If I could afford to, I would dine out a lot because I like trying out new food and I like being around people. I work alone a lot of the time and it is nice to get out among the living. I have run into some interesting people as I have been at restaurants over the years. I do have 4 people to feed and so we end up making dinner most nights. It is more cost effective to buy things at the grocery store and make food at home. If I were a single person with no kids, it would probably be more cost effective for me to dine out when you think of the cost of all the groceries you need to make meals and such.
Some of my friends who dine out all the time not because of loneliness or waiters/waitresses, but simply because they are too busy or lazy to cook. Especially for working adults, they have spent almost all the day time in the office, hence they do not feel like reaching home and cooking anymore. They are also lazy to wash the dishes after that. Moreover, they usually reach home in the dark, it would be really late for them to have dinner if they cook at home. Of course it can be done, as my husband and I always eat at home before I became stay-at-home mom, and we also brought our own food for lunch in the office. It required some effort and time, but it definitely saves money and we eat healthier too.
I tend to be selective in the choice of places I go to eat. I'd say my easily most visited restaurant is KFC, I just like the chicken and I'm sure of every food item I get to eat there. I don't like too much of burger as I sometimes wonder what the constituents in there. I'd prefer more of chicken and fish meal, less of flesh from mammals
@naruto100, Actually, food outside tastes a lot better than home-cooked ones, the fastfood and resto types are so scrumptious! But you can easily spend around $10 more or less in a single fastfood trip. Now that would be too costly in the long run, right? So since we don't have unlimited money, then we must avoid eating outside.
@moneymania Yeah. Obviously it will be costly if we keep going out on regular fashion in single month. But I go out for food just once in a month. Sometimes two times in a month. It is depend on occasions. But yes going every week can be costly for sure. And yes not all places we found healthy items.
@naruto100, You know what I do when I want to save money but I want to eat something delicious? I buy them individually, like pizza, or in small servings, like ice cream. At least I get to treat myself without spending a lot for the whole price of a box of pizza or a gallon of ice cream.
@moneymania Yes by that way you can save some money and yes have fun too with the taste. Even I used to do the same thing. I also used to grab offer when they are available. These days every shops are offering apps for their store for booking. So I have seen many kind of offers like buy pizza and get something free or in discount. So we can have money by that way too.
Dining out is definitely more expensive than preparing the same food at home. Home food is cheaper and healthier. Sometimes, whenever we order food from out, we always have the same thought, that, if we had prepared the same food at home it would have been cheaper. But then we would have to spend time cooking it. I find home cooked meals tastier than restaurant food. It is very rare that we go out for meals or order at home.
I do this a lot given I'm not broke. Trust me, it's not efficient but I feel better being around random people at some restaurant than sitting in my house by myself. Also, anything is possible when you dine out
That's one advantage of eating out you get see many people out there and this make eating looks more interesting and you aren't just one person having your meals. Sometimes just to catch the feel of being in the midst of others while I eat do makes me dine out in a few occasions.
It's also good because no one really bothers you so even if you do have company at home (family). You could just go out instead by yourself and have a feeling of more privacy in a sense.
Well, in order to be eating out all of the time, we have to be able to afford it because it's expensive. More, it's not very healthy to eat at restaurants on a daily basis because we never know what's happening in the kitchen! Nothing like a home cooked meal.
@moneymania Precooked food from stores is another consideration. You get the same convenience as take out, but you might save some money. For example, the baked or fried chicken they sell in the deli section of some stores is generally less expensive than chicken from a restaurant. If I was going to go out to eat all the time, I'd definitely be looking for discounted gift cards or coupons. @naruto100 Indeed, the prices seem to be climbing quickly. We used to try to go out a bit more, but I don't enjoy it as much now. It costs so much that it rarely seems worth it any more.
@thisnthat, Well coupons and gift cards are quite common in the US, but over here as a 3rd world country, not so much. The discounts are quite small and neglible. While in the US you can eat a full meal for free by just using coupons. Oh well, that is the disparity between the rich and poor countries for you.
@moneymania Yes, there is a definite difference in locations. Even within one country, things can differ quite a bit from one area to the next. It's only a small percentage of people here who are actually "rich," but yes, overall this country as a whole is considered to be one of the most prosperous. I don't have much access out here in the country. It's a long drive to a decent restaurant. I'd need to find discounted gift cards or get coupons online, because every bit helps. In other areas, coupons are distributed with the newspaper and come right to the door. Things vary greatly by location. I've never been able to get a full free meal just by using coupons. I've heard of people doing that with secret shopper jobs (they get reimbursed after the fact).
@thisnthat, Really? I remember reading a thread about a girl who was out on a date with another girl, and her date solely paid for their food using coupons. This was in the UK though. So I guess it also depends on the kind of coupons you get. If they're many enough then you can get a free meal.
I don't know of any places here (USA) that would allow someone to use multiple coupons to get the whole thing for free. Most places have specials, offers, or coupons, but they state that these cannot be used with any other discounts. I imagine it's to prohibit people from getting their meals free of charge. I mean, it does still cost them money to make the food. I'm sure it happens sometimes, in some places, but I just don't think it's as common as it may appear to be. I'm happy when I can get any kind of discount, although it's not usually a big amount. Every little bit of savings helps.
I think it's partially the social aspect, and being too lazy to cook. Some people have money to burn and they treat themselves very often. 10 dollars can go a long way in terms of groceries in my neck of the woods. Something to think about when you are short at the end of the month. Take account of all the times you went out to eat, and you probably would have the money to pay your bills.
@thisnthat, I guess they do it differently in the UK? But that is quite reasonable, because they will be shortchanged, right? You are right though, any kind of discount is good already, but of course, the bigger the discount, the better.
Definitely yes. Dining out will cost you much and will run you out of budget. I think most people usually decides on dining out most of the time to save time and effort in cooking and also if they want to eat foods that are being served way better in a particular restaurant.
