If you were to write down every single thing you spent for an entire month, there would be some things that would almost certainly surprise you. Hopefully, your rent or mortgage payment, your car payment, and any insurance or utility payments would not be among those surprises. One that might be, is just how much you spend each month eating out.
Eating out has become a more and more common occurrence in today’s world. For some, this is a response to constantly running from place to place, staying involved in our own recreational activities, work, and the many sports and other activities of our kids. For others, we simply enjoy the experience of eating out. Also, there are many people who either don’t know how, or simply do not enjoy cooking.
Whatever your reasons, eating home-cooked meals at home has become less and less prevalent, while eating out has become more the norm. That’s a problem for several reasons, and not all of them are exclusively tied to your bank account. Let’s take a look at two of the major reasons to consider cutting back on your eating out:
Eating Out is Expensive
Let’s get the most obvious point out in the open right away. When you eat out, you spend more money than when you cook at home. According to the Simple Dollar, the average meal outside of the home costs $12.75. That number isn’t really shocking if you’ve eaten out recently. When you factor in a meal, drink, and a tip, it sounds about right.
But how about an example. Let’s say you go to Olive Garden for dinner with your family of 4. If your family all ordered spaghetti with meat sauce as their entrée and each ordered a soft drink, you’d spend at least $58.72 total (assuming you tip at least 15%). By comparison, if you bought all the necessary ingredients to make that very same meal at home, it would cost you $16.87. That includes the breadsticks and salad for everyone as well as that block of parmesan cheese they grate onto your food at your request.
The reality is that most of the time, eating out is not even close to the cost of cooking at home. While it sometimes makes sense to do as a luxury or a time saver, it is almost never the most financially sound decision.
It Isn’t Healthy
According to the CDC, 4 out of 10 Americans have a BMI (body mass index) which falls in the range that classifies them as obese. That is up 10 percent since 2000. More disturbing is that more than 70 percent of all Americans are considered, at minimum, to be overweight. This rise correlates with a rise in eating out. While there are other factors like increasingly sedentary lifestyles which contribute to this problem, eating out is a significant part of it.
According to Men’s Journal, people who ate fast food got on average 3.5 more grams of trans fat per day, and people dining out consumed an average of 2.5 grams more. They also found that those who ate out consumed an average of 200 calories more per day than those cooking at home. Portions when eating out can often be much larger than what you might eat at home, but because you’re paying for it, you might feel more pressure to eat all of your meal. Add to all this the fact that restaurants typically have lower quality ingredients and higher levels of preservatives than what you would buy in a grocery store, and you have a recipe for a much less healthy option.
Being healthy is certainly reward enough to consider eliminating or significantly cutting back on eating out, but there is a tangible savings in the form of health care that makes it pay as well. Better health means lower insurance premiums, fewer doctor’s visits, and generally a lower need for medications.
Conclusion
Eating out isn’t bad. That isn’t the point I am attempting to make to you. However, if you’re eating out as your normal means of sustenance, that is a problem. It is far more expensive, both up front and in the long term to do this. I would also argue that eating out negatively impacts time spent with your family at the dinner table, because you don’t have the same kinds of conversations with your loved ones in a crowded restaurant that you can in the comfort of your home.
If you are intimidated about cooking at home, take heart! There have never been more resources to help you do it than there are right now! From YouTube videos to recipe websites and blogs, there are nearly limitless resources for aspiring cooks at every level of ability. Start today and make a change that will impact your bank account in a very real way!