First, let me say something about cooking: Everyone can cook! I often hear women say, “I just can’t cook!”. What I hear is, “I WON’T cook”. Well, it’s time to suck it up people!  The recession is at our door and we can no longer sneak past it on the way to the restaurant. Also, ANYONE can cook! If you can read, you can cook! There is so much help and support for you! There are old fashioned cook books to new media websites to find easy recipes. You can even go a more traditional route and call your mom, grandma or auntie! I find the web a terrific way to find new recipes that are easy to follow! The Food Network website even separates its recipes by technique, i.e. crock pot, grilling, baking, etc.  Each recipe has a five star system to let you know it’s level of difficulty! I even found a web site that will let you type in ingredients you have on hand and then give you a recipe using those ingredients!
Cooking is the most economical and healthful way to feed your family. With the economy so bad, restaurant and fast food dining is on the decline and cooking at home is becoming a necessary skill.
“But Deb,” you say to me, “We only go out maybe once a week. Now and then I grab lunch for the kids at McDonald’s. I grab a coffee in the morning from Starbucks..but really, is getting coffee considered going out? That’s not much, right?”
WRONG!
Your wallet isn’t differentiating if money is going toward a coffee, a happy meal with a toy or a reasonable restaurant, it is still money going out!
Let’s look at your average week of not going out. If you drink Starbucks 4 times a week at 4.00 per order, that is $12.00 per week. If you are drinking Starbucks during the week, chances are you are grabbing one on the weekend for your kid’s early morning soccer games, so let’s say you are spending anywhere from 50 to 60 dollars a month! And that’s just for a one person luxury! If you are dining out, even fast food, you can spend hundreds on going out. Let’s say your family of four goes out to dinner at a local family style restaurant just once a month and spends 50-60 dollars per visit; that comes to $200 to $240 per month. How about fast food…let’s take just fast food lunch for your two kids once a week; easily $14 dollars a visit, or $56 per month.  How about pizza on a rushed night once a week, delivered to your home, so there is also a tip…there’s another $17.00 a week.
Ready to add it up?
- Starbucks……..$50-$60 per month
- Restaurant …….$200-$240 per month
- Fast food visit…$14-$20 per month
- Pizza night……..$17 to $20 per month
GRAND TOTAL: Â Â Â $281-$340.00 per month!
What could your family do with that much money every month? Could it be your car note? Could it be private school tuition for a month? Could it be your electric and water bill during the summer months? How about back to school uniforms and supplies for one kid? Could it go towards a family vacation? I know I could pay quite a few bills with that chunk of change. Now, this is a conservative estimate of a family that doesn’t go out much! Some families double this!
Cooking at home is cheaper. Â You control the cost and the ingredients.
I will be blogging about many ways to save money by preparing your meals and snacks at home… my family even enjoys happy hour now and then with appetizers, wine and virgin blended drinks!
