I'm curious how often everyone eats out? At the most, we eat out once a week. This usually isn't the case though. If we do eat out, we're a big fan of happy hours or places that have a special certain nights of the week (ie. wing night). We find that it's possible to eat out at an affordable price, but we also know that we don't need to do this every night. What are your habits like?
Well, I'm 'just me'; if I had any kids or a NON-"Paycheck Woman," then I'd only go out once every other week or so. Now, I'm goin` out (not counting 'when someone else is buying' or 'when I'm on-vacation-etc.') about 3 times a week. I know it'd be "cheaper" to buy what I need atLog In & just eat in all the time, but I feel like it's MY JOB to go out & spend my money on people's food-service!
I used to eat at restaurants weekly but since I also have cocktails as well as dessert, I began to gain weight. These days, I try to not let more than 6 weeks pass without visiting a restaurant. Even though I'm a decent cook, I like to get out of the house and be in a new environment.
My kid and I go out to eat once a month or less. We made a major life change by moving to a better apartment 4 months ago and I'm still in debt because I maxed out my credit cards to get the utilities turned on and buy beds. So it'll be a few months before we're stable enough to go out and do fun stuff. Right now I cook at home and we go on picnics in the park.
Me and my mom usually eat once every week after we hear the mass. It's kind of our bonding time since I spend most of my time in school while she stays at home. The two of us live alone because my dad's working on a cruise ship, as a seaman. We don't really spend that much whenever we eat out since most of the restaurants where we eat at are fast-food chains. And since there's just the two of us, we usually spend less on fast food compared to other people who have bigger families.
I eat out a couple times each week. For me it comes down to poor planning. I don't have time to make a proper meal or I haven't got the food in the house to do so. I actually prefer to make my own food on most occasions but my bad habit of not planning prevents that. I imagine that I could save a lot of money if I were to plan meals correctly.
We probably go out about once a week, too, and always to a very cheap cafe, usually a little Chinese one that is only a few blocks away. Most of the time I either make meals for us, or we just each snack as we are hungry. Both my husband and myself can cook, so making our own food is not an issue; we eat together when we feel like it, and separately the rest of the time. I look for good buys at the grocery store, and that helps to stretch the food budget just enough that we can slip out for a meal now and then. We also usually go at lunch time, when it is cheaper than the dinner meal.
My family and I eat out usually once every two weeks. We rather have cook-outs and dinner parties at home. I'm also working on a diet change so staying away from fast food is a must.
I'll go out a few times a week. A few of my weekdays have me going well past 10:00 PM, so the last thing I want to do is come and cook. When I do eat out though, I try and be sure that I don't go overboard. It's rather easy for my weight and wallet to get out of control! Other than that, it's just going out with friends or family.
I don't eat out a lot these days. When I was younger, had many friends and so on, eating out almost every other day of the week was the norm. But then I moved out of town back into the country and these days I just stay home because there's no point in going out alone. It does save me a lot of money though.
To be honest, I really don't enjoy eating out any more. After several years of cooking in restaurants when I was younger, and knowing how much the food is marked up, I cannot bring myself to go out to eat something I could have made at home for much much less. If I am going to treat myself to something like a steak dinner, I would rather put my money towards a nice cut of steak to cook it at home, than settle for something cheaper or smaller at the restaurant to keep my total check from being too high (not to mention the tip I would have to leave on it). I could pick up a pack of ribeye steaks and a $4 bottle of wine from Marc's, and stay well under $15 total, and make steak dinners and baked potatoes for two with that and some pantry items I already have on hand. That would cost me close to $45-$50 with tip at a restaurant. When I am out and about running errands, or travelling, I don't mind getting stuff from the dollar menu at places like McDonalds or Burger King - but I try to not do that too much since it's not particularly healthy.
Great ideas. We are also pretty similar with this, as my husband and I sometimes are on opposite schedules work-wise so we each make our own meal for dinner, etc. Good point about going out to lunch to pay cheaper prices
I eat out very little, about thrice a month. I do it only when someone invites me because I really don't feel like eating food I did not prepare or by someone I know. I am so conscious. And whenever I eat out, I only go for those quality restaurants and never go for a fast food. Those quality restaurants are very expensive to dine, so it is really a must that I cut down eating out.
We rarely eat out, two or three times a year tops and somewhere inexpensive. I don't want to waste money. If I'm running errands, I get to stay hungry until I am home. When we travel, I pack a cooler. If we can't pack a cooler, I try to find a grocery store to grab some bread and lunch meat. If all else fails, it's the dollar menu all the way.
