Keeping my “Eating Out” monster in check

That’s a great tip if you’re on a per diem and don’t have to save receipts. Unfortunately most of my experience, I had to save the receipts and just forward it to the clients.

I almost feel guilty after reading this. I am a full time student with little time to cook and most of the time I find myself buying outside instead of cooking. I have to admit that last year when I made the total of how much I spent on restaurants I was more than shocked!! It was one and a half more than what I spent on groceries- sad but true! Now I am trying to cut back on my expenses though, glad to say that I eat out only twice a week as opposed to everyday

I have a definite weakness for both spending money and “American Chinese food,” so it’s hard to keep my spending in check; however, I always think “I could have purchased a ticket to go to X place, or Y outfit, or whatever other noneatable thing.”

That sounds a lot of like BF. Except he also got us used to not caring about how much things cost, and things can add up pretty quickly.

I know what you mean about not really enjoying eating out. We used to do take-out at least once a week. This year we can’t b/c of our budget, but I don’t miss it at all. The grocery store allows me to have *exactly* what I want–as long as I learn how to make it…

Wish I had your discipline for controlling my spending. I think this summer I gonna get any crappy second job I can find(busser, dishwasher, etc.) just to humble myself and rekindle my respect for money and although the pay will be low I’ll save a fortune because with how busy I’ll be I won’t have time to spend an money.

That is a handy sum to keep in mind when I am feeling too lazy to cook. I feel a little guilt about going for pizza tonight (but I did have a money off voucher so I don’t feel too bad!)
Siobhan

Wow that’s a lot!
I love eating out with friends, but hate it by myself. I’d rather eat at home. It’s hard to find really healthy options while eating out for me, because healthy = more expensive.

I’ve never done the calculation on what it would cost me to eat out for a year (mostly because I would NEVER do it), but it is quite a shocking figure at the end. Definitely something to keep an eye on.

That sandwich picture is making me hungry. It looks so good…

Eating out is one that always shocks me. You don’t think it’d add up but it does! I didn’t think I ate out *that* much until I started a self-imposed limit of just twice per-month in January.

My struggle now: eating out is often a social occasion in my group so by not going out I miss out on the social time. I haven’t found the perfect solution for this yet. I’ve invited people over for a dinner party (in lieu of a restaurant) but friends seem to think they’re imposing (especially if I offer more then ~1/month). I’ve tired to make it clear they’re not (I LOVE to cook! and I’ve explained that I’m cutting down on eating out but still want to spend time together)