I would probably say under $1500 easily. We get takeout sparingly but often enough that we don't feel deprived. We make pizza and like to cook, but do order Thai and other things we can't replicate. We eat out on date night on occasion, and as a family of three fairly frequently. We tend to go to places like Surfside and taco joints and date night is sushi or tapas (never Komi). HHI varies but this year will be about $115K + bonus.

If I'm being honest and adding in coffees, I'd say the total may approach $2K. I'd be surprised if we exceeded that.

OP if you are spending $20k a year thats almost $400 a week! On top of groceries? do you just not cook?

I think its really excessive unless you eat out almost 100% of the time.

Probably 11k/yr for our family of four. Eating out is something we all really enjoy, although we are now making an effort to cut back for financial and health reasons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bringing lunch from home is MUCH less caloric than the majority of takeout downtown.

Yes, but when are you lying on your death bed are you going to say "Ah, I really enjoyed that salad I brought in for lunch every day"

Life is short. Live it.

Well, fo rme to live longer and enjoy it more, I need to eat better food than is available at the regular take away place near work. YMMV

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you claiming 1-3k. Have you actually sat down and calculated lunches, coffees, take out, etc.

I always thought that we spent somewhere in the 5k range annually until one year I decided to save ALL of my receipts.

Yes, we use Quicken to track expenses. We cook and eat at home and bring in lunches from home, DH drinks tea that we brew at home too. I brew my coffee at home.

I always feel sorry for people bringing lunches from home every single day. And not because they are poor, it's because I perceive them as being cheap, boring and inflexible.

Nice. We like to eat fresh real food - it is easy to do that at home than find it at work.

We spent $3100 eating out in the last twelve months, including vacations. We bring our lunches most days. In contrast, we've spent $8000 on groceries in the same time period. Family of 5 (but our children are still very young).

Way too much. At least 14-15k a year.

6-7K a year. Working on reducing the amount.

Oh, can it, lady.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you claiming 1-3k. Have you actually sat down and calculated lunches, coffees, take out, etc.

I always thought that we spent somewhere in the 5k range annually until one year I decided to save ALL of my receipts.

Yes, we use Quicken to track expenses. We cook and eat at home and bring in lunches from home, DH drinks tea that we brew at home too. I brew my coffee at home.

I always feel sorry for people bringing lunches from home every single day. And not because they are poor, it's because I perceive them as being cheap, boring and inflexible.

It is somehow funy. I just don't understand people that eat so much at restaurants or take out. It is sodium loaded food, unhealthy food made with cheap ingredients. You don't even know what you put into your mouth, and the long term consequences that this causes to your body. To eat out is fun once in a while, but every day.... It is just a heart attack waiting to happen. In addition, I feel sorry for people that have to buy lunch every day. For some people it is not about the money, it is just about what's best for you. So you can stop feeling sorry for us. We are perfectly fine. Thank you. And most likely we don't have your fat ass.

Around $2000 max.
Family of 2. I love to cook, and experiment with different cuisines. So we both bring our lunches to work. We also brew coffee at home.

$2800. Two of us. HHI $130k.

We have a line-itemized budget, so it's pretty clear. Check against bank acct and CCs once a week, write down any expenses that we missed recording.

Anonymous wrote:For those of you claiming 1-3k. Have you actually sat down and calculated lunches, coffees, take out, etc.

I always thought that we spent somewhere in the 5k range annually until one year I decided to save ALL of my receipts.

We save the receipts, also write down all the money we spend daily and check it all against credit cards or cash spent?Crazy, but I have done it for years to see where the money is going. I find it interesting.

$3000. Family of 3, HHI 130k.

Way too much. Most of it is for convenience, the result of being too rushed and/or tired to cook dinner or pack lunch on a regular basis.