Anyone want to do a "No Eating Out" July? - Page 4

[mackysmama]

July 1 I went to Whole Foods for groceries and bought a roll and a container of crab bisque for my lunch.
July 2: I did spend $5.56 at the middle eastern deli but it was for supplies for dinner so I count it as a good day.

Monthly Total: $6.20

[FamilyFriendlyLife]

July 1:
July 2:

Thinking of this thread stopped me again last night when I was tempted to wander over to the ice cream window a block away...

Kim

[Jennisee]

Another family that fell off the wagon the first day. We were at my in-laws' house, and while I was in the garden, my DH offered to buy everyone Chinese take-out without consulting me.

I'm trying to meal plan right now, but there's really no point because we have enough leftovers in the fridge to last several days. But I'm sick of leftovers, so I know I'll be so tempted to grab take-out at supper time. Maybe I should just freeze the leftovers and cook something new...

[maliceinwonderland]

I'm in! We've been terrible about eating out since the baby was born, and when SO started working it got even worse because we can actually go out to eat without it breaking us, but that money should really be going to other things. I've planned our dinners for the week and bought groceries, so all I need to do is stick to the plan!

[becoming]

July 1: $28.13
July 2:

I even went to town yesterday around dinnertime, right where all the fast food places & restaurants are located, and still came home and made dinner.

[RetroGeekGirl]

So far, so good. It's been pretty easy as I've been off work for the past few days. The hard part will be not getting lunch out once I go back to the office next week. Lunches out at work have always been my downfall...

[becoming]

My DH had Taco Bell for lunch today. Not sure about the total yet. He also said, "Yeah, right!" when I told him about the No Eating Out challenge.

[mightymoo]

Originally Posted by becoming

My DH had Taco Bell for lunch today. Not sure about the total yet. He also said, "Yeah, right!" when I told him about the No Eating Out challenge.

This is where I think the total spent on eating out is motivating. Obviously no eating out isn't going to work if the person (your DH in this case) isn't on board with it, but I think if my DH didn't see the benefits, I would start keeping that total and mentioning it. "Oh, we've now spent over $1000 on eating out. That is equivilent to a new HDTV / an xbox / (whatever gets him going.)"

[SusannahM]

One more who failed on the first day . I TOTALLY forgot that the 60th birthday party we were invited to on Sunday was taking place at a restaurant. It was worth it, though, it was a very close friend of the family's special day. We spent $22, just split one order of fajitas amongst the 3 of us (DH, DD, and me). It was plenty of food, I'm glad we didn't order more. We actually had enough left over for dinner.

[angelcollector1]

I blew it today.. I stopped at McD's for a quickie breakfast this morning on my way to work. Grabbed a sausage biscuit and iced tea.

$3.10

I must be good! I must be good! I must be good!


I so want pizza for dinner

[AlwaysByMySide]

July 1:
July 2:
July 3:

It's technically only mid-afternoon here, but I have a Bible study tonight where dinner is provided, so I know I won't be getting anything else.

Keep up the good work for those of you who are hanging in, and for those who aren't, you can do it!!

[FamilyFriendlyLife]

July 1:
July 2:
July 3:

Tomorrow is going to be a big challenge; we have plans to attend a 4th of July parade/festival in a nearby town where there will be food vendors of all sorts at every turn. Must pack lots of food/drinks that will entice DH and kiddos to ignore the vendors - wish I could pack ice cream...

Kim

[cdncasper]

Ok I am bad, I bought myself a muffin and chocolate milk at Robin's Donuts this morning but in my defense it was the only thing I could eat since my tongue is so sore--I got it pierced again on Sat.
Total spend: $3.27

[mackysmama]

July 1 I went to Whole Foods for groceries and bought a roll and a container of crab bisque for my lunch.
July 2:
July 3:

Monthly Total: $6.20

I was super stressed with the kiddos after swim lessons, which is usually when I hit the drive-thrus (as a very unhealthy way to "give" to myself"). I remembered my left over greek pasta salad and went straight home.

[myjulybabes]

I'm not sure I'm on board for NO eating out, but we are trying to cut back quite a bit on that particular expense, and I wanted to share a little tip...

What I've found really helps is having plenty of stuff you can just heat and eat, whether it's stuff you've made in big batches and then frozen, or leftovers, or canned soup and sandwich fixings, or frozen pizza, or whatever. Yeah, packaged foods aren't that healthy, but neither is fast food, and if you shop carefully, it can be quite a bit cheaper than fast food. Point is, when we're both too tired to make a big meal, it's a lot less tempting to head for the drive thru when there's something in the fridge, freezer, or pantry that can be ready to eat nearly as fast.

So anyway, July 3, and we've eaten every meal at home so far this month! It's a start!

[anthasam]

We've done awful already. Ugh. I've decided that we're going to do one of each meal "type" out a week. (So, one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner.) This sounds like a lot, but for us it's not and it's actually possible for us to do

Recap:

July 1 Used our one dinner out for the week.
July 2 Hmmm, grabbed dinner out again
July 3
July 4 Eating at MIL's later.

[angelcollector1]

Well I fell off the wagon again last night. I had the pizza I wanted for dinner. I should have come here and read this thread first. Total for pizza w/delivery $20.

Total spent so far this month $23.10

That will be it! I can do this.

Staying home resting today. I took a roast out of the freezer to make for dinner for ds and I. Not seeing my boyfriend since he's flying today. Gotta love his flight nurse job that interrupts our dating so often, ugh!

[doublesnap]

We've been really good. We fell off the wagon once but DH and I only spent $13.74 for lunch for the two of us. Luckily we had a $5 off coupon for Don Pablo's!

We stocked up on groceries and we've vowed to eat at home. I'm really proud of us, we used to eat out so much and while I miss it I sure love the $$$ in my account.

Quicken really put things in perspective, I knew we ate out a lot but I never realized how much!

Good luck everyone, we can do this!

[Groovy Mom]

Great idea. I don't think I could survive a whole month, though. : Sometimes eating out is my sanity. I'd have to do a weekly challenge.

[FamilyFriendlyLife]

July 1:
July 2:
July 3:
July 4:

Packed lots of snacks/water + managed to avoid buying any food at today's festivities; wahoo!

Kim