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My wife and I go out to eat a lot, but like most people, we are on a budget. Prices are creeping up and we are trying to determine how much is too much and how to get more value. We normally go out to lunch, since it is usually cheaper than dinner (why, I don't understand. Your stomach can't tell the difference). For you out there is CD land, how much is too much to pay for a restaurant meal, especially for lunch? Do you prefer fast casual, casual, fast food, buffets, cafeteria style, or something else? For the restaurant haters, I know eating at home is cheaper, but I'm interested in restaurant diners specifically
I am on a travel per diem 4 - 5 days a week, so the less I spend on food the more money back in my pocket.
As a general rule I think lunch should be in the 6 to 9 buck range, and dinner at 14 to 18 range for my tastes.
I'm a big believer in buffets since I can eat much healthier. Cafeterias are great also if you can find one. Otherwise I prefer to order ala carte since I typically decline any side dishes.
Scooby, my wife and I eat out more than we should but hardly ever go past $25-$30. We prefer smaller places like Huddle House or Waffle House. We also have some nice locally owned restaurants that are pretty affordable. The buffet for today at our favorite local spot has pork tenderloin, fried chicken, chicken livers, homemade cornbread dressing, veggies, peach cobbler and a salad bar for $6.75. We also order off their menu occasionally and it's reasonable too.
As far as fast food, I joke that I cook our breakfast 6 days a week and let "Ronald" cook on Sundays. Each area around here is different but if you read the receipt at McDonald's, they all have some kind of special deal if you fill out an online survey. At ours, fill it out and you can buy one sandwich, get one free. With that I can get my sausage and egg McMuffin, her sausage biscuit and 2 hashbrowns for a little over $3.
For special occasions, I've spent over $100.00 per person, which included the wine. We go out to breakfast almost every weekend and spend around $30.00 for the both of us.
We love to cook and both hubs and I are good at it, so we frequently take turns cooking all different kinds of cuisine. When we dine out we're looking for good service and the convenience of not having to clean the kitchen at home. This can take many forms, like from Chick fil A to several pubs we enjoy that are in the $20 per range - dependably good and we're treated well. We don't do higher $$ for casual dining as we usually have our 3 year old with us. Now for date night we will go quite a bit higher.
For an average lunch at a middle of the road restaurant, I would go up to $35.
Wow. What would you consider a middle of the road restaurant for lunch? I work in some of the most expensive cities in the US and still find an average lunch to be under 20 bucks.
What is your budget comfortable with? I rarely go out to lunch because I generally pack. If I do go out, it is generally a carryout, and I spend from $3 to $8. I don't believe in spending much for lunch when a peanut butter sandwich, a bag of chips and a yogurt cup suits me just fine. Dinner is $10 - $15 most of the time. If I want to treat myself to a nice dinner, I will obviously spend more.
"Do you prefer fast casual, casual, fast food, buffets, cafeteria style, or something else?"
my wife and i look for where the highway patrol cars are parked. so far, so good.
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