Eating out

In this time of economic crisis in our country I am sure we are all doing things to cut down on the cost of living. In the midst of our own family transition, we have really cut out extra spending. Everything from not driving unless it is necessary, to not buying anything extra.

One of the first things that we cut out to save money was not eating out. We were never a family that ate out all that often. Though there were times that we would be out running errands and pick up some "fast food". Or we might eat out as a family once on the weekends as a treat. Even if we were careful and didn't order drinks or ate off the dollar menu, it still added up. And to think...we are a small family and my kids aren't big eaters.

Now, we can easily go for weeks between eating out at a restaurant. We did dine out for Chuck's birthday last month and it was great. But if I plan ahead, I can pack our food for the car if we are out on the town. And it takes just as long to make lunch after church as it does to wait for a table at a restaurant.

So, I am curious...how often do you eat out? I am especially curious of those larger families. I am sure it is very pricey to eat out. If I had to guess, before we cut back on this part of our budget, we were eating out about 1-2 times a week. Now it is more like once a month. I have been saving my tutoring money to treat the family every once in awhile.

So, how often do you eat out? And what does it tend to cost?