Food versus Retirement

[MonkeyMama]

Absolutely. I've told the story before that years ago, my wife worked with a bunch of people who were always moaning about being broke. At break time, they'd all grab a soda out of the vending machine in the lounge for $0.75. At lunch time, they'd all go out and bring back fast food. On pay day, they would rush out to cash their checks so that they had enough money to buy lunch that day. My wife, on the other hand, would pack a can of soda ($0.10 each on sale) and brown bag her lunch. She had direct deposit and most of the time didn't even know it was pay day until everyone else went running to the bank. I did the same as her and we figured out that we saved hundreds of dollars each month by doing that.

For me, it's "How could you possibly support a family on one income?" I think the biggest cost savings we found (besides lower income taxes - which is the biggie) is by cutting our food budget.

Before kids, we probably ate out most of the time for lunch (was expected with our type jobs - we both ate out with clients almost every day - often covered by employer but not always). But we were saving some huge percentage of our income and never thought twice about it. (Definitely a busy factor, too).

Slashing our income considerably, the food budget was the obvious category to cut. The more I talk to other people I am just amazed how much they spend on food. I am referring to people who don't have a penny to their name or not saving for retirement.

Though in the past we could certainly justify the expense, I don't think I would ever go back to frequent eating out. The side benefit is the weight loss. It doesn't seem to matter what it is or how much I eat, but if I eat one meal out, I notice it on the scale. My dh is stick thin to begin with, but lost about 10 pounds when we stopped eating out every day. I figure there is a long-term cost savings with our health. IT wasn't our intent when we cut back the eating out since we are both thin anyway, but the difference is astounding.

As a funny aside, I was out with a friend and ordered a salad the other day. She said, "Wow, you are being good!" Meanwhile, it was like 4 servings of salad (GIANT) covered in bacon and eggs, and smothered in dressing of course. I was thinking that was not what I envisioned when I ordered salad. Good? Pffffft. A home cooked lasagna would have less calories.

[Hector]

My wife and I spend around $600/month on food which includes $200 in eating out.

[maat55]

As many know here, prioritization is a major factor in good personal finance. It is clear that most here have their priorities in the right place. What is also noticeable is that even with proper priorities we like to indulge on food and beverage.

I really think those who are struggling should give a serious look at their food/beverage expenditures for substantial ways to cut spending in order to fund other priorities.

[Coronet]

I know I spend way too much money on food/eating out. I spend about $300 a month for dining out and groceries. I realized that I was spending too much after a few months of tracking my expenses and since I have made an effort to eat out less and brown bag my lunch at work.

[Mr Nice Guy]

Taking a look at my spending diary for December, I have spent $197.95 on food in the groceries category. It seems like a lot for a single male, but I had probably $25 of that go towards a Christmas potluck.

In the eating out category, I have spent $72.64 in December. This includes coffee (which I will separate into its own category from here out.)

I guess I am pretty happy, but will try to do more cooking next month. Cooking seems to cost about as much as eating out, but you get extra leftovers. And once you buy a salad dressing (or other condiments) once, it is good for at least a month or two.

[Snodog]

I've been tracking expenses since 2007 and have averaged $20/month on eating out.

Remember just because you are spending $10 at that restaurant doesn't mean that you wasted it all.

It still cost money to eat at home so maybe you are only wasting $7 or $8.

Food is not a big expenditure for me personally as I have a bananna for breakfast, a decent meal for lunch, another bananna for supper and a yogurt before bedtime.

I waste money in other areas however.

[Hector]

I know I spend way too much money on food/eating out. I spend about $300 a month for dining out and groceries. I realized that I was spending too much after a few months of tracking my expenses and since I have made an effort to eat out less and brown bag my lunch at work.

My wife and I spend $600/month which means $300/person and when you buy food for more than one person, cost/person is likely to go down, but I dont think we spend too much money on food. I am wondering what would be average cost of food for a couple!

[disneysteve]

Cooking seems to cost about as much as eating out

No way. If you compare equal meals, cooking at home will virtually always win. It is true, though, that if you are just starting out, stocking the pantry with the staples needed to prepare things is costly at first, but most of those things will last a long time. You gave the salad dressing example. Spices, baking supplies and lots of other things are the same way. Buy them once and have them to use in meal prep for months after.

[doxie]

I can answer this now as I have been tracking all my expenses on mint.com since Feb of this year. Average per month $690, $359 eating out, $331 for groceries. This is for 2 adults. That figure represents about 8% of our take home pay.

In recent months we have made a concious effort to spend a little bit less. While we've done well, it doesn't appear that we cut down much on food. While we could if we HAD to, there are other areas I will always look to first before food. Aside from intangibles like love, family, friendship, etc., food is my greatest joy in life. Well, my pets too, but I would put them in the former category.

[Hector]

I can answer this now as I have been tracking all my expenses on mint.com since Feb of this year. Average per month $690, $359 eating out, $331 for groceries. This is for 2 adults. That figure represents about 8% of our take home pay.

In recent months we have made a concious effort to spend a little bit less. While we've done well, it doesn't appear that we cut down much on food. While we could if we HAD to, there are other areas I will always look to first before food. Aside from intangibles like love, family, friendship, etc., food is my greatest joy in life. Well, my pets too, but I would put them in the former category.

hhmm!!I never calculated food in terms of % of take home. I guess if I start calculating this for all expense categories and adjust my spending to keep it at minimal level, I would for sure fall in top % of frugal category!

[cjscully]

While this is an interesting discussion, I'd have to say that when it comes to cutting spending the last thing I'm going to cut is my food budget. There are two reasons for this. First, both my wife and I have particular dietary needs that have to be accounted for. Second, though there might be things on our weekly grocery list that are not strictly necessary for sustenance, they are things that we enjoy. I'd rather eat like a prince and slash everything else out of my budget (if I needed to) than cut my food budget.

Incidentally we don't eat out a lot. Once a week our date night includes dinner at an inexpensive restaurant. I cook all other meals at home.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Three or four years ago we tracked our grocery spending through an intentionally frugal month. We spent $126 for two people. However not all months could be like that. We had no guests for meals, no special occasion meals; we kept finding incredible deals on chicken; we had late produce from the garden.

Finding out how inexpensively we could eat was encouraging.

[Seeker]

I fully expect the regulars here to not have a contention between retirement savings and food consumption.

What I have noticed is that there is a sizable difference in many peoples spending from basic food intake to normal intake.

IMO, a lot of people spend far more than they think on food and beverage luxuries that could be funding other more important areas.

I look to myself as an example. We spend far more than necessary for groceries(despite we buy household goods as well) and even though we share a meal out to eat, our bill, after an adult beverage, could have been smaller.

When I look at our overall spending I see that we are blowing more than we might think. I do not get that concerned about it due to I save sufficiently, but I consider it a much over looked source of retirement funds for many others.

Ah, okay, now I see where you're headed.

But in order to get a truer picture of each specific situation, you'd have to relate the dollar amount to a constant.

Like maybe:
food "dining" versus net income
food "groceries" versus net income
retirement savings versus net income

As much as I dislike percentages or ratios, if each person/family were to figure out those comparisons, those numbers would really open eyes.

[Like2Plan]

I sometimes marvel at how much less you spend preparing a first class meal at home versus the cost at a restaurant.

ITA. My DH is a wonderful cook. I would way rather eat dinner at home than at a restuarant.

[disneysteve]

ITA. My DH is a wonderful cook. I would way rather eat dinner at home than at a restuarant.

I have mixed feelings on that. My wife and I are both very good cooks. She is best at following recipes. I'm best at seeing what we have on hand and making a great meal out of it (although I can follow recipes, too). And when we have the time and energy, we really enjoy working together in the kitchen to create a meal.

That said, the prep time and clean up time always greatly exceed the actual eating time. Sometimes it is just so nice to sit down and be waited on and served a fine meal without having to do any work pre or post. Going out also gives me the opportunity to enjoy foods that I don't get at home. My wife is allergic to seafood so none ever comes into the house. To go to a fine Italian restaurant and have the waiter fillet a nice grilled branzino tableside and enjoy that along with a wild mushroom risotto and some freshly baked bread and roasted garlic is worth every penny. Finish it off with some homemade limoncello and you have the perfect evening.