Every January since I started Get Rich Slowly, I’ve done an annual round-up of my discretionary spending. That’s not going to happen this year. The numbers are hopelessly muddled by events that created under-reporting in some categories and over-reporting in others. (Kris and I paid for our 2010 vacations in 2009, for example.)
Rather than sort things out, I want to talk about a couple of my spending habits instead. One is a worrisome trend, and one is a thing I’m doing right.
Food for thought
Long-time readers know that Kris and I love to dine out. It’s one of those things we’re willing to spend on. We cut corners in other areas of our lives so that we can afford to make this happen. Still, I’ve been concerned about my restaurant spending for the past couple of years. It seems a tad excessive.
How’d I do last year? Well, my grocery spending dropped, but my restaurant spending went up again — a lot. Here’s a look at five years of data:
- In 2005, we spent $1423.39 to dine out 100 times, for an average cost of $14.23 per meal.
- In 2006, we spent $1869.58 to dine out 108 times, for an average cost of $17.31 per meal.
- In 2007, we spent $2051.93 to dine out 84 times, for an average cost of $24.43 per meal.
- In 2008, we spent $2628.08 to dine out 77 times, for an average cost of $34.14 per meal.
- In 2009, we spent $3443.61 to dine out 69 times, for an average cost of $49.91 per meal.
Holy cats! Will you look at those numbers? We’re only dining out about half two-thirds as often as we were in 2006, but we’re spending nearly three times as much per meal. At the current rate of spending growth, we’ll be spending $300 per meal in 2015! Since I can afford our current spending — I’m not living beyond my means — the real question is: Am I getting my money’s worth? I’m not sure that I am.
If I’m honest, I have to admit that I don’t like the idea that we’re paying $50 per meal. I’d much rather return to our former habit: Dining out more often, but spending less each time. To that end, I’ve been brainstorming ways we can work to cut costs:
- We could do a better job of looking for discounts. We have an Entertainment book, and the local paper often features specials at local restaurants. We should take advantage of both of these. We used to do this, but have fallen out of the habit (primarily because we’ve become so used to eating at the same places again and again).
- We need to find more cheap places to eat. Half the fun of going out is just going out. Sure, we love the fancy restaurants, but we used to be happy with Dairy Queen. (This is lifestyle inflation in action!) The real problem is that the cheap places I know and love (Cha Cha Cha and Imperial Garden) aren’t Kris’ favorites. We need to find cheap places we both like.
- When we do eat in the same old haunts, we need to make an effort to reduce our spending. It’s okay to have an appetizer, entree, dessert, and drink all in the same meal now and then, but we could save money by cutting one or two of these from the mix each time we dine out.
- Finally, we should invite friends to our home for dinner more often. As soon as the book is done (getting close!), I’m going to make a habit of inviting one family to dine with us every couple of weeks. We used to do this a lot, but have fallen out of the habit. It’s fun and frugal to have folks over for dinner.
So, that’s one part of my financial life that still needs work. Next, let’s look at something I’m doing right.
A waning of want
Here’s something that amazes me: We’re twelve days into 2010 and I haven’t spent anything yet on personal expenses. I haven’t even felt the urge. I’ve bought gas for the Mini and groceries for home, and Kris and I went out to lunch last Friday, but I haven’t spent a dime on gadgets or books or games or toys or magazines.
“Big deal,” you might say. “That’s how it should be.” You’re right. But for me, this is a big deal. All my life, I’ve had the uncontrollable urge to buy Stuff. It used to be that I couldn’t go more than a day or two without buying something. Even while writing this blog, that’s been the case. (I’ve just learned to channel my desires into smaller, cheaper things.) Now, as last, I seem to have licked it.
I still want things — no question! — but I’ve become very good at ignoring the wants and moving on. How?
- Sometimes, I just put down the thing I want, turn off my brain, and walk away. I force myself to stop thinking about it. (Usually by thinking about something else — like our upcoming trip to Europe, and how I need to save for that instead.)
- If I still want the thing when I get home, I put it on my Amazon wish-list. For whatever reason, that’s often enough to satisfy the strange inner workings of my mind. I feel comforted knowing I’ve let myself put it on a list where I won’t forget it.
- I’m very good about using the 30-day rule to control my impulse spending. My Amazon wish-list plays a role in that, but so does my mountain of index cards. (My life wouldn’t be complete without index cards.) I have a handful of cards on my desk filled with notes about the things I want. It’s amazing how many times I sort through this stack and end up throwing cards away because I no longer want the item I’ve written down.
These techniques help me deal with desire. They don’t quell it completely — nor would I want them to — but they do keep it in check. That last rule is probably the most effective. By delaying purchases 30 days, I don’t feel like I’m denying myself. I can still buy what I want if I want it 30 days later, but I’m not just giving in to impulse spending. (When 30 days rolls around and I do still want something, it actually feels pretty good to be able to buy it.)
My current spending moratorium isn’t permanent, and I know that. In fact, the new Dick Tracy anthology comes out tomorrow, so if nothing else, I’ll be shelling over $25 for that.
Remember: there’s nothing inherently wrong with spending money on things that bring you joy. Problems arise when you finance these purchases with debt. If you’re meeting your other financial goals and have money left over, it’s good to indulge your interests and passions. Just make sure you’re getting value for the dollars you spend.
Here are the past installments in this series:
- My 2008 discretionary spending: Progress and challenges
- My 2007 discretionary spending: Highs and lows
- My 2006 discretionary spending: The good, the bad, and the ugly
How did you do on your spending goals last year? Are there areas where you wish you spent less? If so, what strategies do you use to keep yourself in check?
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My personal low cost favorite in SE Portland is Jade’s Teahouse and Patisserie on 13th Avenue in Sellwood. Most meals cost roughly around $10.
http://www.jadeteahouse.com/menu.html
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JD, what you say about wish lists and index cards hit home with me. I mostly don’t have any discretionary money right now, but for food issues I follow Cindy Sadler’s (The Next Hundred Pounds blog) mantra: It’s just food. There will be more. I can have some another time. This seems to also work for me with stuff I want, as well.
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We manage our discretionary spending by using an allowance system, we each have a set amount to spend (the same amount) for half the month on things like eating out, entertainement, groceries, gas, etc. Spend too much on eating out then we have nothing to spend on entertainment, etc. Most of our going out is not spent on “dining” but rather we go out on Friday, we have a couple of drinks, we listen to live music and we order a sandwich (that we split) or we each have a salad. Actual eating out is limited. We generally spend $40-$60 for both of us on a Friday night.
I’m a huge fan of the Amazon wish list or the Amazon save for later cart, I’ve got stuff in my cart from two years ago.
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we like to eat out at “nice” places — but generally there’s too much food. SO, we either take home half (and thus the cost is somewhat reduced because it becomes part of the eating in costs) OR, more likely, we split both the appetizer and the dessert.
A lot fewer comments on one of your other points — I’m really impressed that you are getting the “buy something/anthing” demon under control. I still find myself just wanting to make a purchase, any purchase, which much sound weird to those who don’t have that problem. Sometimes I just buy stamps or a candy bar that shows up as dessert after dinner, just so I can feed the “buy something” beast… I’ve been trying to replace that habit with a new one (the discard or donate or repurpose something every day habit), but so far, it’s not completely working…
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Another recommendation for restaurants.com. They often have “sales” and my husband gets $25 gift certificates for $2. There are restrictions but usually they are easy to work around. We are Portlanders and can always find what we want on there. We went to Dragonfish, had dinner, appetizers and drinks and it ended up being about $10 each. Can’t beat that!
Have fun!
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when my fiancee and i first met we were dining out 3-4 times a week and buying drinks, appetizers, meals and desserts for each of us. now we go out once a week and cook at home more often. when we do dine out, we split an appetizer, a soup and a meal. at most places you get plenty of food for two. the idea that you are saving money by brining home leftovers is a mental trap. the half of a steak and smidge of leftover potaoes cost twice what it would cost to feed two the same meal at home. we have shaved about $300-$400 per month from our restaurant bill while adding only $50.00-$100.00 to our grocery bill.
great money blog,keep up the good work!
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Your average is $49.91. Knowing that you MUST occassionally you dine out for less than that means… you are sometimes spending $60 (maybe even $70) to go out and eat? I can have a fine-dining meal for 2 at a very nice steakhouse (including appetizers and dessert) for a LOT less than $70…
I have to say that I eat out probably about 100 times in a year, but they are mostly lunches and probably average $15 for 2.
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I’ve seen restaurants.com mentioned a couple of times in the comments. Personally, I’m not a fan. It sounds great to save 80 or 90 percent on a $50 gift certificate, but to use the “gift certificate” you have to spend an additional $50 at the restaurant. And you must avoid blacked out days and times.
Have you tried Groupon? You sign up for a daily email for your city. Each email contains one great deal at 50-60% off. A lot are for things I don’t use like spa treatments, massages and workout classes, but many are for restaurants at significant savings. The “groupon” concept is if enough people sign up to buy the offer, the deal is on! Check it out.
I must admit, part of the reason I like groupon is that the writing in the daily emails is witty and clever.
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For health reasons and for the benefit of my tastebuds, I most definitely prefer to spend on quality vs. quantity when dining out! My husband and I go out to dinner about once every two months, spending between 125 – 175 each time. We bag our lunches and cook dinners at home the rest of the time. We love to cook, and if I may say so myself, my homecooking tastes way better than Applebee’s et al. And is much healthier too.
This is another great example of ”Decide what’s important to you. Give yourself permission to spend on these things. Pinch pennies on everything else”, which is by the way, a great quote to start off the year
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@ Kim — that’s my mantra too! “There will be new clothes next year.” “In a few months, electronics will be cheaper and have more options”… etc…
I don’t have an amazon wish list (not sure it works so well here in Canada), but I tend to look up potential purchases and bookmark them in a separate folder. (It’s part delay tactic, part bargain hunting scheme). Last night I went through and cleaned out the folder. There were quite a few links that made me wonder “why did I want that again?” and others that realize I got along just fine without the product!
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Want vs. Need
I loved ur tips on limiting wants.
I try to ask myself if it is a want or need.
For example I may WANT a big screen tv but I NEED to pick up food for the dog. Its helped a lot.
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Try restaurant gift certificate sites like Restaurant.com – I bought a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant we like for only $10. Can’t use it on certain days and there’s a table minimum, but if you’re going to spend the minimum anyway, why not save $15?
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One alternative to eating out you might think about-
A number of years ago we created with some friends a “gourmet club”. Four couples participated and we took turns hosting. The host would select the theme and prepare the menu. The host would prepare the main course and other couples would be assigned to bring the salad/appetizer, side dish, or dessert. The host would usually send out several recipes to choose from as the accompanying dishes.
It was great fun to try new recipes. The cost would usually be high on the night you hosted, but other times it was relatively inexpensive so the overall cost was fairly reasonable. Everybody pitched in with cleanup.
It may be hard to find interested couples with compatible schedules, but it would be something to look into.
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I don’t have time to read this very carefully (sorry), but can you tell us if this represents the restaurant budget for BOTH of you, or if it is just your half. I sometimes get confused by your separate budgets.
I do think it is useful to separate the experience from the quality as you do. That way, you can choose quantity or quality.
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> My life wouldn’t be complete without index cards.
To take yet another tangent, JD, would you be willing to talk in more detail about how you use index cards for personal/project organization? Perhaps in another post?
I’ve dabbled a bit with 3×5 cards, but I don’t quite “get” how to fit them into my workflow productively, so it’s helpful to see how others do it. Thanks!
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I have a “Cash and Dining” category in my budget where I keep track of all my cash withdrawals as well as my dining because I too spend most of my cash on grabbing a coffee or a glass of wine with a friend or grabbing a sandwich for lunch near the office. My husband is also a chef and we eat at home a lot, but we also like to enjoy nice restaurants. We wouldn’t waste our money on chain restaurants (just not worth it to us), so when we do go out we tend to spend more. My cash and dining category is bigger than yours and doesn’t count my husband’s cash and dining…just because we haven’t completely merged our moneys yet. Sooo…I spend a lot more than you in that category. I have figured out though, that although I can cut back on this category it’s not my biggest drain. I don’t tend to go way over budget here…I tend to go over budget in my “household” category. But that’s another story. Why spend money on going out at all if you don’t like the food or atmosphere? We love fine dining, but we’re the “don’t check your coat” folks that someone said above…I have no idea what that means, but I don’t like to check my coat. It’s just annoying to me.
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Hi JD-
I live in the inner SE Portland area. To keep costs down, my boyfriend and I will go out to happy hour. As long as you have the discipline to not buy several drinks, you can usually get some pretty good food for fairly cheap. Try 3 Doors Down on 37th & Hawthorne and Dragonfish on 9th & Park downtown. Also, the Italian Joint on 31st & Hawthorne has a pretty good menu ($10-15 entrees). The Blue Pig on 50th & SE Division and Sckavones on 41st & SE Division are pretty good breakfast places.
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“We need to find more cheap places to eat. Half the fun of going out is just going out.”
I really agree with this as well, especially now that we have children. Early on in our relationship, we would go to $100+ meals, but somewhere along the way I started to realize that the food and the experience weren’t worth the cost to me. I would rather go out five or six times for the same price. I can see how someone would feel differently, but for me, like you say, it’s about getting out of the house. I can do this and spend $20 as well. We usually end up going out when I just don’t have the energy to cook and clean up.
For the planned meals (anniversaries, birthdays, etc) without kids we usually spend more on a meal but nowhere near what we used to spend. I’m happy with spending $40-$50 (for two) on a semi-good meal. That’s enough for me. Perhaps later when we have more money or are empty nesters, we might go back to fine dining.
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What a great motivation! I just received another of my own gifts to myself in the mail yesterday. I get bored and shop online, frequently buying things. Pretty much daily. Yesterday when I got the package, my frugal husband said, “Oh did somebody send us a package?” I was ashamed. “No honey,” I should have said. “I’m just self-indulgent.” Twelve days is amazing to me, and it’s great to read that the great JD still has spending urges like the rest of us.
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I try to limit my restaurant dining and don’t like going over $40-50 at an above average place for 2. Occasionally, I’ll drop more, but it’s typically for special events. I spent $85 this past Saturday and though it was a little much.
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What I love about this blog entry is that it shows the power of budgets. People think of budgets as these things that restrict their choices. No! Budgets are information reporters. You would not have known about this problem if you did not keep track of your spending, J.D..
Now you can do something about it years sooner than you would have even learned about it if you did not track spending.
Rob
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When I lived in Portland, I went to Noho’s.
2525 SE Clinton Street
It is Hawaiian and you can order your entree in different sizes.
I love the macaroni salad!
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Lauro Kitchen and Vindalho are both in SE. Each has a great happy hour. Vindalho has five dishes each for $5.00.
Lauro’s happy hour has great burgers, pizza and calamari at great prices.
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The other thing to take into account is how much has your income increased in that time? I’m sure it hasn’t increased by 240%, but it most likely has increased. When you’re at a lower income level, you sacrifice certain things you would like and would get if you had a higher income level.
When I was out of work and my wife and I were living off her income, celebrating by eating out was the dollar menu of McDonalds (fast food). Now that I’ve got a part time job, celebrating by eating out is Pita Pit or Spicy Pickle (sandwich shop). Once I get a full time job, celebrating by eating out will be Red Robin or Olive Garden (gourmet chain). And that’s about as fancy as it gets around here.
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@ TC – post #2
Don’t know if someone already suggested this, as I haven’t had a chance to read all the posts, but here’s a thought.
Preparing a meal (provided you can cook somewhat) for a date is very appealing to most women. Even if you’re a novice in the kitchen, Spaghetti is pretty easy & inexpensive. You just have to cook spaghetti, heat the contents of a jar of spaghetti sauce if you’re a novice & stash the jar out of sight, buy a bag of salad with toppings included & an bottle of dressing. A bottle of wine & a dessert from the bakery or freezer & you’ll still pay less than a fancy italian restaurant.
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JD: I’ve gotten some great restaurant deals from Groupon.com and have found new Portland restaurants in the process. The deals are usually at least 50% off, and you can sign up for other cities, too.
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Last year was the first year I budgeted and tracked every penny I spent. At the end of the year, I tallied up discretionary categories, like dining out, and realized that if I had put that money toward my mortgage, I could have shaved months if not years off my payoff.
This month I’m trying an experiment with a “Didn’t Spend” envelope. Every time I resist spending money on something I don’t really need, like dining out or a glass of wine at dinner if I do dine out, I put it in the envelope. At the end of the month, I’ll put that toward my mortgage.
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Try eating out for breakfast/lunch instead of dinner to save $$.
In Sellwood: Stickers, Fat Alberts (breakfast)
Woodstock: Laughing Planet, Otto’s (for lunch), Toast (for breakfast), Delta Cafe
Clinton: Broder (breakfast), NoHo (lunch or dinner), Vindalho (but more pricey)
Other: Hopworks brewpub (on Powell & 29th)
Check out WWeek’s Cheap Eats by area
Other ideas: eat a bit before you go out so not as hungry for apps/dessert, Dessert at home, eat at home and do drinks with friends or just apps w/ friends.
And don’t forget the power of Happy Hour! Meals on the cheap.
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I am wondering whether your goal of eating out just as much or more in 2010 might conflict with your goal of getting healthier and reducing your weight. I think it’s nearly impossible, especially for people (like me!) with weight “issues,” to lose weight and maintain a lower weight when eating out a lot. It’s nearly impossible to accurately track ingredients and calories when you regularly eat out, and I assure you that restaurants use a lot more butter, oil and other yummy-yet-fattening ingredients than you would at home.
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Our goal for 2010 was to stop eating out, well at least fast food. My husband and I have three teenagers. Eating out with teens is not the same as eating out with toddlers. They are like real people who want real amounts of food. AAKK! We easily spend $50-$70 a meal at a decent restaurant. And this is only ordering water (no soft drinks) we stopped that quite a while ago. We can shave $10-$15 off our bill just be eliminating drinks. So we often end up at fast food which I have begun to loathe.
My husband and I are working on the waistlines and fast food is no help. So far we have only picked up breakfast sandwiches for the kids once since Jan. 1 and this feels like a great triumph for us, considering how often we really eat out (if we are being honest).
I find what you said here interesting “Sometimes, I just put down the thing I want, turn off my brain, and walk away. I force myself to stop thinking about it.” I think it goes back to that perception vs reality thing. How much in our lives is just how we perceive it at that moment? Verses the reality, is this a need or want? Will I really use this? Why do I really want it?
Lastly, I have really found a way in my life to squelch that little shopping desire and that is using coupons. I get so much more (stuff) for the money. It is also like a little fun challenge to see how far I can get that total down.
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if you are spending more money going out and eating real food, this would be expected.
to compare eating real food out to dairy queen is misleading. this is not food.
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Looking into your restaurant spending is fine I guess, but it’s not the most interesting part of this article, despite it dominating the comments. I eat out all the time, by which I mean I ate out three times yesterday, I eat out for lunch almost every day, and I eat out for dinner several times a week. I probably go out for food 500 times a year. I’m not worried about it.
The far more interesting part of this article is how you’ve been able to curb your spending on ‘stuff’. There are two ways to do this, so far as I can tell, and you’ve done one of them — give yourself barriers that encourage self-control. You seem to have gotten quite good at this. The other way is to change your priorities so that all this stuff is viewed as a negative rather than a positive, so that you don’t want it in the first place. I’ve had some level of success with this approach, although I can’t really say how I did it. I honestly think a lot of it is due to removing advertising from my life as much as possible. Now, for almost all things I could possibly buy, I look at them and think “what would I need that for? Why do people buy these things?” Sure, it’s not true of everything, but it’s a lot truer than it was a few years ago.
I think this is the key to living within your means *and enjoying it*, you have to be able to stop over-spending in a way that doesn’t make you feel like you’re constantly depriving yourself. If you can do this, the rest of personal finance is easy. If you make more than you even *want* to spend, then you’re saving by default, money just accumulates in your accounts and you don’t need to worry about it.
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If you don’t mind going half a block north of E. Burnside on 28th, there’s a swell little restaurant called Tapalaya–they serve tapas-sized portions of really good New Orleans style food. It’s perfect for sharing and sampling, plus the food is consistantly delicious! http://www.tapalaya.com
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@Susan D (#81)
The problem, though, is that if I head up to that area, I’m going to want to go to Screen Door, not anywhere else.
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I understand about the eating out. My husband and I have found places that we can eat good food for relativly cheap. We like to do things like drink water, 2.25 for a coke is crazy, share dishes and desserts. We still have plenty of food and the cost is far greater. I also know all the kids eat free places and days for when I take them out to eat which helps:)
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I meant “plenty of food and the cost is less” Also, we like to go to our favorite restaurants and get take out. That way we avoid the cost of drinks and tip and we can even expand the meal by making our own salad etc.
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Food recommendations: The best deal in town is the Tandoori Kitchen between 4th and 5th and SW Oak, downtown. Huge portions and amazing Indian food. Mexican lunch carts are great, I love the burritos at the cart on 35th and SE Division and on 50th and SE Division. The Lebanese place on Hawthorne and 14th is great and can be really cheap without drinks. We normally split a dish and an order of Hummus. Laughing Planet is great as is Mekong Grill in Sellwood. For sushi, the happy hour at Sushi Mazi on SE Division and 22nd is great (4:30 to 6:00) but the bill will probably still be at your average. Cheap, healthy restaurants are hard to find.
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One of my reasons for eating out isn’t on this list yet. I am a good cook, but my husband is a picky eater. Going out allows me to order things he wouldn’t eat if I made them at home. Even though I could make Salmon at home, it’s too much of a hassle to cook it just for myself.
And I totally agree that eating at home isn’t always cheaper. My favorite thai place isn’t cheap but food is fresh and portions are big. $30 of takeout is easily 4-6 meals.
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J.D., don’t feel bad. At our worst, DH and I spent nearly $800/month on dining out and ordering in. Plus $400 in groceries? For two people?? Thank goodness we got a handle on that before my layoff.
Re: cooking at home: I love this now. We have friends over pretty often and generally, for the price of one steakhouse meal for the two of us, I can feed four to six very, very well. With wine! (World Market and BevMo are my fave wine shops.)
We eat dinner out now very infrequently, and only for special occasions. But I’ve found that it does take the fun out of it if we try to be frugal. ‘Cause then you’re thinking about money, not about how much you are enjoying the meal and your dear one’s company.
One big thing I’ve noticed is that, at a steakhouse like Morton’s or Ruth’s Chris, I’m just as happy eating salad & sides, because I can make a great steak at home for a quarter of the price. I’d rather go to a French or Italian restaurant where they make food I don’t attempt at home.
Anecdote: We had dinner at Cut, Wolfgang Puck’s steakhouse in the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, after Christmas; the service was terrific, ambiance was nice, food was excellent; but I would have been perfectly content to skip the $36 filet mignon because the standout dish was the $14 appetizer. The steak was just a steak, but I’ll never forget that bone marrow flan.
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One of my goals last year was to cut down on eating out, funny enough. Most of our eating out was junk food, which isn’t really fun to eat, it just was fast. We did pretty well reducing our overall amount.
Our second goal for last year was to reduce our expenses in fixing up our rental house. Our friends thought we were crazy to fix certain things, but the first couple of years it made sense. Now, since home prices have gone down, we might actually be able to afford our own house. We greatly reduced the money we’re spending on repairs on our rental. (Our landlord won’t fix anything, so in the beginning, we had to do our own repairs.)
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Since my husband and I go out so little we enjoy it more and spend a little more. We love restaurant.com and have given many as gifts. I feel if you have a budget for it and scrimp in other areas it’s okay to go out and enjoy yourselves without regret. For others dining out can be an area to trim expenses. For everything there is a balance to be found. Enjoy 2010. Keep up the good writing and helping us to look at our budgets.
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“to compare eating real food out to dairy queen is misleading. this is not food.”
I think your stomach would beg to differ. Look, hyperbole is not convincing. It might be low quality food or food you don’t find appetizing, but it does digest. I appreciate the “real food” movement, but I find the snobbery attached to it…well, distasteful.
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I see there are a lot of Laughing Planet fans here. Unfortunately, I’m not one of them. I don’t enjoy the food or atmosphere. (Though LP is the reason I subscribe to XM radio — our writers group used to meet there, and I loved the station LP played, so I subscribed when I paid off my debt.)
Kris and I both love Nicholas’ Lebanese. (In fact, that’s her favorite restaurant.)
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For Portland restaurants, I’d recommend Old Wives Tale, 1300 E. Burnside. They specialize in fresh food, lots of vegetables, no preservatives.
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Dude, the food cart pods! They’re springing up like mushrooms all over Portland, and many of them stay open late with a party atmosphere. Try the lower Hawthorne pod on a Saturday night. Cheap and festive.
http://www.foodcartsportland.com/
(Hope this isn’t a repeat. I only skimmed the other 90+ comments.)
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Is that for two people? Because I spend more than that for just me in one a year. So congrats! Of course I live in NYC. blech.
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Also: These numbers are in general for both me and Kris. I don’t keep track of which “dining out” expenses cover how many people, but it’s usually two people per meal.
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I love to eat out but my bank account hates it. I tend to enjoy better quality and having a drink or two with my meal which always inflates the prices. While I’m in the Chicago area so I cannot speak to particular restaurants for you here are a few tips that have helped me keep the spending part under control:
Happy Hours – If you are willing to eat in the bar area (which I actually prefer a lot of the time) you can find some decent restaurants with a good happy hour menu. McCormick and Shmick’s (different names around the country) has a superb happy hour menu where you can get a half pound burger, oysters, catfish bites, and other yummy stuff for under 5 bucks each as long as you buy a drink first.
Specials – Not coupon specials so much as I know that the Italian place I enjoy has half-price wine on Mondays and a steak house I like has BYOB Wednesday’s. This is great especially since most places (at least around here) will re-cork the wine you don’t finish at the end of the night so you do not need to finish the whole bottle. Other places will let you bring your own wine and only pay a “Corkage Fee”.
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JD – I’m not the first to mention it, but the food carts in Portland are incredible. We visit about once a year, and my wife looks forward to the $7 food cart meals as much as a $100 meal at a proper restaurant.
Pizza can be relatively affordable as well, and Portland has at least one killer pizza joint – Apizza Scholls. Hands down, the best pizza I’ve ever had. Pizzas are $19-24 each, and will easily feed the two of you. My wife and I split one (okay, a 70/30 split) after I ran the 2008 Portland Marathon. We were both full. We’ll be there in a couple of weeks, and will also try Ken’s Artisan Pizza.
Another favourite is Park Kitchen, near Powell’s. You could easily spend a fair amount of cash here, but most plates are shareable, so you could get a very nice evening at a decent price.
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There are SO many fabulous places to eat for not too much money in PDX! I’m glad you and Kris are on the Nicholas’ bandwagon – I also recommend Arabian Breeze, on NE Broadway (out of your rec’d area, but worth it!), which is their sister restaurant – a bit of a different menu, and a bigger space, just just as delicious (and oddly enough, their online menu is priced higher than their actual in-store menu). We also love Fujin on SE Hawthorne and 36th for delicious Chinese food, the food carts at the 12th and Hawthorne pod, the Just Thai food cart on SW 3rd and Stark – all their entrees are $5, appetizers are $3 – and they are all HUGE portions of food – good enough for 2 meals at least. I really like Hoda – more middle-eastern – on SE Belmont around 34th.
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