I consider money wasted eating out as the biggest reason people have no retirement savings. Ten or twenty dollars per week saved rather than spent over the course of thirty years adds up to a large amount of money. The continued overspending in this category is reflected in the fact that restaurant/bar retail spending has remained one of the few bright spots in the last year. I contend this is due to the fact people are depressed by their awful wage growth and growing expenditures for healthcare, so they are eating and drinking to drown their sorrows.
“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” Isaiah 22:13
The wasting of money on “other consumer goods” is the category that really jumped. This is where the iGadgets and other tech related crap falls. We are amusing ourselves and eating ourselves to death.
Guest Post by Catey Hill
Down to your last belt loop and your last penny? These seemingly unrelated phenomena may have more in common than you think, a new survey shows.
Dining out is the No. 1 thing that Americans blow their budgets on, according to the Principal Financial Group’s annual Financial Well Being Index, which will be released Wednesday (MarketWatch got an early look at the data). The company surveyed more than 1,100 employed American adults.
Those restaurant meals are also adding to our growing waistlines: On days when people dine out, they tend to consume 200 more calories than when they eat at home, according to a study of more than 12,500 people published by Public Health Nutrition last year, and government research shows that “when eating out, people either eat more or eat higher calorie foods — or both — and that this tendency appears to be increasing.” Other studies show that eating out more frequently is associated with obesity and higher body fat.
And the problem is getting worse. While 22% of Americans blew their budgets on dining out in 2014, this year, 24% did so.
Table: 10 things Americans spend too much on
| 2015 | 2014 | |
| Dining out | 24% | 22% |
| Food/groceries | 19% | 18% |
| Entertainment | 15% | 15% |
| Other consumer goods | 15% | 9% |
| Travel | 14% | 12% |
| Housing/housing improvements | 14% | 10% |
| Clothing/apparel/shoes | 11% | 10% |
| Gas | 9% | 13% |
| Coffee | 6% | 3% |
| Other | 10% | 11% |
| None of the above | 30% | 34% |
The reason lies, in part, in our hectic lifestyles, says Kevin Morris, the vice president and chief marketing officer for Principal Financial Group’s retirement and income solutions division. “The world isn’t slowing down, it’s getting faster,” he says. “There are more and more demands out of everybody’s time.” Because of that, we sometimes opt to dine out instead of cook at home because it’s more convenient and a small pleasure/treat that we can give ourselves, he explains.
One of the best ways to to keep our dining out budget in check is to plan better, says Morris — which has the added benefit of helping you cut calories too. Prep healthy meals for the week on the weekend (freeze what you need to) so you have something quick and ready to go for each night.
Of course, this isn’t always possible, so here are a few ways to dine out in a financially responsible manner when you can’t eat at home. Savings expert Andrea Woroch recommends buying discounted gift cards for restaurants (Costco often sells bundle packs of these) and looking for coupons and savings on Restaurant.com and coupon sites like CouponSherpa.com.
Woroch adds that you can find savings on Yelp as well: “Not only is Yelp a good place to find honest restaurant reviews and menu recommendations, but you can also search for “dining deals” as well as “cheap dinner” and sometimes stumble upon special discounts through these listings,” she says.
Teri Gault, CEO of savings website The Grocery Game, recommends that to save money you change the days and times when you eat out. “You can save up to 50% just by changing your schedule on dining out,” she says. “If you have kids, patronize restaurants where kids eat free on Tuesday night; for adults only, hit happy hour for half price food and drink.” Furthermore, she says you should “look for coupons for BOGO (Buy One Get One) dinners, and you’ll find that the fine print often has specified days of the week, and usually not weekends.”
The price of dining out has gone through the roof. A meal (even at a place like Red Lobster) is at least $15 – $20. Many places want $6 – $7 for a glass of house wine. Add tax and tip – it’s hard for two people to eat out for less than $50 – $60. And that’s a mediocre meal.
Here in Minneapolis it seems 10 new restaurants / bars open every month. It’s just plain nuts.
Just as we have had an Internet Bubble, and a Housing Bubble, I predict a Restaurant Bubble. All it’s going to take is a downturn of disposable income, and many of these restaurants won’t last more than a couple of months.
I consider one of the biggest wastes to be pets, especially dogs. In a study the cost of keeping a medium size dog, getting average quality kibble and only routine vet care, was about $1200 a year. If your dog lives to 14 that is over $16,000 with nothing to show for it. I’m always amazed at how many people are broke but somehow the cost of multiple pets never gets factored in to the budget.
http://dogs.about.com/od/becomingadogowner/a/costofdogs.htm
It’s funny how people never think about the little things. I quit smoking in 1999. I was burning through one to one and a half packs a day at @ $2.50 a piece. That’s $112/month! Ever since then I’ve saved that money and never spent a penny of it except on pm’s which I don’t consider “spending”.
I know people who eat at least one meal out almost every single day. If I’m extremely conservative, they’re spending $240/month minimum eating out! Most of them stop at one of those drive up coffee shops several days a week where a cup of coffee costs as much as a single meal. A few of them still smoke as well and name brand smokes are just shy of $10/pack here! In total they’re probably spending $500+ each month. To top it off they’re in debt and their daily habits have them digging ever deeper. $500/month could be a great start towards retirement and better health!
During our recent extended power outage people were flocking to every open restaurant they could find. In a SHTF scenario the sheep will be hungry, caffeine and nicotine deprived and rapidly running out of anti-depressants.
It’s gonna be EPIC!
Fools and their money are soon parted.
Just drink water. No calories no $$
Tattoos.
Piercings.
Women buying new pairs of boots every three days.
Coach handbags.
Getting a knee replaced instead of shedding those extra 70 lbs.
Driving a $50k car, or a $90K one.
Mortgaging a huge house.
Supplying all the little kids with cell phones, iGadgets and all sorts of other BS.
So many ways to pauper oneself, so little time.
Forget eating out, I’m worried about the price of cheese! I believe cheese should be it’s own food group but prices for good cheese are getting way out of control!
Administrator , just admit the real reason people are fat is people (including you ) have forgotten that gluttony is a sin.A mother lust like sex.
Little food piggy , little sex piggies.
As someone who eats out regularly. The IRS allows us 59 dollars a day per diem.85% of which is tax deductible. I still spend about 200 dollars a week on junk food for myself and tuna / salmon for little bb.
Dutchman said:
“All it’s going to take is a downturn of disposable income, and many of these restaurants won’t last more than a couple of months.”
How many more downturns in disposable income before we get to the one that kills the restaurant bubble?
You all should see the number of restaurants in the Boise, ID area. Every single time I visit there are literally DOZENS of new ones and dozens under construction. My boss recently went to Boise for a concert and his number one comment was about the thousands of restaurants they have.
ID ,you so full of yourself with how prepared you’re going to be. What happens when ( not if ) you run into someone like me with a fully converted fully automatic M16 with 100 rd magazines.?????I
Please tell us enquiring minds.
KaD, I mostly agree with you on dogs but I find them infinitely preferable to kids. As far as having “nothing to show for it”, I beg to differ but you’d have to have one to understand. Mine provide thousands of hours of entertainment, fun and exercise in addition to providing 24/hr security.
Luckily I can afford to care for them properly. My wife and I save $80/month every month to cover the inevitable vet bills but they are generally only a factor in the first year of life and the last few not counting annual checkups. Finding a vet we deem competent is a bigger concern than the cost. We just include their daily food and occasional grooming costs in our regular budget.
Jeez, don’t be such killjoys. Get a dog, take the old lady out to dinner once in a while, live your life. Life is a whole lot more than a number on paper. There is plenty of room to be responsible and be happy. Money only buys 2 things, security, and lifestyle, that’s it. Don’t think there is more to it.
A large part of the dining out craze is lazy oveeweight people and boomers/retired people.
My parents and their friends might dine out 3-4 times a week, its ridiculous.
I agree – have no pets. It’s all I can do to take care of myself, wife, family.
If you have to grab a quick bite – just have water. A soda or coffee/tea will set you back $2.
Plan your meals, and take leftovers for lunch.
If you can resist (not to blow the entire bag in one day) buy a bag of pretzels or your snack of choice and take it to the office – no vending machine.
Ditto for soda – I like a ginger ale once in a while – have a six pack at work.
Last week my son called me and asked if I’d ride along with him to the city to pick up some supplies he had ordered. He said he’d treat for lunch so I went along. We went to a place he had been- a Japanese/Chinese/Italian buffet (not kidding). The lunch price was $15 per head all you can eat and drink. I had hot tea and a plate of sushi- I know, right?- and my son hit the Chinese part, we both skipped the Italian and desert.
A couple of observations.
The average weight of the diners was 2x normal body weight, easy. There were a dozen or more in the 300 plus range, quite a few wheelchair/scooter bound/missing lower limbs (diabetes?) and they were going back up to the line as if they hadn’t eaten in a month, 4 trips for the table of cops next to us, only one of whom was even in the normal human size range. If you decide to commit a crime in Concord, run, they’ll have to shoot you if they want a chance of snagging anyone. The oldest guy was probably half my age and he had that odd grey skin color that indicates pending death. The only thing they were protecting and serving was their plates and soft serve ice cream.
What is the deal with Chinese restaurant staff? I’m 55 and I’ve been eating in Chinese restaurants throughout my lifetime in virtually every state and I have never once had an hostess or waitress speak to me in anything but the most SNL quality Chinese accent. How many generations does it take for them to speak English as if they actually lived here? ‘You whan tee? Come on already, you can use the schools, their free to all comers, why does everyone have to do the Hop Sing? It’s like a freaking Calgon commercial.
The food was okay, the decor was nightmarish, the service about one step above an automat and the patrons like a commercial for Januvia. $30 plus tip for an okay lunch (like everything else in America the two physically fit workers subsidized the masses and I do mean masses.)
That’s my input from the great White north.
Keep going out for lunch! Eat half and take half home for dinner if you want to save money, but keep eating out. Oh, and don’t forget to take care of your server ???
Not only can eating out be expensive and unhealthy, it can also be dangerous….especially if you work for Yelp…………
Had to go to Gainesville so ate lunch at Ocean Buffet and noticed most people were fat seniors. I don’t think young people can afford to eat out.
I truly believe that almost half the people, young or old, just don’t give a fuck anymore. They see life flying by and just want to put the pedal-to-the-metal. They think; “Where is the living-wage job and the 5% savings account? Why should I be prudent? Fuck you, life is going fast and I’m on the losing end and I’m gonna party”.
If we were in their position, we might do the same. If they feel no hope economically, then $100 on a 20% interest credit card for a restaurant meal is a ‘fix’ they will not deny themselves. They don’t give a shit how high falutin’ and condemning our rhetoric towards them becomes. They know they are currently in the last scene of the last act of the last play of their unfulfilled lives.
If they are outside my immediate family, then I only pity them and refuse to condemn. Fuck the bankers who created this new paradigm.
Fast food sucks.
Better off buying some food and cooking yourself.
But if family wants to go to a restaurant I will join them. And yes, Avalon, the portions are oversized and “to go” boxes are in order. I tend to spend more on beer than food.
Others on wine or daddy drinks.
Teenagers head off to college, study hard and graduate, only to find out they don’t meet any affirmative action requirements, thus being turned down for cushy government/contractor jobs, the only ones that still pay well. The student loan payments begin, so they take a job at one of those new restaurants popping up, serving their former professors and the annointed public “servants” that won’t hire them, aka the only people who can afford to eat at the restaurant.
The new cycle of life in America.
It is abysmal to go out to eat, back in the 1950’s Mom would do a pan of popcorn and we would share a 16 oz RC cola between the 4 of us kids, we thought we were in heaven. In school, very few students were overweight, we ran everywhere and TV was a novelty. It is a shame that we as a society are so self absorbed, wifi in restaurants has ruined the dining experience. I take my bride of 40 years out to our favorite somewhat expensive restaurant on our anniversary. Have a bottle of their best vintage, have their appetizers and have them staff treat us like royalty. That is dining, franchise restaurants lack the personal touch of the old restaurants. Our retirement is good because we did set aside money we may have wasted at the burger shack dumps. I guess you can call it personal responsibility, our collective society will be coming after us for being successful, we are well armed with good marksmanship. Life has always been a struggle!
I stopped eating out years ago because of the disgusting food handling in the kitchens. If you ever walked into the ‘food preparation’ zone of a restaurant and watched the non-English speaking illegal immigrant workers in action, you’ll never eat out again.
The coffee shops, fast food grease pits and restaurants in CT are packed to the gills every day. This is something my brother points out to me to indicate that ‘everything is okay’ when I talk about the collapsing economy. My theory on why that is so is that it’s empowering to the losers who feel lost in the shuffle of life. Just like unnecessary shopping is a high to the same type of people, sitting in a restaurant going through the ritual of ‘menu-drinks-order-get food-tip and pay on the way out’ is somehow both comforting and empowering to those who need some form of phony self gratification in their miserable lives.
Occasionally dining out may be fine for some, as a treat, if you know for certain that the kitchen is well monitored to prevent the workers from putting various bodily fluids into your food because they are sick fucks and they hate you. Happens all the time.
Enjoy!…and don’t forget to tip your server!
no more vegas trips with my old college buddies and spending 3,500 on a bottle service at some lame club. split between 10 guys that’s $350 down the drain. fml
$3500 on bottle service? Bwahahahaha! That’s a special kind of stupid right there! Even retards would laugh at that shit!
That’s the kind of thing that signals Peak Human Race. It’s all downhill from here folks!
I haven’t eaten in a restaurant since February, 2013, almost three years now, and I don’t miss them one bit. I make superb food at home and my average cost, including the occasional fine steak with wine, is about $3 per meal! ($270 per month, divided by 90 meals.) Now, of course, the steak dinner costs me about $9 but I don’t have that often, so the average meal cost is much lower than that.
I use the best ingredients in my food and make almost everything from scratch, and it’s not all that difficult. I hate it when I see a tempting loaf of bread in the store and read the ingredient list, only to find it contains HFCS as well as twenty other chemical ingredients, whereas my homemade bread contains just five ingredients.
A few months ago I accompanied my neighbor to a fast “food” restaurant so she could buy some “food” for her husband and a soda for herself. While waiting in line I noticed something really odd. Untold years ago when I last set foot in a fast food restaurant, it seemed that most people were youngsters, but during this visit with my neighbor I observed that almost everyone was middle aged or older, including husband and wife couples. It appears that nobody cooks anymore and everyone relies on restaurants as their primary source of food. If so, that explains why the restaurant industry is thriving, contrary to economic logic. And as the article points out, spending a large percentage of one’s income wastefully is no recipe for prosperity.
I would also like to add that I shed all my debts, every penny, over a decade ago, closed all my credit card accounts and have since lived according to a cash based personal economy, and although I’m monetarily “poor,” I’ve never been happier. The stress associated with debt is crushing. I put the word poor in quotations because while on paper I may not have much money, I also have no debts and own everything, including bit ticket items such as my house, pickup truck and tractors. Thus I can live on a tiny amount of money, especially since I do almost everything myself instead of hiring people. I honestly believe that I live better than 90% of Americans, experience far less stress, am exceedingly healthy and don’t have one single pharmaceutical drug in the house, not even aspirin.
My few brief words of advice are: avoid ALL debt, don’t spend money frivolously and take care of yourself (good food, exercise, rest).
Ian
I’m trying to think of the last time I ate out. Coming up blank. Surely I must have done in the last few years?
But we pretty much gave it up as minimum wage has surged, our income has not, and entertainment/eaterie employees willfully abuse anyone who fails to leave them a 20% fucking tip on top of their $12 an hour.
(In other countries this kind of cash grab is called corruption, in the US it’s some kind of service reconciliation)
Not to mention that generally, their food fairly sucks most of them time, rarely better than mediocre. The tax on the bill is 10%, the tip on the bill is 20%. So the mediocre overpriced food has an immediate add-on of THIRTY FUCKING PERCENT.
Hell no.
We stopped going out a couple of years ago – and we’re old school party animals. Fuck these people.
We eat at home. We mail-order our booze from out of state. I roll my own [tobacco] cigarettes, I’m not paying their state stamp taxes. I buy my laundry detergent in an immigrant neighborhood down the road, it’s full of sulfates and made in Colombia or Vietnam. Shit actually gets my clothes clean, and for half the price the local supermarket charges.
The entire US economy has become a money extraction scheme. Fuck it, fuck all of it.
We eat out once in a while, for anniversaries, the occasional treat, etc. This morning we went to Burger King because she had heard there was a special: two Croissanwich for $5. Her water and my small coffee brought it up to $5.35, not bad for breakfast for two.
There are a few restaurants we patronize, a French pastry shop that also does lunch & dinner (mostly quiches, salads and such), and another minor chain called Zupas; they do really good soups, sandwiches and salads. We usually share a “try two” combo and each get half a sandwich and share a salad for about $11.50, which is not bad for lunch for two in a major metro area.
There are choices, you don’t always have to cook at home or pay a bundle; and we don’t go every day, or even once a week. Sometimes you get tired of coming up with something everyone will eat, and did I mention food allergies? My house is like living with three different rabbis of three religions, all with different dietary proscriptions (one is dairy intolerant, lactose-free this and that and can’t have cheese; one is opposed to anything “crunchy”, another can’t have nuts or peanut butter, I’m the only one with “normal” diet freedom). But eating out is tougher than it used to be, HFCS and MSG aren’t the only pitfalls. Also, home-baked bread is such a delight!
I calculated the cost of making breakfast for two at home vs. eating breakfast out.
The savings x 365? Approx. $2200/yr.
Lunch and dinner? At least the same.
$6600/yr x 10 yrs?!? Now there’s a retirement fund! (But math is SOOO hard!!!) lol