Would you like to save between $1,400 and $2500 a year? Eliminate eating out just once a week. I feel as though as I am always tempted to eat out. I’m been sharing some ways to overcome that temptation in my previous post: When You Are Tempted to Eat Out. Now, here are some more ideas.
Another method for putting a quick damper on eating out is to calculate how many hours you have to work to earn that meal. If you make $10 an hour, that means that a typical family meal might cost you anywhere from 3 to 5 hours of work! Don’t forget that you may be taxed twice on that meal: once for your income and again for sales or service tax. And unless it is take out or fast food, there is the tip, too. Wouldn’t you rather be able to take half a day off of work instead of going out for pizza?
If the trick about realizing how many hours you must work to earn that meal out doesn’t work for you, instead visualize a goal that you can achieve with the money that you save. This could be anything, such as a gym membership, Christmas presents, a pedicure, a new bread maker, a book or video, etc.
Here is an example from my life. Even just going for pizza will cost my family around $30. With that money, I could buy any of the following: two or three DVDs, 30-60 used books, 10-30 items of children’s clothing at the thrift store, seven weeks of milk, 40 pounds of organic flour, a ticket to the Renaissance faire or circus (plus a small souvenir), 10 bags of pine mulch for our yard, a new clock for the kitchen, etc. Any one of those things would probably make me happier than having a meal out. Giving up a $30-$40 meal out twice a week could translate into a new flat-screen television at the end of six months or a Disney vacation at the end of the year!
If eating out is as much about getting out as it is eating or not cooking, plan some time out that doesn’t involve spending money, such as taking a walk together before or after dinner, visiting friends, going to the park, etc.
Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans.
Save Money on Toaster Pastries
Can You Live on One Income? Food Costs
How Much Does It Cost to Eat at Home?
Three Ways Your Crockpot Saves Money
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