We all know one of the best ways to save money is to avoid eating out. This can be easier said than done when you are busy and realize it’s 5:30 pm and you have yet to even defrost anything much less decide what is for dinner. These 10 Ways to Avoid Eating Out and Save Money will help you better plan your meals. You will save money in the kitchen and eliminate the need to eat out.
10 Ways to Avoid Eating Out and Save Money
1. Meal plan. This is the one everyone recommends and for good reason! Knowing what you need to pull out of the freezer stops you from putting it off. Also having a clear picture is always a time saver! Here are some tips for creating a meal plan.
2. Have meals in the freezer or do prep-ahead meals from scratch. Take a couple of hours a week and do some basic freezer and batch cooking. I suggest a few casseroles and things like lasagna that are ready to go and all you have to do is pull it out and cook for those days you need something asap! You can also save so much time in the kitchen by batch cooking and then all you need to do is assemble on those days when you are busy.
3. Use a slow cooker. A slow cooker allows for prepping your meal that morning and going to work to come home to a great meal ready to go!
4. Make dinner in the mornings. If you aren’t using a slow cooker that day get the meal ready to go that morning so all you have to do it put it in the oven that night. This is a great thing to do because whoever gets home first can pull it from the fridge and cook it.
5. Use the weekends to do meal prep. Chop veggies and freeze them. Cook chicken in the crockpot or oven to shred it for your meals. Cook the rice to have in the fridge ready to go. Prepare the meatloaf then freeze it so all it needs to do is go into the oven and cook. Batch cooking is a great way to take just a couple of hours each week to get your main ingredients ready and for most people, the weekends are a great time to do this.
6. Eat frozen meals in a pinch. It’s not a bad thing to keep one of those frozen family meals in the freezer when you are in a pinch. They are a heck of a lot cheaper than going out and eating! And if you are worried about the nutritional content, many organic companies make them now and I have seen lots of ones that are specifically gluten-free as well! These may be more expensive that the cheaper varieties, but in the end, they are still lower cost than eating out as a family.
7. Bring your lunch. Pack a lunch to take to work and school. Even school lunch counts as eating out! One easy way to do this is to eat the leftovers from the night before.
8. Have a backup plan. We have a few pantry staples that are our quick go to. We like to have spaghetti and homemade sauce. It should be something that can be in our pantry at all times for those last minute meals on the fly. These are perfect meals to start teaching your kids to make so you can have help on days when you don’t have enough time or hands.
9. Use convenience foods. Don’t feel guilty using convenience foods. Yes, they aren’t the most healthy, but they are completely fine to use when you are in a pinch instead of eating out. Plus, there are so many simple ways to “beef up” convenience foods to make them more nutritionally sound and better tasting, too!
10. Give yourself some grace. Don’t beat yourself up if you have to fall on a meal out. There will be times no one can avoid such as when your child’s sports games go into overtime and you don’t get done until an hour after dinner time, or when you get sick and cooking just isn’t going to happen.
More Ways to Save Money and Time in the Kitchen:
How to Save Money with Prep-Ahead Meals
How to Do Weekly Meal Prep With Batch Cooking plus Meal Ideas
5 Things Frugal People do not do
How to Keep Track of Kitchen Inventory
Danielle is a mom of 4, Former Navy Wife, Homeschooling mom, frugalista and blogger at The Frugal Navy Wife. She and her family of 6 are currently setting out on their lifelong dream to travel via RV around the United States. They are documenting their journey on Roadschooling with The Frugal Navy Wife.
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Ann says
I just recently decided it was OK to buy the pre-grilled frozen chicken strips if it meant that dinner actually got made rather than eating out. I do still feel a tiny bit guilty, lol, because they are more expensive than buying raw meat and making my own… but they are less expensive than a restaurant!! 🙂