Most people I know are thrifty, especially in these lousy economic times. Can you imagine purposely wasting something that costs money – money that you worked hard to earn? The flip side is also true, most of us can’t resist a good deal, especially if we think it adds more value for a minimal investment. Think about supersize fries – for just a few cents more you get a ginormous amount of fries – much more than you would with just a medium.
But the problem with all that value when it comes to food is that the extra – whether it’s leftovers or two-for-one or supersize is that it has a hidden cost, and a high one at that. The cost is the calories. While I like the idea of dividing a restaurant portion into one or two meals, if you order a high calorie entree, then eating it twice is NOT helpful. If you get baked pasta covered in cheese or fully loaded pizza, then take it home and eat it over the next 2 days, you are NOT saving money, you are wasting the money you spent on surgery or on you co-pay. I know it is psychologically difficult to throw away perfectly good food (whose momma didn’t tell them about the starving Africans when they were a kid?) but you’ve really really got to.
Same goes true for the stuff in your cabinets. Nobody I know has the willpower at 9:30 at night to resist that box of chocolate chip cookies or that bag of chips. If it’s not there, you can’t eat it. I know some of you have teenagers and you feel like you’ve got to stock junk food for their lunches, but you don’t. Teenagers and small children do better with healthy food, too. And if they love you and want to see you succeed and become healthy, they really will understand if you explain to them why you can’t have pantries full of crap and if they’re determined to eat some, they can buy it for themselves.
9. June 2009 at 9:49 am
THIS IS SO TRUE….ABOUT THE TEENAGERS. MY 15Y/O SON HAS LOST 30LBS AND TONED UP CONSIDERABLY SINCE MY SURGERY IN DEC. HE HAS MADE THE EXERCISE A COMPITITION AND HE DOES NOT CONSIDER THAT HE WON UNLESS HE OUTDOES MY CONSIDERABLY. IT HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL BONDING EXPERIENCE FOR BOTH OF US. WHEN WE GO OUT TO EAT, WE SPLIT OUR ORDER, AND NOT ONLY SAVE CALORIES, BUT CAN GO OUT FOR A MEAL WITH A FAMILY OF 3 FOR UNDER 30 BUCKS.
9. June 2009 at 2:33 pm
In most cases, the meal you get when you eat out can be split for 2 people or taken home to last for 2 or 3 meals. And yes, you do save money
9. June 2009 at 7:04 pm
My husband calls me a “cheap date” because my meals are so much smaller now than they use to be. Therefore, most of the time it costs less for my meal.