Before Jan 15th, my wife and I ate out (not including workday lunches) about 6 times a week. That number included a Friday night dinner, Saturday lunch and dinner, Sunday brunch, and a couple more nights during the week.
That’s probably close to average for a couple our age.
Since starting my new lifestyle on the 15th of January, we’ve eaten out on average 3 times a week. The decrease has nothing to do with our finances, it’s simply the fact that restaurants are terrible for those watching their weight. Most restaurants make meals extremely delicious (that’s a good thing, right?), but unfortunately that normally involves a smorgasbord of salt, butter, cheeses, mayo, ranch and other less conspicuous fattening ingredients.
Cooking at home gives me control of the ingredients and calories. I like that.
I’m sure you’re aware of the weight loss I’ve achieved from eating healthy and exercising, but what about all of the money my wife and I have saved by my diet?
By comparing bank statements, I can take a look at our food expenses from Feb 2008 and Feb 2009. What I found surprised me more than I suspected:
Dining out in Feb 2008: $397.91
Eating at home in Feb 2008: $385.31
Dining out in Feb 2009: $242.23
Eating at home in Feb 2009: $229.22
That’s $783.22 in 2008 compared to $471.45 in 2009.
Not only are we saving $150+ a month by not eating out as much, but our grocery bill has almost been cut in half. I bet $40-50 of the difference comes from the lack of soda, with the remainder being attributed to the chips, donuts, ice cream, and junk food in general we’re no longer taking home from the grocery store.
Just some food for thought – horrible pun intended.