Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We spend about $500-600 a month on eating out.
We are a family of 4 (two small kids). We eat out a LOT and spend $40-80 per meal.

I've tried cutting down on our eating out budget and it just means that the expenses are transferred to the grocery budget. Whether we cook or eat out our expenditure is the same.

I forgot to add our HHI is about $95k

I am not judging you for eating out a lot, but you know that a $40 trip to Nando's doesn't translate to $40 worth of rotisserie chicken, sides, bread, and soda, right? No way. If it's an even exchange, then you must be grocery shopping at the Whole Foods salad bar, which I consider to be eating out.

We neither eat at Nando's (or any chains) nor buy our groceries from the Wholefoods salad bar. Nor do we eat rotisserie chicken. We are vegetarian and cook from scratch (nothing processed). I also am not hung up on buying organic. I track all our expenditure carefully and shop well but I still don't find a negligible difference when we eat out less in our overall budget for food.

Also, btw, it sounds like you are judging. Just saying.

Anonymous wrote:Family of 4, HHI $180k.

We eat out about 3-4 times per month, plus 1-2 lunches out at work per month. All other meals and snacks at home. I'm one of those people who can prepare better food at home than we can get in like 95% of restaurants.

I would say we spend $300/month eating out.

I just went and checked our bank account to add it up. We actually have only spent $199 in the last four weeks. Guess I overestimated.

I should add that my kids are young (both under 6) and so I also try to eat out very little because I prefer them to eat more nutritious food.

Family of 4, HHI $180k.

We eat out about 3-4 times per month, plus 1-2 lunches out at work per month. All other meals and snacks at home. I'm one of those people who can prepare better food at home than we can get in like 95% of restaurants.

I would say we spend $300/month eating out.

Is it weird that every time I read "eating out" I think of oral sex?

This is our major weak spot and I can't believe how out of control we've let it become, but let's just say that groceries account for 35% of our food expenditure.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We spend about $500-600 a month on eating out.
We are a family of 4 (two small kids). We eat out a LOT and spend $40-80 per meal.

I've tried cutting down on our eating out budget and it just means that the expenses are transferred to the grocery budget. Whether we cook or eat out our expenditure is the same.

I forgot to add our HHI is about $95k

I am not judging you for eating out a lot, but you know that a $40 trip to Nando's doesn't translate to $40 worth of rotisserie chicken, sides, bread, and soda, right? No way. If it's an even exchange, then you must be grocery shopping at the Whole Foods salad bar, which I consider to be eating out.

Why is $100 for 4 eating out so surprising? Granted we aren't going to high-end fancy restaurants but certainly 4 people can eat out several times in one week for $100. For instance how about going out to breakfast/brunch ($25), pizza ($30), and rotisserie chicken ($45)?

Perhaps you've never had pizza or hate it...otherwise, I don't understand why $100/week for 4 seems so impossible?

HHI is about $200K. Family of three eaters, who all eat about the same amount.

DH and I probably get lunches or coffees too much when you consider what we'd like to be saving. I'd say those trips total $40 a week on an unchecked week. Dinners out or takeout as a family are about once every week, sometimes twice if we're doing less expensive takeout such as a simple sandwich or a $15 pizza for all of us. Let's call that $50/week as well.

$90-100 a week feels about right, but I would guess we skip more than we overdo it, so maybe $4k a year on eating out all meals and takeout.

One thing we've been trying to do is supplement with our favorite takeout rather than eat full meals out. A dinner AT our favorite thai place is about $50 + tip because we all get drinks and we order an extra appetizer. But if we each pick out the specific entree we're craving and get it to go, making extra rice and edamame and drinks at home, we get the benefit of the yummy food but spend only $25-$30. It adds up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$100 per week of eating out. Hhi is $120k. My 3 & 6 yrs old ask to eat out all the time.

How is this possible? 4 people eating out on $100?

Not drinking for one thing.

Second, look for restaurant coupons that pop up in the Sunday paper.

What??? We never spend that much on a meal. Kids are the same age, family of four.

Anonymous wrote:We spend about $500-600 a month on eating out.
We are a family of 4 (two small kids). We eat out a LOT and spend $40-80 per meal.

I've tried cutting down on our eating out budget and it just means that the expenses are transferred to the grocery budget. Whether we cook or eat out our expenditure is the same.

I forgot to add our HHI is about $95k

We spend about $500-600 a month on eating out.
We are a family of 4 (two small kids). We eat out a LOT and spend $40-80 per meal.

I've tried cutting down on our eating out budget and it just means that the expenses are transferred to the grocery budget. Whether we cook or eat out our expenditure is the same.

Way too much. $500 a month or so. We can afford it, but it's ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$100 per week of eating out. Hhi is $120k. My 3 & 6 yrs old ask to eat out all the time.

How is this possible? 4 people eating out on $100?

Not drinking for one thing.

Second, look for restaurant coupons that pop up in the Sunday paper.

For those of you that aren't getting senior citizen discounts the Sunday paper was what you used before Groupon, Living Social and Amazon Local to find deals on things.

Well played!

For the record, I am in my 30's and I get the Sunday paper, partly for coupons, partly because I like having the print edition.

I really think some people are just too lazy to look for discounts, or have their inbox's very unorganized.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$100 per week of eating out. Hhi is $120k. My 3 & 6 yrs old ask to eat out all the time.

How is this possible? 4 people eating out on $100?

Not drinking for one thing.

Second, look for restaurant coupons that pop up in the Sunday paper.

For those of you that aren't getting senior citizen discounts the Sunday paper was what you used before Groupon, Living Social and Amazon Local to find deals on things.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$100 per week of eating out. Hhi is $120k. My 3 & 6 yrs old ask to eat out all the time.

How is this possible? 4 people eating out on $100?

Not drinking for one thing.

Second, look for restaurant coupons that pop up in the Sunday paper.