Help!! How can we get out of the habit of eating out?

Question

We have two kids (a toddler and one on the way). I’m currently not working so money is tight. We need to buy a house and we need things for our second baby. But all our money seems to go to eating out. 
I will literally create a meal plan (not set to days but for the week) and go grocery shopping but still end up eating out because I’m tired that day due to pregnancy or I’m craving something. 
We always say “ok no more! We NEED to buy a house.” And we mean it but then for some reason we do it again. 
For example...my husband just got paid on Tuesday and we already ate out a few times and have spent around $80!!! 
Any tips to help with this? It’s really bad

Answer

See what you’re usually ordering when you eat out. If it’s burgers and fries then make that at home, it’s easy. If it’s Chinese there are sooo many YouTube and Instagram accounts with delicious recipes. Pizza...buy the premade crust and throw some toppings on it. That will make it easier especially with the pregnancy cravings. If you only buy healthy veggies and plan to make recipes that take forever to cook then you’ll be more likely to give up and order out.

Answer

I'm not really sure what more we can tell you besides "stop eating out." Just find recipes and make meal plans. It's honestly not that difficult. I have a 3 year old, a 2 year old, and a 6 week old. I still cooked, even during pregnancy with two toddlers. Eating out is way more expensive than home cooked meals. I mean, I could have if I just didn't feel like cooking, but everything we save can go toward our children in some way. So it wasn't really worth saving an hour cooking.

Answer

Only use cash for eating out. Once that cash is gone, you're do one eating out.

Answer

What’s there to do? Just stop eating out. It’s really that simple. Part of being a parent is owning up to our mistakes and making changes so that our children see how we can cope and teach them these skills as well. 
If you give in to your cravings every single time you’ll go broke! And I’m the queen of pre and post pregnancy cravings! I just ignored them because we couldn’t afford it. 
Here’s the deal: buckle down and tough it out. Time to grow up and do what’s best for your family. Only you can make these changes. Sorry if it sounds harsh but it sounds like y’all need some tough love. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Answer

So I’m not going to enable you or sugarcoat...stop eating out.
At home you have control over the quality of ingredients, preparation, cleanliness, etc.
At a restaurant, it is most common that they will have the lowest price, lower quality ingredients.  Also, you have no idea if the person that prepared those ingredients has a cold, an open cut on their finger, went to the bathroom and didn’t wash hands, etc.  How often do you think they change the fryer oil?  Way too often the dishes are just dunked in water and sprayed off without soap or high temp washing machines.  The back of restaurants are so commonly disgustingly dirty.  Why do you think rats and cockroaches are so attracted?   
Don’t be lazy.  Do yourself a favor.  Honestly, if you can’t decide to do it for yourself, that’s a problem.  But, I hope it will help the next time you are out at a restaurant and to remember my opinion...maybe it will get you to change your ways!

Answer

Stop eating out. Find easy meals to make.
My food shopping is expensive because I shop at whole foods and buy only organic however,
Find easy recipes 
Mac n cheese with a side of veggies
Cheesy potatoes with veggies
Chicken qasodillas 
Taco night
Pasta night
Pizza night
Cheeseburger/ hamburger ( build your own burger night) 
Chicken parm
Sandwhich/ subs for lunch 
Ect. 
Its all about habit and sticking to it..
Eating out is expensive and I only do it as a treat and it's fun like that.
Good luck

Answer

Cook in the morning for the whole day so you have no reason to eat out

Answer

I agree with the instant pot and crock pot suggestions! So helpful. Meal planning is great if you can stick with it (we never can for long!) Another option is spending a day prepping freezer meals. I've done it a few times and then you just have to remember to thaw it out. It's nice because you'll have several meals to choose from. We try to pick a day of the week that's our "eat out" day and intentionally make it in the middle of the week when we're busy and less motivated to cook. And when we do cook, make enough to have leftovers or even a full extra meal to freeze for later! Have some easy to make meals on hand at all times like spaghetti or frozen pizza. Keep track of times you eat in instead of out so the money being saved can motivate you. Set a goal of only eating out a certain amount of times in a 2 week period. And split the cooking duties if you can!

Answer

We were like this and I started doing hello fresh. It’s still kind of expensive but I started looking forward to cooking at home and it kind of cut the guessing game out of what I was going to make.  Even with the cost of it I was saving money because 1. We didn’t spend much at the grocery store and 2. It was still cheaper than eating out.

Answer

Start with crock pot meals. You can start them earlier in the day and/or add ingredients slowly throughout the day. Like add meat first thing, add veggies later, start spaghetti sauce in morning and let simmer until dinner, etc. crock pots are great because you can just kinda dump the ingredients in and leave it for 4-8 hours. Prep food at beginning of week/as you buy. I put all just bought fruit/veggies in sink and wash with vinegar water before putting away, then you can just grab and eat/cook. I also cut up lettuce and store in container (store with after completely dried to keep from getting soggy) to make quick side salads. I also try and think of dinner while I’m making breakfast, get it in my mind early so I can kinda plan for the day. I also try and have my 4 year old help me, I’ll cut up veggies and have her put them in the pot as I go etc.

Help!! How can we get out of the habit of eating out?

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