Download Your Week Of Eating In Spending Tracker

Making your own food is a great way to save money. There are so many examples of how making your own food is way less expensive (and less wasteful in terms of extra packaging) than buying the food pre-made or pre-packaged. Eating in restaurants can get very pricey, so to that end, the Huffington Post is trying to make it easy for you to keep track of your expenditures during the Week Of Eating In challenge, which starts February 22nd.

Just Use THIS SPREADSHEET to help you budget. Download the spreadsheet by going to File > Download As > Excel/PDF

First, use the spreadsheet to record how much you spend on each meal during a week where you eat normally. Then, use the spreadsheet to record how much you spend in a week when you participate in the challenge.

When the week is over, you should send your report back to us -- [e-mail] -- so we can crunch the numbers. We're hoping to report on the average savings of eating in rather than going to a restaurant. Sign up for the week using the form below, and let your friends know about the week of eating in using the pledge tool below.

More info on The Week of Eating In Challenge.

Pledge to Eat In for a Week

Pledge on Facebook or Twitter:

Comments

[Lindsay Christians]

12:25 PM on 02/21/2010

I like this idea, and I've signed up -- I do love to cook, but I think making a challenge out of not eating out at all for one week is a valid one. (The restaurants will survive.) I work a lot at night, and the temptation is always there to just grab something out instead of prepping ahead of time.

At first glance, though, the spreadsheet looks annoyingly difficult. For breakfast, for example, I might eat 1/3 cup of 2% Fage, 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries and 1/8 cup granola. I have no idea how many meals I get out of one tub of Fage or 1 lb. of almond-raisin granola. Probably a lot.

But to do that for the butternut squash farfalle pasta that I had for lunch and the sauteed chicken breasts with feta I made for dinner ... I see the idea, but who has time to parse all that out?

[liberaler]

10:58 PM on 02/17/2010

Nice try, sorta-nice idea, but, sadly......a stupid idea. Surprise surprise.... cook it yourself, it's CHEAPER! DUH.

We cook most of our meals in. They're the best meals we eat. Luckily there are good restaurants here that we enjoy as well.

But it's not a spreadsheet kind of thing. How much did the dried rosemary that was left over from a pack you purchased three weeks ago cost? How about the chicken stock you made last month?

Just a poorly thought-out project.

Gordon

[cominginsecond]

12:24 PM on 02/16/2010

I'm also confused as to how this is filed under "Green News." How is eating out any more or less green than eating in?

[FLmom3]

03:42 PM on 02/16/2010

I guess if you are eating in you are generating less waste in terms of packaging (take out containers, or take home containers)

[IMissAmerica]

07:16 AM on 02/14/2010

Everything is a balance in life. Don't forget to tip your hard-working bartenders and food servers!

[cominginsecond]

12:22 PM on 02/16/2010

Exactly. It's stupid to say you should boycott eating out for a week when the message should really be "Eat healthy and live within your means." Eating out is not a bad thing unless you can't afford to do it.

[Vickster]

12:38 AM on 02/14/2010

This makes me wonder what planet some people live on. I've been "eating in" my entire life and cooking since I was eight.

[nailinpalinnow]

05:26 PM on 02/16/2010

Agreed. This doesn't seem relevant to the majority of people who must cook at home AND pack lunches to make ends meet. For people who will be TRULY cooking from scratch and not just picking up packaged grocery dinners, there will be a substantial first investment in staples such as cooking oils, flours and grains, spices, cooking utensils, oh and don't forget - time.

[cookerman45]

11:49 PM on 02/12/2010

PULL DOWN LUGE PICS

[jezzabella]

03:56 PM on 02/12/2010

Apparently eating at home and taking your lunch to work has become such a novelty we now participate in challenges to see if we can do it for whole week.

On the flip side, when you do go out to eat, you are keeping America working.

[cominginsecond]

12:20 PM on 02/16/2010

That's true. Eating out is not a bad thing or a good thing. It's something you can do if you have the means, just like anything else. And, like you said, it keeps a lot of people in a job.

[mlaiuppa]

02:55 PM on 02/12/2010

I don't buy pre-processed or eat out, so there won't be much difference.

But I'll be sending this in anyway so they can see the numbers.

[Jackalheadedgod]

02:25 PM on 02/12/2010

Every day is eating in day at our house. We almost never eat out. Last week I didn't feel like cooking and suggested we go out. For the next half hour we reviewed our choices and finally settled on making dinner. It was better, easier, and exponentially cheaper.

We buy meat at Costco (no beef though, I still don't trust anyone on this continent to protect me from Mad Cow), vegetables from a local produce store, and sundry ingredients from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and its variants, and occaisionally something from the local health food store. Desserts are for birthdays, etc. No sodas. Filtered tap water is consumed most. Few carbs, though I still love bread (TJ's has a nice cracked wheat sour dough whose stats suggest health).

I have been using a tagine lately (cheapest one is at Sur la Table at $30). Now it I could just make smaller portions....

Cheers,
Jack

[cominginsecond]

01:38 PM on 02/12/2010

What a load of crap. Yeah, we should pledge to eat in like we pledge to stop smoking or something. That's a good thing for everyone! Let's target restaurants as a Bad Thing instead of something that makes life enjoyable.

This is the stupidest thing I've heard in a long, long time. What's next, the "Go a week without going to any movies or musical performances?" After all, why spend money on those things when you can rent DVDs and listen to CDs! This program might be a good thing if you're already in serious debt, but then shouldn't the pledge be to cut down on ANY unnecessary expenditures? Why target restaurants?

You all should get a life.

[quiviran]

01:50 AM on 02/15/2010

This topic is about mindfulness and conscious decision making with respect to food. You should learn to read.

[cominginsecond]

12:23 PM on 02/16/2010

My interpretation of this event is just as valid as yours.