New Years Resolution

I eat out… a lot. I’m sure most people think that they eat out too much, but I am here to confide that I reside in the upper echelons of those who eat out. Chick-Fil-A, my favorite restaurant, is open approximately 310 days a year, of those I get a chicken biscuit 300 days out of the year. So, you enjoy a tasty breakfast treat to wake you up in the morning, you are thinking to yourself. The thing is, that’s just breakfast. I eat out for lunch probably 3-4 days a week, certainly on weekends. But the piece de résistance, is dinner. My doting husband, precocious child and I eat out, usually at fast food places, 5 nights out of the week, the other nights either my husband cooks or we “fend for ourselves.” That brings us to an overwhelmingly honest confession of roughly $600 dollars in eating out each month (1/3 of my monthly income after taxes)!
This has made me consider the following most insane New Years resolution, to not pay to eat out for one year, or until 12/25/10 for my Waffle House dinner (more about that later). There are several things happening here of note and clarification. I am not going to not accept being treated to a meal, my in-laws take us regularly for dinner or birthday dinners as gift from friends (who know just how much I love to dine out). If my company has a staff lunch or if I attend a conference where meals are included I will eat them. Wait a minute, I know you think this sounds like cheating and have just rolled your eyes, but these are seldom occurrences, and as will be discussed later, there is a socializing of going out to eat. Let me bring your intrigue back for one moment by presenting more of what I will be giving up with this venture. I am a doctoral student at a large (nationally party ranked) university, that resides in the typical college town atmosphere. Here it comes… I will not be buying coffee or alcoholic drinks (outside of my house) for this entire time. I want to make sure that sinks in… college student, no coffee shops or college bars. Told you, I’d get you back! On top of that, it means no gas station stops for drinks and snacks and no vending machine visitations during work breaks.
My reasoning for this was purely economic at first, I need to find a way to save money and I have run out of ideas/options/blood for the bank. The more I considered what this would entail the more I saw a bigger picture. Ideas of breaking the habits of poor efforts, poor eating and poor parenting began to feel obtainable. Socializing in new ways that do not revolve around a serviced table, or do and me changing how that could be accepted. I don’t want to not go out, I am far too extroverted for that, but now imagine, I could be your designated driver. I could finally be the person who brings more to pot lucks than the sodas. I could help you save money just by being around me… now not only have I just about won you over, but now you want to throw me a thanks for this silly idea.
I will be posting my journey of learning to cook, changing old habits, shifting social activities, and maybe saving a buck or two hundred. I hope you’d like to follow me for the next year as I say to eating out, “Just water, thanks”!