Okay, let’s talk all things eating out. This has become more of a status symbol and less about food. Let’s face the truth restaurants, particularly sit-down restaurants, are way overrated. Given the increase in the cost of food, their menus are way overpriced compared to DIY that is, cooking your meals at home.
Hang on, I am not anti-fun when it comes to eating out. I get it, eating out feels awesome 😎 but at a huge cost. I get it these businesses need to make money, but please don’t fund their dreams at the expense of you reaching financial freedom.
The hidden cost of tipping
You and I know we still have to tip on top of the already expensive bill. Side note: one day, my wife ordered a cake slice at our local restaurant and phoned me to fetch it
and pay for the cake (you know how wives are 😄). I popped in to pay for the cake slice it was around R65 or so and the waitress asked me if I needed to give her a tip. 😀
Chill out, I’m not that stingy, but a tip for what? We didn’t sit down to eat the meal. This is how entitled restaurateurs can be at times.
Generous living is about balance
So, I am all for generous living. That’s one of the reasons I’m investing so I can give more from a position of strength, not poverty. Back to the cake slice, it was okay, I guess, but with all honesty, Spar would bake a better one at R29 a slice. I am not an affiliate of Spar, so I’m not advertising for them just being honest.
Another example: 300 grams of rump steak will cost you about R189, and you can buy 1 kg of the same rump fresh at a retail store for the same price. The restaurant price works out to R630/kg. The restaurant price is crazy if one looks at it this way. You can choose either 300 grams or 1 kg. I will take the raw steak any day, since I have rosemary herbs in my garden, and I will cook my steak to my liking. In actual contrast, eating out is a luxury, not a need.
According to Standard Bank’s recent data, their customers spend an average of R775 monthly on takeout and food delivery, excluding groceries. This is about R9300 per year, sounds ridiculous, right? Bear in mind, this is just average. Apparently, some high earners, according to the bank, spend about R1000 per month on take-out, which is a whopping R12000 in a year. It’s okay if you can afford this, but I would argue that if you are not financially free and spending these amounts, you are missing out.
Is the quality worth the price?
Truly, I get it these restaurants need to make money and pay salaries, etc. but they can’t hire people and expect the patrons to pay the wages for their restaurant staff with tips while the same customers pay massive bills for, at times, poor-quality food. Something has to give; it can’t be all or nothing.
Ever ordered a dish that you feel you could have cooked better on your own at home? This has happened to me often. I am not a chef by any means, but I could make better food most of the time. I am not bragging, my friends. I am just serious about intentional living, and I think everyone should learn to cook. There is so much information out there we can’t be at the mercy of restaurants if we need tasty 😋 food, come on, modern people, what happened to us?
Do yourself a favour
Learn to cook
Do yourself a favour: learn to cook and visit restaurants sparingly, and you will thank me later.
If you cook your meals at home, they are likely to be healthier since you know exactly what ingredients you are using. And of course, you don’t need to worry about the fat bill including tips, not to mention fuel to drive to the restaurant. Opps, I guess you could order takeout, you still pay the delivery fee though, and that motorbike dude needs a tip too.
Bring back home dinners and conversations
In my opinion, we should visit each other in our homes and share good, healthy food and good conversations with no distractions or noise. Some of these restaurants can be so noisy, too. Have you ever been to a restaurant and come back with your voice gone since you were shouting to hear each other with your friends or family?
Not a good deal at all to lose both your voice and your money on some subpar food.
Fast food: Cheap now, costly later
Fast food is the worst. Some of the food we get from these places is so unhealthy. I get it’s addictive and it tastes nicebut if you don’t have discipline, these bad habits will ruin both your health and your finances.
I don’t hate restaurants, I just choose my visits carefully
I do not hate restaurants. Let me say this before you judge me. I think we can treat ourselves from time to time not every day, though. I think eating out or takeout is a luxury, not a necessity. Otherwise, we’ll compromise our ability to reach financial freedom.
Next time you visit a restaurant, be thoughtful about it don’t just follow the herd. Make it a treat. I’ve found that the less I eat out, the more I enjoy the experience. Otherwise, if it becomes an everyday thing, it loses the fun of it; psychologists have a name for this, hedonic adaptation.
Food is a big part of the budget
Food is a big part of the budget, so be more thoughtful about it. Have ingredients at home to cook it’s fun. You don’t need to follow written recipes only you can create your own recipes too. For me, if it’s edible, enjoyable, healthy, and saves me money, I’ll cook it. Planning is essential when doing grocery shopping, so you won’t order takeout at the last minute out of desperation, when you find out you don’t have the ingredients to prepare food.
Here’s another take: when you cook your meals, you can buy some good-quality ingredients and it’ll still be cheaper than restaurants by far.
Be intentional, not rigid
Don’t be rigid about it, but be intentional about financial freedom. These are my thoughts. If you want to eat out every meal, it’s up to you, after all, it’s your money but at least now you know there is an alternative.
Next time you want to catch up, please invite me to a cool homemade dish. We can still catch up in our homes we don’t need to live in restaurants.
Trading Time or Buying Freedom 
Leave a comment