Author Topic: Restaurant Diners Anonymous  (Read 20982 times)

galliver

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Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« on: April 21, 2014, 10:54:23 AM »
I have a problem. But I know I'm not the only one so I'm starting this thread for discussion and mutual support. I spend way too much on food, mostly by eating out. $200-300/month. I don't mind spending some, but I feel like I should be able to get it down to $100 without deprivation. However every time I focus on it and try, it seems to get away from me.

There are some situations I don't want to give up:
1) Weekly lunch with lady friends. $40/mo for sanity. Sometimes I grab a coffee with someone else, add $10/mo.
2) Celebrations (birthdays, career milestones, engagements, etc); There's probably one a month, on average, of some kind. I can't and won't tell my friends or colleagues how to celebrate, and I won't be so stingy as to not come share their joys.
3) Trying new foods/cuisines on dates with bf. We enjoy it and it influences my cooking by exposing me to new flavors.

And then there are some situations where it's unnecessary, but my resolve slips:
4) Staying late at work; I keep food in the office, but by 5-6 pm I want to *get out* and going for food is a handy excuse for a 10-15 min walk. Just going for a walk seems stupid even though it's not.
5) Feeling lonely. Sometimes I don't want to eat alone. Friends are on their own schedule, obviously.
6) Sushi. I can make CA rolls at home but it's not the same. :(
7) Bribing myself to get to campus earlier with a breakfast sandwich, coffee, etc. Even though we have tasty office coffee and I keep some kind of granola bars/breakfast cookies/etc in my desk...

And then there is lack of preparation/laziness:
8) Not having lunch-compatible foods (except canned soup, and "not feeling like it").
9) Feeling tired/hangry and craving something.
10) Not having grab-n-go breakfast options ready and running late for a morning appointment.
11) Heading out somewhere around lunch or dinner time and not thinking that I should have or bring a snack.

If you have conquered such situations/impulses I'd love to hear your advice! If you're dealing with the same sorts of issues I'd love to commiserate! Let's be compassionate. This is a support group. ;)

garth

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2014, 11:09:46 AM »
We are a family of two and budget $550 for restaurants and $500 for groceries, so it could be worse...but then again we don't see it as a problem.

Ayanka

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2014, 11:25:58 AM »
I am not a candidate for your support group, mainly because I have a problem with disliking a lot of things that are used a lot in restaurants: olives, salmon, mushrooms, about 95% of all other fish...

I do however have a wicked schedule.
4. Could you do some other kind of mind liberating thing, even if it is just a walk and a couple of stretch exercises?
5. I put the computer on, while eating, I am not sure that is a good idea though.
6. Obviously no culinary hints on the matter, maybe combine it with one of the first 3?
7. Try making your own very tasty whatever you really like stuff :).

8. I have a lot of just put it in the microwave (long enough though) and eat stuff in the freezer. I eat dinner for lunch or breakfast for lunch depending on shift.
9. If you are tired, why do all the fuzz to actually go out and buy something? Isn't something from the freezer handier? (especially if you got it out in the morning and it is already defrosted).
10. Put some bread in the freezer and buy (if you like it) a pot of peanut butter, always a quick breakfast.
11. Sorry no hints on this one, rarely forget my food, can't do without it.

I hope I have been any kind of helpful.

ZiziPB

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2014, 11:37:39 AM »
I don't eat out unless it is business related (and someone else pays for it ;-).  Sounds like some of your "problems" are due to family and friend obligations and emotional, but a lot of them appear to be because of poor planning.

As to breakfast and lunch, here is what works for me: planning and routine.  I have a few "go to" breakfasts and lunch foods and I always make sure that I shop for those items and have them at home.  In the morning, I put the coffee on as soon as I get up and prepare my breakfast (either to go or to eat at home) snack and lunch to take with me.  No exceptions, that is my morning routine. 

My portable breakfast foods are:
- yogurt and fresh fruit (berries, banana or pineapple)
- cottage cheese and fresh fruit
- hard boiled eggs and vegetable juice
My stay at home breakfasts are:
- whole wheat toast or english muffin with nut butter and jam
- oatmeal with raisins and walnuts
- scrambled eggs (with toast and sometimes another ingredient like tomatoes, mushrooms, ham, sausage)

I may get fancy and make waffles or cottage cheese pancakes or frittata on the weekends (I make extra and freeze portions).

Lunch:
- salad (buy 3 romaine hearts in a bag, cucumber (I like the english ones), a package of cherry tomatoes and a red pepper) - cut up into a large tupperware bowl.  Supplement with some protein and/or other flavor setting items (tuna fish pouches, grilled or roasted chicken, cubed ham and cheese, hard boiled egg, garbanzo or black beans or feta and olives).  Keep dressing in the office.  The base is usually the same (I vary the lettuce sometimes) and the toppings vary.  The base ingredients will last me a week.
- homemade buritos (made in large batches and frozen)
- frozen indian meals from Trader Joes (rarely, but I keep one or two in the freezer if I need a change)
- leftovers from dinner (either from the night before or frozen portioned meals I cook on weekends and freeze)
 - sandwich and veggies/fruit (only if all other possibilities are exhausted as that is my least favorite lunch option)

Snacks: fresh fruit (apples, bananas, pears, oranges, etc.)

When I go to the gym (which is in my office building) in the morning, I take my coffee with me in an insulated mug to have on my ride there and take my packed breakfast, lunch and snack in my lunch bag.

Again, the key is planning (so that you have the ingredients at home) and routine.

CryingInThePool

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #4 on: April 21, 2014, 12:02:50 PM »
My restaurant budget is $250 a month for myself so I while I agree that it could be less I’m not obsessed with the bucket of instances that fall in 1,2,3,6.  I often don’t even use it all so in YNAB I tend to steal back restaurant budget for the unexpected.   I gave myself a break in these areas because I’m a hardliner in others…

#s4,5,7 seem like issues with work life balance and not necessarily with your dining budget.  Are you getting enough sleep? Seems like that might be some side issues that you could tackle and have an impact on food spending. 

As for #s8-11 the biggest difference I made in my overall food budget was to focus my eating out on non-work related activities.  It was important to me to draw a line between things I was doing because I was unhappy at work or stressed out and what I was doing to have a happy social life. I work long hours too and after a bit of adjustment I definitely find it easier to be stricter M-F, at least for breakfast and lunch.   I’ll rotate through low cost lunch options or leftovers but the biggest change to my budget was to plan breakfast for the week on Sunday night.  Either frozen or homemade (batch of NAS/Gluten Free Frittata’s cut up and individually plastic wrapped) but keeping CPU $3 or less.  The frittatas are great grab and go foods, sometimes I eat cold in the car or heat up at work. It also kept me out of coffee shops so added benefit of reducing drink spending too.   

Good luck - interested to see how you make cuts.

BenjaminT

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #5 on: April 21, 2014, 12:15:40 PM »
$250-$300?  I would already consider you on the track to frugality concerning dining out.  Last year my SO and I were spending $1000-$2000 per month on eating out and she saw nothing wrong with it.  It drove me crazy and was actually a huge part of why that relationship didn't last.

If you do go out, choose the cheaper option on the menu, or order water to cut down.  I don't mind eating out at $6 per person, but dropping $20-$50 per person is what kills you.  Even at the Golden Banister restaurants (Chili's, Applebees, etc.) some menu items are $7 and some are $20.  Huge disparity if you add it up over time.

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #6 on: April 21, 2014, 12:18:59 PM »
What's you overall savings rate? If you're meeting your goals, don't best yourself up about it.

If you're not meeting your goals, most of your spending could be reduced with a little planning and organization - especially when shopping. That way you're never stuck with a food you don't feel like.

I stay away from restaurants because it's harder to have a good conversation there, the food is unimpressive for the price, and I have kids that are picky eaters. I've never, ever found taking kids to eat out a fun activity. It is torture.

galliver

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #7 on: April 21, 2014, 12:55:17 PM »
Thanks everyone for contributing/suggesting. I feel like I gave the wrong idea; this isn't an everyday/every week thing. There are good and bad weeks. They basically alternate, I think. I cook a lot and I cook and prep ahead a lot. I had muffin-quiches with ham and cheese last week. I have roasted potatoes with chicken and a side salad today. This is what happens when I spend a weekend in town.

I guess I didn't mention that I'm a graduate student in a long-ish distance relationship. 2-3x monthly I go see my boyfriend 3 hours away on the weekend. (5 hours if you include public transit on his end and waiting for transfers). This rather screws any weekly routine; I can't do a Saturday or Sunday shopping+cooking day. Sometimes this happens on Sunday but sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes I can make up a "missed" Sunday and sometimes I can't. It depends on circumstances. You can bet my weekdays aren't 100% predictable either. Sometimes I find staying on campus to finish some kind of work is more important than following my plan for dinner.

Re: all the recipes, thanks, but this is so taste dependent! I know that some people can eat the same thing every day, or don't much care what they eat, really. Food matters to me, and I go through 3-10 day phases of a particular food/ingredient. After that I can't look at it for a while. I do cook about 3 portions at once when I make anything, I do make grab-n-go breakfasts, etc. This doesn't seem to help me handle the unforseen circumstances. Or the loneliness and cooking-fatigue. Looking forward to have someone to come home to and trade off cooking with, but not for a few years. :(

Gin1984

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #8 on: April 21, 2014, 12:56:27 PM »
I suck at making sushi so I am jealous.  Do you have a freezer and microwave in the office.  We do and that has helped me not go out because I have muliple options.  Could you walk to something, like Starbucks, to get your going out without the full cost?

Gin1984

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #9 on: April 21, 2014, 12:59:06 PM »
Thanks everyone for contributing/suggesting. I feel like I gave the wrong idea; this isn't an everyday/every week thing. There are good and bad weeks. They basically alternate, I think. I cook a lot and I cook and prep ahead a lot. I had muffin-quiches with ham and cheese last week. I have roasted potatoes with chicken and a side salad today. This is what happens when I spend a weekend in town.

I guess I didn't mention that I'm a graduate student in a long-ish distance relationship. 2-3x monthly I go see my boyfriend 3 hours away on the weekend. (5 hours if you include public transit on his end and waiting for transfers). This rather screws any weekly routine; I can't do a Saturday or Sunday shopping+cooking day. Sometimes this happens on Sunday but sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes I can make up a "missed" Sunday and sometimes I can't. It depends on circumstances. You can bet my weekdays aren't 100% predictable either. Sometimes I find staying on campus to finish some kind of work is more important than following my plan for dinner.

Re: all the recipes, thanks, but this is so taste dependent! I know that some people can eat the same thing every day, or don't much care what they eat, really. Food matters to me, and I go through 3-10 day phases of a particular food/ingredient. After that I can't look at it for a while. I do cook about 3 portions at once when I make anything, I do make grab-n-go breakfasts, etc. This doesn't seem to help me handle the unforseen circumstances. Or the loneliness and cooking-fatigue. Looking forward to have someone to come home to and trade off cooking with, but not for a few years. :(
I am a grad student too!  It can get hard to be perfect all the time, so I would say relax a bit.  How about going for a candy bar or even walk to another lab as a break?

galliver

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #10 on: April 21, 2014, 01:08:21 PM »
$250-$300?  I would already consider you on the track to frugality concerning dining out.  Last year my SO and I were spending $1000-$2000 per month on eating out and she saw nothing wrong with it.

My take-home income is $1800/mo. Your spending *was* crazy! As was your SO, it seems (sorry)! So my "frugality" is by necessity. It's also a matter of values; I believe in cooking at home for health and savings and to exercise the skill. I was brought up that eating out was for special situations (e.g. travel).

What's you overall savings rate? If you're meeting your goals, don't best yourself up about it.

If you're not meeting your goals, most of your spending could be reduced with a little planning and organization - especially when shopping. That way you're never stuck with a food you don't feel like.

I stay away from restaurants because it's harder to have a good conversation there, the food is unimpressive for the price, and I have kids that are picky eaters. I've never, ever found taking kids to eat out a fun activity. It is torture.

My savings rate is very low (mostly comes from windfalls), but I'm not too concerned because I don't intend to have this income forever!  I do think I'm capable of saving more of it, though, in preparation for the transition out of school. It also seems ridiculous to spend as much on food as I do on housing each month ($500 ea, total). And I'm not so much kicking myself as wanting to see where others (I know they exist) on this board with the same problem are at, how they're dealing with obstacles, etc.

I obviously haven't experienced this yet, but I think I would view eating out very differently as a family (even a family of 2).  Seems odd to go out when you can have a cozy evening at home with those who matter most! And yes, it seems cruel to force kids through the ritual dance at a restaurant on a regular basis.

Rebecca Stapler

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #11 on: April 21, 2014, 01:09:21 PM »
I think you can start to chip away at this, one-by-one. I would start at the bottom of your list. The laziness factor is the easiest to overcome, IMO, because it just takes a little bit of preparation. For example, you could hard boil eggs and make egg cups at the beginning of the week, then switch off. The best part about egg cups is that you can vary the ingredients so you don't get bored; and you can freeze them for later. So, if you make all spinach & cheese egg cups one week, freeze half of them and the next week, when you're eating red pepper and onion egg cups, you can alternate with the spinach.

But, as for the reason for being chronically late in the morning, you may want to look into the underlying issue there. Is it because of poor time management in the morning? (you lose track of time or you think you don't need as much time to get ready as you actually do?) Or is it poor time management at night, which gets you to bed too late, and you sleep late?

FWIW, everyone has different demands on their time or factors getting in the way of their goals -- but for the goals that are important, we find ways to overcome them. For example, if the social aspect is the most important, then it's less painful to sacrifice a little bit of planning time instead of the time you spend socializing.

As for meeting friends for coffee or mutual dining: Is there a campus location where you can bring your own food? How about meeting at yours or the other person's apartment, with a BYOMeal? Or meet friends for a walk or activity instead of a meal?

You've listed a lot of reasons why your dining out is the way it is, which tells me that there are lots of ways you can chip away at the reasons and get rid of them.

galliver

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #12 on: April 21, 2014, 01:10:32 PM »
I am a grad student too!  It can get hard to be perfect all the time, so I would say relax a bit.  How about going for a candy bar or even walk to another lab as a break?

Well that's why #1-3 are non-negotiables, and the goal amount isn't $0. :) I'm just disappointed when I can't stick to my guns over something that should be pretty simple and within my abilities. Especially since as a grad student I'm basically required to be a perfectionist in my goal-reaching skills! ;)

No Name Guy

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #13 on: April 21, 2014, 01:11:03 PM »
In regards to your "I stayed late so have to eat out" thing.......I know she's over exposed, but try Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals series of cook books.  There's something in there for everyone as far as taste is concerned.  There's no excuse if you can cook it yourself in less time than it takes to go out, get seated, order, have them make it and go home.  You can also cook a double portion in the same amount of time as it takes to do a single meal and you've just solved your lunch problem as well.

You also can add your own spices, salt it the way you like it, etc.

Once you develop a repertoire, it becomes 2nd nature to whip up something tasty and good in only a few minutes. 

Rebecca Stapler

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #14 on: April 21, 2014, 01:13:05 PM »
Another thing that occurs to me is that, in my grocery couponing, I find that I have some variety in my meals because of the grocery sales cycles. You mentioned that you get bored of eating the same foods each day. Maybe another way to combat your grocery spending, prevent boredom, and try new ingredients / flavors would be to start shopping the sales cycles. For the most part, the same produce and meat go on sale every 3-4 weeks at major grocery stores. You could look through each week's circular and plan your meals based on what's on sale for a good price.

(the items like cereal and yogurt are on sale on a weekly basis, but it's just the brands that rotate)

galliver

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #15 on: April 21, 2014, 01:21:03 PM »
Where are my other diners at? Because I'm feeling rather lonely and I *know* people on here have it worse than I do.

Numbers Man

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #16 on: April 21, 2014, 01:26:35 PM »
Learn to cook oatmeal in the morning with a banana or two. The fiber you consume will fill you up and not leave you so hangry for lunch. $300 per month is ridiculous on your income.

Rebecca Stapler

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #17 on: April 21, 2014, 01:30:06 PM »
Where are my other diners at? Because I'm feeling rather lonely and I *know* people on here have it worse than I do.
Maybe you're on the wrong board? This is MMM, where people get facepunched regularly ;)

I know, because I was last year when I admitted to $80/month in dining out spending. That doesn't happen any more. With a preschooler and two FT working parents, it's been hard to cut out the monthly date night treat and the weekly "I'm too exhausted to cook" take-out. But we've been able to do it. Or, if we dine out it's because we saved so much on our groceries that we made room for it in our budget.

Our monthly food budget for 3 people is $500 and we are in a high cost of living area.

NeverWasACornflakeGirl

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #18 on: April 21, 2014, 01:40:23 PM »
Where are my other diners at? Because I'm feeling rather lonely and I *know* people on here have it worse than I do.

I'm right there with you, sister/brother!  When it comes right down to it we just DO NOT like to cook.  We use all of the tricks, including batch cooking on the weekends and freezing, planning meals, etc.  But when it comes down to it, we like to eat and we don't like to cook.  It's a work in progress.  Right now we are budgeting for $150 for dining out per month, but we went over for March and we're already over for April.  :/  In fact, I got fast food for lunch today even though I knew I shouldn't.  Hey, nobody's perfect!!  ;-)

AJ

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #19 on: April 21, 2014, 01:51:06 PM »
I know that some people can eat the same thing every day, or don't much care what they eat, really. Food matters to me, and I go through 3-10 day phases of a particular food/ingredient. After that I can't look at it for a while.

This is something you can get used to. When DH and I were going out way.too.much. it was because I wanted every meal to be an event, or to be exactly what I was craving in that moment. You don't have to make every meal boring and bland, but it's ok to eat for fuel every once in a while. I still like meals to be events, and I still love eating and trying new foods, but if all I have with me is lentil soup and I don't feel like lentil soup, now I can just eat it anyway. There's a healthy balance to be found between "food as pleasure" and "food as fuel".

galliver

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #20 on: April 21, 2014, 01:59:06 PM »
Where are my other diners at? Because I'm feeling rather lonely and I *know* people on here have it worse than I do.
Maybe you're on the wrong board? This is MMM, where people get facepunched regularly ;)

I know, because I was last year when I admitted to $80/month in dining out spending. That doesn't happen any more. With a preschooler and two FT working parents, it's been hard to cut out the monthly date night treat and the weekly "I'm too exhausted to cook" take-out. But we've been able to do it. Or, if we dine out it's because we saved so much on our groceries that we made room for it in our budget.

Our monthly food budget for 3 people is $500 and we are in a high cost of living area.

But if you take a look at the "stupid money wasters" thread like half the posts were "I got takeout again." This is a habit/problem that people (on this site/forum, too) are dealing with that is harder than it would seem. Kind of how weight loss and procrastination-fighting are much harder than it seems. "Just suck it up" rarely works as advice for dealing with any habit or behavior.

I admire your eliminating this spending entirely, but please realize that's not my goal or priority. I'm sure there are others who feel the same. My interpretation of MMM is to spend on what matters, and not beyond your means. I'm doing this but it could be better; I'm looking for others in the same place. It's not a dire situation.

Learn to cook oatmeal in the morning with a banana or two. The fiber you consume will fill you up and not leave you so hangry for lunch. $300 per month is ridiculous on your income.
I actually do make oatmeal in the morning sometimes, and bananas! Also English muffins, eggs, cereal, crepes/pancakes, yogurt, toast, peanut butter, cream cheese, etc. etc. :) My spending fits comfortably in my income, including paying my parents back for college. I've never had consumer debt, or a car. Your assumption that I'm an idiot because I have different spending habits  and priorities than you is unbecoming.

galliver

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #21 on: April 21, 2014, 02:01:20 PM »
Where are my other diners at? Because I'm feeling rather lonely and I *know* people on here have it worse than I do.

I'm right there with you, sister/brother!  When it comes right down to it we just DO NOT like to cook.  We use all of the tricks, including batch cooking on the weekends and freezing, planning meals, etc.  But when it comes down to it, we like to eat and we don't like to cook.  It's a work in progress.  Right now we are budgeting for $150 for dining out per month, but we went over for March and we're already over for April.  :/  In fact, I got fast food for lunch today even though I knew I shouldn't.  Hey, nobody's perfect!!  ;-)

Thanks for pitching in! Sounds like we're in a similar place. Except I like to cook, just not *all the time.* I imagine it getting better when bf and I are able to move in and trade off (also eat together daily!). [and it's "sister" ;) ]

zachd

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #22 on: April 21, 2014, 02:13:27 PM »

In all fairness I think he said your habit was riduculous and did not say you were an idiot :)

True, he was being a bit judgemental but as has been mentioned this site is known for giving 'tough love' and the whole point is to try and spend less and save more.

Now.. I will say I am in the same boat and a bad thing is that we can't seem to get below a certain number on either groceries OR eating out.  You would think if we budgeted more for one the other would go down, but not happening :(

I'm not really beating myself up over it though, just working on trying to make it a little less each month.

It mainly comes down to planning. If you don't have a plan for what you are going to eat, then you are going to have to eat out.

It's similar to working out for me.. it has to start the day before. I have to go to bed at x time and know I'm getting up at y time to go to gym, and have to have everything ready to go and also work clothes ready for when I get back home.

You need to PLAN what you want to eat for a week and PLAN to go to the store and PLAN to spend X amount of money and PLAN to prepare the food... etc.  Sounds like a pain in the ass right, yeah it is, but it's the only way that I know of.

Not sure if you have friends you work with, you could start a food club. Everyone brings something for the week like Sandwich fixings and that makes it a little easier.  Have done that a few times with friends I worked with.


Numbers Man

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #23 on: April 21, 2014, 02:21:08 PM »
Where are my other diners at? Because I'm feeling rather lonely and I *know* people on here have it worse than I do.
Maybe you're on the wrong board? This is MMM, where people get facepunched regularly ;)

I know, because I was last year when I admitted to $80/month in dining out spending. That doesn't happen any more. With a preschooler and two FT working parents, it's been hard to cut out the monthly date night treat and the weekly "I'm too exhausted to cook" take-out. But we've been able to do it. Or, if we dine out it's because we saved so much on our groceries that we made room for it in our budget.

Our monthly food budget for 3 people is $500 and we are in a high cost of living area.

But if you take a look at the "stupid money wasters" thread like half the posts were "I got takeout again." This is a habit/problem that people (on this site/forum, too) are dealing with that is harder than it would seem. Kind of how weight loss and procrastination-fighting are much harder than it seems. "Just suck it up" rarely works as advice for dealing with any habit or behavior.

I admire your eliminating this spending entirely, but please realize that's not my goal or priority. I'm sure there are others who feel the same. My interpretation of MMM is to spend on what matters, and not beyond your means. I'm doing this but it could be better; I'm looking for others in the same place. It's not a dire situation.

Learn to cook oatmeal in the morning with a banana or two. The fiber you consume will fill you up and not leave you so hangry for lunch. $300 per month is ridiculous on your income.
I actually do make oatmeal in the morning sometimes, and bananas! Also English muffins, eggs, cereal, crepes/pancakes, yogurt, toast, peanut butter, cream cheese, etc. etc. :) My spending fits comfortably in my income, including paying my parents back for college. I've never had consumer debt, or a car. Your assumption that I'm an idiot because I have different spending habits  and priorities than you is unbecoming.

Lighten up Francis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OnpkDWbeJs

Jags4186

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #24 on: April 21, 2014, 02:29:16 PM »
I have the fortunate unfortunate position of having most of my breakfasts/lunches covered by work.

Whats so bad about this you might ask?  Well since I don't really need a lot of food in the house I tend to... never have food in the house.  So dinner a lot of the times is take out or something kind of crummy.  It's been bad on the body for the last few years...getting fat hah.

Plus another problem is that since I go out to visit my girlfriend during the week we tend to go out a fair amount... On top of that I usually eat with my parents once a week.

To bring this full circle, I spend probably $400 all in a month on food/alcohol which isn't bad BUT its so heavily subsidized my per meal cost is insane (probably $20/meal).  I fear the day I have to prepare 90 meals/month for myself...not sure I'll be prepared.


Gin1984

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #25 on: April 21, 2014, 02:37:58 PM »
I am a grad student too!  It can get hard to be perfect all the time, so I would say relax a bit.  How about going for a candy bar or even walk to another lab as a break?

Well that's why #1-3 are non-negotiables, and the goal amount isn't $0. :) I'm just disappointed when I can't stick to my guns over something that should be pretty simple and within my abilities. Especially since as a grad student I'm basically required to be a perfectionist in my goal-reaching skills! ;)
Lol, you use all your perfectionism up during lab time.

galliver

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #26 on: April 21, 2014, 04:46:16 PM »
I am a grad student too!  It can get hard to be perfect all the time, so I would say relax a bit.  How about going for a candy bar or even walk to another lab as a break?

Well that's why #1-3 are non-negotiables, and the goal amount isn't $0. :) I'm just disappointed when I can't stick to my guns over something that should be pretty simple and within my abilities. Especially since as a grad student I'm basically required to be a perfectionist in my goal-reaching skills! ;)
Lol, you use all your perfectionism up during lab time.

Ha. Perfectionism fatigue? :P

Mr. Frugalwoods

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #27 on: April 21, 2014, 06:12:30 PM »
I totally understand where you are coming from!  Honestly, my wife and I were pretty darned frugal but eating out was one of the few things we spent money on.  Even then we never did it during the week, but it wasn't uncommon for us to go out once a weekend and get takeout another night.

We actually are in the middle of an uber frugal month right now, part of which is not eating out.

I think it's easier to give it a try with a time bounded experiment.  I'm also competitive, so if it's a "challenge" I'm more likely to go out of my way to succeed.

Maybe next month try going cold turkey, just for a month.  At the end of the month asses whether you think it was worth it or not.  And really, maybe it is worth it to you.  I'm no hardass when it comes to a "one true way" of spending.  Some people spend on organic groceries, others on decent wine, others on a crossfit membership.  Maybe for you it's a dinner out with friends or family once a week.

I think for me it comes down to being conscious of the value I am getting out of an expenditure.  And there's no better way to find out how much you really need something than to go without for a while.

samburger

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #28 on: April 21, 2014, 06:19:53 PM »
I can keep you company, galliver!

My wife and I are terrible about dining out, and we just moved to a fabulous, walkable, restaurant-filled neighborhood. Last month, our first full month in our new place, we did $250 in damage. That's with splitting every meal out.

We keep ourselves in check by making our budget a big deal. We give ourselves $260/mo in spending money. It buys clothes, entertainment, household stuff (decorative and functional but not regular grocery items), booze, and restaurants. We do actually modify our behavior once we've hit that number.

What this ends up meaning is that we eat out a ton the first two weeks of the month and run through the budget. We have NO fun money the second half of the month, and we feel super deprived and not very happy.

This is how we're working toward eliminating everything that's not categories #1-3. If we spend $20 dining out for convenience or out of laziness, that's $20 we can't spend dining out meaningfully. We're learning, albeit slowly, that we'll hate ourselves later if we get convenience takeout now. The good news is that as we cut back on the lazy dining, we're discovering that we don't actually feel deprived.

chubbybunny

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #29 on: April 21, 2014, 06:31:42 PM »
Hi all, what worked for me was planning our menu for the week, including lunches, and grocery shopping so that we also have comfort foods available (no excuses!)  I post dinner plans to our calendar and when DH and I feel the urge to go out one of us will usually chime in that our produce will go bad if we don't keep up with our meal plan! 

You can always sign up for emeals.com if you need ideas. They have a lot of choices.  The weekly cost for the meal plans is far less than the cost of eating out once.

$200-$300 was our pre-MMM budget for restaurants (family of 4).  Last month we spent $40 and this month will probably only be $20. It's definitely possible without feeling deprived! It's just a change of attitude.

chicagomeg

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #30 on: April 21, 2014, 06:34:43 PM »
My mother-in-law got us this ridiculous gadget for Christmas & I haven't gone to McDonalds for breakfast since:

http://smile.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-25475-Breakfast-Sandwich/dp/B00BTIUYOO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398126821&sr=8-1&keywords=breakfast+sandwich+maker

Yes, this is literally the most ridiculous gadget ever. But, it's quite small and makes me great sandwiches in the time it takes me to get dressed & do my makeup.

SEdude

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #31 on: April 21, 2014, 10:07:19 PM »
Before I had MMM (and admittedly when I had a higher salary job) I thought that making my own food was a waste of time and so I ate out *almost every meal* except breakfast. As you can imagine, my monthly food bill was pretty high, especially because I also bought groceries so that I had plenty of snacks at home.

But I have changed my ways, and I now only eat out once every couple weeks for one of the inevitable special occasions that come up. Here are some things that helped me "quit":
- Scale back a little at a time. If you try to start making all your food for every meal, you will slip up and feel guilty about it, and the negative feelings could cause you to go back to eating out all the time. First try limiting yourself to $100 like you mentioned. See what kind of meals you can make easily and cheap at home to take the place of restaurants. The next week try for $90, etc.

- Don't be afraid to buy convenience foods at the grocery store as you're cutting back. Time was a major factor for me and restaurants. I would wait too long to eat and then realize I was extremely hungry and so I was even less likely than normal to cook... so I would order out. So be sure to have to "crappy" meals around, like frozen meals that you can microwave for a few minutes.

- Cook in bulk once a week and freeze the excess. It's economical and will guarantee that you always have a good quantity of food in the house.

Like most things, it's really about the habit. In this case it's extra hard because you have to break the eating out habit at the same time as building the "make food for every meal" habit. I was totally hopeless and with some work I managed to get there, hope it works out for you as well!

thepokercab

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #32 on: April 21, 2014, 10:53:16 PM »
The eating out/restaurant part of our budget has been the hardest to cut, by far. We're doing better, but still average anywhere from $200-300 dollars a month (although this month its been a ridiculous $600)  but that's also on top of at least $700 a month in grocery spending, so we're easily spending about 30% of our budget on food.   I also have weight issues that i've been battling for quite some time, so its more than just a frugality issue for me. 

My crutch is Starbucks- i probably spend at least $30-40 bucks a week on coffee, muffins, etc.. Totally useless. I don't even really like it that much. 

My wife and I do try to meal plan, but it always seems like at least 1 night a week we are throwing the plan out the window and eating out.   

I know that these are basically bad habits that with some time and effort, I should be able to overcome, but its difficult.  I work a lot as well, and food has always been an escape.  It's basically a drug. Its not just the flavor of the food that effects me, but its the whole package- the way I feel eating out with family or friends, or the way I feel ordering a coffee and sitting outside. 

I know this is random, but a recent Raptitude blog post really resonated with me in this area:  http://www.raptitude.com/2014/03/the-first-worlds-biggest-addiction/.

Quote
Substances are especially popular weapons against boredom or discomfort, because they work a) immediately and b) reliably. They give us a kind of power we don’t normally have: direct control over a state of mind.

It’s natural for us to want to improve the quality of our state of mind. But we don’t need to. Most of us are so unaccustomed to voluntarily being with an unpleasant or uncertain state that we don’t even recognize those moments when we reach for the hammer-effect of substances or entertainment.

Even if we know some of these responses cost endless amounts of money, or reliably make us feel worse later, or do nothing but move a problem a few hours later into our lives, we still let the desire for an easier experience (right now) get the better of us. This need to attack all instances of discomfort with some kind of substance or technology becomes its own addiction.

Fiador

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #33 on: April 22, 2014, 12:57:34 AM »
Do not feel bad.
we are family of 4 and spend 1,500 Us per month eating out  and we mostly go to restaurants with 50% discount from my Company network
al weekends we go for breakfast at a near by Hotel and since kids are young 1 and 3 do not pay and we get 50% for the rest so 35 us for a breakfast for 4 at a five star hotel is a good deal.  The prob is that we go too oftn :)
Groceries we spend around 700 US per month
we live in Dubai and it is far more expensive than US

Cheers
 

NeverWasACornflakeGirl

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #34 on: April 22, 2014, 04:40:21 AM »
Before I had MMM (and admittedly when I had a higher salary job) I thought that making my own food was a waste of time and so I ate out *almost every meal* except breakfast. As you can imagine, my monthly food bill was pretty high, especially because I also bought groceries so that I had plenty of snacks at home.

But I have changed my ways, and I now only eat out once every couple weeks for one of the inevitable special occasions that come up. Here are some things that helped me "quit":
- Scale back a little at a time. If you try to start making all your food for every meal, you will slip up and feel guilty about it, and the negative feelings could cause you to go back to eating out all the time. First try limiting yourself to $100 like you mentioned. See what kind of meals you can make easily and cheap at home to take the place of restaurants. The next week try for $90, etc.

- Don't be afraid to buy convenience foods at the grocery store as you're cutting back. Time was a major factor for me and restaurants. I would wait too long to eat and then realize I was extremely hungry and so I was even less likely than normal to cook... so I would order out. So be sure to have to "crappy" meals around, like frozen meals that you can microwave for a few minutes.

- Cook in bulk once a week and freeze the excess. It's economical and will guarantee that you always have a good quantity of food in the house.

Like most things, it's really about the habit. In this case it's extra hard because you have to break the eating out habit at the same time as building the "make food for every meal" habit. I was totally hopeless and with some work I managed to get there, hope it works out for you as well!

This is really helpful!  Thanks!

NeverWasACornflakeGirl

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #35 on: April 22, 2014, 04:42:27 AM »
The eating out/restaurant part of our budget has been the hardest to cut, by far. We're doing better, but still average anywhere from $200-300 dollars a month (although this month its been a ridiculous $600)  but that's also on top of at least $700 a month in grocery spending, so we're easily spending about 30% of our budget on food.   I also have weight issues that i've been battling for quite some time, so its more than just a frugality issue for me. 

My crutch is Starbucks- i probably spend at least $30-40 bucks a week on coffee, muffins, etc.. Totally useless. I don't even really like it that much. 

My wife and I do try to meal plan, but it always seems like at least 1 night a week we are throwing the plan out the window and eating out.   

I know that these are basically bad habits that with some time and effort, I should be able to overcome, but its difficult.  I work a lot as well, and food has always been an escape.  It's basically a drug. Its not just the flavor of the food that effects me, but its the whole package- the way I feel eating out with family or friends, or the way I feel ordering a coffee and sitting outside. 

I know this is random, but a recent Raptitude blog post really resonated with me in this area:  http://www.raptitude.com/2014/03/the-first-worlds-biggest-addiction/.

Quote
Substances are especially popular weapons against boredom or discomfort, because they work a) immediately and b) reliably. They give us a kind of power we don’t normally have: direct control over a state of mind.

It’s natural for us to want to improve the quality of our state of mind. But we don’t need to. Most of us are so unaccustomed to voluntarily being with an unpleasant or uncertain state that we don’t even recognize those moments when we reach for the hammer-effect of substances or entertainment.

Even if we know some of these responses cost endless amounts of money, or reliably make us feel worse later, or do nothing but move a problem a few hours later into our lives, we still let the desire for an easier experience (right now) get the better of us. This need to attack all instances of discomfort with some kind of substance or technology becomes its own addiction.

I think you've really hit the nail on the head.  One of the unspoken assumptions of the face-punching around eating out is that food is an expense just like any other, but for some (or maybe a lot) of us it's just not.

BFGirl

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #36 on: April 22, 2014, 04:57:34 AM »
My mother-in-law got us this ridiculous gadget for Christmas & I haven't gone to McDonalds for breakfast since:

http://smile.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-25475-Breakfast-Sandwich/dp/B00BTIUYOO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398126821&sr=8-1&keywords=breakfast+sandwich+maker

Yes, this is literally the most ridiculous gadget ever. But, it's quite small and makes me great sandwiches in the time it takes me to get dressed & do my makeup.

I have something similar to this!  Haven't gone to McDonald's for breakfast since.  Also have been making Eggs Benedict which is one of my favorites.

I also go out to eat a lot, partly out of laziness and partly social.  However, I am trying to cook more for me and the kids.  I have found that none of us really like eating a lot of leftovers, so I bought some glass storage containers and I have been freezing the leftovers for the last few weeks.  Now I have built up a selection of things in my freezer that I can just pull out and take to work.  It is making it easier for me in the mornings.

I won't completely give up eating out, because I enjoy it.  I would get completely face punched for my dining out and food budgets right now, but I am slowly making changes to reduce this over time.  I am trying to invite friends over more and cook something for them or have snacks so that we aren't eating out as much.  I love to cook crepes.  They are inexpensive and easy to make (although time consuming) and you can do lots of different fillings.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2014, 04:59:40 AM by BFGirl »

BFGirl

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #37 on: April 22, 2014, 05:05:16 AM »
The eating out/restaurant part of our budget has been the hardest to cut, by far. We're doing better, but still average anywhere from $200-300 dollars a month (although this month its been a ridiculous $600)  but that's also on top of at least $700 a month in grocery spending, so we're easily spending about 30% of our budget on food.   I also have weight issues that i've been battling for quite some time, so its more than just a frugality issue for me. 

My crutch is Starbucks- i probably spend at least $30-40 bucks a week on coffee, muffins, etc.. Totally useless. I don't even really like it that much. 

My wife and I do try to meal plan, but it always seems like at least 1 night a week we are throwing the plan out the window and eating out.   

I know that these are basically bad habits that with some time and effort, I should be able to overcome, but its difficult.  I work a lot as well, and food has always been an escape.  It's basically a drug. Its not just the flavor of the food that effects me, but its the whole package- the way I feel eating out with family or friends, or the way I feel ordering a coffee and sitting outside. 

I know this is random, but a recent Raptitude blog post really resonated with me in this area:  http://www.raptitude.com/2014/03/the-first-worlds-biggest-addiction/.

Quote
Substances are especially popular weapons against boredom or discomfort, because they work a) immediately and b) reliably. They give us a kind of power we don’t normally have: direct control over a state of mind.

It’s natural for us to want to improve the quality of our state of mind. But we don’t need to. Most of us are so unaccustomed to voluntarily being with an unpleasant or uncertain state that we don’t even recognize those moments when we reach for the hammer-effect of substances or entertainment.

Even if we know some of these responses cost endless amounts of money, or reliably make us feel worse later, or do nothing but move a problem a few hours later into our lives, we still let the desire for an easier experience (right now) get the better of us. This need to attack all instances of discomfort with some kind of substance or technology becomes its own addiction.

Except for the Starbucks, this is me.  I understand you 100%

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #38 on: April 22, 2014, 05:54:50 AM »
Do not feel bad.
we are family of 4 and spend 1,500 Us per month eating out

I sprayed coffee all over my counter reading that. Housing excepted, that's more than my entire household budget.

BenjaminT

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #39 on: April 22, 2014, 06:27:22 AM »
I do think there is a human aspect to it as others have mentioned.  I am 100% fine with eating the same exact food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day of the week, for the rest of eternity.  I never get tired of it.  This puts me at $150 a month on groceries and approx $150 a month on eating out.  I'm OK with that.  I've witnessed first-hand the effects that cravings and the "getting tired of a food" effect can have on people; that is how you spend $2000 a month eating out like I said above.  The key is to not look at food as satisfying a pleasure, but just filling a gap of nourishment.  It has always came easy to me, but I know that others struggle with it -- we're talking about relationship-ending differences.  I wonder what the chemical difference is in people who get strong cravings for certain foods and get tired of foods quickly, vs those who don't?  Interesting subject.

Gin1984

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #40 on: April 22, 2014, 06:51:21 AM »
I do think there is a human aspect to it as others have mentioned.  I am 100% fine with eating the same exact food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day of the week, for the rest of eternity.  I never get tired of it.  This puts me at $150 a month on groceries and approx $150 a month on eating out.  I'm OK with that.  I've witnessed first-hand the effects that cravings and the "getting tired of a food" effect can have on people; that is how you spend $2000 a month eating out like I said above.  The key is to not look at food as satisfying a pleasure, but just filling a gap of nourishment.  It has always came easy to me, but I know that others struggle with it -- we're talking about relationship-ending differences.  I wonder what the chemical difference is in people who get strong cravings for certain foods and get tired of foods quickly, vs those who don't?  Interesting subject.
If I don't like the food, I just can't get up the bother to cook it and won't eat.  Did that when I was younger in my mother's house, not a good idea.

ichangedmyname

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #41 on: April 22, 2014, 07:39:08 AM »
I am guilty of this and fast food dining too. Our excuse is laziness.

Eudo

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #42 on: April 22, 2014, 08:45:59 AM »
So what do you guys do for lunch at work? This has been my Achilles heel. We have a cafeteria and a microwave and I guess I'm a bit of a food snob. I like warm food and hate microwaved food, so I end up spending at the cafeteria. It's hard for me to come up with foods to pack that I'd like to eat. I rationalize it by telling myself that once I don't have to work, I won't be at the office 10 hours a day and I can cook lunches (which I don't mind at all). But for now this is my big unnecessary spending category...

daymare

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #43 on: April 22, 2014, 09:35:07 AM »
As a fellow grad student, I really feel you on this.  I was actually looking through my spending on mint, and realized that most of it was on food/eating out -- a smoothie, chipotle burrito, food on campus, some small food treat, etc every week add up.  I don't spend too much money on other things (don't really have time/desire to do so).  I totally understand how hard it is to be derailed when you stay later than expected and don't plan for food, or want some artificial breaks that grabbing food out can give you.  One thing that works for me is to keep some basic food in my office to tide me over for a few hours if necessary - granola bars, oatmeal packets, apples, lots of tea.  I attend lunchtime seminars (that give me free lunch!), and gladly take any free food that remains from dept events.

Reading through your comments, I actually think I have pretty different food preferences - I'm pretty much ok eating the same food for a long time.  There were definitely weeks where I'd make chicken soup (just the basics - boil chicken, carrots, onion, some greens like parsley and dill, to get a brothy soup) and eat that with rice or pasta and chopped avocado, plus make salads for all my at-home meals.  Spending on food is definitely where I'm most lazy/wasteful.  I find going on a 20 minute walk to get froyo and walk back to be a really pleasant way to break up work in the evening, even though it's super unnecessary.  I actually feel a little that having a way worse social life in grad school makes food the 'treat' in my day, whereas friends totally had that spot before, and were the best way I could think of to spend my time.  Sigh.

obstinate

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #44 on: April 22, 2014, 09:51:52 AM »
My wife and I probably eat out too often. You can do some things to control costs though. Drinking only water and skipping appetizers+dessert are probably #1 and #2 on the list. For the cost of a glass of wine at the restaurant, you can have a bottle from the grocery store. For the cost of a pint of beer at the bar, you can have a six pack at home. (I still go out to get beer with my friends, but if I'm not *intentionally* drinking, I don't order beer by default, at least not any more.)

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #45 on: April 22, 2014, 10:34:52 AM »
So what do you guys do for lunch at work? This has been my Achilles heel. We have a cafeteria and a microwave and I guess I'm a bit of a food snob. I like warm food and hate microwaved food, so I end up spending at the cafeteria. It's hard for me to come up with foods to pack that I'd like to eat. I rationalize it by telling myself that once I don't have to work, I won't be at the office 10 hours a day and I can cook lunches (which I don't mind at all). But for now this is my big unnecessary spending category...

Learn to not be a food snob? There's a difference between being someone who can appreciate good food and someone who can't derive enjoyment out of simple fare.

I do sandwiches with fruit and veggies. Sometimes homemade granola mix. My wife does sandwiches or leftovers if we have them.

Do you like salads? You could warm up some grilled chicken or steak in the microwave and put that on top of a cold salad. Not sure if that's "warm" enough for you :)

galliver

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #46 on: April 22, 2014, 11:24:33 AM »
So what do you guys do for lunch at work? This has been my Achilles heel. We have a cafeteria and a microwave and I guess I'm a bit of a food snob. I like warm food and hate microwaved food, so I end up spending at the cafeteria. It's hard for me to come up with foods to pack that I'd like to eat. I rationalize it by telling myself that once I don't have to work, I won't be at the office 10 hours a day and I can cook lunches (which I don't mind at all). But for now this is my big unnecessary spending category...

I don't know if we're at the same level, but I can't stand the mushy vegetables that result from reheating them in a dish (e.g. stir fry), or from slow-cooking or being in soup for a long time. I find that pasta, rice, and meat reheat quite well. I also find that steaming veggies in the microwave from fresh or undercooked tends to produce the results I want. Sometimes I go through a period of appreciating soup. Sometimes (usually summer), salad or sandwich go over well. Sometimes a warm drink+cold sandwich sounds good to me.

As we've seen above, I have these strategies, I just sometimes have trouble implementing them! :)

skunkfunk

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #47 on: April 22, 2014, 12:01:38 PM »
Does no-one else find most restaurant food disgusting?

I can't cook, but my wife makes simple meals that are more consistent and better tasting than when I have eaten out. Perhaps related, she likes restaurants better than I.

This thread is figuratively making me nauseous!

Rebecca Stapler

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #48 on: April 22, 2014, 12:20:19 PM »
Where are my other diners at? Because I'm feeling rather lonely and I *know* people on here have it worse than I do.
Maybe you're on the wrong board? This is MMM, where people get facepunched regularly ;)

I know, because I was last year when I admitted to $80/month in dining out spending. That doesn't happen any more. With a preschooler and two FT working parents, it's been hard to cut out the monthly date night treat and the weekly "I'm too exhausted to cook" take-out. But we've been able to do it. Or, if we dine out it's because we saved so much on our groceries that we made room for it in our budget.

Our monthly food budget for 3 people is $500 and we are in a high cost of living area.

But if you take a look at the "stupid money wasters" thread like half the posts were "I got takeout again." This is a habit/problem that people (on this site/forum, too) are dealing with that is harder than it would seem. Kind of how weight loss and procrastination-fighting are much harder than it seems. "Just suck it up" rarely works as advice for dealing with any habit or behavior.

I admire your eliminating this spending entirely, but please realize that's not my goal or priority. I'm sure there are others who feel the same. My interpretation of MMM is to spend on what matters, and not beyond your means. I'm doing this but it could be better; I'm looking for others in the same place. It's not a dire situation.


Er ... maybe you're losing track of who said what, but I didn't say you should cut it out entirely. I'm the one in the earlier part of the thread who suggested tackling one of those excuses at a time, and prioritizing those that are deal-breakers in favor of those that can be fixed.

FWIW, I didn't understand that you were "looking for others in the same place." I thought that you were looking for suggestions on how to make changes to reduce your spending here. My bad. I'll see myself out.

Frankies Girl

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Re: Restaurant Diners Anonymous
« Reply #49 on: April 22, 2014, 12:36:12 PM »
Does no-one else find most restaurant food disgusting?

I can't cook, but my wife makes simple meals that are more consistent and better tasting than when I have eaten out. Perhaps related, she likes restaurants better than I.

This thread is figuratively making me nauseous!

Maybe not eat out at crappy restaurants? ;)



I LOVE eating out, but we try to keep it down to once or twice a week just because it's really not good for us, and it is so expensive... I mean even getting a burger and fries for $5 - I could make enough to serve 4-5 people the same thing for that much! We don't do sushi at home since we tend to love the sashimi more than the rice part and there are several fish places that we are addicted to, and we also love (unfortunately) some of the fried stuff, and I refuse to buy a deep fryer since that's already bad enough that we go out to eat for that every once in a while. For us, eating out has nothing to do with socializing with friends, and everything to do with the fact that we just love food - and spending time with each other... so it's been a bit easier for us to cut back on eating out since it doesn't hurt our social life.

Lately what we've been doing for hanging out with friends is having a movie night - and the food is cooked (by me) to go with the theme of the movie. We've been on an Italian kick since we were going through the Godfather movies and then jumped to Goodfellas, so there's been lots of meatballs, ziti, lasagna, and pizza, but the really cool thing is that now I have excellent, crowd-tested recipes for all of those dishes. I will never order pizza again! :D

I eat out for lunch maybe once a quarter if that. The husband used to eat out 3-5 times a week for lunch, but he's gotten much better at packing a lunch now. It's usually a sandwich and several pieces of fruit, but we'll throw in avocados, carrots, etc.. depending on what we bought that week. Although lately it's been leftover lasagna and this week will be from scratch tuna noodle casserole. I make extra large meals when I cook, and then we eat on it for almost the whole week. And no, we don't get tired of things - if we did, I'd just freeze half of it and thaw it out for another week. :)

I have no idea how much counter space and cleaning trouble those breakfast sandwich makers take, but we make our own breakfast sandwiches using english muffins, and use a coffee mug to cook the egg (spray a little oil inside, crack egg, scramble, cook around 1-2 minutes, and you have a perfectly round egg, add shredded cheese while cooking, or a slice of cheese to the sandwich - we call them "eggy muffins") and we don't have to have another unitasker sitting on our countertop.

I also love taking salads. I do a bag of mixed lettuce/spinach, add a container of freshly diced tomatoes and some shredded cheese, and usually throw in some fake crabmeat for protein (or a small can of chicken meat) with some creamy salad dressing. I toast my own croutons from stale bread and a little butter and garlic powder and it's better than that premade stuff, but you can also add in all of that TO the premade salad bag, and come out with a really filling lunch.


 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!