Food......

One of the consistent things you read as you search for ways to save money/get out of debit is to figure out where you are spending money that you are unsure of. For our family, most of the unaccounted spending is eating out. We like to eat out. This has been a pattern for our entire marriage. During the first years it was just easier for Matt and I to eat out especially on the weekend the girls were with their father. Then as a stay at home mom, I deserved to have a weekend off so it was easier for us to eat out or during the times when life gets crazy, with people going everywhere  grabbing something to eat meant we got to eat together. Even as the roles slowly changed, eating out was a way of life. A favorite activity was to spend time going out to eat with friends especially after church on Sundays.  Last summer a trip to the pool usually ended up with fast food or pizza. As I began to look at ways to reduce spending, I knew that eating out was a huge step but I will be the first to admit it has been one of the most difficult.  We worked on reducing it to once a week and as of May, it is down to special occasions and/or using found/unaccounted for money.

As I said this has been a difficult area for me to give up/reduce, especially on the weekend or when things are really busy. But I am glad to say that this week, we have managed to reduce and fight the urge!  Yes, we did eat out yesterday, with found money.  But we have had 3 delicious meals at home today!!  This morning, we started early with a trip to Lowes to replace the kitchen light that burn out another $30 bulb last week. We decided to just purchase a new light because of the frequency that we have to replace bulbs and considering how little light it actually put out.  We were able to find one on clearance so that helped. Matt fixed pancakes prior to going to Lowes. After coming home and installing the light, we decided on BLTs for lunch using our first home grown tomato, as well as fresh lettuce from the co-op box.  This afternoon, we spent time in the yard as well as cleaning out the insides of both cars. Our normal thing is that at the end of a really busy day, it is easier to order  pizza or fast food simply because we are both tired but not today.  I decided to fix fried chicken, made potato salad and cole slaw with all fresh ingredients again from the co-op box. I was excited because we even have enough to use as lunch tomorrow!  A weekend without eating out, slowly but surely we can do it!