towards the end of the year last year i had this genius, well maybe more of a light bulb moment. and its not even really a light bulb more. more of a wham to the face when i started playing around with our new budgeting feature on our banking app. we were spending on average $300-$400 a month on eating out. yes! you read that right. and to be honest, it wasn't going to one of those black tie kind of places either. it includes every kind of dining establishment that can swipe that card. eesh. i about lost my mind. that's two car payments y'all if you're playing it right. like what the what?!
so for the new year i evoked a no-eating out policy.
yep you read that right too. we actually started this the day after christmas. i seriously had enough of us justifying a happy meal here or a quick bite there. it really adds up over a month guys. while we're not counting pennies, we are a single income. mostly. i still count pennies when i can. it became ingrained in me when i became a full time stay at home mom. it's not something i'm ashamed of either.
we're currently on day 15 of no eating out. its been tough. but its been worth it. and we have a couple exceptions to our rule.
- special occasions, date night & birthdays - we eat out once. that's it. we don't celebrate someone's birthday 5 times because not everyone could go the first time. sorry, not sorry.
- if someone gets a gift card to a dining establishment, figure it out without spending extra. its not a pass to go eat and then still spend $30 on the remaining balance.
- we will go to the local gas station for a beverage if we need something sweet - i don't keep sodas in the house, so i can splurge the $3 for everyone to get their beverage of choice once a week.
that's it. if you're tired & don't want to cook. sorry, cereal, sandwich, you figure it out. and we've already run into this road bump, but we made it through it. and we're still going strong. we would find ourselves sometimes eating out every meal in a day outside the home. insanity.
so i've been browsing pinterest for recipes as well of some of my favorite recipe blogs for new ideas. here are a few of my favorite places to look for inspiration:
budget bytes: she breaks down the cost of every recipe & has every type of food you could want.
skinnytaste: she offers healthier versions to dishes that we may otherwise avoid if on a lifestyle change (aka diet)
the pioneer woman: what's not to love about ree drummond? i mean come on. she has haters, but really? i think they're just jealous. i have a few of her cookbooks & watch her netflix. i mean she wants me to aspire to be a cow rancher wife, but ehhh the work. and damon, a cow rancher?? that's a bit hard to imagine.
have any recipe blogs/ladies i should follow for food inspiration? we love new fresh ideas in this house.
i also see this opportunity to really start getting quality food, because raise your hand if you honestly believe that drive thru meal is so much better for you than eating at home. yeah didn't think so. we didn't start this to get healthy, but its a lovely added perk that all those french fries we aren't consuming, won't be making it to our waistlines.
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