Lower middle income households: how often dining out/getting delivery?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I think the LMC is NOT getting take out...at least I hope not. So wasteful and unhealthy. I'm envisioning them eating things like hot dogs, heating up frozen chicken tenders, and macaroni and cheese from a box?

Uh no. Rice, beans, produce that is in season, frozen vegetables.

From what I have read, most LMC do not know what "seasonal produce" is unless they live on a farm and grow it. OP says she lives in a suburban area...

You seriously don't know anyone with a vegetable garden? Or do you just not know anyone LMC, only read about them?

Also you don't have to be wealthy to be aware that peaches and tomatoes grow in the summer, squash and apples are fall, etc. That's pretty basic stuff.

[Anonymous]

Mc here. We make a lot but also have student loans for a career (think doctor but not making 200k+). And we are a family of 5, which makes the money spread thin.

We never do delivery like DoorDash. I did when our kids were unable to stay home alone / too big to convince all of them to get in the car at the same time / a stressful period of life / using discounts but always tipping well. This would be like Saturday morning breakfast when I was overwhelmed.

Once in 2 months, or less often, we do delivery pizza. Overall those nights are relatively affordable and only if we are having an incredibly busy or stressful day.

Eating out, we do quite a bit:
-fast food. If we do this, I notice it usually isn’t for all 5 of us. It’s like 2 of us on the way home from a late game that went over dinner
-once a month, we might do a dinner out. If there is a recent great paycheck or a reason to celebrate.
-my husband does lunch out sometimes if his break gets cut short. Otherwise he is able to come home to eat lunch. Also sometimes we make it a lunch date if I am free. Cheap way to go on dates, rather than out on a weekend.

[Anonymous]

^also we do not live in dc, so we actually make a lot for our area. Again, still MC or LMC bc the student loans face hamper our freedom and because we already are mid-career with kids. We shouldn’t eat out at all. But “gazelle mindset” is too hard when it is years long.
Expect a 50k/yr raise this fall however.

[Anonymous]

Almost zero

[Anonymous]

We budget $100 for dining out each month and rarely spend it all. Family of three. We spend $800 on groceries each month in DC suburb.

[Anonymous]

We are middle class and might do takeout / dining out once a month max.

We cook 99% of our meals at home and carry our lunches to work. And make coffee and drinks at home, and carry snacks in the car. It just costs too much here, and I have some food intolerances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mc here. We make a lot but also have student loans for a career (think doctor but not making 200k+). And we are a family of 5, which makes the money spread thin.

We never do delivery like DoorDash. I did when our kids were unable to stay home alone / too big to convince all of them to get in the car at the same time / a stressful period of life / using discounts but always tipping well. This would be like Saturday morning breakfast when I was overwhelmed.

Once in 2 months, or less often, we do delivery pizza. Overall those nights are relatively affordable and only if we are having an incredibly busy or stressful day.

Eating out, we do quite a bit:
-fast food. If we do this, I notice it usually isn’t for all 5 of us. It’s like 2 of us on the way home from a late game that went over dinner
-once a month, we might do a dinner out. If there is a recent great paycheck or a reason to celebrate.
-my husband does lunch out sometimes if his break gets cut short. Otherwise he is able to come home to eat lunch. Also sometimes we make it a lunch date if I am free. Cheap way to go on dates, rather than out on a weekend.

You are NOT lower middle class or middle class on that income. Your debt does not reduce your income. You choose that debt and to have three kids. Three kids are expensive.

[Anonymous]

We are about the same as you. DD eats dinner in the car at least once a week if not twice because of sports but it’s still food from home that I make. It’s healthier and cheaper.
People choose to spend money on different things. I can afford to eat out more but I’d rather save the money for other things we enjoy.

[Anonymous]

Almost never. Maybe McDonald or pizza.

[Anonymous]

I was raised LMC. By the time I was a tween, I knew about our money issues and would actively be helping prioritize spending — like I knew if I asked for dinner out, I could forget about getting that outfit/book/piece of sports equipment I really wanted. How much does your tween know about your finances and what they can be doing to help?

[Anonymous]

We’re high income and we spend an insane amount of money on delivery food and expensive convenience groceries. It’s because neither of us likes to cook. The food isn’t better, it’s probably worse. We can afford it, but I think we might be better off hiring a chef honestly.

[Anonymous]

Personally, I rarely spend money on take out and zero for delivery. The last time I grabbed something fast was at chicken salad chick, only because I wanted to try it.

However, fast food is unfortunately a part of my teen son's social life, so I pay for it twice a week. After that, he has to use the money he makes from his job.

[Anonymous]

We are UMC, but were LMC at one point. A lot of our grocery habits are from our LMC era.

We buy our beans, flour, rice, lentils, spices - from Indian grocery stores, most of our veggies and herbs from Asian grocery stores. I make my own cream, butter, ghee, paneer, yogurt from whole milk. I still sprout my own beans and grow my own microgreens.

I have money now to buy very good quality milk and milk products and now prefer organic milk products. However, in my LMC years, we would band with several families to buy bulk milk, eggs, meats, other products from Costco, by collectively buying one membership.