More Spent on Restaurants than Saved for College

Here's an interesting stat I found in the December issue of Money magazine:

58% of parents spent more on restaurants and takeout last year than they saved for college.

Do I really need to comment on this -- other than to say how sad it is?

I'll keep off my (usual) high horse and let the facts speak for themselves.

That said, here's a source of college savings for those of you who need some savings ideas. Look at how much you spent eating out last year and see if you couldn't cut it back a bit. It could be a good source of funds to help Junior pay for college.

Comments

[Rhea]

Oh, I am totally guilty of spending way more on restaurants than a lot of other things. I discovered this when I got my credit card annual statement and categorized my expenses by 'type'. Yow!

[bluntmoney]

Guilty here as well, although at least I woke up and am changing that. (Both by reducing what I spend eating out and increasing what I save toward college.) Too bad you can't pay for college bit by bit at the drive-through.

[Jeremy]

We used to be terrible about this, we'd go out for dinner almost every weekend, not to mention all of the lunches during the week. Just one casual meal out for two can easily run $30 to $40 after tip. Doing that every weekend was costing us about $150 a month without even realizing it. Granted it is nice to get out of the house once and a while, so we have cut that back to maybe once a month. It also helped moving out in the middle of nowhere. We don't have any restaurants within about 25 miles of our home and not even a pizza place that will deliver. So we are forced to eat at home.

[moneymonk]

I think it's just more of a convenience for working moms/dads to pick up something quick to eat rather than cooking.

This is America, there is a fast food restaurant or restaurant buffet basically on every block in a major city.

It's just way toooooo easy to eat out. Alot of parents do not want to think about cooking after a long hard workday.

I am not a big fan of paying for my child's education (maybe half at most ) but I feel that my child should know how it feels to work for something that he or she wants.

I will not pay for my children's entire college education. They will have to take some of the slack. My retirement comes before their education. They have several sources to fund their education. I don't have that same option with retirement.

[English Major]

This is *exactly* why I find personal finance articles advising parents on ways to "save" on college so extremely frustrating. Yes, for many people, private school tuition is truly out of reach. But so many others simply choose to prioritize eating out, or buying a big-screen TV, over their children's access to the best education possible.

[bad username]

oh my GOD, people actually spent their hard-earned money on FOOD for themselves instead of socking it away for tuition for someone who is capable of working and making money and paying their own tuition? how dare they? next thing you know, they'll be spending money on CLOTHES instead of someone else's tuition. and then! they'll spend it on a HOUSE instead of tuition. it'll wreak havoc on future generations! there should be a law against it.

[Dus10]

Well, that is certainly interesting. The least these people could do is sign up for UPromise and do the iDine/Rewards Network deal that will put money in your account for certain restaurants.

I do it, but not with UPromise, but with AAdvantage Miles. I have this awesome system worked out for Lunch. We have a local coupons site that gives $2 off at Quiznos for a regular or large sandwich, and I get 10 miles per dollar spent. Plus, Quiznos has a stamps program. So, I order one of the cheaper regular sandwiches several days a week, and get it to go, I get a $2 discount, 5 points on my check card Visa Extra program, 45 miles, a stamp, and a decent sandwich. I take it back to work where I keep my own drinks. Every two weeks, I get a free sandwich from the stamps.