Our Family Swears Off Eating Out - High Cost Food - We Are Saving $$$$$$!

Well, it took a while, but our family DID it.. we swear off eating out (unless an an emergency, someone goes to hospital, broke car and stuck... etc..)

The quality of food is really less than years ago and the portions are SMALLER.

We have saved hundreds (if not thousands of dollars) and we eat much better at home.. I dusted off our crock pots, woks, roasters, fryers and broke out the cook books, started cooking ahead and freezing meals....

PLUS We are eating together more as a family. By saving $$$ on eating out.. we have more money in our food budget and are really getting frugal on saving every penny...My adults sons are getting creative in the kitchen and making "fast food" like chicken wings and sauce..

My husband is an out of state trucker and he has learned to take refrigerated meals, instant soups and some canned foods. Once a week or so.. depending on his food supply have to eat an economy meal.. but he stops at buffets and eats enough for 3 meals.. (the restaurant loses money!)

Who else out there has given up totally on eating out and are you happier? saving money?

reply to post by bluestar.ranch


I am a smoker. Prior to our smoking ban, I was eating out two or three nights a week (I am single and have the disposable income). I also gave three or four thousand dollars a year to charity.

When the smoking ban came in, I stopped eating out. I will not pay to be entertained in a manner that discriminates against me. I also stopped supporting the charities that exist to harass me.

I save about 8,000 per year. Renovated my house and sold it for a 63 % profit!

I still don't eat out and I still don't donate to charity.

At this point, not going out in public for entertainment has become a habit. If the smoking bans were lifted, I doubt that my spending habits would change.

Tired of Control Freaks.

reply to post by TiredofControlFreaks


eh you sound like a control freak..

Can't let others control YOUR fate eh??

Make your own food... It's WAY better and way more healthy.. I can't believe this is a topic, but good job to the two posters above me..

This is the way I have always lived. Maybe it was never having money to waste or maybe it was that my mom never taught me real food was yucky?

Heh.. Once I have some land I will be able to can way more, then what I can grow in my current apartment..

Grow up, AND Grow YOUR food. Others would poison you to make more $$$...

But no, don't read this negatively.

Good Job. Food is Life. Life is Good. Good is God.
Be Good.

reply to post by Dustytoad


Dustytoad

The most effective way to fight back is through your WALLET! Those anti-smoker campaigns have had a positive effect in ways that they didn't intend!

Tired of Control Freaks

reply to post by TiredofControlFreaks


Hi, please stay on topic.. (dont be a thread killer) We are talking about not eating out.. and I am glad the person stopped smoking (if he/she wanted to)

Anyone out there? who else stopped eating out (or reduced it) and why?

We eat out very rarely and usually it happens when we are having roadtrip on vacation. This is only cos it has become inconvenient and rather risky health wise ( kid and hubby both has celiac disease ) pizzerias are no go and also fast food is no go, some better restaurants have glutein free food and safe eating places.

This health issue has led me into baking as grocery stores do not always have fresh glutein free bread here and bread from fridge is not very tasty and is also sticky. If we want to have a good bread it needs to be done home.
Also glutein free meals are better homemade than bought ready, range is rather limited in stores.

It has never been a matter of choice here it has been matter of "must". Have no idea if we have saved any money by preparing meals and bakings at home as glutein free ingredients are much more expencive. What i can say that we dont eat as much additives anymore so in general it has been a good "must".

reply to post by bluestar.ranch

My husband is an out of state trucker and he has learned to take refrigerated meals, instant soups and some canned foods. Once a week or so.. depending on his food supply have to eat an economy meal.. but he stops at buffets and eats enough for 3 meals.. (the restaurant loses money!)

My husband is also a long haul trucker. We haven't given up on restaurants completely when he's home, sometimes we'll go for breakfast, but it's down to only a couple of times a month.

I make all his meals while he's out on the road, and put them into freezer containers. That saves a fortune, and is also so much better for his health. When he puts them into his truck fridge they stay frozen, he just microwaves them. He's home every week or two.

When he used to have to be on the road for a couple of months at a time, it was crazy expensive. The only restaurants where he could get his truck to were really pricey. Truckers make good money, but no one can afford $1000 a month food bill.
Even just having to purchase coffee and water out there adds up. Most stores won't let you use their washrooms unless you buy something, and proper truck stops are far and few between.

I was never one to eat out. I love to cook and post my recipes on here often.

I was raised with home cooked food. We couldn't afford to eat out so I learned how to cook at a young age. I love to cook at home for family or friends. It is much cheaper and healthier, as long as you stay away from boxed foods like those Hamburger Helper deals. It is so much easier to make your own hamburger helper or tuna helper!

I make a lot of meals and freeze them for later esp things like lasagna or mac and cheese. I then reheat it in the oven or on the stove top, never the microwave. I wouldn't even have one if the apt didn't come with one!

One thing i like to do is look up restaurants I like and make something off their menu. Years ago my bf at the time and I couldn't really afford to go out and with our work schedules it was hard esp since he worked an over night shift. We would pick what restaurant we wanted to eat at and then the meal off the menu. I'd make it and we'd have a "night out" as a night in! A few times we got his brother to serve us like he was our waiter.


I am working on a cook book and one of the chapters I will have will be on how cooking for yourself is cheaper and healthier. I will give examples of course and show how it is cheaper vs going out to eat. Many think it's too expensive or too time consuming, what i say to that is the time you spent at the restaurant could be time spent preparing the meal with your family. Also the money spent on a night out could be a weeks worth of groceries! When I was little we all helped with some part of the meal and sometimes we even fought over who would do what lol. I also tend to think people are just plain lazy today when it comes to cooking. If you have time to play online or with video games or watch crap tv you have time to make a good meal!!

I have a stocked kitchen at all times. There are certain things i always keep on hand because they can be used in many different dishes. I have probably 10 different kinds of pasta and pasta gets its own cabinet even lol I keep many different cheeses on hand for sauces or mac and cheese. I am teased about my cheese drawer often lol I love me some cheese! I also keep various types of "cream of" soups. I also make sure they don't have HFCS or any of that crap in them and honestly that is becoming hard but my local grocery stores own brand has none of that stuff in it. I also buy a lot of items only when they are on sale. I check the weekly circular every week to see who has what on sale. I also like to keep veggies on hand like broccoli, tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini and asparagus. I use those weekly and spend about 10-15 bucks on them. I have tons of spices and dried herbs so I can make anything at a moments notice. I also keep potatoes and onions on hand as well as mushrooms be it canned or fresh. I dont like to used canned mushrooms but they are cheaper and as long as they are not full of added crap I buy them. Again my local grocer has a decent brand that I use. Canned tuna is another i keep on hand so when I want to make tuna casserole I can. It is a very quick and easy dish to make! These will also be things I list in my cookbook.

Glad you are embracing cooking! It is so much more rewarding imo when you can say "hey I made that" esp when you have friends over for dinner! My friends always joke about how if i invite you to dinner you go! I love to feed people and you will not go hungry if you come to my house! I will also send you with left overs and dessert! I tend to cook for an army lol must be the Italian/Sicilian in me! We love to feed you!

I also make my own bread and pasta although lately I haven't due to being 33wks pregnant. Kneading dough is a bit difficult and my back can't handle it. I made pasta when my honey was home a couple months ago and it killed my back. I can't wait to start making pasta and bread again. Both are cheap and easy to make once you get a hang of the kneading process. You can use one of those table top mixers and they work too. I know many people who use them. I prefer to put my hard work into it and knead it myself. I know down the line though Iw ill need one of those mixers. My back won't take it much longer

We used to eat out a lot. We went through a lot of money on that. We still have debt, which I attribute to eating out a lot, if we had cooked at home more we could have paid more on the house and it would be all paid off. After the mortgage payments and insurances, the taxes and gas for the car and even the car purchase itself, that is what you have to live on. If you look at the whole picture you also need to examine cost of the trip out to get the meal and the extra miles on the car which devalues it along with more oil changes. We live a way from the restaurants, about three miles minimum. That costs at least a couple of bucks to go out and eat. Plus the cost and the tip. We still go out to a fish fry or to eat Chinese about once every two weeks as a treat. We feel much better eating homemade food also.

The new screwed up economy is based on people eating out a lot though. Look at all the people that would be out of work if everyone ate at home. The funny thing is, we were throwing out a lot of food when we ate out, having bought it anyway and never eating it.

Used to eat out for luncg every day. Now I pack a lunch, and make dinner. My sig other and I have been saving a ton of money!!! I almost feel like a tight wad for some reason, but hey, a penny saved is a penny earned...

Originally posted by rickymouse
We used to eat out a lot. We went through a lot of money on that. We still have debt, which I attribute to eating out a lot, if we had cooked at home more we could have paid more on the house and it would be all paid off. After the mortgage payments and insurances, the taxes and gas for the car and even the car purchase itself, that is what you have to live on. If you look at the whole picture you also need to examine cost of the trip out to get the meal and the extra miles on the car which devalues it along with more oil changes. We live a way from the restaurants, about three miles minimum. That costs at least a couple of bucks to go out and eat. Plus the cost and the tip. We still go out to a fish fry or to eat Chinese about once every two weeks as a treat. We feel much better eating homemade food also.

The new screwed up economy is based on people eating out a lot though. Look at all the people that would be out of work if everyone ate at home. The funny thing is, we were throwing out a lot of food when we ate out, having bought it anyway and never eating it.

Great response from everyone and yours is spot on... We too used to have waste in food bought.. by eating home almost 100% we are saving enough to "make it" in this tough economy.... GEE times have changed.. I remember when we could take all of family out to feed a large sunday dinner at good restaurant for $25... Now you cant get a sandwich and drink for 2 people for that price!

Sometimes I don't WANT to eat a cassrole or cook a big meal.. some nights if no one home.. I just eat cereal and go to bed... we have a "fix your own" night and everyone makes leftovers.. We use our grill/bbq a lot and cook ahead.. the grocery store's deli is a life saver.... 2 prepared sides, package rolls and dinners done plus we have food for 3 days after grilling out....... mmmm good

reply to post by dollukka


Red Robin, a "gourmet" burger restaurant, offers a pretty tasty gluten free bun for all their burgers and sandwiches.
Not that I am encouraging eating out. But it might offer an option for when you do.

We stopped eating out a couple of years ago. Other than as a matter of need. It has saved us money. But I do really need to start cooking extra large amounts, so I can freeze and use later. I guess that's a next logical step for me.