How Often Do You Eat Out?

Updated on June 12, 2013
D.F. asks from El Paso, TX
42 answers

I'm just curious to how often you go out to eat a month. As in restaurants, and fast food joints. It's summer time! And the heat is having me want shakes and ice cream everyday. I'm a mother of 3, and I think we go out to a restaurant once or twice if lucky. But pick up fast food once a wk or maybe 3times depending if its grocery week(wen we pick up groceries) I'm thinking its a lot!

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S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

it was very rare when the boys were little. we'd have loved to, the budget just didn't support it. fast food was a treat then (seems so odd now), maybe once a month at most.
now? one of my favorite indulgences is to go out to lunch by myself, with a book. ooooo, i love it. maybe once or twice a month. decadent!
with hubby, maybe once a month. his schedule is brutal so he doesn't have much time at all. and the boys come home once or twice a month, so maybe once every couple of months we'll go out with them.
khairete
S.

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M.C.

answers from Detroit on

With the hubby and kids....rarely...once a month at best. Now, if I am on my own, I'll stop and get food all the time. There's nothing better than a meal prepared by someone other than myself:)

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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

Rarely. This month we went out to eat for my birthday and will go out for Father's Day, but that's probably it. The sks often feed themselves out of the house, probably a few times a week. We tend to buy groceries weekly and plan most meals at home as a budget and time thing. I do not like to wait around for an everyday meal. I'd rather be home watching TV while it cooks. And eating at home is less expensive. SS can eat a horse. DH packs his lunch from dinner leftovers.

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K.C.

answers from Denver on

Way too often these days. Not necessarily physically eating in a restaurant, but ordering food to eat at home. Like 2 - 3 times a week. Today,we spent the whole day rearranging our house, and I was tired so I said "Honnnneeeey?" And he came back with "What 'CWOO'?" I was like "huh?" for a second then immediately got it "Can We Order Out?" He knows me so well. So that's what we did. Again.

I'm a bad housewife... ;)

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B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

Before having our son, it was several times a week.
After our son came along (and we started going out again - we didn't until he was 4 yrs old), it was once a week.
But we were gaining weight and it was getting expensive.
So now we go out maybe 6 times a year which is once every few months.

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C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

Wednesday night is family night. So we either have Popeyes Chicken or Pizza. So once a week.

McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, etc? MAYBE once a week. Depends on my mood.

Every Friday night is "girls night out" so I go out to dinner with my girlfriends.

You eat out a heck of a lot more than we do. That's for sure! The once week at McD's for a family of 5? is what - $30 bucks? That adds up REALLY FAST!!!

Make your own ice cream!
Get yourself on a meal plan and make a menu for the week - shop off that menu.

Good luck!

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C.S.

answers from Las Vegas on

The older I get, the more I like my own food. Unless of course, it is r e a l l y nice restaurant and then I can't say no.

We go out on our birthday's and maybe once every other month.

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A.G.

answers from Dallas on

Back in January or so we all started watching way too many documentaries about the food industry, and started talking to a nutritionist, too, so now our family is pretty disgusted by fast food. We don't like eating out much at all, really, but we do eat out at some restaurants; we just prefer eating at home. Now we only eat out a couple of times a month, but we're spending more on groceries. I do have a huge garden now, though! :)

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☼.S.

answers from San Diego on

On average, once during the week (usually take-out, but not "fast food") and once on weekends (in restaurant).

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J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

At least once a week but it is our thing. We don't go out as a family, just my husband and I while the kids are at their dad's house.

Both my husband and I are great cooks so the kids don't suffer. Because both of us are always up to the task we don't have fights over who cooks.

We have an ice cream maker and a blender you can mix cement in so I don't jones for a shake. Heck my son is obsessed with shakes but his only complaint is when I don't have ice cream on hand.

Don't know why but we prefer staying at home as a family. I don't really like other people's kids.

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C.N.

answers from Baton Rouge on

A MONTH?! LMAO. I've eaten out maybe half a dozen times this year.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Once a month.
Twice at most.

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B.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

Maybe once per month. Then its usually to someplace where they mailed me a coupon so we can eat inexpensively. BOGO free type of situations.

On special occasions when I want to take my wife out or she wants to go out we may spend $25 for the two of us.

My wife and I like to cruise (like the Panama Canal, or a week long Caribbean cruise) and we have made a conscious decision to not eat out so we can really enjoy the 5-star restaurants for B,L,D on a cruise ship. If you take the money you spend eating out, especially three times a week, and save it, in 12 months you will have enough money to take a 7-day cruise for the entire family. OR a two week cruise for you and your husband. But it requires planning and effort to save for a magnificent goal. You could probably pay for a trip to Disney World or Disneyland for that kind of money.

Good luck to you and yours.

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B..

answers from Dallas on

We pretty much eat here. If we go out, it's always Chipotle.

Juts in my personal opinion, 1-3 times for fast food is a lot. Especially, for a child.

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C.M.

answers from Chicago on

We eat out once a week, usually Saturday nights. We never eat fast food like McDonalds or Burger King. YUCK! If we do eat "fast" food it's usually a place like Noodles & Company or Panera.

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M.H.

answers from Chicago on

It depends we do pizza once a week, for us. My son is gluten free so we have frozen pizzas here for him.

We try to eat in more than out for costs. I am learning how to cook gluten free so I am trying new recpies. but it also depends on schedules. Like today I had to pick the kids up from my moms (swim lessons Tues * Thursday). Tomorrow we are meeting a friend out, so we are going out. but the rest of the week we will be eating in.

We are bad at times, other times we are good. It depends on scheules and grocery shopping.

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M.R.

answers from Chicago on

Pizza night every week, quick diner/take-outs during weekends maybe couple of times each month, restaurant dinner - maybe once in every two months. Or when an occasional friend/family visits from out of town.

Cooking is a favorite hobby for me. So we end up having lots of casual dinners with friends and family coming over. That's as festive as going out to dine, to me. :)

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M.L.

answers from Cleveland on

This always gets tricky because i think definitions vary alot.

we went to a picnic sunday so we ate out kind of-- hotdogs
Monday i heated up frozen sloppyjoe ground beef mix, and the kids helped me make homemade baked fries. ( fun but cleaning the machine is a pain.)
Tuesday we had salad and spaghetti- jar sauce with ground beef and peppers and onions i had to pick out because no one but dh likes it but it's his "thing" to be the one to make it, go figure he wasn't even home.
weds is baseball, i'll probably heat up chicken nuggets and make a box of kraft mac and cheese
thrus- I'll find a crock pot recipie probably chicken
friday ball game again, probably pizza either mini english muffin pizzas or a hot and ready from little ceasars
sat i'm hoping for steaks on the grill.

thursday I'm taking ds's frieind home from practice and i promised to take the kids for McDonalds for lunch otherwise the rest of the week it's pb and j for lunch

If you consider pick up pizza in the catagory of fast food we usually do that once a week, and a sit down dinner at a mid range place like olive garden or applebees once a month.

I just can't afford more, actually i should say i refuse to spend my money on that.

I need to do better about not relying on convenience foods but baby steps.

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J.O.

answers from Boise on

Once or twice a month on average, but once and while a little more then that.

We live rural so none of that is handy or close to us. Every meal is planned and cooked at home. The only time we do anything other then when I cook is when I grocery shop.

Summer meals tend to be salads and things I can throw in the crock pot.

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C.B.

answers from San Francisco on

I bring my lunch to work, so I don't eat out then. But I do INSIST on eating out every Friday. Usually, we go to a restaurant if it's just me, hubby and GD, but if we have a lot of neices, nephews, grandkids, etc., at the house, then we do fast food. That's my one treat per week - a dinner I don't have to cook or clean up after! I'm worth it!

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M.G.

answers from Seattle on

We eat out from fast food 3-4 times a month at most. We don't go out to eat monthly at all. Generally speaking I cook every day.

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E.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

Maybe once every 6 weeks or so with the kids. And hubby and I try to have a date night once a month. We'll get fast food *maybe* once a month, but we don't have a ton of options in our town and homemade EVERYTHING is so much better :)

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X.O.

answers from Chicago on

Too often--at least twice a week. Usually Saturday dinner, Sunday lunch, and sometimes Weds or Thurs dinner.

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K.I.

answers from Los Angeles on

During baseball season 3x a week, 2x for days we have games and then once on the weekends!

Normally, it's only 1-2x a week...usually 1x for pizza & then 1x for Indian/Thai/Chinese/Sushi/Azar's (our local Greek place)!

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J.G.

answers from Chicago on

We eat out a lot: take out tacos once a week, breakfast out once or twice a month, cheap restaurant out once a month. We do expensive take out (thai and sushi) once a month as well. We do not eat fast food. We will also pick up sandwiches for lunch about once a month.

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J.B.

answers from Boston on

We usually get takeout one night a week (normally Fridays, and normally pizza). And maybe a quick lunch on a Saturday or Sunday if we're running around, usually Wendy's, but that's maybe once or twice a month. For real restaurants? Unless it's with family for some kind of gathering, we usually don't eat at restaurants because with 6 of us, it's easily $100 to $150. When we're tightening our belts, our weekly take out becomes pizza at home, which the kids actually prefer to take out pizza but by Friday night I usually am ready for a night off and don't have the energy to make pizza from scratch.

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P.N.

answers from Denver on

We have pizza once a weekend, always take-out. Otherwise its maybe McDonald's once a month, and then maybe treats from McDs or Wendy's or Dairy Queen once a month as well.

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O.O.

answers from Kansas City on

Once or twice per week average.
That would include take out, restaurants and grabbing a quick on the go lunch.

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J.D.

answers from Cincinnati on

Too much. 3x per week fast food for dinner and then 1x every 3 months for better dinner. My husband eats out lunch every day. I have been hating fast food lately so I've been cooking in more. If I can have a meal plan together its not a problem but I am starting to get stuck in a rut.

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M.R.

answers from Seattle on

As a family we eat out on the weekends, usually Korean BBQ or Sushi at least once.

During the week, while running between gigs, the kids get junk food about once a week, usually McD's :( That's only because in Calgary we don't have awesome Mexican stops. Otherwise, we'd pop in for bean and cheese burritos or tacos.

We also pick up Chinese take out during the week: wonton soup, seafood with broccoli, shrimp fried rice, and one kid eats it for lunch, one for after school snack.

My son buys lunch every day.

Professionally, we take visiting professors/MD's out to dinner at least 3xmonth, so those are at either trendy restaurants (my least favorite) or high end ethnic restaurants, like Indian.

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R.X.

answers from Houston on

I live alone and get tired of the taste of my own cooking. I brown bag it to work and cook 4 of the 7 days a week. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, I am eating out and bringing back leftovers for the week.

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S.G.

answers from Grand Forks on

We do fast food or pizza once a week on a night that we are on the run. We eat dinner out at a restaurant about once a month. My husband and I try to go out to lunch together once a month, but we are lucky if we do it every two months.

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H.K.

answers from Gainesville on

almost never! We buy things we need/want with the saved money, we are low to middle class tho, so i dont know if we were higher income what we would do ;)) Plus with 3 little ones its more trouble to get out too

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M.D.

answers from Washington DC on

Probably 4-6 times per month. We have really cut back, so that's saying something! This month is more, with so many birthdays and graduations though. A normal month is less. We really are trying to reduce our eating out budget to save for Disney!

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L.A.

answers from Austin on

We do way too many times. When our daughter was young, I cooked at least 6 days a week..

We have all been so busy, we are exhausted when we get home.
It is too hot.. to cook inside. So we have been grilling, eating salads, ceviche, and picking up food.

But we have a plan to eat out less.

Sonic has a happy hour everyday 2 to 4. all drinks are half off! . shakes are half off 8 to 11:00 each night.

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J.O.

answers from Detroit on

usually never, too hard with the little ones. Sometimes drive-through for chicken/apples/milk in a pinch.

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M.P.

answers from San Francisco on

Usually once a week, sometimes twice (pizza or sandwiches or a taqueria). But when both girls have sports that overlap sometimes we will have a week or two where we go out 2-3 times a week.

My husband and I go out once a month to a nice restaurant. It's our date night, but I'm lucky because my work reimburses me for the fancy dinners. Otherwise fancy dinners would only be once or twice a year.

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K.B.

answers from Detroit on

WE used to go out as a family to dinner once a week, but we've cut that back significantly to save money - plus I've been home more so I can easily prep a homecooked meal. We do get pizza for dinner once a week because it is the night my daughter has dance classes and it's just easier (plus relatively cheap - $5.00 for a large pepperoni!). We've cut back on fast-food lunches a lot too, I try to avoid it when I can but it still might happen 2 or 3 times a month. Maybe twice a month also we end up getting take-out dinner, like Chinese or KFC.

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C.B.

answers from Reno on

During baseball season it was twice a week to subway. now that baseball is done maybe twice a month if that.
many blessings

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S.B.

answers from Houston on

Honestly, a lot more now since both kids have moved out. My husband travels all the time and I work all the time that I don't cook like I did before. We will eat out or fix sandwiches.

I love to cook! Before I went back to work, we lived on one income and we NEVER ate out. Now, I hardly ever cook and we eat out all the time. NOT healthy!

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B.B.

answers from San Antonio on

Probably once a week total (fast food or restaurant).

We do a lot of meal planning and pre-week prep so that meals are quick and easy in the summer. My kids would be happy most meals with a big bowl of fruit. :)

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B.B.

answers from New York on

We usually get fast food once a week and go out to eat once a week maximum unless we are on vacation. We also get a "treat" like ice cream of a cupcake once a week maximum, but usually more like once every other week. I like a little ice cream for dessert too but I buy a good quality pint and have a small scoop. Going out for ice cream gets expensive. Shakes are out. Very fattening since they are never made with just one scoop of ice cream.

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