Eating Out

We eat out too much. Most Americans do. And through the power of denial, we don't worry about it because we don't recognize it as a problem. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average household expenditure for a family of four for food away from home was $4,000. When we finally checked the real figures, our family had been spending at least that much eating out. A meal or two out every week; add it up and pretty soon it starts to be real money.

Let's face it, it's easier to have someone else prepare the food for you. We found that most of our 'going out' meals were in the evening, after a particularly hard day. We looked at each other with that 'I really don't feel like cooking' look, made the easy decision, and listened to the bad-habit-reinforcing cheers of the children as they piled into the car with alacrity that you never see on they are told to wash the dishes or fold laundry.

We marched into our favorite Mexican or Chinese restaurant where the staff knew us well ("Norm!"). Hmmm, perhaps that itself should have been a budget-busting warning sign--like when we took Erik to the hospital Emergency Room and the doctor on call greeted him by name as soon as he walked in. Of course after the meal, the children (professional wheedlers!) would angle for some expensive and unnecessary (but the fried ice cream really is good) dessert. Fat, dumb, and happy after another over-indulgent meal, we'd acquiesce--and make sure we got a few spoonfuls ('spoonsful' if you are a grammar Nazi) before the childabeasts devoured every crumb.

43% of American families spend more than they earn each year. Ask anyone to name one of their top cost-savings measures and they’ll likely tell you they eat out less and enjoy more meals at home. That's precisely what we're doing now. We're clean. Laying off the stuff. Abstinent. Riding safely on the domestic culinary wagon. Eatin' the good home cookin'. Everyone seems to be ok with that. We'll see how long that lasts.