In August 2007 my family decided we were going to reduce the amount of times we ate out each week. During most weeks we dined out nearly every night. Our kids did not know what it meant to stay at home and eat. In a sense we were addicted to eating out because it made our evenings easier because there was no need to focus our time on food preparation. We decided that we could only eat out one night a week.

Why did we stop eating out?

1. We began to examine our expenses and decided we were throwing our money away by eating out. The cost of eating out was also rising. Meals that cost $30-$50 per night were now costing $45-$75.

2. My parents visited us and took a picture of me with my family. I was shocked when I looked at the picture and saw that I had a gut. For some reason I could not see my gut in the mirror. Why was I shocked? I spent nearly everyday working out at the gym for the last five years. I walk one hour every other day on the stair stepper and burn over 800 calories during the workout. On the other days I spend and hour on weight training. What did this tell me? I was eating the right foods but when I ate out I was eating way too much. I needed to control my food intake better.

What has changed since we stopped eating out?

1. We are saving a lot of money. We joined SAMS CLUB and now buy all of our groceries in bulk. I remodeled the laundry room and now have shelving to store the large food purchases. We try to buy large amounts of the food items we use when they are on sale.

2. We bought a large freezer. The freezer cost us the same amount of money as we would have spent eating out 3 or 4 times. The freezer is investment that I would highly recommend.

3. My gut went away three weeks after we stopped eating out. My wife has also noticed changes in her body.

4. I realized that I enjoy cooking. It is relaxing and a good way to keep your mind off of work.

It took us awhile to get used to this lifestyle change but it was worth it. We save money, feel healthier and have the opportunity to instill some economic values into our children by showing them how to cook and eat at home. With the recession that we are having here in the United States eating out for many might be putting a crimp in their wallet.