Confession: We’ve been eating out WAY to much this month.
Excuses: Get ready for a lot of excuses! I had my 4th child May 30th and we started a BAD routine. We’ve been eating out way to much. From ordering pizza and Chinese, running through a drive thru…it’s been a bad few weeks. Last night I decided to put a stop to this. I’ve been a big advocate of eating at home: it’s healthier and less expensive.
Challenge: So for the month of July, my family is participating in an “Eat at Home Challenge”. There will be 2 scheduled exceptions: My grandparents are coming to visit and my extended family plans to take them out to eat at a local BBQ restaurant. Secondly, my sister;s birthday is at the end of the month and traditionally our family all dines out together on birthdays.
So for the month of July I will be sharing the tips I am going to be using to stay out of the restaurants and in my own kitchen! No more paying $7.99 for a hamburger and fries that would cost me less than $2 to make at home! No more $9.99 pizzas delivered to my door!
I hope that by the end of the month we will have 30 tips that will keep us from crossing the threshold of a restaurant simply because we were too busy or too tired to cook!
Anyone want to join me?
OK ~ I am on board! With a household of 5, 4 of them boys/men…. We eat out way too much also!! and We also have excuse after excuse… mainly Mom is lazy…
My husbands birthday is in July and we have a weekend mini vacation planned, other than those 2 exceptions… Im on the “Eat at Home Challenge” right there with you!!
Hi Jessie,
I work nights so it is hard for us to stick to an “eat at home always”. But here’s a tip for anyone with an HT nearby, I sometimes go in around 5 or 6 pm, and I buy cuts of meat that has been reduced. I have found some great deals…Will be following this thread tho.
I’m definitely with you… we got into a bad routine lately too. I don’t know how we let ourselves get into these patterns sometimes but it happens. We ate out about 4 times last week! yikes…. and I don’t know why I let myself do that to my budget! I’m the crockpot queen after all… I normally have a plan for dinner but lately I have slacked off. I’m blaming it on the heat lol – I hate summer so I despise getting the house hot from cooking. I’m definitely a fall/winter cook. I love to spend hours cooking in the kitchen when the weather is cool. When it’s hot all I want to do is lock myself in the air conditioner and lay in bed reading a book 🙂 So I’m definitely on board. I need to get back into the habit of eating at home!!!!
I am right there with you. I just had a hysterectomy and have been doing everything I could to not cook but my waistline is feeling it! Back on the Weight Watcher’s and trying to be a better role model for my 2 kids! I feel like a hypocrite telling them we are going to the grocery store to save money but then spend that savings eating out.
Well, at least I know I am not the only one with a stockpile full of food still eating out WAY too much. I am so on board! We have been eating out, like most, using excuse after excuse. It’s rediculous. This is gonna be a hard challenge for me but certainly welcomed.
I’m there. We try to eat at home all but maybe once a month but lately I can’t handle cooking. Tonight we had grilled chicken and home grown potatoes.
Good for you! We don’t eat out unless it’s a special occasion – we just simply can’t afford to. We do get treated to eating out though – I’m a mystery shopper for restaurants which feeds my kids’ desires for McDonalds and Sonic drive-thru, and Papa Johns feeds the whole family a few times a month. There are usually 5-12 times a month we eat fast food/pizza for lunch or dinner but it’s always a moneymaker, never out of pocket.
To plan my meals to make sure I stay in budget I planned all my meals for the month already. Got most of the ingredients that I needed at Super Doubles the last couple of weeks. This should be a low out-of-pocket grocery month! Can’t wait! Good luck to everyone else!
Ok–going to try! I love my crock pot so I’ll be digging out my recipes. I need two scheduled exceptions as well–my b-day is the 7th, and our anniversary is the 29th. Keep us posted on what you have daily! 🙂
This sounds great to me! We eat out too much as well!
Oh Im in..that will be easy for me. As my daughter dont like meat and resturant food and with my husband senstive stomach. We may eat out 2-3 times a year. I am ready for this challange. Thank you for posting
Jessie, I’m so excited for you! It’ll be rewarding, fun, cheaper, and delicious I’m sure!! Nothing beats a home cooked meal. I cook every meal for my family, especially now that I’m off for the summer. I find that it is very rewarding to be able to make so many different recipes from scratch for so much less and without all the mystery ingredients, additives, preservatives, and having to pay so much out of pocket for one meal.
I am with you 100%!