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I love eating out at restaurants.
Plain and simple.
I’m a personal finance blogger who is trying to reach FIRE in the next three years, and I enjoy going out to lunch every single day.
You may think I am crazy for spending so much money when I could be saving by bringing lunch to work from home. Yes, I’ve thought about that. Homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are much cheaper than a Chipotle burrito. I understand the tradeoff that I am making.
My Peanut Butter Aversion
In all honestly, I would take almost anything over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There was a time when my Mom would make my Dad and me peanut butter sandwiches for lunch everyday for years because it was an economical lunch. By the 6th grade, I could no longer stand peanut butter, and to this day, the smell of peanut butter makes me gag.
Chipotle
Yes, I am still a Chipotle shareholder, even though they got rid of my beloved chorizo option. Even worse, the stock has tanked over the last year. This is a friendly reminder to not buy individual stock unless, you really know what you are doing. It has been an incredibly expensive lesson for me on why passive funds are sometimes the best options.
Value Spending
Anyways, personally, I place value on eating out over a lot of other areas. Some may choose to splurge on movies, golf, or even their daily Starbucks order.
As most of you know, my wife and I save nearly 65% of our take home pay. When you include that we max out my 401(k), we’ve saving over 70% of our income each year. I could cut further to the bone if I really tried. However, I decided that I need to enjoy the financial journey that I’m on and not always scrimp every last dollar.
When I go out to eat, I use that as my recharging time. For those of you who haven’t read the book, Quiet, Susan Cain does a fantastic job of explaining how and why introverts need time to recharge.
As I’ve moved up in positions within the government, I interact and am responsible with more and more people. Sometimes I wish I were an extrovert who loved interacting with people. Unfortunately because I am not, it takes a lot out of me. By lunchtime, I am usually mentally exhausted. I look forward to getting in my car and eating lunch by myself at a delicious restaurant.
Discounted Gift Cards
Since I am trying to reach FIRE in the next couple of years, I try to save money when I go out by utilizing discounted gift cards. As you can see on the website, Gift Card Granny, there are a ton of deals on gift cards that can help lower the price that you pay on food. Both physical and electronic gift cards are usually available. The best part of the electronic ones is how fast you can obtain and use them.
My wife, who is constantly on the lookout for great deals, uses gift cards regularly. She has found discounts up to 35% off face-value at times. She also receives emails from both sites about weekly promos, when certain gift cards are additionally marked down. Since I eat out at the same restaurants, she knows exactly which places to lookout for. It’s an easy way to save a few bucks, and makes me feel a little better about my spending habit. 😉
I really haven’t used gift cards. It’s an untapped opportunity for me to save money. Thanks for the link to the site. Tom
Tom @ Dividends Diversify recently posted…The New Millionaires | Introduction | Part 2
No problem Tom!!! It’s been a great help to me and I’m definitely happy to share the tips 🙂
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Mr. And I pack lunch to work, so I’m always puzzled as to why many of my colleagues eat out almost every day at lunch. Now I can see why.
Hubby and I love eating out too. We don’t spend money on musicals, movies or any kind of entertainment that costs money. Eating out is our pleasure hehe.
Yeah I really enjoy eating out. It’s a nice cool off time for me plus I get some delicious food 🙂
I’ve bought and used discounted Gift Cards to save money on purchases that I was already going to make. They have saved me a decent amount of money.
But I haven’t bought any Gift Cards to restaurants. That’s mostly because I go to very few chain restaurants.
Mr. Freaky Frugal recently posted…Protect your credit to avoid financial disaster
Thanks for sharing Mr. Freaky Frugal!!! I wish a couple more of the local restaurants that I frequent had gift cards Oh well, I’ll take the discount where I can 🙂
I used to buy gift cards at subway whenever they have a promotion. If you buy a $25 gift card, you get to choose any six inch sub for free. I often choose the most expensive six inch sub on the menu when I buy my gift card. It was a great feeling. I get a gift and a free lunch for myself at the same time.
Leo T. Ly @ isaved5k.com recently posted…Is A Cruise Vacation Really That Great?
That’s awesome and really smart Leo!!! That is definitely the way to maximize your value 🙂
I like to use my Discover cash back to buy discounted Chipotle gift cards ($45 for a $50 gift card). Then it feels like “free” lunch when I use my gift card to pay for it. 🙂
Hahaha…that’s so smart. I definitely need to do that 🙂
We very rarely eat out, but if we can use a gift card that we received as a gift or from a promotion we defiantly will. I do try to buy discounted gift cards to stores we appropriate. In fact, I just received a $10 gift card by switching over from a paper statement to a electronic statement for one of our retirement accounts. That’s an easy one!
FIbythecommonguy recently posted…Dividend Income Update – March 2018
I love gift cards especially when they are discounted. I try to stay on top of them so I don’t lose value as I know people are prone to do 🙂
We do dinner out about once a week. We use gift cards, discount coupons, survey gift cards and cash back from places like swag bucks, frequent visit cards, etc. Going in for the early bird special or other off hours also helps.
FullTimeFinance recently posted…My Advice to New College Graduates
Hahha…early bird special is awesome. My wife and I go to a mexican place that serves $1.50 tacos on Friday that we love to do 🙂
You can buy discounted gift cards at Sam’s Club and Costco. They are usually larger amounts but they give great deals. There are alot of 4 $25 gift cards for $80 so you are getting $20 free!!!
They have resturants, tickets, gifts.
Thanks for sharing Ashley!!! I definitely need to check that out. 20% off is a huge discount!!!
I can absolutely understand needing alone time to recharge! And I truly believe everyone should be able to spend their money on anything that makes them happy. You clearly have thought this through, and spending money on lunch brings you joy in several ways. (Plus I’m also a Chipotle shareholder and I don’t care how low it goes, their chicken burrito will always be the *king* of fast-casual food in my heart).
However, peanut butter isn’t the only room temperature stable, portable food option. You could always try chickpeas, hummus and veg or cheese and crackers, grain based salads, or tuna/chicken salads. And then take your lunch out to a nearby greenspace or something for the same “escape”. Just a suggestion. 😉
Thanks for sharing Budget Epicurean!!! My wife and I actually got chicken burritos yesterday to share with our son 🙂 Definitely a great fast food option!!!