Does anyone else do this for the rest of the week if you've been out for a meal?

[Sshhhitsstillsummer]

Never used to, but restaurant prices were not as extortionate as they seem to be nowadays.
Went out for a nice lunch today, spent around 70, which is quite a lot for us, but we wanted an end of holidays last meal.
Now I will probably cut right back for the week on food spending.
For example, simple pasta dishes, omlettes, beans on toast and jacket potatoes for the week.
Does anyone else do this?

No. If I had to do that I wouldn’t have the meal out. We are pretty good cooks so most meals out are disappointing and overpriced.

If one meal in a restaurant meant beans on toast for a week then it just wouldn't be worth it to me.

Congratulations, you're massively out of touch.

No but if going out for lunch or getting a takeaway etc meant I had to live on beans on toast for the following week, I wouldn’t have gone for lunch I’m afraid. Or it would have been a cheaper one.

OP, MN has a diverse population. I think especially where income is concerned. For all you and I know @FatMrsHoot might have staff who deals with her social media including MN.

I think a lot of people will budget for eating in restaurants and will spend less on food at home as part of that. It's not as if you are living on bread and water for a week. Similarly, a lot of people will budget for holidays in the Caribbean and only go twice a year instead of four times. Some people will budget and choose between a yacht and a private plane. We can't all have everything we want all of the time, although some on MN apparently can.

Enjoy you meal in the restaurant and your cost effective pasta 😬

My main meal is often lunch so I dont really get the 'for lunch' comments which seem to imply its ok for an evening meal.

I wouldnt want to eat out if we had to cut back too much op. But what we have done recently is look at a restaurant menu, decide we cant stretch but then go to a super market and buy something fancy like a steak we wouldnt normally buy or to cook for thier dauphinoise potatoes so we dont need to make them.

Yes I probably would eat ‘cheaper’ throughout the week, not necessarily just plain carb foods though.

Surely that’s just simple budgeting though? I.e if I one month need to buy a very expensive dress for an event, I will spend less on other clothes.

There’s no moral weight attached to it, it’s just spend more on one thing > spend less on other thing.

struggle to see how you wouldn’t do this unless you are very wealthy!

Yes, we do this. Omelettes, soup, beans on toast. We don't starve, but unlikely to splash out on expensive meat for the rest of the week.

No, I'd skip the meal out if it meant having to scrimp on meals for a week, especially with dc as I'd want them to have balanced meals during the week. The budget for meals out and similar expenses is separate to the weekly food budget, to ensure the money for the usual food shop is always available.

We live on a pretty tight budget and would probably have a nice meal at home as our treat. Cheaper than eating out and the week's meals might be a bit more frugal but not miserable.

Disgusting comment. It’s reality for a LOT of people. What an appalling way to brag

I wouldn’t eat out if I couldn’t afford to eat well the rest of the week. Better good food every day than one nice meal and then worry about what I’m spending.

You could eat really good fresh fish at home for more than one meal for £70. If you really need to budget so carefully I’d limit meals out to special occasions like birthdays.

Tbh people without money aren’t eating out at all and definitely not £70 for lunch.

I think that’s pretty good value to be honest!

Agree. Surely you would plan. I don't see the point in spending £35 on a meal per person then having to live on a tight food shop all week.

I actually think its not bad including drinks for 2 people. Its all relative on how often you do it and if you can afford the treat I guess.

It's a holiday treat and one I didn't need to umm and ahh about a few years back. We never eat out nowadays and we deserve something good for once

No proper drinks, well Somersby for Dh, water with lemon for us

Maybe not for you, but we would never spend that on lunch for two. Maybe for four of us!

It depends on your budget.

If you need to tighten your belt because you’ve blown the budget a bit, then it’s perfectly reasonable to watch the budget the rest of the week.

If there is no budget issue and you have savings, and you’re still cutting back on food budget, then that’s different.

I don’t like to eat out that often. I hate it when a meal is disappointing and knowing I could have eaten better at home.

No but after our mortgage food (both cooked at home and eaten out) is possibly our biggest expense.
I might cut back in extravagance for calorific purposes but not financial. Ds is on his 5th lunch out in a row (6th tomorrow!)- end of summer holidays and a few nice day trips out in a row because we’ve had a bit of a boring summer compared to usual (I had an operation so we had to cancel our holiday plans), but we factor in heavy food expense - we are people who love food and eat out a lot generally and don’t really have budget issues. If we needed to cut back it would be done elsewhere.
But my waistline needs balance so yes I’d be looking for healthier lighter options at home for a few days following a few big meals out.

No, I wouldn't.

For me, food shopping is food shopping, it's not related to eating out iyswim.

If I couldn't afford the meal out from the general 'money left over after normal spending on bills/food/essentials' I wouldn't do it - and having to scrape by on food I don't particularly want to eat (I would eat all of your examples from choice btw, not for cost saving, but I get the impression they're not your first choice of food and feel like a sacrifice?) but if the nice lunch is worth the sacrifice and it stops you overspending then it's fine, it works for you and that's what matters.

I do absolutely get it OP, the 'we deserve to do xyz' but honestly I'd advise caution. I had to get out of that mindset a few years ago when I thought 'we work full time, we should be able to go out to dinner / have a week's cheap holiday / buy new clothes not charity shop' but the money just didn't stretch that far. Yes we should have been able to afford it on two full time wages! But the reality of minimum wage, as we were on at the time, was we couldn't, and that was a hard place to find myself eventually - with an overdraft that stayed in the red even on payday.

No - not based on cost at all, especially not just for a lunch
If I go out for an evening meal 2-3 courses I might cut back rest of week but that’s calories not money
However, before and after a holiday will have a week of cheap meals, as it helps with the budget and means I enjoy the eating out every night even more

Yes cut back on both food spend and calories. Can’t afford to otherwise

No, I don't consciously scrimp the rest of the week on food. I don't stick to any specific weekly food budget, but it would be unusual to go out multiple times in a week.