How often do you go out to eat, including fast food etc?

[Colo Springs E]

My wife and I love to eat out. It's a frivolous expense, but we enjoy it. My thoughts have usually been, 'screw it--it's something we like doing and you can't take it with ya.'

But then I got to actually thinking about how much we (I, mostly haha) spend on eating out, and the fact we both would like to retire in 5-6 years.

I probably grab lunch once or twice a week, and on average, my wife and I go out to eat maybe one night a week. I also might grab something from a food truck once or twice a month while enjoying a beer with a friend.

When I consider the amount of times I eat out... All told, that is easily $400 I spend on eating out monthly. Taking my wife out alone, probably accounts for $3-400, as it seldom comes in less than a benjamin if it's an evening meal w/a drink each. (granted, sometimes we do something cheaper and sometimes we don't have alcohol)

And when you think of that in annual terms, that's probably about five grand a year I spend on eating out-- our ten day trip to Spain several years ago was just a little more than that! That amount of money can't be sustained. We celebrated Valentines on Monday night (wife had dental work done Tuesday) and we had a great time. But we agreed that going forward, we're going to limit "going out" (ie, an evening meal) to two times a month. And individually, each of us grab lunch no more than once a week.

So how often do you pay someone to prepare your food (eat in, carry out, fast food, all of it combined)?

EDIT: I added "Almost never" if anyone wants to change their vote.

 

[brookdalebill]

I can’t cook, I’m lazy, I like instant gratification (food-wise), and I gig considerable distances from where I live.
Burger-Doodle (my friend Larry’s derisive term for all fast food joints), here I come.
I got no defense.
I have been “like this” since I left home, in 1975.
My Mom was a great cook, and fed our family of six very well.
That said, I think I eat well (enough), and feel OK.

 

[Chester P Squier]

Twice a week at our favorite restaurant, and once on Sunday with our son and his family, at a rotation of restaurants.

 

[Dave Hicks]

Usually once or twice a week, unless we're traveling. I figure we're also paying for somebody else to do the dishes.

D.H.

 

[Tarkus60]

Not very often.

 

[buster poser]

Work brings us lunch Mon-Thu from a rotating selection of area restaurants, so that scratches my itch somewhat. We get takeout from our favorite New Mexican place weekly. Apart from that, very little.

 

[tery]

Since 2020 I stay home.

 

[trapdoor2]

Two or three times a week. Generally depending on appointments, etc. (which are an excuse to either eat out or pick something up).

 

[johnny k]

probably less than 5 times / year.

 

[Ironwolf]

Unfortunately, due to my schedule and responsibilities, I order out or do take home 4 to 5 days a week.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

Almost every day
- a lot of drive-thrus between Uber driving and gigs...too much.

Kind of a carryover from when I had a local sevice job when I worked- always driving...
So 45+ years of this now.

 

[arlum]

I couldn't find the "maybe once a year" selection. I voted for not very often; once a month or so maybe but that's a huge overstatement.

 

[bluesfordan]

I gotta cut back. Next month my Medicare kicks in and deductibles start getting taken out of my SSI. I've already been scaling back, cooking more at home. Cooking such as it is. We do not have a properly ventilated (to the outdoors) hood stove. I loathe cooking odors hanging around 12-18 hours after being done. I have a grill right outside the kitchen slider in the backyard. Unless it is precipitating, I'm cooking out there. Got lucky this winter and was able to cook out there lots.

Eating out is ridiculously expensive and grocery prices are NOT coming down as fast as they went up. Still, the other day I bought a seasoned chicken breast and a seasoned center cut pork chop for under 4 dollars. I'll get 3 meals out of that at least. What fast food joint can you get 3 meals for 4 bucks?

 

[MarkieMark]

Less than any of the poll options.
Maybe once every two or three months.

I used to do the lazy quick work lunch thing, but after doing the math, coffee shop and burgerdoodle got the axe.
Along with cutting other unnecessary expenses like cable subscription for example, the effect on my finances/savings accumulation has been pretty significant.
The result being- I eat healthier while having more hope for retirement and a more comfortable life as it approaches.

I highly recommend it.

 

[bowman]

I don’t mind cooking, and I love home-cooked food, so there it is. Add the facts that it’s cheaper than restaurants, you know how it was prepared, and there’s no waiting when you’re hungry because there are leftovers in the fridge, and the benefits are obvious. But having said that, we still go to restaurants weekly; mostly takeout. Some things are time consuming to cook, some things require ingredients that aren’t usually on hand in the pantry, etc. And sometimes when you’re out you just want a big double cheeseburger with onions, mushrooms, peppers, and jalapeños and a bag of fries.

 

[KyAnne]

'Bout 50%

 

[DaddyG]

We don't eat out much. We love to cook and try new recipes. If I can cook something that I think is better than the restaurant, why bother eating out? We do have a few favorites that we go to a couple of times a month.

 

[Recce]

Probably once or twice a week.
my comment for you is if you and your wife enjoy the times and reasons you eat out it’s money well spent. Life isn’t just about dollars you have to put enjoyment of life in there.

 

[draggindakota]

We usually go out to eat on Friday evenings. And then usually at least twice on the weekends we would be grabbing fast food while we were out doing errands or whatever. We've started cutting back drastically though, for a family of 5 it adds up QUICK.

 

[ChicknPickn]

I have Priority Seating at Burger King.