Comments on: How Many Nights A Week Do You Eat Out?

By: emily

emily — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:32:33 +0000

My bf and I eat out probably twice a week. The thing that I am noticing, and maybe it’s just me, is that when I cook at home for both of us, compared to when he and I go out to eat, I really don’t think that these days we save a whole lot of money because sometimes groceries can be just as expensive. It usually depends on what we’re eating, but the other night I made chicken piccata, and by the time I got all the (chicken, lemon, capers, greens for salad, basil) plus a bottle of wine it ended up being close to $50.00, it’s chicken picatta not fois groies. But to go out to eat at an italian restaurant and get the same thing is maybe $50-60 for both of us. If I was spending $70-80 on dinner going out to eat, versus spending say $25 for both of us to eat at home, then I would be a lot more willing to cut out my weekly eating out habit. But I really don’t see a significant amount of money being saved, unless I’m cooking for 4-5 people. Yes there are some savings, but the savings generated doesn’t always justify the effort driven to prepare the food and clean up afterward.

Sometimes eating at ethnic restaurants, which we do a lot of, saves us some money. Going out for some vietmanese pho plus spring rolls and tea is probably $30 for both of us. I think that’s pretty good. For me to make that at home, again it would probably come out close to being the same, with maybe one or two servings left over.

If I really wanted to save money on food, I’d eat ramen noodles every night of the week for a month. Then the sodium increase would probably cause a heart condition that would send me hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

By: Calidaho

Calidaho — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:59:46 +0000

We used to eat out a lot more. Panda Express on the night the cleaning lady came (sorry, it is one those things we choose to pay for since we both work a lot of hours), Something from the Farmer’s Market Vendor on a free Thursday night, Friday night date night, Saturday morning breakfast and sometimes Saturday night as well. It is just the two of us but it still adds up!

We have cut back a lot because we want to be more frugal and we want to eat more healthfully. It is difficult to know how the calories are adding up when you aren’t in control of the ingredients. So, eating out once a week, I don’t worry so much about the calories. It is really hard thought, when we have both been working a long day and don’t feel like cooking and then having to wash the dishes!

By: Diane

Diane — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:31:28 +0000

We enjoy cooking at home and having family meals around the table as well. In our case, it’s my boyfriend who loves to cook, and he’s very good at it.

It’s easier to get my sons together at the same time for a meal at home than for a meal out, since they’re frequently heading in different directions (ages 18 & 22). We also have them invite friends & girlfriends over to eat with us, which everyone enjoys.

When we do eat out we go for things that we don’t make at home. Some meals I would never order out, as what we cook at home is so good that it would be a disappointment.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:07:24 +0000

Lots of good comments here. We are a family of 4. We eat out about 3 times/month; 2 of them would most likely be fast food and 1 sit down restaurant. In addition to that, I eat lunch out on Friday’s with my co-workers and husband eats out as his schedule requires (he’s in law enforcement and isn’t always able to get home but it’s never known in advance – the nature of the beast). Other than those 3 dinners out we eat all our dinners at home. I love to cook and I think eating real food is important so I don’t mind being in the kitchen. Plus, having us around the dinner table provides opportunities for discussions with our teenagers.

By: Kristy @ Master Your Card

Kristy @ Master Your Card — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:32:30 +0000

I eat out way more then I should, and certainly way more then is frugal. It’s because I’m lazy, to be honest. After 10 hour days at the credit union, I’m too tired to cook when I get home. I just want something quick and easy. The reality is that I don’t even really enjoy fast food. It makes be feel bloated and gross. So, what I need to do is get myself in a position where I plan my meals every week and do the vast majority of my cooking on days off so that I have meals the only require me to heat them up and eat. I just haven’t gotten around to this. I always seem to have too much to do on my days off, so it’s now a matter of trying to work on the time management thing. Funny how all that stuff’s related, isn’t it.

By: Amy @ FACS of Our Lives

Amy @ FACS of Our Lives — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:03:03 +0000

My husband and I do eat out both as a couple and as a family with our kids. However, whenever we go out to eat we tend to say things like “I can’t believe this meal costs $12.00 when we could make it for $2.00 at home” or “How can they charge $4.00 for a coke when a can costs less than .25 cents!” It tends to take the fun out of the experience when say things like that

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By: tammy

tammy — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:14:57 +0000

I’m with DDFD. I’ve noticed on the rare occassions we do eat out or have take out it is just not very good. I think we’ve gotten accustomed to eating at home so much, food outside our own kitchen is usually disappointing!

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:01:01 +0000

People take the easy way out. Dining out used to be a special event and now it is a way of life.

We only eat out occasionally, and the sad part is we are disappointed.

We think we can make it better and cheaper at home . . . and we do.

By: Diane

Diane — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:16:14 +0000

For the spring & summer we’ve been having “pizza night out” every Friday – just my boyfriend & I. It’s a great end to the week for us and something we look forward to. Since my son’s are in high school and college they are always out on Friday night and it’s a nice break from cooking.

This will end for the fall & winter, as my younger son will have varsity football & soccer games from late August through February every Friday night & I never miss a game.

We sometimes eat out on Saturday if the boys are gone. Usually Sunday is a family dinner and we cook at home or eat leftovers most weeknights.

Family dinners out are usually reserved for special occasions. It’s can get really expensive for 4 adults to eat out.

We have cut back from eating out 3 times each weekend…