I was embarrassed to check my bank account after eating out for 2 months

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aberfold

Assistant Cook
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
Messages
29
Location
Scarborough
A few years ago, I got a job right after graduating from university. I made $14/hr, which is really not a lot, but since its my first real job.... I felt like a millionaire!

So like an unreal millionaire, I felt that I deserve treating myself well. I ate out pretty much every day for the first 2 months while in training. Then after 2 months, I was embarrassed checking my bank account, because the majority of the spendings were on food and no saving.

I did a simple math to see what it would look like, if I continued eating out for a year.



How much it costs to eat out?

Lunch: ($10.00/day) = $50.00/week

Dinner: ($15.00/day tips & tax in) = $75.00/week

Lunch: $2,600/year

Dinner: $3900/year

—–

Total: $6500.00 / year ----- Holly molly!!!!



After this simple realization, I started going to grocery, cooked meals and brought lunch to work since then. :chef:

It's fun to cook whatever you desire and knowing what goes in each dish..... And no longer feel embarrased checking my bank account.



Do you eat out often? Whether your answer is yes/no, why you chose to do it?



Nancy
 
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Thats amazing! I used to go to Starbucks every day too... (I maybe should not share how much I spent on that little treat.... :whistling:whistling)... until we got a coffee maker for Christmas last year. Now we brew a fresh pot every morning and bring our own coffee to work.
 
I never ate out much, even when I was young. I could never see the point of paying such a lot of money for food made by someone else, when I could teach myself to do it better and cheaper. It just boggles the mind to see those figures of yours. We eat out on special occasions, and sometimes not even then. We recently had a wedding anniversary where we cooked our lobsters and all the trimmings, and enjoyed the preparations together, as much as the meal.
 
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Kayelle, completely agree with you!
Eating out is very costly, yet a lot of people I know love eating out every day. (not because they can't cook, many can cook and actually cook well)
Sometimes I feel like a loner being the only rare one, who brings lunch to work. :ermm: Most of my colleagues buy their lunches.
 
When I was just starting out I brought my lunch from home and got together with friends for an inexpensive dinner in someones apartment. We all saved our money for clothes or going out on the town for a few cocktails, priorities you know.

Later I traveled for work and ate most meals in restaurants, sometimes for months at a time.

This year I have eaten in a restaurant twice. These days I prefer to eat at home because I'm a diabetic and I feel it is a waste of money to go to a restaurant and search the menu for something basic to eat. I used to enjoy cooking for family and friends, now I take care of my social obligations by taking people to a restaurant so my house doesn't get filled up with foods I should not eat.

The next phase will probably be sitting in a corner, thumping my cane, screaming "Where's my Jello"! :ermm::ohmy::LOL:
 
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No we do not eat out often. Joe ate every meal out before we got together. But with having had gastric bypass it is such work to find a place where I can eat and then finding something on the menu I can eat. I cook all our meals and every once in awhile we will order chinese, but it is so high in sugar I normally get sick afterwards, so now I make that at home as well.

I enjoy going out and havin someone else cook every now and then, but in the past 6 months I can only think of eating a couple times.
 
I almost never eat out.
Fixing a meal at home is my preferred way of eating.
Not only do I know what's in it. I save some bucks and can make it to my tastes.
If I do get lazy and don't want to cook it's usually take out.
Chinese or pizza.
I prefer the comfort of home and have never really liked eating in a restaurant where you have to behave yourself. ;)
And once every now and then I'll hit a fast food for lunch for cheap fuel for the system. A Big Mac attack ain't such a bad thing. :yum:
 
I am elderly, and like a lot of folks here, on a fixed income. So I can't afford to eat out. And I have learned to very bluntly say to someone, "Sorry, I can't afford to eat out." And I might add to that, "I am a diabetic." Fortunately for me, I am not on medication. But only because I watch very closely what I eat and keep my A1c numbers down.

Also I am a very sloooow eater. By the time I get to my third mouthful of food, (and they are small ones), the rest of the party are out on the sidewalk yelling "Taxi"! I like the comfort of my home. My kids stop by every day to check up on me. And when one of them is feeling flush, they will splurge and get me some fried clams. Although my daughter knows eggplant is my favorite veggie and will bring me a large order of eggplant parmesan.

Right now I am having problems swallowing even the smallest mouthful of food. I take three bites, and the rest of my food won't go down. I hope to have that problem resolved by the end of next month. So for me to eat out, would be a total waste of time. And good food.

The closest I get to going out to eat is to my daughter's home for holidays or in the summer for a BBQ. :angel:
 
And one more thing.

Welcome to DC. This is a great forum. A lot of fun, information, and lots of laughs. If you don't believe me, go to "Today's Funny". :angel:
 
Its such a relief to hear that everyone here enjoy cooking at home!
In my family we have a rule of 1 day eat out/ month! Yes.... its very tough at the beginning, but eventually it forces me learn and experiment different recipes. We enjoy making new dishes at home. Then when we get to go out, we pick the best place we want to try and really treasure that moment too.
For example, we LOVE PIZZA (its capital LOVE PIZZA!)!!! Now my husband refuses going to pizzeria, because he said the best pizza is at home, so why bother? Oh well... its flattering to hear, but that means more rolling and doughing for me. :D hehe
 
Addie, you are not elderly. The new "elderly" is over 80. Perhaps you didn't get the memo! LOL

At one job, I passed McDonald's on the way and I stopped every morning and got a breakfast sandwich. After 8 years, I got another job that did not pass a McDonald's. I did not save any money nor lose any weight. I don't understand why that was.
 
Addie, you are not elderly. The new "elderly" is over 80. Perhaps you didn't get the memo! LOL

At one job, I passed McDonald's on the way and I stopped every morning and got a breakfast sandwich. After 8 years, I got another job that did not pass a McDonald's. I did not save any money nor lose any weight. I don't understand why that was.

You're right. I didn't get the memo. Or at least my body didn't.

Instead of McDonald's, you passed a doughnut shop. To get something to go with your morning coffee. :angel:
 
Addie, you are not elderly. The new "elderly" is over 80. Perhaps you didn't get the memo! LOL

At one job, I passed McDonald's on the way and I stopped every morning and got a breakfast sandwich. After 8 years, I got another job that did not pass a McDonald's. I did not save any money nor lose any weight. I don't understand why that was.


Perhaps it only shows that Mc'D.s isn't as bad as the naysayers want us to believe? :rolleyes:

Addie, We're only as young as we feel. I hope you get the T-day meal you missed and go ahead and feel 16 again. Don't let anyone deny that feeling to you.;) Unless they've tread in our shoes then they can't comprehend. :(
 
We don't eat out as much as we used to. This is primarily due to the cost.

We do mostly take-out, pizza, Popeye's or Chinese. My one exception is an Italian sub for lunch on Fridays.

When we do eat out, it's often for lunch or breakfast at local spots.
 
Perhaps it only shows that Mc'D.s isn't as bad as the naysayers want us to believe? :rolleyes:

Addie, We're only as young as we feel. I hope you get the T-day meal you missed and go ahead and feel 16 again. Don't let anyone deny that feeling to you.;) Unless they've tread in our shoes then they can't comprehend. :(

I had a chemical stress test. I left the hospital before all the results were available. The doctor will call me Monday to let me know. He thinks there may be a blockage in my heart again. If so, I will be taking another trip to the Cath. lab for an angioplasty. They will put in another stent. That will make six. I didn't do to well with the test. The other times I have had that test, I went through it for the duration. This time I didn't last three minutes. They had to reverse the chemical reaction fast. My blood pressure dropped so low they couldn't even get a reading.

My T-meal should be here around three today. Better late than never. Every time I see a kid on a bike, I want to go buy one for myself. But that idea go nixed by Winthrop. Balance problem due to middle ear problems.

My daughter reminded me that she is approaching 60 real fast. Good grief! I am the mother of a 60 year old kid. :angel:
 
We don't eat out as much as we used to. This is primarily due to the cost.

We do mostly take-out, pizza, Popeye's or Chinese. My one exception is an Italian sub for lunch on Fridays.

When we do eat out, it's often for lunch or breakfast at local spots.

Same here. I only eat out if I am with family and they are paying the bill. My big splurge is BK about once a year. Sm. Fries, Jr. Whopper and a small soda. Big spender that I am! :angel:
 
We still eat out, but the places we go to are local chain restaurants where you can get a meal for 8-9 dollars. They are smaller portions, which works for us, and tasty. DH likes Subway, too, now that they toast their subs. About once a month we splurge and go to Texas Roadhouse, my favorite. We rarely order a meal over $10. We don't like fast food anymore.
 
You're right. I didn't get the memo. Or at least my body didn't.

Instead of McDonald's, you passed a doughnut shop. To get something to go with your morning coffee. :angel:

No, I hate donuts and most other baked goods. It has to be real food for me. The new job was 2 miles from home with no food places in between. I cooked an egg and toast at home, but I figured that was way lower in calories and fat than a McD breakfast sandwich.

Maybe since I didn't eat any fast food otherwise, that one meal didn't harm me much. They say the food you eat earlier in the day is burned off with activity, but the stuff you eat at night just clings to the hips, thighs and belly.
 

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