Everything Finance

Eating out with friends and colleagues can be truly enjoyable, but is it really necessary? How is it affecting your budget? Is it because of peer pressure? This should be taken seriously, since eating out can become a large monthly expense.

Everybody wants to fit in, and it's important to do so in an office work environment. Since eating lunch with co-workers only costs a few dollars and helps establish friendships, why not?

This scenario demonstrates how we think when it comes to spending money on food. Food and good times seem to go together in our culture. Eating out is not the only way to bond over food.

When setting up a budget, a category is created for groceries. A weekly or biweekly shopping trip to the grocery store brings enough groceries in the house to feed the family. Buying lunch when there is food in the house blows the budget.


Ask co-workers to try bringing in their own lunch at least three times a week. Make a plan to eat in the break room together or outside at a picnic table for lunch. They will save money also.

The times that you do eat out, you more than likely frequent the same few restaurants. You can plan out grocery trips, buying the ingredients for your favorite dishes and preparing them at home instead. Most jobs have a toaster oven or a microwave available for use in the break room. That way you can savor the same delicious food at a much lower price.

You could set up a lunch club with a group of co-workers, too. If you tend to eat lunch together anyway, assign each person a day to prepare lunch for the whole group. That way each person only has to make one lunch every week and everyone gets to eat an exciting variety of meals.

The extra food can be figured into the grocery bill. The lunch club idea may catch on and more people will want to join. The more people are involved, the less often each person has to contribute a meal. The meals don't have to be elaborate. There are many delicious meals that require only a few ingredients.

All these plans don't mean that you can never go out to eat. Make dining out part of your budget and pay with cash so that you won't be able to spend too much. If you eat lunch out, don't allow yourself to again for dinner. Balancing your expenses this way will help you develop great financial habits.

If, despite your best efforts, your lunch time group wants to go out to eat more than you can with your current budget, don't give into the peer pressure. If you explain the reason why in a nice way, they'll respect your decision and remain your friends, not to mention that you will have gotten some great experience saving your money despite the influence of the crowd.

Image Source: http://www.northcoastni.com