Yes,chef,it is possible to eat out without forking out

Real Money,a free weekly newsletter giving expert tips on how to save,invest and make the most of your money,is sent every Sunday. You’re reading an excerpt −sign up to get the whole newsletter in your inbox.

One of the best parts of the working-from-home boom of the past three years is how much easier it’s become to figure out what to eat in the middle of the day. Work lunches became just “lunches”,and,freed from the scrutiny of our colleagues,we could eat what we liked. Want to eat two pieces of toast and a handful of shredded cheese? Go for it! Want to cook the dish you saw onMasterCheflast night? You do you!

Similarly,the pandemic and its associated lockdowns also – for better or worse – curtailed how often we dined out at restaurants and turned all of us into expert chefs (right?).

What’s the problem?

But those days are over now,and with lockdowns a distant memory and office work back with a vengeance,the amount of money we’re spending on food outside the home is rising.

Related Article

Opinion

Hip pocket

Green machine:How to shop sustainably without breaking the bank

Across May,we spent a record $5.4 billion on cafes,restaurants and takeaway food services,a rise of 1.4 per cent on the month before. This can in part be attributed to a post-pandemic enthusiasm to head to the pub,but retailers have cautioned the record turnover figures could instead reflect higher prices,as restaurants are forced to charge more for meals to cover rising costs.

Indeed, a survey from earlier this year found nearly half of us are reducing the amount of money we spend on eating out as cost of living pressures rise. The pendulum has also firmly swung back in favour of going into the office,with the average worker spending about 30 per cent of their week at home,meaning 3-4 days a week of potentially costly work lunches.

What you can do about it

But eating out is a treat,and right now,we all deserve a treat. Here are some ways you can make eating away from home a bit cheaper.

Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.