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My family and I used to spend upwards of $500 a month eating out. It was not good. We would eat out every week and most times it was more than once a week. It was convenient and most nights I just didn’t want to cook.
But awhile ago, when we were looking at our debt, we realized we weren’t really paying it down. It would go down one month slightly but it would be up the next month.
So we looked into starting a budget. That’s when we realized how much we were spending on eating out. I had no idea we were spending that much and when I thought about it, we were spending about $6000 a year eating out. I knew things had to change.
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So, right from the start, we knew we needed to budget a smaller amount for eating out. We decided on a $200 budget for each month which gave us $50 a week. It wasn’t easy at first but we managed. Since then, because we were eating out less ultimately led us to eat out less and less. Now, we either spend under $100 a month or most times, we don’t eat out at all.
Saving money was a huge motivator for us and it stopped us from eating out. But, we had to figure out ways to eat at home even when we felt tired and didn’t feel like cooking. I know a lot of us use eating out when we feel drained so the following are ways to stop eating out no matter how you feel.
5 Ways to Stop Eating Out
1..Eat leftovers. We used to let our leftovers go to waste. They would sit in our fridge and go bad before we ever thought about eating them. This was one of the biggest changes we made. Now, most times, we ate the leftovers, either for lunch or for another dinner. But if we know we won’t eat the leftovers in time, we’ll freeze them before they go to waste. Using leftovers will give you an easy meal one night when you might not want to cook.
2..Meal plan. I used to struggle with this. Then I realized how much it made sense. By meal planning, I had all my ingredients beforehand because I went shopping for them. Once I took those 5-10 minutes every Sunday to plan out my week, I never stumbled. And it also helps when you’re meal planning, to look at your week to see if any nights will be busy. You can plan accordingly by making an easy meal on those nights.
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Related: 7 Reasons Why You Need to Meal Plan
3..Freezer meals. I first heard about freezer meals from this site, myfreezeasy, by Erin Chase. The meal plans that she offers, give you five meals in each plan that you can double to make ten meals. You’d pick a day (usually on the weekend) to cook all your meals. And she claims it doesn’t take long (about one-hour) to get ten meals prepped into freezer bags to freeze. Then, when you want to eat one of those meals, you just grab it out of the freezer the night before to thaw. She has slow cooker recipes, instant pot recipes, and recipes you cook in the oven. The big thing is you’re prepping the meals ahead of time so you aren’t taking that time when you get home. And if it’s a slow cooker recipe, your meal is ready when you want to eat.
4..Easy meal options. These are a lifesaver on busy nights (which we all have). Think of things your family likes to eat, like a frozen pizza, pasta, or a quick stir-fry. These can all be made quickly and you’re making a meal at home instead of eating out. Keep a log of these easy meal options (and the ingredients to make them) and as you plan your week or stumble to a day and realize you have nothing to eat, use one of these meals.
5..Double your recipe. When you’re cooking a meal, double the recipe. It doesn’t take much longer to double it when you’re cooking and then you have another meal to eat on another night. Just freeze the other one. Then, when you plan to eat it another night, just heat it up and enjoy.
Final Thoughts
If you need to overhaul your spending on eating out, first look at starting a budget. Read this post on how to get started with your budget. Then, to stop yourself from eating out, use these options to do that – eat leftovers (or freeze them), meal plan, use freezer meals, have easy meal options, and double your recipes.
You won’t have to eat out again. I know you can do it!
Do you have any other ideas on how to stop eating out? Share it in the comments, I’d love to hear from you.
Pick your favorite pin to reference later:
GET YOUR LIFE IN CONTROL!
Ever feel like you're spinning out of control? Are you longing for a calmer life? My Happy Life Starter Guide will give you the 3 steps to beat overwhelm so YOU can start living a happier life. Get it now while it’s free!
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Robyn