UNITED STATES—I have been forced to face a harsh reality recently, one that I’ve kind of seen, but it didn’t really hit me until this past week. I’m spending way too much money on food. When I say that I’m not referring to groceries. Yes, they are expensive, but I rather spend $50 to $100 on food for the home then, $50 to $100 on a single outing for lunch or dinner.
Where did this harsh reality come from? Well, a recent outing to lunch that was about $50 for three people, and I forked the bill. That is the thing about going to lunch, there are those who will cover their bill and those who will not. I kind of have a saying, if you don’t plan on paying don’t order something that you cannot afford.
I truly believe Americans spend more money on food than anything else. Why? It is not something that transpires once a month. You’re eating a full meal at last three times a day, seven days a week. That is not including potential snacks in between meals. Yeah, I know what many of you are thinking that “Oh, I can get a meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner for under $30 a day. Ok. Well do the math there, that is over $200 a week if you were to do that. This doesn’t includes any food you have at home, and that is $30 for a single person.
What if you’re married? What if you have kids? The amount of money you’re spending if you’re eating out is double, triple if not quadruple the price I quoted you. Hell, I went to Chipotle and spent $15 on a burrito. Just a burrito America, nothing to drink, no chips, just the bare basics. I was stunned because I was charged $3 for a dollop of guacamole and then another $2 for a drizzle of queso. I’m like WTH.
It just baffled me in a way that I could not fathom what some of these food chains charge the consumers, and then they want you to tip them. This is fast-casual people, I’m not sitting down and dining at the actual establishment. The tipping is totally getting out of hand in the food industry, and I’ve just come to the terms, I’ve got to cut dining out from the budget. I can save a lot more and do a lot more with that money than what I’m doing at the moment.
I would rather save $50 to $100 a week cooking at home instead of dining out. Look, if I dine out once a week I see no issue with it, but for those Americans who manage to do it every single day or at least four to five days a week, that is just beyond crazy to me and I try my best to understand it, but even then, it doesn’t resonate with me.
Look no one likes spending money, but food is that one resource we must have to survive, however, we don’t have to have the fancy food or over the top things to be satiated. Sometimes it’s the simple things that cost little to nothing that tastes the best. It is all about how you craft the dish and what you utilize to season it.
