Eating out is certainly a mixed bag of statistics. Let us try and make some sense of this. I recently ate at Village Inn with my wife for lunch and my salad and her sandwich plus tea cost us $23.00. ($11.50 each) before tip. Just lunch out Monday to Friday with the $11.50 would be $230.00 per month without groceries yet. I purchased a Starbuck Latte, Venti, and it cost me $4.89 and if I were to do that once a day, Monday to Friday it would cost me $87.80 per month again with no groceries. These numbers do not count extra coffees, bottles of water, candy bars, snacks that are all calorie dense, quick trips to fast food restaurants and elegant nights out that run $50.00 per person minimum. Labor Statistics and Gallup Poll statistics indicate people eat out 10% of the time in a month. ( I think this is grossly underestimated) If they do only lunch out 10% that would be $33.00 and if dinner only it would be $60.00 for three meals out. Count your meals out and use $11 for lunch with tip and $20 for dinner with tip and see what you reach. Then you have to add in weekly groceries and these are essentials with no chips, snacks and desserts.
Department of Labor states:
Thrifty diet is $177 per month for males and $157 for females and this is used for food stamp calculations
Low cost diet is $228 per month for males and $198 for females and this is used by bankruptcy courts
Average diet is $284 per month for males and $242 per month for females
Liberal diet is $348 per month for males and $312 per month for females and is used to calculate Armed Services subsistence $ rate
Gallup Poll states the average in middle class male is $157 per month and female is $146 and varies little with age brackets and economic variation.
Soooo, how frugal are you and how honest in your calculations as to what you spend on one person per month for groceries as above and for eating out. Use $8 for breakfast with tip, $11 for lunch with tip and $20 for dinner with tip. How much????
Remember the tendency is if you eat out a lot you will use fast food outlets and buffets and restaurants with high carbohydrate meals to reduce cost and seek fullness.
No wonder we are gaining weight
