Stretching a Buck

December 22, 2008

And speaking of home-cooked meals…

Today I finished reviewing and analyzing Joe’s bank account. He gave me access to his bank account so that I can see how he manages his money, where he spends it, etc. We are planning on getting married so I have to know these things (and after all, I am an accountant). Well, one of the first things I found was that he spends $400 to $500 a month eating out! At first I thought it was so high because we had the kids, and that it should have been lower prior to July.

But it wasn’t! I told him that would have to change. There is no sense in spending that much eating out, above and beyond groceries and food fixed at home. When we go out to eat as a family, we spend anywhere from $30-$50; actually closer to $50, with all 5 of us. I can stretch a buck better than that. I fixed 2 good dinners for the whole family this past weekend, and I would bet I spent no more than $20 on each of them.

Let’s see: Friday night I roasted a chicken, about $4-$5. I fixed a box of Stove-Top stuffing, the store brand, about $1. A can of yams, $1 at the most. Salad, from a packet, about $3. Cranberry sauce, about $1 give or take. And leftover wheat rolls, I don’t remember how much those were but let’s say $2. Hmmm, the whole dinner comes to $13, and even if I’ve underestimated, counting tax, and considering drinks (tea or milk), it’s still within $20.

Saturday evening I slow-cooked a roast, about $7-$8. Fixed a box of potatoes au gratin, $1.50. Heated about a bagful of broccoli, $1.50. Added 2 cans of baby carrots to the roast, $1.50. Mixed a packet of onion soup mix and crushed 2 cloves of garlic with the roast, let’s say $1. That’s still just $13.50; add wheat bread, and tea or milk to drink, and again, still within $20. Twice I fed 5 people a healthy, wholesome, filling dinner for less than $20.

This is not the first time I’ve noticed that he’s a little freer with his food budget than I am. He’s much quicker than I am to pick up something to eat at a restaurant – and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I believe in making the most of what you have. Money is a limited resource.

So is your health, and in the wisdom of adulthood, I have come to realize that restaurants are in business to SELL FOOD. Their job is to make food TASTE GOOD so that you’ll BUY IT. They aren’t always looking out for our health and they’re certainly not looking out for our wallets.

We have to look out for our own wallets. A few months ago, I had a Homeowners’ Association meeting on in the evening after work and Joe asked me if I wanted him to pick up dinner. I said that a baked potato with barbecue brisket or ground beef sounded good, so he said he’d pick up something at Rib Crib.

“Why don’t you just buy the potatoes and the meat and fix them at home?” I asked.

“It’ll be too late when you got home.”

“It takes potatoes just an hour to bake in the oven. Just wrap them in foil and toss them in when you get home; they’ll be done by the time I get there,” I said. Plus we already had ground beef and barbecue sauce at home. Why go out and spend money on something that you’ve already got?

See, to me, fixing food at home is not only cheaper, but better for you overall. But, Joe insisted on going to Rib Crib. And I’m like OK, whatever. He’s buying, it’s his money.

Now that we have the kids, though, money has to stretch. It just has to. Here’s a meal I tried last month (didn’t track the cost, but I’m sure it was within $20): Salmon patties, crescent rolls, and rice. They sure were good. I’m such a good cook (and humble, too). For the salmon patties I mixed 2 cans of boneless salmon with ½ chopped onion, a handful of chopped parsley, one beaten egg, a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce, seafood seasoning, and 3 slices of bread chopped into crumbs. Formed them into 4 patties, and fried them up. They were rather loose; didn’t stick together very well and would come apart in the pan. That’s OK; once they were cooked up they stuck together pretty well. The rice and vegs were the “steam in the microwave” variety, and the can of crescent rolls took about 15 minutes to bake.

I tried an experiment a few weekends ago, because I REALLY want to trim down that ridiculous, ungodly $500 a month “eating out” budget. Sure, it’s so easy to eat out, and not mess up the kitchen and have to wash all the dishes afterward. Joe has so spoiled me in that way.

But my goal that weekend was to cook everything we eat, and not spend a bit on going to a restaurant. It worked! Friday evening we had sloppy joes and fried potatoes for dinner. Pancakes made our Saturday brunch. Baked salmon, alfredo-veggie noodles, and broccoli were our Saturday evening dinner. And chicken stir-fry with brown rice and mangoes on the side, made up our Sunday dinner. For lunches and snacks in between, we had leftovers. So there! We went a whole weekend without going out to eat!

The next Saturday we had leftovers of Friday’s meal for lunch. And for breakfast it was scrambled eggs (10) with cheese, and turkey bacon. A pack of turkey bacon is about $2.50, and a dozen eggs is about $1.30. Breakfast for 5 for $5.

Simple. Inexpensive. Healthy. Stretching a buck isn’t hard at all. Just takes a little creativity.