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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here and I am so grateful for the suggestions and reality check.

Yes, I agree that meal planning and discipline regarding restaurants and carryout would make all the difference. Our grocery bills are reasonable, mostly from Trader Joes and Safeway. We make coffee and drink wine and beer at home, mostly. We could certainly drink less, but I don't think that's the problem. For us, eating out is entertainment (we don't take fancy vacations, go to movies, etc.) Carryout is the result of poor planning - it seems every mealtime is a surprise. Lunches out at work is escape for my DH and laziness for me. Beers out once a week is social for DH.

But I am ready to change, and I think DH is ready too. Our HHI is around $200K. We are on track for retirement and college savings. We own a rental property that is cash positive. DC is in public school with tutoring and lots of extracurricular expenses. We have no school debt and drive very old cars. We don't spend much on clothes or toys. We do like to spend money fixing up our old house.

But our greatest need right now is to build an emergency fund so we are not living at our edge month to month. I know we have the power to change our behavior, but have struggled with willpower. I guess it's time to grow up and become responsible adults.[/quote]

There is nothing inherently wrong with your choices - but the issue is they need to be planned choices.   This what the "weekly review" can help you with.    You need to start with something where you can find a win so you get some momentum.   Is it 2 dinners a night + 2 lunches (I find Monday and Tuesday easiest).    Having a great lunch bag helps so make sure you have the tools to do this.   I was able to help my husband change from eating out daily to now he makes his own lunch b/c he realized he preferred the food he was taking from home.  His lunch downtown was nothing special but he was dropping $12 a day.   It adds up.

Congrats on identifying that you needed to make some changes.   Best of luck with your journey.[/quote]

This Friday night, go out to Whole Foods for dinner. Eat there. Have a drink from the bar.  During dinner, plan meals for next week. After dinner, shop for groceries.  Even thou its whole paycheck, I guarantee you will end up spending less next week than you normally would spend under your current operating procedure.

Once you run this experiment and see the results, commit to it weekly.[/quote]

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