“The first question was ‘How often do you eat out in a week?’ The answer often shocked me.”
I’m sure you’ve seen it all!
That always amazes me, too! Even when I lived closer to civilization, it never occurred to me to eat dinner out. Once in a while I’d go out for lunch with people from work, but normally I was a Brown Bagger.
Growing up, we never went out to eat unless it was for a very special occasion - or if Grandpa was paying, LOL!
Working with young servicemen and their families was rewarding... and eye-opening.
Some of our finest young people simply had no idea how to manage their money. Young sailors with a wife and a kid, and they ate out or ordered out nearly every night, and couldn't figure out why the budget was so tight. For many of them, it was simply how they ate growing up. Pick up the phone and wait for dinner to arrive every night.
Thankfully, in most cases, the solutions were fairly straightforward. Eat at home. If you can't cook, learn to make some easy dishes. It's ridiculously easy to make tacos, for example... cheaper and more nutritious than Taco Bell, and you'll have leftovers the next day. And everyone likes them. On busy weeknights, have a sandwich night... get some sub rolls, some deli-sliced meat and cheese, and eat like a king for several meals... and again... leftovers for the next day. Once a week, venture into cooking something a little more complicated than tacos. You'll learn as you go.