We all love to get out with friends and family and take a night off from cooking and cleaning up. I know that some of us went stir crazy during Covid with the heavy restrictions. This is especially true if you are a social butterfly and love going out and being seen. The good news is that you don’t have to fully eliminate it if you’re in love with it. In a future post, we’ll address how you can cut costs for you and your family and still be able to go out for a night on the town. However, today, we’re discussing how to earn money for your family by staying at home or even picking something up at the drive through.
MAKE A MENU
Fast food purchases, work lunches, sit down restaurant visits, and pizza runs can add up quickly when you’re on a budget. Poor planning often sends you in the direction of your neighborhood restaurant. To avoid this, make a weekly menu in advance. This allows you time to go to the grocery store and get any needed items for the menu and gives you the luxury of prepping the meals ahead of time (when the kids are sleeping or weekends) so you can pop them in the oven before dinnertime. Freezable meals, crockpots, and casseroles are great to prepare in advance. A menu not only works for dinner, but for all meals and snacks as well. When prepping, you save a lot of hassles and frustration at the actual mealtime. I have a close friend that takes time on Sundays to cut up all of her vegetables for the week with her family. They bond together, chat, and prepare so everyone has what they need for the week. Keep in mind that you don’t have to make gourmet meals every night.
If you’re new to planning meals on a budget, look into this website for 10 tips to get you started. Don’t forget to click on “easy menu planning” on the site to help get you started if you’re new to the game or would just like some new tips. https://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/Budget/10-Tips-for-Planning-Meals-on-a-Budget.aspx Some highlights to point out to help you be successful is…
· Use recipes with common items that you typically keep on hand. Stay away from specialty ingredients that you may never use again or will have to purchase specifically for that recipe.
· Use recipes with food that you already have in your home/freezer
· Cook enough to have leftovers for lunches (at home, work, and school)
· Know what your family likes to eat to avoid waste
Some items not specifically mentioned in the article, but important to highlight are:
· You don’t have to cook a new meal every night if you make enough for leftovers.
· It’s ok to have simple meals like sandwiches, breakfast for dinner, and tomato soup & grilled cheese (a classic and one of my favorites).
· Have standby, easy items in the pantry or freezer for emergency situations like frozen pizza, tuna fish, eggs, tortilla chips for basic nachos, spaghetti and sauce. All of these previously purchased on sale and/or with coupons, of course.
** Use my hacks from “Grocery Deals and Where to Find them” (March 25, 2021) and “Earning Money on Groceries” (March 27, 2021) to get your grocery shopping on point to work on this weekly menu.
This does not have to be black or white. There’s a lot of gray to choose from as well. It’s not a choice of eating out all the time or staying home all the time. Lots of middle room there. Take an honest look at how many times you eat away from home currently and make adjustments from there. Start by eliminating one or two times a week and increase from there. Your wallet will thank you! For our family, it’s more an exception to go out rather than the rule. We do it, but not super often. It’s reserved for nice treats.
FAST FOOD
With our crazy, busy society and our overscheduled lives, the usage of fast food is commonplace. According to www.thebarbecuelab.com, the average American spends $1,200 a year on fast food. Are you surprised? What about you? Do you spend that much? Do you even know how much you spend on dining out and fast food, in particular?
Some crazy stats on fast food include:
· Most Americans eat fast food 1-3x/week
· 83% of families eat fast food at least 1x/week
· The average American family spends 10% of their annual income on fast food. WOWZERS on that one.
· Lunchtime is the most popular time to eat fast food
· 34% of children eat fast food on any given day
Save Those Receipts
Having had a teen who worked at Chick-Fil-A and one that worked at both Haagen-Dazs and Starbucks, I definitely learned a lot about surveys on receipts given. Not every receipt offers a survey, but make sure that you take a peek before you throw it away. Completing the short survey (less than 5 minutes), can give you perks like free sandwiches, BOGO’s, and free drinks. Remember, every little bit helps. **Good to note—surveys are offered from other places in addition to fast food. I went to Lowes today to pick up mulch and there was a survey to win $500. It’s worth it to do it.
Customization
To help out with your bottom line, ask for a soft drink with no ice. Typically, the fountain drink is cold anyway so it’s not like you’ll be drinking it warm. If you’re dining inside the restaurant where you fill your own drinks, fill it up on your way out (with no ice) and take it home to your fridge for later. If you drink sugar drinks, be aware of all of the extra calories in numerous refills. Even with free refills available, we always limited our children to one drink with no refills on sugar drinks.
Don’t Be Wasteful
With your meal, likely included are things like straws, napkins, condiments, and sauces. Never throw those things away. Take them home to use in the future either on the road when traveling or just at home. We keep a bunch of napkins in all of our cars (4 currently in our family) for emergency spills and runny noses (if we run out of tissues). My oldest is a crazy ketchup gal and always gets a ton when she goes to any fast-food restaurant. We had it stacking up and filling up our kitchen drawer. One day I got tired of seeing them every time I opened the drawer and spent a bunch of time opening the packets and adding them to our bottle of ketchup, where I knew it would actually be used. I felt accomplished to clean out our drawer and also succeeded in lengthening the time between purchasing the next bottle of ketchup. More winning. **I’m not talking about taking a bunch of extra items from the restaurants specifically to stock up at home, but only to not waste what was given to you.
Get Creative
Many of our restaurants have specialty sandwiches, drinks, and orders. It’s time to look at some hacks to save some money on the same order you’re already getting. My Starbucks daughter is a champion at this because she knows the system there. She knows which items/toppings are an additional cost and which ones aren’t and also how to get a specialty drink for a fraction of the cost. One of her favorites is instead of buying a Vente Ice Chai (cost $7-8), ask for two espresso shots, over half ice in vente cup with extra 2% milk for $3-4. Big savings. Some other examples include splitting a foot long/giant sandwich instead of getting 2 regulars. They are fine with putting different toppings on each side. When you’re at McDonald’s, order a McDouble without ketchup/mustard and ask if they can put on some cheese and special sauce. This is your poor man’s Big Mac. At Arby’s, purchase two junior roast beef sandwiches rather than a regular classic. It’s the same amount of meat for less. Explore https://thekrazycouponlady.com/tips/money/23-fast-food-menu-hacks-that-will-save-you-money to find lots of fast-food hacks and tricks.
Get Those Apps
Get apps for your favorite restaurants for easy ordering, discounts, and promos. It’s also convenient for any gift cards received so you don’t have to cart them around. They can also save you time by putting in a mobile order and having them deliver it out to your car. Start with your favorite restaurants and move out from there. The summer before my daughter went away to college, she stacked up and saved all of her fast-food points/rewards to use while she was away to be able to get free items. Best idea ever! If you have a junior or senior in high school, I would highly recommend this. Our only regret is that we didn’t start earlier. *Pay attention to expiration dates and adjust accordingly to not lose any.
Skip the Convenience Snacks
At work or when you’re out and about…if you’re prone to purchasing snacks or drinks out of the vending machine, carry easy snacks with you (that don’t melt during the summer) or to keep in your place of work. You can stave off the afternoon munchies by bringing healthy snacks to work like fruit, cheese, crackers, veggies, nuts, etc. If you’re someone who drives for a living or frequently find yourself getting the munchies away from home, try keeping things like pretzels, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, trail mix, granola/protein bars, and rice cakes in your car. Another great hack is to always have water in your car console or trunk.
There are several financial experts and fitness gurus out there that may tell you to NEVER eat out. I don’t think this is terrible advice, but I do think that this is unrealistic for most. This blog is called Finance Hacks for the Regular Person for a reason. What it means is that you don’t have to be perfect or 100% at these hacks. Focus on small changes and improvements and what works for your family AND that you’ll stick with. Remember that every little change is moving you on the way to have more control over your finances and to hit whatever financial goal you’re searching for, whether it’s to save money for an emergency fund, pay off debt, save for retirement, build a college fund for your children, etc. I know that it’s highly unlikely that you’ll never go out to a fast-food restaurant again or buy something from a vending machine. Just know…that’s ok. It doesn’t mean that you have failed. Being here reading this blog may be the first step on your journey, but if you integrate some of these hacks into your daily life, you will make progress.
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