Economy has People Eating More at Home, Survey Says It Will Continue

Here's a survey conducted by the N.G.A. (National Grocers Association?) and SupermarketGuru, and underwritten by ConAgra Foods. The basic summary is that the poor economy has most people eating at home and looking for value in their food options. A few of the highlights:

The research found that the overwhelming majority of consumers (89%) are eating most of their meals at home.

More than three-quarters of consumers are exercising efficiency by combining leftovers into new meals – 57% do this one to two times per week. Meanwhile, fewer than five percent of consumers are dining out multiple times a week – a slowdown felt across all income tiers. Thirty-three percent dine out less than once a month. Four percent never dine out.

Even seemingly cheaper, fast food establishments are taking a hit. Compared with just a year ago, the percentage of consumers ‘never’ visiting a fast food joint jumped by four points to 22%. Overall, 6 out of 10 consumers are avoiding fast food operations this year.

We're eating out just as much as we ever did -- which isn't really much (maybe once every other week.) My wife prefers the savings and "fresh food" that's offered by eating at home, so that's what we do most of the time. We spend maybe $60 a month on eating out.

When we do eat out, it's usually a fairly inexpensive restaurant like Papa John's, a local Chinese place, Panera Bread, or Logan's. Not fast food that often (though we'll hit Wendy's once in awhile on a soccer day), but just the next step up -- and certainly NOT anything that's considered expensive.

How about you? Have your eating patterns changed? How often do you eat out -- and how much do you spend doing so?

Comments

[KH]

Yes, in the past couple of years I have made a conscious decision to not eat out (or order food delivered to my house) unless there's good reason for it. Eating out is just so much more expensive than eating at home and unless it's a really special restaurant the food isn't even very good.

It's just insane to spend $60 for dinner and a glass of wine for 2 at the local "cheapo" Bistro on a weeknight, when we can cook something at home that is at least as tastey for less the $20. (also it's great not to have any hassel over parking, and snuggling with my sweetie after dinner is much mo9re fun than fighting traffic to get home!) Same for when I'm running errands with my kids--instead of heading to the mall food court or the local McDonalds for $15 of junk food when they start saying they're hungry, we just go home and eat the healthy stuff we have there.

Sorry, restaurants, you lost this formerly dedicated patron with your inflated prices for ho-hum food and drink, and irritating servers who interrupt absorbed patrons with a perfunctory "is everything OK?" and then can't be found for the rest of the meal but who nevertheless feel entitled to a 20% gratuity.

We still go out for special occasions, but rarely, and only to really high end restaurants where the food is worth our time and money. It's just the cheap and middling expensive places that we used to go frequently that we find are no longer worth it.

[Money Reasons]

We were eating out more during the recession. We increased the times we would eat out during that time period (the theory being we were helping the economy in our own small way).

We have now decrease the amount we go out back to pre-recession levels. My wife goes out make once more a month to meets friends for lunch...

[Jon]

The things they say people are doing, our family has been doing for the last twenty years. We've eaten almost all of our meals at home. A dinner out at a restaurant has always been a treat, rather than a habit. Leftovers are used for my lunch box the next day, or eventually for a "must go" dinner night.

[Jenny]

My stomach turns when I read news articles about disgruntled restaurant workers and lack of sanitary conditions. Eating at home has become a privilege, not a regret. I can give good customer service and tasty wine to my family!

[guinness416]

We eat out a lot less than we did say 5 or 6 years ago but it's not because of the recession. Restaurants are more expensive in Toronto than NYC (where we were then), and moving from a small apartment to a house makes us less cabin-feverish and obviously more likely to fire up the barbecue. And I'm lucky that my husband is an excellent and enthusiastic cook. When we do eat out as a couple it's nice places though - honestly I think the Applebees/Swiss Chalet level are a total waste of cash for what you get in atmosphere and food.

I'm a pub culture person, so spend a fair amount on beer and the likes with friends and colleagues, although some of that goes on expenses. That's a priority.

[Bobbert]

We eat out about the same as before. Mint.com says we average $20/month on fast food. We eat out at non-fast food places maybe once every 3 months.

We have 3 kids, and friends and family near by, so we have more fun inviting people over and cooking for them (BBQ, Homemade pizza, hotdogs over the fire, or real meals...).

[wanzman]

FMF -

What categories and/or hobbies do you like to spend money on? Surely there is some hobby or indulgence that you spend a decent amount of money on.

From the blog, I can infer that you spend very little money on tv/entertainment, eating out, vacations, vehicles, housing.

I can also infer from the blog that you have had a very solid career, and probably have worked pretty hard throughout your life.

I know you talk a lot about saving for the future and probably have a very large portfolio - but what is it that you use money for now? Anything?

Not trying to offend, just curious.

My wife and I are mostly frugal too - but we do have some indulgences that we partake in at this point in our lives, don't want to delay all gratification.

[Squirrelers]

I have been cutting back on eating out - particularly more expensive meals. Now, I have to say that I have always enjoyed eating out, and still do. Its easier, I like to be out and about, and its fun trying different places as well has having your favorite places to go.

That said, I have been cutting back. Money is a driver, but so is health. Its simply better for you to eat at home, and cheaper too, much cheaper most of the time.

Eating out can be very enjoyable, but I'm cutting back to facilitate a healthier lifestyle - both physical health and financial health. Health and Weath feed off each other, in my opinion - the healthier you are, the more you are in a position to generate wealth, and the wealthier you are, the more opportunities you have to focus on a healthy lifestyle.

[KaseyD]

We've cut waaaaaay back! Partly due to the recession (reduced work hours) but mostly due to health reasons. Two years ago we ate out 4-5 times a week; nice restaurants, not fast food. But it was so difficult to eat out when I began watching my weight that I relearned how to cook. We now eat mostly "clean" food and I counted calories for almost a year. I lost 30 lbs and I just can't eat out anymore. Everytime we try to eat out, it's frustrating asking things like: hold the butter, non-fat milk please, is the salmon wild or farmed?, steamed veggies instead of creamed spinach please, no MSG please, etc. And then there's the white bread vs whole wheat issue; there is never whole grain anything at most restaurants.

When we eat home I know its sanitary, I know its healthy and I know exactly what's in the food because I put it there. Leftovers? I don't call them leftovers; I call it cooking two meals at once and stocking my freezer. And we save well over $800 each month.

[Old Limey]

We have not changed our habits, we still eat out twice/week. However we only use five restaurants that are within a mile of home, have been in business a long time, serve excellent food, are very reasonably priced, and either have wine by the carafe or allow us to bring our own wine for a very reasonable corkage fee.

Even at these restaurants they are not doing the business that they used to, we can always get our favorite table, and the help are not as happy as they used to be because they don't earn as much in tips as in the old days.

[carol]

I have to say that the hole in my budget is eating out. I'm single and I socialize quite regularly, so it's lunch or dinner out. Also, I work regularly in the evening and sometimes its just easier to grab a bite. I do brown bag my lunch. I'm consciously monitoring and reducing the meals that I have out wherever and whenever I can. I've already noticed a difference in my weekly food budget. It really pays off to eat out less.

[FMF]

wanzman --

Most of my recreational time/money is spent on:

1. Swimming -- I have a pool membership and swim at least four times a week.

2. Soccer -- My sone plays and he and I referee. We also watch soccer quite a bit.

3. Basketball (winter) - My son plays, I'm a coach, and I do all the team's marketing in the off season.

4. Volunteer -- I'm the president of the board of a non-profit which keeps me busy with meetings, fundraisers, etc.

5. Church and family activities -- Various and assorted, there's always something going on.

6. Vacations -- 2 or 3 per year to see family as well as several long weekend trips around the state.

[wanzman]

FMF -

I guess as a young person that does not yet have children, I often forget that people with children are kept busy with various activities that the children are active in.

I guess that is part of the reason my wife and I are not yet ready to have kids. There are still too many things we are learning to enjoy together, and we are still getting established as adults and learning to be productive members of society.

[MonkeyMonk]

Eating out is still one of the luxuries that my family participates in. We've had a family dinner night every Friday since our son was old enough to go out. We've probably escalated over the past year or two since as he's gotten older and more adventurous we've started going out to better and better restaurants. We may spend $80-$100 but it's worth it to us and we enjoy supporting the community restaurants that we like.

[Budgeting in the Fun Stuff]

We were eating out 8-10 times a week (most of my lunches and half of our dinners) last year and spent about $350 a month on fast food and restaurants.

Now we eat out about 2 times a week (I started bringing my own lunch, so this is mainly just for a dinner or weekend meals with friends). Our fast food and restaurant expenses have fallen to about $200 a month.

We've also started eating out at family-owned restaurants more often than the fast food we were living on...

[Stephan]

i have defintiely cut down on how often i eat out, especially fast food. i used to order a couple of dollar items every week, but have now really tried to cut this down as i realized that these dollar items add up. not only that, but i am also realizing i can eat A LOT healthier at home. obviously it helps that i love to cook =)

Preferred Financial Services

[Bad_Brad]

One of the things to love about a recession is that it puts more families together around a dinner table at home eating a home cooked meal. God works in mysterious ways.

[Matt]

About the same. We just go for the cheaper end deals and make sure we use coupons whenever we can.

However I have a method of cooking that makes it easy on me. I make bulk food and freeze it in a chest freezer. I will grill 10 lbs of chicken in various marinades,3 lbs of hamburgers, steak strips, 3 lbs of meat balls for spagetti,stews, roast beef, etc. and freeze. I shave time off meals this way and it is healther and less hassle. Also you can be a short order cook. The boys can have burgers while the wife and I have chicken. Just like if you went out to dinner.

[ACS]

My husband and I have always enjoyed going out to eat. But lately our habits have changed a little. We used to eat out 5 or 6 nights a week, but mostly to chain restaurants like Applebee's or California Pizza Kitchen. But we have recently been trying to eat healthier and focus more on the quality of our food. We still eat out 2-3 nights a week, but it is to local restaurants, not chains, where we can get a unique experience and support the local economy. Our current budget is $100/week so some weeks we'll only eat out once if we go to our "expensive, but worth it" restaurant. The rest of the week, we split cooking duties and cook or grill simple healthy meals at home. Some of the healthier items at the grocery store can cost more so we are not necessarily seeing big savings, but we are seeing the health benefits.

[AZnOUT]

In our house, we tend to eat out much more than the norm...5-7 nights a week, most lunches and some breakfast. I estimate (it's been a few months since I've performed an extensive review) that we spend $1,400 - $1,800 per month on dining out. In many cases, it's more the time to spend together or meet somewhere between work schedules, soccer, football, baseball, dance, etc. with three kids. Not much interest in extensive time spent cooking, cleaning up afterward, etc. We do throw things together from time to time and manage the healthier items on the menu (generally more expensive) and keep the kids extremely active...downside (other than the costs which is clearly within our budget/lifestyle) there's never a "special occasion" to celebrate dining out since we do it so often. I'm doing my best to keep up the economy, sometimes I feel all alone!:)

[TJ]

I pretty much eat out all the time except for breakfast. I'll occasionally have leftovers instead of eating out, but eating left over take out is still kind of the same as eating out. I actually had a $3 order of garlic knots from one of the pizza places last 2 and a half meals. but then i started going to bars and liked the company. It's more of a social thing than anything else, I can sit at home by myself and be lonely, or I can go to a bar, spend a few bucks more and interact with fellow humans. The food tastes better too. I'm thinking about dropping my TV package down a few tiers since I watch most sports out anyway.

I'm shocked that I am in the "less than 5%"...sometimes I will eat out multiple times a day! I'm trying to cut back on soda/alcohol which saves a ton of money as well as cutting back on sugar.

but i do use coupons, and I'm all over "lunch specials" and "happy hour" specials.

of course, it's alot cheaper to eat out for one than for a family of four.

[brooklyn money]

I eat out at all the time (single, childless city-dweller) because that's how my friends socialize. So I don't really see it as a food cost but entertainment. I like high priced and low priced food (from fine dining to street food), but I don't eat at chains. Agree w/ poster above who said what you get for your $ at those places is not a good value. I do however bring my breakfast and most days my lunch to work that I've made at home.

[Tyler]

It's often more economical for a single person to eat out than to product the food themselves. As you add more people, it tends to shift scales.

I eat out less because I can produce better meals, with healthier ingredients, than I can buy at a restaurant. Then you include the 200%+ markup on wine and it gets annoying to eat at nice places. The bottom line: eating out at nice places is a bad value if you can cook.

Here is in interesting stat that I agree with... People who eat out and drink, make more than those who dont.

Meet people, get in the way, make more.

[Jane]

I eat out less now than I did two years ago but it's not because of the economy I moved for my job from NYC to to a Semi-rural area, (I'm in a Suburb of a 50,000 person city) and work in a rural area.

I use to go out to eat lunch almost every day and would go out for dinner at least once a week and have breakfast out most weekends. But I could walk to lunch at work, (several places) I'd walk 3 blocks to dinner and the weekend breakfast was the Bagel place 3 blocks away. Now the closest place to my house is a gas station Subway that is at least 2 miles away, there is Southern rural restaurant near work but I've never gotten anything there although I sometimes will go in with others maybe once every few months to get a Hunts Bros, Pizza. As for dinner, I just don't want to take the effort to drive somewhere, and when I do I tend to eat more fast food as the quality of restaurants here are lacking.