Debt Nation: Stop Eating Your Wealth Away By Dining At Restaurants

Why do people love to eat at restaurants?
It may seem like a silly question, but your answers may help you save more money and at the same time, keep the inches off your waistline.
According to a study conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in 2017, Millennials or adults under the age of 34 are spending $100 per week on dining out and deliveries. This number represents a 37% increase in spending from six years ago.
Meanwhile, the average Australian household spends an average of $80 per week on take out and deliveries. In 2009, the average expenditure on take out and deliveries was only $63.
Across the Pacific Ocean, in the United States, the numbers tell the same story.
A study published in the Harvard Business Review showed that over the past 20 years, Americans are spending more on restaurants. The average annual expenditure of an American household on dining out was calculated at $3,008.
For the average American individual who spends $10 per restaurant meal per day, the annual expenditure could reach $2,500.
Why spend $2,500 on a restaurant when you can use it to pay for your college education?
If a household could put a 3-year moratorium on restaurant dining and just ate home cooked meals, there would be no need for a car loan. You can buy a brand new car for $10,000 to $12,000.
Better yet, buy a good used car for $3,000 and put the rest of your savings into a conservative but stable investment.
So why do people prefer eating out than eating in? Here are some of the most popular reasons for dining out:
- They do not like washing the dishes.
- They have no time to cook.
- They feel lazy.
- They do not know how to cook.
- They want to “chill out” and relax.
- They want to try new cuisine.
- They want to try the new restaurant, take photos, and upload it on social media so that their friends will think they are “in”.
Upon review, there isn’t really a good reason for eating out. The list above is not a summary of reasons for eating out. Instead, it is a list of excuses for not cooking food at home.
Other than creating a serious dent in your savings and plans to create wealth, your habit of eating out is exposing you to other forms of damage:
- Lack of Cooking Skills – So what will happen when there is no option but to eat at home? How would you prepare your food? In the same study on U.S. spending behaviour, the penchant for dining out has decreased interest in cooking by 55%.
In Australia, Laurent Villoing who manages the International Cooking School in Stanmore, Sydney said that the kids who enrol say they are “scared” of cooking.
- Poor Health – Obesity is no longer considered a global epidemic. It is now viewed as a pandemic. More and more countries are becoming obese. A big contributing factor to the growing problem of obesity is having poor eating habits.
Eating at restaurants cannot be a healthy experience. Most fast-food is not healthy. By eating at home, you have 100% control on what you eat and the ingredients that of into your food.
If you want to live a long and healthy life – as well as enjoy great financial health – ditch the fast-food habit. Learn how to cook. Develop new skills. Enjoy the great indoors!