Are Millennials Spending Too Much Eating Out?

We are always looking for ways to be smarter with our finances. Fortunately, there is a way to save a tremendous amount of money, but you have to be willing to make some changes! Recent studies have shown that millennials spend an average of $2,639 on takeout and eating out, so one has to ask if this money could be used better.

Understanding the Quota

As a millennial myself, I was shocked when I first saw this staggering average and could not see how this could be true. Once I thought about it, and did some calculations of our households spending habits, I found that we are remarkably close to this average. Shocking! Especially when you consider how much us millennials have to save for student loan repayments, house deposits, retirement and even our children’s future college funds.

Falling Back on Groceries

It is not uncommon for millennials to eat out when there is not much choice in their fridge. You could also have a craving for a pizza, but not have one in the fridge. To save money, it could be a solution to consider your grocery shop carefully. Make sure you have plenty of variety in your fridge and that there is some food you look forward to having!

Be Smarter When Eating Out

How many times did you go out for a meal and order more than you actually ate? Chances are you’ve done this almost every time you’ve been out for a meal. If you still want to eat out, but want to reduce the total amount you spend on takeaway and restaurant meals, you can become a little smarter when it comes to your order.

Firstly, only order what you know you’re going to eat. So, instead of ordering an entree and two desserts for yourself, why not share it with the person you are eating out with? Of course, you could also skip the entry and only order one dessert so your overall bill won’t be too high.

Limit Your Restaurant/Takeout Spending

This tip is something me and my husband have tried and tested. Before we moved into our own home, we didn’t pay much attention to how much takeout we were having. It didn’t really matter either, because we were still finding ourselves protected by the bank of mom and dad. However, when we moved out, we were shocked on how much we spent on takeout.

To save ourselves some money, we set a limit for ourselves. Now, we will only spend money on a takeaway on a special day. We also have no more than one take away a month, and I can tell you it has saved us hundreds of dollars this year.

The takeaway or restaurant you choose can also make difference in price and the total amount spent at the end of the year. We used to order our pizza at Domino’s most of the time, but ended up with an order exceeding $50 for just two people. By switching to a more affordable takeaway, we now spend $20 for the both of us. So, if you want to save some money, take an honest look at your spending and make some changes!