It was a Saturday. The day was wearing on and I had just spent the entire day doing whatever it is I do on Saturdays. The growl I heard from my midsection reminded me it was time to eat. Hmmm… what to have, what to have. Pizza? Cheeseburgers? Cheeseburger Pizza? Hmmm… Since I’d already fixed pizza for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack, burgers sounded like the better dinner option. After all, I was probably going to have pizza the next morning for breakfast anyway.
After slaving away over a hot George Foreman grill for upwards of twelve minutes, I realized we didn’t have any hamburger buns. Noodles! Isn’t that one of Murphy’s Kitchen Laws? You’ll always be missing at least one key ingredient?
So off I trudged to the grocery store to fetch a package of buns. When I got to the bun aisle I was amazed at the array of choices before me. Perhaps I never really paid attention before, now that I was here for just this one thing. Not wanting to waste time, though, I just shook my head, made that cartoony “ayayayayaya” sound, and headed to the checkout.
“Will that be all?” the young checker-outer person asked.
“Yep. I’m making cheeseburgers tonight!” I replied.
“That’ll be thirty four dollars.”
“Th—thirty four dollars? For hamburger buns?” I had trouble getting the words out due to my jaw wagging over the laser scanner.
“Yes, for hamburger buns. Plus the beer, the bag of chips, bananas, bread, and that hideous ‘I Heart Cheeseburgers!’ mylar balloon and floral arrangement.”
“Oh yeah. That.”
Funny how it sneaks up on you like that. I paid my bill, drove home (keep in mind, this was back when gas was expensive) and finished preparing dinner. As I sat in silence, munching my sandwich under my new balloon, I pondered the costs of eating out versus eating in. When you think of the high cost of groceries and the fact that I’m probably only minutes away from the nearest Ninety-Nine Cent Menu, sometimes you really wonder if this upside-down world will ever make sense.
I finished up my $34 burger secure in one thought. “Well, at least it wasn’t a Kobe burger.”
So, gentle readers, what are your thoughts on how the high cost of groceries might make eating out not look as expensive as it used to?
One more thought before I go. I finally launched my blogroll this week. I’m not sure if any of the regulars noticed the minor site changes this week, but there you go. Stop by and see if you’re on it. If not, let me know if you’d like to be. It’s as easy as asking. (And putting mine on yours, of course—spreading the love is what it’s all about.)
on November 7, 2008 at 1:51 am
For me, dining at home is still cheaper, especially if I’m not afraid to rock the leftovers – from one chicken I can feed my family for days.
Roast it one night for dinner, serve with rice and peas.
Next day, make chicken stock, remove remaining meat from bones, make soup with stock. Use rice and peas as part of soup.
Cranberry cornbread to go with soup.
Soup lasts a long time. Cornbread, not so much.
‘Course, if I was making burgers and had no bun…I’d just do without the bun. I’m a lazy cheapskate – I can’t be bothered to spend the energy or the cash to go get the dang things.
Shade and Sweetwater,
K
on November 7, 2008 at 3:28 am
This is a great post. I just finished leaving a (really long winded) response to Roni’s question of the week about grocery bills.
For me it is cheaper to eat out. Mainly because we are living in Germany for the time being and the euro and the dollar are still at war. Even the $0.99 cent menu ends up being the $1.30 menu. Not to mention my husband loves to enjoy/endulge in German beer when we eat out. That adds up quick. At home we have simple home cooked meals that are cheaper than eating out. Plus the leftovers can be reused like Kyddryn mentioned.
on November 7, 2008 at 6:08 am
i am with you on how expensive food is lately!!!
good food isn’t cheap and cheap food isn’t good.
me? i will continue spending upwards of $50 a week on groceries for one person if it means i will be eating healthy.
on November 7, 2008 at 6:09 am
I think eating at home is still less expensive for me because I can use leftovers, and the things I buy can be used for more than one meal!
on November 7, 2008 at 7:02 am
Charlie,
Since the kids don’t seem to be around much any more (20 something) my wife and I decided to “eat healthy” a few Fridays ago and thought that fish would be a great choice. We went hand in hand,(tongue firmly in cheek) to the fresh fish section of our favorite grocery store. We picked out 2 fine pieces of tilapia and when to get some veggies. Fresh asparagus and some brown rice would top this off just fine. When we went to check out the bill was over $20 and we didn’t even bother with the balloon. Now of course if we had this same meal at one of the local eatery this would have been about 20 bucks apiece. So I guess we were better of this time.
on November 7, 2008 at 7:38 am
Comes down to a decision of eating heathly for me. Unhealthy foods may be more affordable eaten out with the dollar menus, but eating healthy is cheaper for me eating at home. Actually, eating at home is one of the major ways we save money for travel.
on November 7, 2008 at 8:56 am
I can surely understand why people that are in the poverty state have a hard time losing weight. If you’ve got a big family to cook for there are plenty of recipes and meals that you can make that cost a lot lesss than fast foods but when cooking for just one or two grocery stores just don’t pay.
I was dismayed when my hubby passed away a couple of years ago that my grocerey bill didn’t decrease. Well, I was dismayed about other things associated with that experience but later when the grief had subsided to a low groan.
Eating healthy is really expensive.
on November 7, 2008 at 9:28 am
I too am only one… but I love to cook, even for just me, so I actually enjoy shopping, figuring out good meals, cooking and eating them!
A couple of months ago, I decided to “eat out of the pantry” – using up stuff in my pantry and freezer, only buying needed fresh(milk, fruit, veggies). Those several weeks, I spent about $25 each week. But after that, I went back to my regular shopping, around $40-$50/week. It was a good experience, since I had to figure out menus based only on what I had on hand.
You know those ‘experts’ who tell you to (a) see what’s on special, (b) check your on-hand supplies, (c) make a weekly menu, and (d) only buy what’s on your list ??? It does work. The impulse purchases can wreak havoc.
on November 7, 2008 at 10:32 am
I just spent $160 at the grocery store last weekend… and there are only 2 of us I was shopping for! Granted, we hadn’t been to the store in at least three weeks (um, we are lazy), but I was still not quite prepared. Hrm.
Also, I’d love to be on your blogroll! I’m adding you to mine right now :).
on November 7, 2008 at 10:39 am
I agree with Jerry! (Hi mom!)
If I don’t plan my weekly menu, I find that I am stopping at the store “for just one thing” and end up seeing this, picking up that, and the next thing I know my $2.00 one thing is $22!
I think I do pretty good though – I probably spend about $90 to $100 a week for 3 people.
But I still LOVE going out!
on November 7, 2008 at 1:46 pm
For me and my hubby eating in is always cheaper, even though our grocery bill has reached truly astonishing levels for only two people. My daughter, who lives in the Washington DC area, claims that due to the cost of groceries there it is cheaper to eat out. She still chooses to buy groceries and cook in order to eat healthier.
on November 7, 2008 at 1:51 pm
That’s a great question…hmmmm….which costs less, eating out or in. I once thought that of course, eating at home was cheaper. I really don’t know any more. I spend a bazillion dollars a month on groceries (it seems) and have begun to wonder if eating out would be less.
In all seriousness, I do think eating at home is cheaper (hopefully) and healthier, but my grocery bill is a whip, to say the least.
😉
on November 7, 2008 at 2:10 pm
with my husband, dining at home is always cheaper. he’s the kind of guy who has to get a triple meat, triple cheese, triple bacon burger with a large fry and a milkshake… or his very own large pizza. it’s definitely safer to risk the high grocery costs!
on November 7, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Ha… yes. There are more “costs” than just the initial dollar outlay!
on November 7, 2008 at 7:03 pm
It seems like every post you write resonates with me. I hate having to make an unscheduled grocery store trip. Without fail the 2 minute trip turns into at least 20 and you can NEVER buy just one thing. I find the solution to be menu planning and sticking to the plan. Otherwise you’re screwed.
on November 8, 2008 at 9:22 am
I really can’t see how eating out would be cheaper for our family. Our cheapest going out meal is $24 for a family of 4 at CiCi’s Pizza or at least $20 at a fast food place. I can make many healthy meals for under $10. For under $20/meal, I can go to one of those meal assembly places and get “gourmet-ish” meals that can be tweaked to be healthier. Plus with either of these options, I have leftovers, which I don’t with the fast food eating out options.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE to eat out, but McDonald’s at $20/7x a week is $140(and it would get old fast). For $140 at my grocery store, I get a week’s worth of fresh produce, organic milk, meat, lunch foods, breakfast foods and some treats for the kids. Seems like a better deal to me.
on November 8, 2008 at 11:23 pm
For us, eating at home is less expensive, unless we do the dollar menu, and that gets old quick. Did someone mention CiCi’s? I love me some CiCi’s and we’ve been having to drive over an hour one way for years to get to one. They just opened one in the town south of us, which takes 30 min. which still isn’t that close, but it’s better than before. If you’ve never been to one Charlie and there’s one near you, try it. I also love Hungry Howies.
You’ve been on my blog roll since you first joined BTL, (I was the first one to add you as a friend there) and when I left BTL I put you as a link on my blogger sites, so please add me to yours, or I may cry.
on November 9, 2008 at 7:27 am
You’re already on my blogroll, Vicki. 🙂
on November 9, 2008 at 2:53 pm
I see that now, it’s just so little I went right by it. That’s what I get for not having a better header, huh?
on November 9, 2008 at 10:38 pm
I just calls ’em as I sees ’em.
on November 10, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I suppose I shouldn’t be telling you this, but there is a way to enjoy something like cheeseburgers and pizza…although it’s more like a calzone, I guess. My husband has a recipe called “cheeseburger turnovers” from his college days. We don’t eat it very often anymore, but it involves making pizza crust dough and filling it with cooked ground beef (cooked with onions, of course) and lots of shredded cheese. Bake until the pizza crust is cooked. Very tasty.
We’ve long suspected that our local grocery store chain jacks up its prices so as to make the “amount saved” with one’s savings card look inflated. Why not just price things more reasonably?
p.s. Could you please add me to your blog roll, even though I don’t have a fancy header? 🙂