CBM Confessions: Pizza Night

Well, it only took one week, Dear Readers, and I'm already writing the post I was dreading. Although I thought it would come later in the month, perhaps at least week two....

We've broken Cut Back Month. But I've vowed not to sugar-coat anything, and I think perhaps there is a lesson learned here. I know I waxed poetic in my first post about how Cut Back Month wasn't intended to be a sustainable endeavor - but rather a financial cleanse that only lasts a month. My goal was to take a hard look at our spending, and find some areas we could trim without a major lifestyle overhaul. We don't want to become people who save money at any cost and essentially give up our lives. (I say this as if my husband would even allow that to happen. When I proposed Cut Back Month to him, he grudgingly agreed to a Cut Back Week.) I think the hard reality is that we like living our lives the way we've become accustomed to living them - duh, right? Although I suppose if drastic financial changes were that easy, no one in the world be in credit card debt :)

I think one area that we can make some changes without feeling the crunch too much is food costs. Perhaps groceries, but I'm more talking about eating out, and ordering out. We love going out to eat, and we love ordering. It's easy, it's convenient, and it's usually delicious. In December we spent $1,576 on food and dining (thanks Mint.com). Now before I hear your collective gasp (the first step is admitting you have a problem right?), that's everything - groceries, takeout, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, Jeff's lunch at work - EVERYTHING. My goal is to reduce that. I'm not sure how much, but we've GOT to be able to reduce that.

When I think about how far we've come, I know it's possible. Before we had Charlotte it was not unheard of to go out drinking with friends and spend over $200 in an evening. NYC bars are expensive, and taxis at the end of the night - it all adds up. Having a baby has (thankfully) dampened our bar habits, and now we do most of our drinking at home. Like good parents. At 1/10 of the cost.

But there's obviously more fat to trim. Having a $3-5 cup of coffee a few times a week adds up. Buying lunch at work costs Jeff at least $8 per day. But here we are again at the intersection of what's possible and what's liveable. Preparing and packing Jeff a cost-effective and delicious lunch every day is probably not going to happen. So maybe we can start with twice a week. That feels manageable.

Back to my confession - we ordered a pizza. It was Friday night, we were both pooped from a day of working, Jeff had just received some potentially questionable medical news (more on that later), and the undercooked beans in the fridge just weren't doing it for us. $21.33 later, the three of us were cheerily munching on Pizza Plus and having a great family night. If that's wrong, Dear Readers, I don't want to be right.


And so far, according to Mint.com, we've only spend $186 this month on food & dining. So even with the pizza slip, if we can keep this up for three more weeks we're on track to cut our food & dining budget by half. Not too shabby, right?