Kip Tips
Resolve to Save Money on Food
I confess that I eat out too much -- but I have a plan to change my money-wasting ways.
By Cameron Huddleston, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger.com
January 25, 2010
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Following Starting Out columnist Stacy Rapacon's lead (7 Money Confessions), I have a confession to make: I spend too much money on food from restaurants.
Now, I don't eat out for all three meals every day as a friend of mine in New York City does. I don't even pick up food from a restaurant most nights of the week, as my neighbors do. But for someone who writes about saving money, I know I should be trimming this unnecessary expense from my budget.
But here's what happens every time my husband and I say we're going to stop eating out (actually, in our case, we usually get carry-out -- which is a little cheaper than dining in a restaurant). We come home from work tired, our two small children claim that they're starving, and we look in the refrigerator and see nothing that we can prepare quickly. So we pick up the phone and call our favorite Indian restaurant or pizza place.
Resolution: I will create a meal plan and stick to it so I no longer have an excuse to eat out so often. I was inspired by a post on The Consumerist about a Texas mom who created a year-long meal plan to lower her grocery bill.
I know I can't create a plan to cover the entire year. In the past, I've created a plan that covers four or five days at most. Using the advice of the Texas mom, I'm going to create a list of all the things my family will eat and craft my meal plan at the beginning of each month. (If you set unrealistic goals, you'll get frustrated and give up.)
If you've been spending too much on food -- whether in restaurants or at the grocery store -- we can help. See our Save Money on Food slide show for lots of tips. Pay Less for Food will show you how to save up to $2,700 a year by making four simple changes to your dining and grocery-shopping habits. And get tips for making the most of coupons.
Share your tips below for keeping food costs under control. And feel free to share any toddler-friendly meal ideas -- I could use those.
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Reader Comments (6)
Posted by: Maria at 01/25/2010 02:22:25 PM
...Leanne Ely created www.savingdinner.com. She has been doing this for years. Surprised you don't know about it.
Posted by: Cameron Huddleston at 01/26/2010 09:01:07 AM
Thanks for the tip about savingdinner.com-- but I'm all about the free stuff.
Posted by: Bob at 01/26/2010 02:17:45 PM
Eating out is definitely expensive but my wife and I have found a few ways to save. At fast food places we often order kid's meals to save on cost and calories. We get a big delight out of finding a small child to give the kid's meal toy to.(Asking their parents first, of course.) We also always ask for the senior discount and we always watch for restaurant specials through the week. Occasionally, we will splurge on a buffet. We usually take advantage of the cheaper lunch prices but go late so that the meal will also make due for our supper. Our grown kids call us cheap but we can usually eat out five times for what they usually spend on just one meal.
Posted by: SJ at 01/26/2010 04:13:16 PM
I use google calendar to plan our dinners - I have a separate "what's for dinner" calendar - it's easy to drag and drop and also look back at previous months for inspiration. I also use it to record recipes or links to recipes in the "description" section, or which cookbook I use in the "where" section. the Six O Clock Scramble is a fantastic (and affordable) web based meal planning service - we did a six month session a few years ago and are still using many of the recipes (my kids love most of them too, and they are 4 and 1). I especially liked having suggestions for easy but tasty veggie sides, and the calorie info is all there too.
Posted by: Yo Prinzel at 01/31/2010 12:50:14 PM
I have made this resolution over and over and... well... you get the drift. Unfortunately, I find that I waste money when I buy groceries because I just never seem to be in the mood for the food I purchased later on in the week, so instead Hubby and I order out. Now I just handle each day as its own and decide if I should go pick something up at the store or at the local deli. It's not something I would advise everyone to do because, in the long run, it is more money than buying groceries is but if you are just going to end up with unused, and subsequently rotten, produce and meat you might as well spend a bit more on take out. I admire people who can actually buy groceries and restrict themselves to eating only those items! lifedialog.com
Posted by: gypsyrest at 02/01/2010 09:03:12 AM
As an enlisted military wife who shopped 70 miles from home once a month, I made month long menus and stuck to them...or ran out of food. My method: Have a large freezer...or two small ones. When you shop, put a cooler in the car. Plan your menus, but be flexible so you can buy the meats that are on sale when you shop.. Buy meats first...then side dishes that will go with them. Buy in quantity when it's a good deal...it isn't always cheaper. Make meal size pkgs before you store the meat. Stay away from the quick foods freezer and the snack aisle. Bake cookies ahead & freeze them in small pkgs. Buy milk on sale...freeze that too. Learn to make a "defrost" trip before bed each night. Over time, I found that this planning was cheaper than hunting down coupons and trying to remember where they apply...and once I had a month long collection of meals my family liked, I could fill three baskets and checkout in less than an hour. An hour of shopping plus 30 minutes of thoughtful storage once a month...worked well for me for years.