Have you ever thought about how much you are spending when you eat out? While we all need to provide nurishment for our bodies, eating out is one of the quickest ways to exhaust your discretionary funds. Did you know that the National Restuarant Association predicts that in 2010 the restuarant industry's share of your food dollar will be 49 percent?
Eating out has now become a part of the daily routine for too many people. Just think about it: easy access to home delivery, 24-hour drive-thru windows, not to mention restuarants on just about every corner. It doesn't take much to convince yourself that it's easier to go to the local fast-food place than to go to the grocery store, buy supplies, and then cook....not to mention what you have to clean up afterwards.
There is another complication with eating out.....how do you make sure you have a nutritionally balance diet? Then, how about those ever growing portion sizes. Who really needs all that food and the calories? When we are searching for ways to make ends meet, eating out should be one of the first places we look to increase our discretionary income.
Are we becoming slaves to eating out? Think about it....we don't really have much spare time anymore so preparing a meal that requires more than a microwave can become daunting. But if we did a bit more advanced planning and added in a dash of self-control, we might begin to see just how expensive eating out has become. And that there can be an easy fix.
So how do we begin to correct our eating out fixation? A good way would be write down how much you spend every time you eat out. You might be surprised at how many times this adds up to, not to mention the cost. Then pick one day a week to begin with, and make a pledge to cook and eat at home and to take your lunch. The result? You'll have more money as well as time and better health.
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