Going out to Eat

Going out to eat is one of the major things that Phil and I often disagree on. You see, I like to go out to eat and he prefers to stay at home and eat. It's a difficult thing, really.

I like going out to eat because it means that I don't have to rack my brain to figure out what's for dinner and there are no dishes to clean up. My husband, on the other hand, was brought up that going out to eat is a rare and special treat (so was I, but that clearly didn't stick).

When I was young, working three jobs, and living on my own, I often didn't have time to cook and clean up the dishes. My life was very much "on the go" and I found myself picking up something to eat for pretty much every meal. Of course, this would explain the weight gain, but I learned the dollar menus well and used that to my advantage.

Being married is a whole different ball game. Once we got married, I knew that I needed to have dinner ready for him when he came home. I could no longer just go through the drive-thru whenever I wanted. Feeding my husband became a priority.

Over the past four months we have tried different things, but there are too many times where we find ourselves going out to eat and that needs to stop.

A week ago I found myself nannying in Mexico. I ate off of the room service menu and from the groceries that the parents purchased and really missed eating at home. Last week, we were in Virginia and that always presents us with many opportunities to pick up food as well.

We have been back home for a few days now and (except for our date the night we came back) I am proud to say that we have been eating at home for every meal!

There is something nice about going grocery shopping and making the food that you know you like at home. Plus, it saves a lot of money.

I just printed out my weekly meal plan and grocery list and am excited to have some new recipes and ideas to try at home. I have a binder set up where I can store it all and have it set up for one of my husband's favorite grocery stores....

This store makes him so happy because of their low prices. We try to shop there as often as we can to get the best deals.

I am hoping that with this new plan and desire to eat at home more often that we will be able to save more money and make better choices overall. Plus, there's always the making my husband happy thing that's a benefit as well!