It is too easy to eat out! There are so many options, and it tastes so good. It can also be very expensive, so breaking fast food and restaurant habits are some of the easiest ways to cut your overall spending.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, households spend an average of over $250 per month on eating out, so you may be surprised at just how easily you can save by cutting back food costs. Not only can you eat cheaper, but you can also eat healthier. The key is to have a plan in place.
Knowing that you will be eating in advance will reduce the temptation of just grabbing something to eat. Menu planning also cuts down on the number of times you need to go to a grocery store during the week, giving you more time to prepare food.
**Success Tips**
- Make a grocery shopping list and avoid impulse buys
- Don’t go shopping when you are hungry
Plan your menu for the month and break it down by week for your grocery list. You can repeat your menu each month with minimum planning, but ensure you’ve worked in enough variety to avoid getting bored with the meals. If you plan carefully, you can plan to use similar ingredients in different meals each week, saving even more money.
Granted, cooking takes more energy. You have to find a recipe, buy the ingredients, cook, and then clean. This is where the importance of food prep comes into play. Here are some food prep tips to save you time and money without sacrificing food quality:
- Use a crockpot or slow cooker while you are at work—when you come home, dinner will be waiting for you
- If you are planning to grill, put the meat in the refrigerator to marinate before you go to work
- If you are planning a casserole, you can set the ingredients together and pop them in the fridge the night before
Another important way to reduce the cost of eating out AND save time is to double or triple each recipe and then freeze some of it for a later date. Doubling a recipe doesn’t double the work or time. By keeping some ready-to-eat foods in the freezer or pantry, you’ve got a back-up plan for the nights you don’t have the time or energy to cook & clean.
**Tip**
When freezing meals, it’s a good idea to mark on the container what’s inside and when it was put into the freezer.
Keep track of the days you don’t eat out and then add them up at the end of the month to calculate how much money you saved—seeing your savings could help motivate you to stick to your efforts.
Rick is a financial coach with a passion for teaching people how to manage their money so they are making better decisions and have less stress in their lives. He can be
reached at rick@rightpath-fc.com.
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