Easiest way to save money is don't eat out and if you drink, stop drinking.
I have saved tens of thousands over friends of mine that are drinkers, being a non-drinker.
$3 for a meal. Shoot if I went to the grocery store it woul dcost me more than $3 to put a meal together.....not to mention the time to do it.
Depends what you eat. Get a box of pasta and a can of tomato sauce for like a buck fifty and you got 3 meals there. But yeah, if you wanted a cheeseburger and fries the same as fast food you gotta buy the buns, the burgers, the cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup, mustard, french fries. You're right to an extent.
But when you Buy the above Items, Now you have Left over to make a Different Meal.
You can make a Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and have Fries with that.
Mayo,ketchup & Mustard should be something that you already have.
or just steal them at the last Fast Food place you were at...like someone else talked about.
spent $250 last time i grocery shopped.....used to i'd spend between $350-$400 on my monthly forays.....next time i go i'm gonna aim for $220 or less....and i eat well, trust me.....eating fast food twice a day runs $10, and that's keeping it on the low side....definitely cheaper to go to the grocery store.....i make a list on an index card as the month goes on, and that helps control my impulse spending when i'm pushing that cart around.....shit, just load up on pork chops and chicken, $50 would buy you a month's worth of meat....
I know everyone prefers driving, but do you NEED to drive? If you have a job like outside sales or something where you have to have a car, then it wouldn't make sense to get rid of it. But if you don't, that's a possibility that would save you a TON of money. No gas, no insurance, possibly no car payment... I know people who spend well over $600 a month on their car alone. That's just crazy.