Budget for eating (in and out)

[cptacek]

I pretty much buy everything with my debit card, so I never took the advice of "write everything down for a month and then plug some holes." I figured because I kept every receipt and balanced my check book every two weeks, I in effect was writing everything down. The problem is, before today, I never looked at what I was spending money on.

I had a feeling that I spent too much money on restuarants / bars and books. Well, I did good on books this year. Only $125, and I sold a bunch for $25. But then I looked at Restuarants / Bars / Liquor Store / and Grocery Stores.

First, some back story. I am a single late 20's woman who recently moved from Dallas to Wichita to be closer to my family / boyfriend. I was very socially active in Dallas, lots of friends, out pretty much every night, either playing volleyball (sometimes three nights a week) or going to restuarants / bars with my friends. I would say when I was there, I was home maybe twice a week (usually Mon and Tues); other than that I was out with one group of friends or another every night. Don't get the wrong idea...I'm not talking crazy nights of table dancing. But, usually restuarant, then movie, then a bar. Or just restaurant and a bar. Most of my friends played volleyball, so those three night we were playing we would play and then go to Applebee's, or the sand courts were at a bar and we would eat and drink there.

Since moving, I don't know anyone here except my cousin who moved in with me. She is just starting out, so she doesn't have much money. I thought she was helping to keep me in check...I am cooking at home a lot more and watching a lot more TV than I did before (haven't found a team to play on yet). I'm also driving about 2 hours every weekend to see my boyfriend, but because before I was driving about 8 hours once a month to see him and my family, the gas bill hasn't gone up or down.

Ok, for my, let's call it, discretionary spending.

Month Restaurant Bar Food Liquor store Total
Jan 404 61 129 594
Feb 455 116 103 674
Mar 414 82 104 57 657
Apr 353 63 250 666
May 277 129 200 42 648
Jun 498 20 524 1042
Jul 339 0 117 456
Aug 330 13 365 708
Sep 412 0 178 590
Oct 269 29 66 36 400

Holy cow I eat out a lot! I had no idea. Ok, so I had some idea, but nothing this bad. I guess my evening eating out with friends has been replaced with lunch with co-workers.

Now, I have my other spending under control, and I have a fully funded 401(k) and Roth IRA, and I invest in a taxable account (usually $100 a month). I bought a small house when I moved (for a lot less than "they" said I could afford). I have a truck payment and a small student loan, and a business loan. All of that debt is under control...I'm never out of money at the end of the month, and am working to pay off the business loan first because it has the highest effective interest rate.

I am comfortable this way, not struggling at all. But the eating out has to stop. It's not healthy and most of the time lately I eat out because I'm lazy. And even though the debt is under control, it would be great to not have it.

So, I was thinking of using an envelope system only for this category...restuarants, bars, and food. Looking at the above numbers, it looks like if I take out $150 a week, I'll maintain my current spending. (Yes I know, that is a huge number). But, I can start here and maybe gradually move down. I can get money every Friday and make it last until the next Friday, and put any left over money from the envelope that week in a "pay off the loan" envelope.

What do you think? Is this a good plan?

[Fizgig]

My story is kinda similar - Late twenties single woman, professional, with sometimes too much cash to burn. Now that most of my friends have gotten married and boring the restaurant bills aren't as crazy as they were a few years ago, but I still have to watch it.

The cash system for this helped me out a lot. I usually keep the total (restaurants, groceries, and booze) around $300/mo. Being more aware of the budget helped me to not go hog wild - instead of appetizer, entree, and two drinks, I'd just get a small entree and have just as much fun. Okay, maybe one drink too.

[Ima saver]

I think it is a good plan. we eat out almost every night, but we usually get a cheap meal. Our total for last night was $16. I usually allow myself $100 a week for both of us. I know it is a waste of money, but it is something I really enjoy. It is like a date night every night. We are lucky, we can brown bag it. since our restaurant doesn't carry diet sprite (our mixer of choice), we carry that in also.

[markio26]

we eat out at least once a month... friday is date nite and we usually have a picnic on the floor, food in a basket, or candle light dinner... in the summer, we barbecue.

[Broken Arrow]

Hehe, I'm still struggling with this one. I've been able to successfully cut back on everything except this. Well, even with eating, I've cut back quite a bit from when I first started (from $450 to $300). However, I've still got a long way to go. I'm trying to learn to cook more as well. I guess that's my problem right now. After I get home from work, I'm usually quite tired and is not in the mood to cook. I still do, but not every night.

[PRICEPLUS]

I think that if you are single eating out is a bigger part of your budget because it is more part of the lifestyle! It has been so long for me that maybe it is a stretch on my part!

[sakigt]

I found eating out to be my budget buster as well, so my boyfriend and I have cut back a bit. But still eat out.

I dont eat out for lunches or weekday dinners.

I dont eat out for breakfast or lunch on the weekends.

When I do eat out I either buy a small plate, or something thats easy to reheat (so I can make 2 meals out of it).

As far as drinks go, I started drinking beer. You can drink it for longer, and is generally cheaper than a mixed drink. Just as tasty, imo.

[shelli]

I'm very new here, so I'm still trying to get all of my stuff together.

One of the tips I can offer is that I use one of my crockpots to cook meals 3-4 times a week. It saves me time, I prepare everything the night before and put it in the fridge before I go to work(3rd shift) and in the morning take it out of the fridge and it slow cooks all day(while I'm snoozing).

We do not eat out because I have food allergies and very few restaurants can accomodate me.

Shelli

[Daylily]

Originally Posted by cptacek

Month Restaurant Bar Food Liquor store Total
Jan 404 61 129 594
Feb 455 116 103 674
Mar 414 82 104 57 657
Apr 353 63 250 666
May 277 129 200 42 648
Jun 498 20 524 1042
Jul 339 0 117 456
Aug 330 13 365 708
Sep 412 0 178 590
Oct 269 29 66 36 400

I don't understand your numbers. Some months have four numbers, some have five. I don't think it formatted correctly in the post.

[sarah]

After I was widowed I stopped cooking for several years I came home from work and cooked and then I stopped. My food (in and out) cleaning and pet supplies averages between 300-350 a month. I am trying to get down to a consistent 300.00 a month. I am not doing so well with this task.

[Broken Arrow]

Originally Posted by sakigt

I dont eat out for lunches or weekday dinners.

I dont eat out for breakfast or lunch on the weekends.

When I do eat out I either buy a small plate, or something thats easy to reheat (so I can make 2 meals out of it).

As far as drinks go, I started drinking beer. You can drink it for longer, and is generally cheaper than a mixed drink. Just as tasty, imo.

That's roughly what I do as well. For example, I've cut out work lunches completely. They were amazingly costly, even if it's only $6 a day. But that's also $120 each month. When I do eat out, I almost never spend more than $15 max. I don't drink though. Just water at home.

Again, while I budget $300 each month, I do spend less than that. In retrospect, this would have made for a nice $20 challenge for me... but all I do is roll any extra money right back into my savings. Once in a while, I'll also use the difference to buy some basic necessities that I don't normally budget for (ie. basic toiletries).

[cschin4]

I think I went too far frugal the other way. For awhile I wouldn't eat out, only got takeout or cheap fast food. After awhile I got sick of that. So now, I do like to eat out and savor a good meal including drinks as well. I got tired of just drinking water to save a few bucks.
But, I am still frugal in many ways. I rarely order out at work. Some folks order out everyday. I just don't like eating out of a styrofoam container and the food is often cold, soggy, etc. And, there is limited time to eat. I would rather just gag down a PBJ just to get enough fuel to keep going and then have a meal I can really enjoy.

[Broken Arrow]

That's a good point cschin4. It's hard to be extremely frugal (aka cheap). On a logical extreme, I could save a lot more money by eating only Ramen every night. Of course, it would be a rough and unhealthy life if I did that. So, I try to balance it out all around. What I do right now is enough to keep me happy, though I still want to get my food budget down some more.

[Ima saver]

We don't ever eat out breakfast or lunch. My husband brown bags it every day and I eat the leftovers from the meal out the previous night. I spend very little at the grocery store. We usually order cheap meals at the restaurant, around $6-7 each.
It is just an enjoyable thing to me!

[tgavin71]

As a family we spend between $30-$70 a month on takeout. Depending on where we eat. This included 2 lunches and 2 dinners. Hubby goes out a lot for work but that doesn't come out of our pocket.

[vishenda]

Originally Posted by PRICEPLUS

I think that if you are single eating out is a bigger part of your budget because it is more part of the lifestyle! It has been so long for me that maybe it is a stretch on my part!

Very well said, same boaty

[vishenda]

oops please dont take my display image literally!

[cptacek]

Originally Posted by Daylily

I don't understand your numbers. Some months have four numbers, some have five. I don't think it formatted correctly in the post.

You are right. I didn't do it right...I'll try it again.
<table border="1">
<tr>
<td>Month</td>
<td>Restuarant</td>
<td>Bar</td>
<td>Groceries</td>
<td>Liquor</td>
<td>Total</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>January</td>
<td>404</td>
<td>61</td>
<td>129</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>594</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>February</td>
<td>455</td>
<td>116</td>
<td>103</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>674</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>March</td>
<td>414</td>
<td>82</td>
<td>104</td>
<td>57</td>
<td>657</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>April</td>
<td>353</td>
<td>63</td>
<td>250</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>648</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>May</td>
<td>277</td>
<td>129</td>
<td>200</td>
<td>42</td>
<td>648</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>June</td>
<td>498</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>524</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>1042</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>July</td>
<td>339</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>117</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>456</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>August</td>
<td>330</td>
<td>13</td>
<td>365</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>708</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>September</td>
<td>412</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>178</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>590</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>October</td>
<td>269</td>
<td>29</td>
<td>66</td>
<td>36</td>
<td>400</td>
</tr>
</table>

[Broken Arrow]

Now there is a huge gap between your response and your table.

However... wow... those are some frighteningly large numbers!

[cptacek]

A recap: My plan is to take out $150 every Friday to use for the week, and put anything that is left over from that money towards my loan with the highest interest. Well, I started by taking $100 out on Nov 18, and then $150 on Nov 27. The first week, I had $10 left over, and this week, I have $80 left over. So, $90 to put towards my loan! I wrote a check for $90 to myself and took out another $60...that way today I have $150 in cash and can send the check to my bank.

OH WAIT!!! I only took out $100 the first week, so I need to send an extra $50 to the loan. That means I've saved $140 in two weeks. (If you can call that saving...I mean I did "budget" $300 for two weeks).

My totals for November:
<table border=1>
<tr>
<td>Month</td>
<td>Restuarant</td>
<td>Bar</td>
<td>Groceries</td>
<td>Liquor</td>
<td>Total</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>November</td>
<td>228</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>206</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>455</td>
</tr>
</table>

Still high, but at least it is the lowest month so far this year. Ok, I can do this, and I'm glad it was lower, so I can see results.