The original post can be found here:
Several years ago when we finally decided to take control of our money, we took a close look at our spending. We were absolutely blown away when we realized how much we were spending on dining out. On average, we were spending well over $300/month…for just the 2 of us.
You may spend more or less. But let’s work with this figure for now. Let’s say that from age 25-65 we spent $300 per month on dining out. This is really a conservative figure because we are assuming that those costs would never rise and that we would never be spending money on kids’ meals out.
Spending $300 per month for 40 years equals $144,000 spent on dining out! That number blew me away, and I hope it blows you away too.
Now let’s imagine that we invested that same amount. $300 per month invested for 40 years with an average annual return of 12% would equal $3,092,912.61. Are you kidding me?? Let’s say I’m overestimating the rate of return on the investments. What if we only averaged 8% annual return, which is much lower than the stock market’s 50 year average. That would still be $1,007,211.74!
But let’s be honest here, I love dining out. Who doesn’t? So I’m not suggesting that you never dine out. I am, however, challenging you to consider how you are spending your money.
We have cut our restaurant budget down to $140/month. That’s $160 per month less than we used to spend. Let’s say that we invest just the extra $160 per month for the next 40 years. At an average 12% annual return, that will give us an extra $1,649,553.39.
Well over a 1.5 million dollars earned for retirement simply by investing our saved restaurant money!
And what did we sacrifice for it? Not much…we still go out for dinner at least once per week.
Small choices and sacrifices can add up to huge results. Instead of spending mindlessly, you must be conscious of your choices if you want to win with money. Take the time to sit down and evaluate the amount your family is spending on restaurants. You could literally be eating away your future.
Yours In Freedom,
Clint
Join The Conversation…by how much will you commit to reducing your restaurant budget?
May 5th, 2011 at 03:14 pm 1304608490
BUT, food was the first bill we cut when we had kids. Probably the only substantial thing we really had to cut. I was pregnant when we first switched to home cooked meals, but my already underweight spouse immediately lost 10 pounds. To this day, I notice any eating out creep up on the scale before I notice all the bills at the end of the month. The scale knows! & I find that so weird because I am the type to stretch one restaurant meal into days of leftovers. So I have often wondered what in the heck they put in restaurant food. Because the same stuff at home is usually lighter fare, apparently. I share because the cost savings is probably bigger than people realize - if eating out less is better for your health.
May 5th, 2011 at 05:37 pm 1304617034
May 6th, 2011 at 01:22 am 1304644933
May 6th, 2011 at 10:38 pm 1304721522
Jerry
May 9th, 2011 at 04:58 pm 1304960298
May 9th, 2011 at 04:59 pm 1304960354
Thanks for the comment.