whatever that day.
« Last Edit: January 13, 2017, 10:30:38 PM by Miasmata »

Mezzie

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2017, 05:42:29 AM »
I was doing all right, but I totally fell off the wagon this week. I have perfectly delicious food at home, too!

SachaFiscal

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2017, 08:28:51 AM »
Last night I was super tired and didn't feel like cooking so I was about to text my husband and ask home to pick up take out on the way home.  I tried to think of what I wanted and none of it sounded as good or healthy as a simple meal I could make at home. So I got up and cooked some pasta (10 mins). I threw a handful of cashews in a bowl of warm water to soak. Meanwhile I got a package of roasted Brussels sprouts and a package of veggie Italian sausage from TJs that I had in the fridge leftover from a New Year's Eve party grocery shopping spree. I sautéed the sausage with some red onions then threw in the sprouts to heat up. By then the pasta was done so I drained it and started working on the sauce. Just tossed the cashews in the blender along with half a jar of pasta sauce from my pantry and it was ready in less than a minute. I Assembled the meal within minutes as my husband arrived at home. it was delicious and somewhat healthy and tasted better than anything he would have picked up on the way home.  And it only took about 15 minutes to prepare, probably less time than it would take to get the takeout.

frugalfelicia

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #7 on: January 14, 2017, 08:35:56 AM »
Restaurants are hard for me! But I have been doing well so far this year, packing lunch for work and making dinner at home. I did get one take-out lunch this week at work, but I paid for it with a gift certificate. There might have been a $10 pizza for dinner the first week of the month as well.

Tris Prior

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #8 on: January 14, 2017, 11:33:19 AM »
I'm in. We're not cutting it out entirely, but I want us to be more mindful about when and why we eat out. Eating out because we want something specific that we cannot make cheaply or competently at home, not because we're lazy, don't feel like cooking, or we have failed to grocery shop due to bad weather.

That last one happens a lot at this time of year because we have no car and people don't shovel their walks here, so sometimes we can't get our granny-cart over the enormous chunks of built-up ice and snow to get ot the store. We need to plan ahead better and stock up - perhaps batch-cook and freeze so we don't get caught with no food in awful weather - so this doesn't become an issue. In fact,

I think below $100/month is a good goal. Though, hmm, I think we're at around $60 now. Got a takeout stuffed pizza this week, which was planned. Unfortunately, it was planned because we decided last weekend we wanted one, went to a pizza place that we thought was dine-in, got there and found it was delivery only. Instead of ordering one and sitting there for the hour it takes to make a Chicago stuffed pizza, we went down the street to a sort of hippie-ish diner we've eaten at before. Both our meals were AWFUL. Fail! That's what we're trying to avoid.

monstermonster

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #9 on: January 14, 2017, 12:14:49 PM »
I'm in again! I spent $390 on restaurants last year, and I would like to keep that relatively steady but reduce my bars spending on alcohol for the year ($492.32) and perhaps coffee ($166.27). The big challenges that I'm regularly traveling for work & planning a one-month trip on the trans-siberian railway.

Goals for this year:
  • When traveling for work, pack more snacks for plane/hotel so that I'm not paying airport & hotel prices as often
  • Complete another no-dining out month
  • When traveling for pleasure (internationally), prioritize eating shared meals with hosts over dining out
  • Prioritize dining out experiences that bring me 1) pleasure 2) shared time with others and 3) an experience I cannot create myself

FIRE me

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #10 on: January 14, 2017, 01:17:44 PM »
I've had one meal from a restaurant in the past 4 1/2 months. Total bill with tax was $9.28 (it was carryout so no tip). Not perfect, but not too out of control, I guess.

minimalistgamer

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #11 on: January 14, 2017, 04:17:34 PM »
I've had one meal from a restaurant in the past 4 1/2 months. Total bill with tax was $9.28 (it was carryout so no tip). Not perfect, but not too out of control, I guess.

That's fantastic! Good job.

I've done some spending analysis. Here my results so far -

https://sli.mg/bmtBfA

We intend to do a better job in 2017. Moral of the story, if I can reduce my spending, anyone can! :)
« Last Edit: January 14, 2017, 09:55:01 PM by minimalistgamer »

SoccerLounge

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #12 on: January 15, 2017, 04:56:25 PM »
I've had one meal from a restaurant in the past 4 1/2 months. Total bill with tax was $9.28 (it was carryout so no tip). Not perfect, but not too out of control, I guess.
Don't think you're sneaking in here without being congratulated on your recent FIRE! Well done! And, relevantly, it's pretty darn helpful for me to be able to match up statements like the quoted one with facts like "this dude FIREd a couple weeks ago."

FIRE me

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #13 on: January 15, 2017, 05:28:56 PM »
I've had one meal from a restaurant in the past 4 1/2 months. Total bill with tax was $9.28 (it was carryout so no tip). Not perfect, but not too out of control, I guess.
Don't think you're sneaking in here without being congratulated on your recent FIRE! Well done! And, relevantly, it's pretty darn helpful for me to be able to match up statements like the quoted one with facts like "this dude FIREd a couple weeks ago."

Thanks for that. I have to say, it feels great not to dread Mondays.

1967mama

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #14 on: January 15, 2017, 05:56:46 PM »
I'm so in again for 2017!!! Does anyone know of a free app to track my restaurant spending?

monstermonster

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #15 on: January 15, 2017, 06:32:38 PM »
I'm so in again for 2017!!! Does anyone know of a free app to track my restaurant spending?
Mint.

Or just a spreadsheet.

Or pencil + paper.

I'm a big fan of YNAB, though.

sixkids

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #16 on: January 15, 2017, 07:18:37 PM »
I'm in. I spent over $4,000 in 2016 on coffee in the mornings, lunch out at work every day and dinner out with family 4-5 times a week.
Since finding this site and committing, I've spent a grand total of $24. That was going to breakfast with my 3 and 6 year old daughters. Been taking leftovers to work for lunch, drinking coffee from work or home, and eating meals my wife cooks when I get home. It hasn't even been much of an adjustment and it's nice to see my paycheck still in my checking account two days before payday.

ardrum

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #17 on: January 15, 2017, 08:25:13 PM »
This isn't even a challenge for me.  I find most restaurant food to be absolutely disgusting, and who knows how filthy their kitchens are.  The overpriced factor just makes it laughably unattractive on top of the inherent problems with restaurant food independent of costs.

minimalistgamer

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #18 on: January 16, 2017, 05:26:20 AM »
I'm in. I spent over $4,000 in 2016 on coffee in the mornings, lunch out at work every day and dinner out with family 4-5 times a week.
Since finding this site and committing, I've spent a grand total of $24. That was going to breakfast with my 3 and 6 year old daughters. Been taking leftovers to work for lunch, drinking coffee from work or home, and eating meals my wife cooks when I get home. It hasn't even been much of an adjustment and it's nice to see my paycheck still in my checking account two days before payday.

If you don't mind my asking, where do you get your coffee?

sixkids

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #19 on: January 16, 2017, 05:45:42 AM »
I'm in. I spent over $4,000 in 2016 on coffee in the mornings, lunch out at work every day and dinner out with family 4-5 times a week.
Since finding this site and committing, I've spent a grand total of $24. That was going to breakfast with my 3 and 6 year old daughters. Been taking leftovers to work for lunch, drinking coffee from work or home, and eating meals my wife cooks when I get home. It hasn't even been much of an adjustment and it's nice to see my paycheck still in my checking account two days before payday.

If you don't mind my asking, where do you get your coffee?

I alternate. Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, or McDonald's. DD and McDonald's always included breakfast, too.

1967mama

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #20 on: January 17, 2017, 12:52:08 PM »
Spent Wasted $6 at McDonalds the other morning on the way to a specialist appointment in the big city with my young son .. It was a treat for him but I immediately regretted the spending and would have done better to get up a little earlier and make him a special breakfast at home. Live and learn ... Again

marble_faun

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #21 on: January 17, 2017, 01:24:30 PM »
*posting in-between bites of my delicious crockpot Boeuf Bourguignon leftovers*

Goals this year:

* Make at least one big crockpot meal per week.  Freeze extras; feast for days.

* Carry hearty snacks with me at all times so I'm less inclined to be starving while out of the house. (Protein bars are good for taking the edge off. Explore other options.)

* Graaaaadually begin weaning myself off Blue Apron. Maybe develop a repertoire of 10 standard dinners that I can put together without thinking very hard.

OurTown

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #22 on: January 17, 2017, 03:14:28 PM »
I'm in.  So far this week . . . $0.  It's only Tuesday.

Fish Sweet

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #23 on: January 17, 2017, 06:00:07 PM »
I love eating out, but am also trying to cut it the hell down for 2017.  I'm even a good cook, so I'm out of excuses!  So far in January, I've managed to go to fewer restaurants... but the ones I've gone to have been $$$ on the pricey end.  Whoops.

My February goal is to eat out ONCE, or not at all.  And alternate months where I do eat out with months that I don't.  Great food and fun restaurants are honestly one of my favorite things to enjoy in life so I don't think I'll ever cut it out completely, but I want it to be a fun luxury rather than a 3x a week sort of deal.

sixkids

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #24 on: January 18, 2017, 05:22:48 AM »
I went out last night. My wife burned dinner, so I went to a bar by our house that has a taco Tuesday special. Four giant tacos and a bud light while I waited for them to cook for $9.50, including 20% tip.

recklesslysober

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #25 on: January 18, 2017, 10:26:39 AM »
Went to a friend's birthday dinner on the weekend, $21.72 spent including tax and tip. I'm planning on no more restaurant spending this month.

minimalistgamer

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #26 on: January 20, 2017, 08:58:22 PM »
We have spent $16 on eating out this month. I really don't feel like I missed anything by not eating out as much. I am glad I am not mindlessly spending money like I used to.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #27 on: January 21, 2017, 09:40:25 AM »
Is this gauntlet to not eat at restaurants or not pay to eat at restaurants?

I can get into stop spending at restaurants. I'd like to be able to average less than $15 a month for lunches and dinners out, except July when I have a family vacation planned (though we will cook at the condo too).

But just eating I can't do. Work requires me to eat at restaurants quite a bit (they pay), already twice this year.

dividendsplease

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #28 on: January 21, 2017, 09:47:35 AM »
I had fast food every friday last year. I'm trying to only have it once a month now. Cut out 3 fridays a month and that's 36 x $7 average that will be going to into a brokerage account rather than down the toilet. Baby steps!

minimalistgamer

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #29 on: January 21, 2017, 05:29:44 PM »
Is this gauntlet to not eat at restaurants or not pay to eat at restaurants?

I can get into stop spending at restaurants. I'd like to be able to average less than $15 a month for lunches and dinners out, except July when I have a family vacation planned (though we will cook at the condo too).

But just eating I can't do. Work requires me to eat at restaurants quite a bit (they pay), already twice this year.
]

I can't speak for OP, but personally for me, the idea is to not eat out as much as I did in 2016. I have done extremely well so far this month, and I think I can continue with this trend. The key is to take lunch to work.

OurTown

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #30 on: January 23, 2017, 06:59:28 AM »
Agree with the previous poster, if I reduce my eating out spending it's a great success.  We did a weekly allowance last week.  I took lunches all five days last week, but I spent my entire allowance on Saturday night out with my wife and daughter, lol.  New allowance started yesterday, brought my lunch today.

Tris Prior

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #31 on: January 23, 2017, 08:19:05 AM »
I failed this weekend. Was too tired to cook after the Women's March on Chicago. We ordered in Thai. $31. I did get 3 meals out of it because the portions were so huge.

OurTown

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #32 on: January 24, 2017, 02:20:52 PM »
So far so good this week.  My wife had an evening meeting yesterday so we met for dinner after work.  Just a southern "meat and three" place.  $25 including tip.

recklesslysober

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #33 on: January 24, 2017, 02:24:42 PM »
Nothing for me last week. :)

OurTown

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #34 on: January 24, 2017, 03:32:39 PM »
Planning ahead for the week, I don't see any restaurants on the schedule.  Winning!

However, I do have a business-development meeting at a Starbucks on Friday morning.  (sad trombone sound). 

MayDay

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #35 on: January 25, 2017, 04:47:57 AM »
I picked up pizza to pay my friend for babysitting my kids. Brought one home for us too.  I don't count her pizza as eating out, and ours was 10$.

One daughter was meh about it. One son threw giant fit because I got mushrooms which he doesn't like (I forgot he hated them).

Ugh. Good reminder that it's just not worth it with my kids. They don't appreciate it. 

That is one nice thing about living in a rural place. The restaurant choices are blah, and if we want to drive to get takeout it takes much longer than throwing something together.

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #36 on: January 25, 2017, 10:25:14 AM »
Seems like this should go hand in hand with the reign in the groceries challenge, since eating out is a big part of our food spending historically. My goal is to hit a total target for groceries/restaurants combined, but specific to this challenge I want to dramatically reduce our eating out. We have a long way to go to be actually mustachian in this regard. Last year our January eating out number (family of five, oldest kid is a high school football player, husband and I work together and have had a bad habit of going out to lunch most days) was $629.05. So far this month we have spent $238.52 eating out, $75.06 of which were lunch and dinner for four at Disneyland, no drinks purchased because we brought refillable water bottles from home (we have the cheapest So Cal passes this year, which is definitely not frugal, I know). And, we haven't eaten a single meal out since lunch last Wednesday. I know it is tiny baby steps compared to a lot of you, but at least they are steps in the right direction!

SoccerLounge

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #37 on: January 25, 2017, 09:07:43 PM »
Is this gauntlet to not eat at restaurants or not pay to eat at restaurants?

I can get into stop spending at restaurants. I'd like to be able to average less than $15 a month for lunches and dinners out, except July when I have a family vacation planned (though we will cook at the condo too).

But just eating I can't do. Work requires me to eat at restaurants quite a bit (they pay), already twice this year.

Well, I think with this being the MMM forum, most of us are more interested in the financial aspect. This isn't really intended to be a thread about nutrition or eating choices, per se; more a thread about minimizing unnecessary discretionary (restaurant) expenditure. (Of course, anyone who is trying to avoid restaurants for other reasons is quite welcome to join in.)

Dicey

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #38 on: January 26, 2017, 05:34:09 AM »
* Graaaaadually begin weaning myself off Blue Apron. Maybe develop a repertoire of 10 standard dinners that I can put together without thinking very hard.
I noticed that Costco has Blue Apron in their gift card section. I was looking for something else, so didn't check the details, just noted that it was in the mix. It might help you in the weaning process if you can reduce the cost.

Mongoose

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #39 on: January 26, 2017, 08:00:23 AM »
That is one nice thing about living in a rural place. The restaurant choices are blah, and if we want to drive to get takeout it takes much longer than throwing something together.

This is so true! It's difficult to justify McDonalds when the nearest one is 35 miles away. And unless you like gas station pizza, cooking at home is the only option. Food for when we do go to town is our biggest hurdle.

Our goal is to make eating out a treat that happens 2-4 times per year.

monstermonster

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #40 on: January 26, 2017, 08:15:32 AM »
$7 for a burrito, chips & tip last night. Feel pretty good about it- I was the one who suggested going out for food when we set up the date. I didn't want to entertain at home (we need to clean the house, plus he's treked to my house the last 3 times we hung out) and his house is too far for a weeknight bike ride  excursion. Was good to catch up. Still under $13 for the month, will likely not go out to eat again.

Got a job offer again, like every single time I hang out with him.

OneStep

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #41 on: January 31, 2017, 08:42:13 AM »
Last day of January! No restaurants for me this month. Going to try and extend it for 1 month. Going to be tough, DW wants to do something for Valentine's. I told her I would make her dinner instead. Crossing my fingers that she will go for it.

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #42 on: January 31, 2017, 09:15:30 AM »
No money spent eating out in January for me :)
DH went out once. :(

FireHiker

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #43 on: January 31, 2017, 09:49:13 AM »
I have brought my lunch today and we'll have leftovers for dinner tonight, so I think it's pretty safe to assume we won't spend anything else on food, either eating out or groceries, this month. My end result for January is $251.22 on eating out, total for my family of 5, which includes two meals at Disneyland. We still have a lot of room to improve here, but the same month last year the number was $629.05. Definite progress, and we're going to keep it up next month.

1967mama

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #44 on: January 31, 2017, 10:20:53 AM »
Two McDonald's meals this month .. both $6 or less. This is progress for us! On to February!

monstermonster

  • Magnum Stache
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  • Age: 36
  • Location: The People's Republic of Portland (Oregon)
Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #45 on: January 31, 2017, 10:35:21 AM »
$12.50 on Restaurants in January - 2 burritos (one for date night, one with a friend), which feels pretty good as a balance of "enjoying myself" and "not wasting money".

recklesslysober

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  • Location: BC, Canada
Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #46 on: January 31, 2017, 12:51:53 PM »
Went to a friend's birthday dinner on the weekend, $21.72 spent including tax and tip. I'm planning on no more restaurant spending this month.

Success!

akzidenz

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Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #47 on: February 03, 2017, 04:21:23 PM »
This is something I seriously need to work on. My eating out expenses in 2016 averaged…about $650 per month. I feel a bit embarrassed posting this, because I'm at a way different place in my spending patterns than most people here, and I have a looong way to go.

January was an enormous success in cutting down my restaurant/bar spending—only $320! I'm feeling all fired up about going even lower, now that I've proved to myself I can cut down and still feel perfectly happy. My goal for February is $200. I've mentioned this to some of my close friends, and they're totally down for drinking $5 wine at home with me instead of getting bougie cocktails. So that will help!

I also spent most of 2016 dating someone who was a "foodie", in the sense that he seriously enjoyed eating out at Michelin-starred places, and I think I felt a lot of pressure to keep up. But I'm going into 2017 dating a very dreamy and frugal dude, and his idea of a date night is making smoothies and eating chocolate together at home, which is super cute and also highly aligned with my financial goals right now!

marble_faun

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #48 on: February 04, 2017, 06:03:36 PM »
akzidenz: Don't worry, my food spending was about the same as yours before I discovered this site and got serious. It didn't take much effort to bring that number way down (as you are already doing)!


I'm doing well with my crockpot goals!  Made a fabulous pot-roast that I've been eating for the last few days.

Unfortunately I have found that by meal #3 in a row of the same thing, no matter how delicious, I start to get pretty tired of it. I need to develop a good system for freezing food.

I've also begun planning my future meal rotation. The goal is to perfect two weeks' worth of amazing recipes, then cancel Blue Apron. The main reason I love meal kits is that they reduce the need to spend time planning meals, but the rotation should solve that problem for me. 

(Relatedly, I am shifting my entire wardrobe to be fitted pants with grey/black tunics in natural fibers [+ a select group of accessories] for similar reasons. My goal is to develop new signature "look" that is striking but comfortable and does not require much thought on a daily basis.)

ringer707

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Re: Stop Eating at $&%@#$! Restaurants, THE RETURN: 2017
« Reply #49 on: February 04, 2017, 06:31:05 PM »
Joining in! Really trying to cut back. We average about $250/mo but had some really high months last year when we spent about two months in the hospital with a family member and were eating a lot of take out.

I had to drive out of state today and packed both breakfast and lunch so no stops for me. My husband wanted to order Chinese food when we got home and I told him if he wanted it he had to go out and get it (no delivery in our area). I knew he wouldn't feel like leaving the house so we had a great home cooked meal instead :)

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!