You Won’t Believe How Many People Spend $180 at Restaurants Each Week

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For some people, hefty restaurant spending is the norm. Read on to learn more. 

For some people, restaurant meals are a treat worth splurging on as long as it’s only on occasion. That’s because it tends to be far more expensive to dine at a restaurant than to cook a meal at home.

Meanwhile, data from Popmenu compiled in late 2022 revealed that 58% of consumers were eating restaurant food more often than they did in 2021. This isn’t surprising seeing as how many people were still avoiding restaurants in 2021 due to the pandemic.

What is surprising, though, is that 30% of consumers spend an average of $180 on restaurant food each week. That’s over $9,000 a year — and it’s a lot more than some people should be spending.

Can you afford to dine at restaurants?

It’s easy to see the appeal of eating at restaurants. Not only do you get a break from grocery shopping, meal-prepping, and post-dinner cleanup, but dining out can be a fun, social experience. You get to catch up with friends, try new foods, and enjoy the ambiance of a dining area that isn’t the table in the corner of your kitchen.

The problem with eating at restaurants, though, is that it can be a lot more expensive than cooking at home. You might easily spend $30 on a restaurant entree when a similar portion would cost under $10 to whip up in your own kitchen. And at a time when inflation is surging, and many people are routinely raiding their savings accounts just to cover their bills, you may want to consider cutting back on restaurant spending, especially if money is getting tight.

What’s more, if you’re teetering on the edge of debt, or you already have a balance racked up on your credit cards that you need to pay off, then it may be time to curb the practice of dining at restaurants entirely until you’re in a better spot financially. And this applies to takeout meals as well. Though takeout tends to be less expensive than restaurant meals because you’re not necessarily ordering drinks or handing over as large a tip, the cost there can also be much higher than the cost of cooking at home.

How to spend less at restaurants

Maybe you can’t bear to give up restaurant meals altogether. If so, there are steps you can take to make them less expensive.

First, don’t choose higher-end eateries. A moderately priced cafe in town might serve its share of delicious food and charge you $20 for an entree rather than $35. And you might even get some leftovers out of the deal.

Next, skip the appetizers when you dine out. It’s nice to sample different kinds of food when you’re at a restaurant, but often, you’ll pay $10 or $12 for just a few bites’ worth when you order an appetizer. To put it another way, if you’re looking at a restaurant where the average entree is $20 and the average cost of an appetizer is $12, it’s probably worth it to just get a main meal.

Finally, skip the alcohol or opt for a restaurant that’s BYOB. It’s one thing to want a break from cooking. But it’s pretty silly to pay $9 for a single glass of wine when you can buy the entire bottle for that price at your neighborhood liquor store. And if you enjoy having a drink with your meals, go the takeout route and split a bottle of wine with friends in somebody’s home.

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