With many of us on the go from daylight to dusk, eating out has become a way of life. Drive-throughs, fast food, and buffet spreads offer variety menu items and a speedy dining option.
But if you want to cut costs and eat healthy as well as save time, restaurant dining may not be the way to go. In fact, you may be among those who are trying to reduce the amount of time and money spent in eating establishments. If so, the following tips may be of interest:
1. Reduce your monthly average. Count up the number of times you eat out each month, including fast food or sit-down dining. Then set a goal of reducing the total by a certain amount. For example, if you eat out ten times a month, try to cut back by ten percent, or one less restaurant visit per month. Over time you will see progress in the amount of money and time you save. In three or four months, set a lower goal, like a twenty percent reduction from the original number of visits or ten percent from your current outings.
2. Determine an entertainment budget and stick with it. This may include videos, bowling, and other forms of fun in addition to dining out. Or you may want to attach restaurants to the grocery portion of the budget. However you do it, settle on a specific monthly amount for eating out and don't go over the limit. You'll enjoy the sense of control you feel over eating habits and budget matters.
3. Substitute one or more restaurant visits each month for a takeout meal. Sit-down dining can include beverages, tax, and tip, which increases the total amount spent per visit. Instead, stop at the local supermarket for a rotisserie chicken or pizza. Take it home and add a home-made salad with ice tea and the family will enjoy the hybrid meal.
4. Eat light once or twice a month. Instead of dining out, take a bike ride or a hike, packing sandwiches or a cooler with yogurt and a thermos of soup. The physical activity will do everyone good and save money as well as calories. Pick up a store-bought ice cream bar on the way home. You can also have a home-made soup night, a chili feed (inviting the neighbors to come and bring dessert), or pasta surprise for something different.
5. Skip dinner occasionally. Missing a meal shouldn't hurt anyone except those with blood sugar disorders, as long as the doctor agrees. Fasting for a few hours late in the day to avoid dinner can clean out your system, provide added time for other pursuits, and allow you to meditate on a newfound sense of peace and self-control. You can also take a few minutes to reflect on world hunger or western commercialism when those hunger pangs hit.
Be creative in finding alternatives to eating out. They needn't all be fun, but they should be meaningful and creative. Ask family members to contribute ideas as a way of bonding and trying new things, and say good-bye to high restaurant bills.
