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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Our food/dining expenses are way higher than they should be, and I am looking to shave off at least $300/month by changing our behavior. This will take a major attitude adjustment and I’m looking for strategies and perspectives from people who don’t consume like locusts. I’ve been tracking expenses for five years and the amount we spend on groceries, alcohol, carryout, restaurants, bars, lunches, and coffee is staggering: $2,000/month for a family of three. We’ve tried small fixes like bringing lunch to work, limiting carryout and restaurants, beers at home instead of at bars, etc. but rarely make a dent in our overall spending. I feel like we need some tough love and a lifestyle reboot to bring this in line.[/quote]

Here's your tough love, OP.

You are spending an obscene amount of money on food that is not good for you. Stop ordering takeout, period. Cook food at home and plan to go out to a restaurant as a family one night per week, then stick to that plan. If you're tired, eat sandwiches or cheese and crackers or quick pasta. Stop drinking so much alcohol. It's not good for you, and is absurdly expensive. Make coffee at home. Limit how often you go out to lunch during the week. When you go to the grocery store, go with a list of ingredients for meals. Don't buy premade food. Don't buy name brand food as a rule. Store brand food is fine. Don't buy pre-cut vegetables or fruit (bonus: avoid risk of food poisoning from grocery store!). Eat less meat overall. It's expensive and not all that great for you. Limit how often you go to the grocery store. Do your shopping for the week, not daily. Adjust your eating habits so that you are not snacking all the time, which I assume you are based on the "consume like locusts" comment. Grown adults do not need snacks in addition to large meals.

If you do those things, you will see your spending on these categories go down. You will also probably feel healthier because what you describe is how I used to eat in my early 20s and now that I am a person who has maybe 3 drinks a week and eats mostly vegetable-centric meals prepared at home, I am much happier and healthier, plus I'm saving hundreds of dollars a month. I'm a married mother of 2 with 2 cats and our weekly grocery budget is $180 for everyone. I work from 8-5:30 and manage to make dinner for my family every night and lunches for myself and my older child every morning. If I can do it, so can you.[/quote]

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