Life Lesson #21: The high cost of leftovers
It’s easy to grab a bite at a restaurant instead of preparing a meal at home. Sometimes we don’t have time or energy, or even want to cook. But eating out is an expensive habit that can easily spin out of control and blow up your budget.
The Story: Many years ago, ahead of a flight to San Francisco, I grabbed lunch with my girlfriend (during the Cinderella Slipper era) at a local Chinese restaurant known for its large portion sizes. As I was unable to convince her to share a meal, we had quite a bit of leftovers that accompanied us to the airport.
My girlfriend was also very excited about some special Hawaiian cakes she brought with us to share with her family on Thanksgiving. It took her a great deal of time to find a bakery that specialized in these unique Lilikoi, Guava, and Mango cakes.
It’s worth noting that Thanksgiving is a terrible time to fly: the crowds, the lines, the chaos.
After waiting in a very long baggage inspection queue, a TSA agent directed me to put the bulky bag of Chinese food and cake on the X-Ray conveyor belt. As I was taking off my shoes and emptying my pockets, the unthinkable happened.
Suddenly, there was a lot of commotion and several TSA agents rushed over to the X-Ray machine in front of me. As I stepped through the metal detector, I was panic-stricken by what I saw.
General Tso’s chicken, Sesame Beef, Lilikoi and Mango frosting, and mashed cake were strewn across the surface of the conveyor belt. The sticky Chinese sauces were dripping down the sides of the belt and all eyes were on me, including my girlfriend’s.
Like a motorist with a roof-mount bike rack that ignores the overhead clearance warning sign in a parking garage, my delicate stack of cake boxes and Chinese food take-out containers toppled over inside the X-ray machine’s enclosure.
This wasn’t the time, however, to remind my girlfriend that this wouldn’t have happened if we had just shared a meal like I originally suggested.
The Breakdown: Reflecting on my childhood, I recall we did not eat out often. On the rare occasion we did, it was an event clearly under my mother’s jurisdiction; even my father had no authority here.
As mentioned in the FlowBee story, my mother needed to get the most value out of everything, whether it was haircuts or eating out. This was in large part necessitated by our single-income, three-kid household.
My mother’s number one rule that was not to be broken under any circumstances: never order a soda or drink other than tap water. This was closely followed by eating-out rules number two and three: never order appetizers or dessert.
Using some sort of impressive wizardry, she always seemed to find a way to feed a family of five for the price of two. This typically involved the use of the Entertainment Book, some other advanced coupon strategy, sharing, and perhaps even sorcery.
This is probably where my coupon proficiency epitomized in Extreme Couponing was first developed.
Not all restaurants accept coupons, but that doesn’t mean you can’t occasionally dine out for less at a favorite eatery by simply sharing a meal.
In addition to saving money, it’s typically a lot healthier to split a meal. For one thing, restaurants commonly use a lot more oil, butter, and salt than you would at home. Sharing also helps prevent that dreaded feeling that comes after overeating, which is easy to do with portion sizes typical in many restaurants today. And sharing would most certainly help prevent an overhead-clearance-related catastrophe during an airport security screening.
In full disclosure, I love to share, which often drives my wife and family crazy. I once split a Nestle Drumstick ice-cream cone with my younger brother. With surgical precision, and to his complete surprise, I perfectly divided it in equal halves lengthwise.
So go forth and split a meal next time you’re eating out – leftovers can end up being a lot costlier than you realize.
Comments