You’re going to be shocked with how much money you could save if you didn’t eat out as much as the average American (80 restaurant meals and 189 fast-food meals a year). Why do we eat out? Is it because of the food, the ambience, or the convenience? Are those things worth the cost involved?
Let’s take the good Samaritan who thinks he consumes fast-food joints at an average of twice a week because of convenience. Who wants to get up from a comfortable chair, waste gas money on the drive there, stand in line, place your order, stand around for 10-15 minutes before you pick your order up, eat on oftentimes dirty, plastic tables and benches, then waste some more gas money on the drive back? Where is the convenience in all that? Is it the cost? Fast food might be cheaper than a restaurant, but certainly not cheaper than a home cooked meal. I think we consume fast-food because they inject an ungodly amount of flavor into their food that keeps us coming back again and again. Oftentimes, you will hear from experts, that this is not particularly healthy for our bodies. We go back to smell the hamburgers and French fries, and to feel the cold soft drink in our hands, not because it’s convenient!
What about restaurants? Is the restaurant food really worth $10 a meal? You can do a lot with $10: fill up 3 gallons of gas, go to Cici’s all-you-can-eat buffet twice, go to the movies, hit golf balls on a driving range, eat 8 to 10 frozen pizzas, and so much more. The food itself, the raw material, doesn’t cost more than probably a few cents to buy and prepare. Why does the average American spend $500 a year on outside restaurants?
How much would you save if you didn’t go out to restaurants and fast-food joints? Prepare to be surprised!
Let’s assume for argument sake the average American goes to out to a restaurant about once a week or 52 times a year; let’s also assume that the average American eats fast-food an average of twice a week or 104 times a year. Let’s also assume that the average restaurant meal costs $10 and the average fast-food meal costs $5. This does not include the gas money used to drive to the location and back.
| Year | Restaurant | Fast-Food | Total Spent Yearly | Accumulated |
| 1 | $520.00 | $520.00 | $1,040.00 | $1,040.00 |
| 2 | $520.00 | $520.00 | $1,040.00 | $2,080.00 |
| … | $520.00 | $520.00 | $1,040.00 | $3,120.00 |
| 40 | $520.00 | $520.00 | $1,040.00 | $41,600.00 |
You will spend $41,600 on restaurants and fast-food over 40 years! Now you might say, oh well, 40 grand is nothing over 40 years. Check this out…
| Year | Total Spent Yearly | Invested at 8% |
| 1 | $1,040.00 | $1,123.20 |
| 2 | $2,080.00 | $2,336.26 |
| … | $3,120.00 | $3,646.36 |
| 40 | $41,600.00 | $290,972.28 |
If you had invested the amount spent over 40 years you would have close to $300,000! Think about what you can buy with 300 grand!
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