How many 2-income couples out there?

[Ima saver]

When I worked, I had to work nights. I would cook something up during the day so my husband could heat it up when he got home. That got to be very lonely for my husband.
Since I made such a small amount of pay and tips, my husband decided just to work a couple of extra hours a day so I could be with him in the evening. I agree with Pearlieq, if you have no debts and enough income, go out and eat.
I am ready to get out of the house when my dh comes home at 7pm.

[pearlieq]

Shelby--I just noticed the change in your sig!

Congrats on the new little one!!!

[getforfree]

Dh works full-time during the day, and I work pt, mostly nights or whenever dh is home. We never eat out. And we don't spend any money on childcare either. I am too stingy to do any of that.

Even if I don't have enough time to cook during the day, I either wake up at 5 am before dh goes to work, or stay up after everybody goes to bed. I pack dh's lunch, so he doesn't have to buy food outside. It is even more convenient for him to have his food right there ready for lunch, than go and look for some food place. That way he has more time to eat and rest during his lunch time. And his lunch includes a fresh fruit or two, 95% of the time, unless we are out.

Even if you don't have lots of time to make fancy meal, there are some things that take only 30 min + cooking time. Fry-up some meat, make some pasta, chop some veggies for salad. Crockpot meals take even less preparation time. I never tried to freeze cooked meals, but I am sure it will work to save time.

I often see peple buying frozen meals, and frozen pizza, and then their total is like $80 for just like 3 days worth of food for 2-3 people. That's too much.

[zetta]

I'm a big fan of Welcome to SavingDinner.com. Every week you get a six recipes and a shopping list -- it takes all the mental effort out of grocery shopping and cooking. The recipes are simple and quick -- DH calls when he leaves work, and by the time his 25 minute commute is finished the food is ready. Our weekly grocery bill dropped by about 25% after we subscribed. I didn't start using it until after I became a SAHM, but it would definitely work if I were still working.

[MonkeyMama]

Well it depends. Are you meeting your budget/goals? Lord knows we spent a lot more for convenience when we both worked but we also brought in another $3k/month or so and save most/all of it. Since we were so busy it was well worth our sanity to spend a little more - I am not sure there is much wrong with that. Since you ask, seems like you want to save more money though, so...

On the other hand we shouldn't have had to had children and drop to 1 income to eat better either - I am not sure why we needed that kick in the pants.

savingdinner is okay. We also have been ordering Taste of Home's cooking mags for years - they have lots of frugal/quick meal ideas. In fact they are ripping off saving dinner as well, latest issues had a week of dinners (complete with shopping list) for $40. PRetty cool. We have been trying savingdinner but haven't really liked it as much. We are in love with Taste of home - the mags we use are light & Tasty & Quick Cooking (just changed the name - I forget the new name). Either of these is a good place to start to switch to cooking. I Am not sure we cooked anything before my dh stopped working. BEsides hamburger or mac n cheese from a box - hehe.

Now we cook dinner every night.

Oh, there is also "Dinner My Way" - where you can go make something like 12 meals for $100 for your freezer. IT is a good intermediate step from eating out all the time to some more home cooking. IF there is one near you. PErsonally I am to used to really good home cooking to care for it, but a lot of my mom friends swear by it. I tried it to give my hubbby a break when we had our last baby and he preferred to cook - LOL - figures. But the food was good. Not particularly healthy...

[cschin4]

Here is my advice Penny. If you have 2 incomes, try to live below your present means. I don't know how old you are or if you plan to have children, etc. But, if you live as if you only have one income, it is much easier down the road if you have kids, get downsized, etc. And, often, people think they will want to continue working full-time after they have kids, but it often is just not easy especially if you have a child who is sick alot and so forth. We have 2 incomes, but after I had my second child, i chose to work part-time. Life has been much nicer and I have had more time with my kids. But, just pointing out the adjustment is easier sooner rather than later and the earlier you are getting money into retirement and savings, the more it will grow later on.
As for cooking at home, I am just not that great about it. My kids seem to be getting "pickier". My younger son has a GI problem and we are awaiting results on that. But, he is so thin and at this point, I pretty much just try to make him what he likes to eat which is usually chicken noodle soup or a subway sandwhich (not cheap) which he loves.
I did the menu thing for awhile and got lazy but I think it is a good idea.
And, I really don't find the need to cook every night of the week. Usually a couple times a week is enough with leftovers.

[JoyJoy]

Both retired (early) and have two incomes. We love to cook from scratch and very rarely eat outside of the home.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Another tip from an earlier poster, buy the prepackaged conveince meals. It'll be cheaper than eating out if you are feeling lazy. Sometimes though I feel like a burger.

[Snoopy2645]

I guess we are I work pt & dh works ft for the time I guess we will see come the end of the week his company just voted for a strike he is too new for the union I guess but he would be without a job if the rest go on strike.

[click4credit]

Some great ideas suggested above. We often make meals that make do for a couple of meals. Sometimes we use Sunday evenings to make up some extra meals for the week so that we get home in the week we get whip up a nice dinner quickly and enjoy some evening together.

[PRICEPLUS]

DW and I are a two income family. You'd think it would make life easier but it has not because wife is a spender and I am a saver and there you have it!