How much does your family spend on eating out?

[Grainraiser]

Originally Posted by Canine*Castle

I agree. It's so expensive and who knows who is cooking the food. That alone is terrifying. Usually, there is so much loud conversation rather thatn the peace and quiet many enjoy. Maybe you and your wife could reach a happy compromise. That's the only fair way to handle it.

To answer the OP, people in my rural area of Texas eat out all the time. I find it ridiculous and a total waste of money. I would guess I eat out maybe six times a year. Even my children eat out frequently, and I just don't get it. They know it's expensive, but they keep it up. Oh and then there is my sister. She eats out all the time and complains that she has so many bills. Good grief, eating out is a huge bill in itself. Hello!! Stop doing it.

I built a outdoor kitchen with deck space to enjoy my meals outdoors. I really can't use it much during the heat of the summer but during the spring and fall this is were you will find me. Grilling a steak or some chicken while sipping on a margarita works just fine for me

[southern living]

$200 per month budgeted for entertainment, which includes eating out. Im a budget hawk but thankfully my wife is a SAHM who loves to cook (most of the time)

[Robzherenow]

I know a few people, especially business owners who work from home, who say its cheaper to dine out than to cook. Their reasoning is that time is money and to prepare a meal would require 1-2 hours of cooking, and then the post-meal meal clean-up time (washing pots/pans, sweeping the kitchen, cleaning countertops, etc etc). They say they would rather go to a TGIF/ Applebees/Chillis/etc and spend $20-$30 on dinner and then come back home and relax.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by Robzherenow

I know a few people, especially business owners who work from home, who say its cheaper to dine out than to cook. Their reasoning is that time is money and to prepare a meal would require 1-2 hours of cooking, and then the post-meal meal clean-up time (washing pots/pans, sweeping the kitchen, cleaning countertops, etc etc). They say they would rather go to a TGIF/ Applebees/Chillis/etc and spend $20-$30 on dinner and then come back home and relax.

That is so unhealthy.

[Canine*Castle]

Originally Posted by Robzherenow

I know a few people, especially business owners who work from home, who say its cheaper to dine out than to cook. Their reasoning is that time is money and to prepare a meal would require 1-2 hours of cooking, and then the post-meal meal clean-up time (washing pots/pans, sweeping the kitchen, cleaning countertops, etc etc). They say they would rather go to a TGIF/ Applebees/Chillis/etc and spend $20-$30 on dinner and then come back home and relax.

Now that is rationalizing if I ever heard it. Maybe they're trying to convince themselves.

[$DFW8$]

Originally Posted by Robzherenow

I know a few people, especially business owners who work from home, who say its cheaper to dine out than to cook. Their reasoning is that time is money and to prepare a meal would require 1-2 hours of cooking, and then the post-meal meal clean-up time (washing pots/pans, sweeping the kitchen, cleaning countertops, etc etc). They say they would rather go to a TGIF/ Applebees/Chillis/etc and spend $20-$30 on dinner and then come back home and relax.

That was the way one of our friend's was out in LA when we lived out there. They ate out almost every meal...it was crazy. Whenever we would go out to eat with them, no matter where we went it seemed like, the staff at the restaurant would recognize them. I would find it embarrassing to always be recognized, but they didn't seem embarrassed one bit!

To me, eating out every meal would ruin the fun of going out because you would eventually get tired of all the food. Monday-Friday, I eat lunch out, so I definitely get enough eating out. We don't really have a set number of times that we go out to eat each week as a family. It really just varies depending on what is going on and how busy we are. Fridays and/or Saturdays are usually our main going out to eat days. During the week, we usually(but not always) eat at home. We have a chef, so the food at home is just as good(if not better) than the food that you would get at a restaurant. Tuesdays we do taco night! YUM!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Robzherenow

I've been talking to a few co-workers at work and each of them have been telling me that they spend about $1000/month on eating out. One actually had to quit his $30K/year position, so he can stay home and cook more because he realized that his take home pay was all going to taking the family out to eat!

One person told me that its too hot to cook so they prefer eating out. Another told me that since Texas overall has the most amount of restaurants, it makes it too convenient to eat out.

Is it a Dallas thing? or Is it a Texas thing? How much does the average family (1 working spouse/2 working spouses) spend on eating out per month?

first of all, anyone that has to quit work so they can stay at home and cook more has a real problem...

I do think people in Texas (certainly Dallas) seem to order out or eat out more than most places we have lived, why I do not know. Our daughter and son in law, who are in an upper middle class salary bracket do not spend that much I do not think. They both enjoy cooking but do work long hours. I know they love to do lunch or breakfast out once a week (weekends) sometimes eat out at work but mostly take their lunch and like to order in about once a week. Expensive dining out is saved for special occassions. I am guessing they do not spend more than $500 a month (most on average) Here because I happen to real enjoy cooking we probably only spend a couple hundred (most a month) again, that doesn't include special occassions.

When we do eat out I usually come home and say "I could have cooked that better and cheaper" Shame on me. No, I do enjoy a dinner away from home or more likely breakfast.

When our grandkids were at home and our daughter very busy with their activities they did eat out or order in more than now.

Nita

[kaykay]

My husband and I eat out a lot. We both enjoy eating out...to a point, but we would also both like to eat at home more, but it seems like with both of us working full-time, it's hard to do. When I was a stay at home mom, I cooked at home a lot more.

Sometimes it's challenging to eat out a lot because both of us are trying to diet. But it is still possible to make healthy choices if you will do that when you go out. The main thing is it IS expensive, however. Even for the just the two of us, we can eat a lot cheaper at home.

I think a lot of families, though, are in the same situation, though, where both adults work full time and they lack the time and energy to deal with running a home AND doing a lot of grocery shopping, cooking and clean-up. That's how I feel anyway. I wish it were otherwise, but right now, it is what it is.