If you've noticed that your disposable income may be sneaking out the back door of your family finances, one of the causes could be between the lunches and dinners that you eat out every week. With our family of five, I've noticed that even eating out at a basic Darden casual fare restaurant can run $60 to $80 with basic fountain drinks. Add in a couple of appetizers and you could be reaching $100 for a family of five. In addition, your lunches at the local deli in the basement of your building or a casual fast fare type restaurant can set you back $10 a day pretty quickly during the work week. Total up all of your lunches and dinners, and you could be losing those valuable disposable dollars that can help you build a college education or retirement fund. Dining out and entertainment expenses have become a blurred line in the family budgeting process because of so many new places treating food like art. If you are spending more than 5% of your net income, you've probably crossed the line for 'dining out' becoming more than it should be as a line item within your family spending plan. So, how can you fix this hole in your budget?
- It's the Same Old . . . Same Old - Do you ever have those nights or weekends where you go to dine out simply because you are bored as hell from the same three meals you keep eating over and over again? In these cases, you really aren't looking to spend more money, but just figure out a way to cure your overall boredom with the routine. The fall time can be a great part of the year to invite a few friends or neighbors over for a barbeque or do a pot luck type dinner where everyone brings a few dishes. If you are going to do potluck, remember my rules about making something people don't have to poke around in to figure out what exactly you made. By having a meal with others you can actually get to sample some other dishes and come up with ideas. Another alternative can be to use a social media site like Pinterest and try some new recipes. A friend of mine recently told me how he loves to look forward to eating at home because his wife is taking new recipes off the internet every night to make a different variety of dishes.
- Planning, Planning, Planning - Our family has adopted a family wall calendar where we all put up the different school and business events we have for the week. If you do your grocery shopping on the weekend and know what your calendar is for the week, you can do a better job of planning your meals. This means you might be able to buy something frozen that you really like from the grocery or specialty store. I really love the frozen meatballs from Trader Joes for example, and they are easy to heat up and serve for dinner. When you don't take the time to plan, it can force you into eating random meals out that add to your expense load each month.
- Do Dessert, Not Dinner - If you are planning to have a family night or even a date night with your partner, it doesn't have to cost you and arm and a leg. You can consider taking a walk or drive to the local ice cream shop for some tasty treats or hitting the local coffee shop for dessert instead of having dinner out. What really irks me about most of these casual fast food places is that the server spit out the phrase, "So, did we leave room for dessert?" while you are still choking down the last bite of your bacon cheeseburger. Many times when we out at these casual fare restaurants we only doubt our decision making afterwards as to why we even thought this would be a good idea to begin with when the journey started. Eating dessert at these places will make it even worse. I recommend one of the ways to cut down on these expenses is making the main meal at home and then go somewhere for dessert.
- Breakfast For Dinner - If you are going to dine out for dinner or lunch, consider breakfast as an alternative. Breakfast choices tend to be less expensive overall than lunch or dinner options and can be a great alternative. This means going for an omelet, a stack of pancakes, or some type of yogurt with granola type dish as opposed the regular meal. It can be a fun and refreshing way to lighten things up and most of us don't really get the time during the week to have kind of relaxing breakfast we would like.
Growing up as a kid eating out was truly a treat in my family. Most of us were lucky if we ate out once a week at the local diner and you looked forward to it all week. With the convenience of fast food and casual fare restaurants, it's easy to turn dining out into a four or five night a week routine. Consider closely how this can impact your overall budget and how that money plays into your overall financial goals between spending and saving. If you are spending too much just simply say - - check please!
Visit to www.oXYGenFinancial.net to request a consultation on how to make smart money moves for your future.
Written by:
Ted Jenkin, CFP®, AAMS®, AWMA®, CRPC®, CMFC®, CRPS®
Co-CEO and Founder of oXYGen Financial, Inc - The Leaders in Gen X & Y Financial Advice and Services
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