Did I fail my challenge? It’s crazy how the two months I challenged myself not to spend money eating out, are the two months I have eaten out the most all year. But, that doesn’t mean I failed my challenge.
If you haven’t read my first blog about my no eating out challenge go check it out and then come back here.
After the first 40 days I ate out 5 times and spent $20 not breaking any of my rules.
The last 30 days are a different story. I ate out a lot!
Here is how it went down.
The month started off pretty good. There was no eating out and no temptation to eat out. That quickly changed as I went into the second week of September.
I had a good friend in town and with that came a few celebrations and gatherings with my friends. The first was a dinner out at a Mexican Restaurant. The goal of this challenge was never to give up quality time with my loved ones so I said yes to a dinner out with my girlfriends and our moms. As it got closer I thought I was going to have to use my rule break. (Remember, I started the challenge with the rule that I could eat out if a friend from out of town was there). I wanted to avoid using my rule breaks but I knew this would be worth it. Right before the dinner however, my mom, who also joined, told me that she was going to buy our dinner. Goodbye rule break. I was able to get a light dinner out with my friends without having to use my rule break thanks to my mom.
The second challenge to my rule came just a few days later. Charlie and I were both invited to a tea/lunch to celebrate my friend’s birthday. I said yes to this invite without hesitation because I value times like these with my friends. It was even easier to say yes though because I was told it was part of her gift and my friend’s mom would be paying. It was all amazing until the check came and we ended up splitting it. Somewhere we got lost in communication and we all paid our own way. Although my budget was a little caught off guard with this, I was totally fine with it because $35 is a small price to pay for such a great time with people I love.
I officially used one of my rule breaks. Remember I was able to eat out to celebrate a friend’s birthday or if a friend was in town. Well this instance I had a friend in town who was also celebrating her birthday so Rule break #1 was used 50 days into my challenge.
I ate out quite a few more times during the month however, I used app points or gift certificates to pay for all the meals. Here is how that went:
- Mad Greens: I got two salads for my dad and I using points I had at Mad Greens. I ended up spending $2 here. The next day however, I was refunded all my points and my $2 because my food was ready so late.
- Qdoba: I got a Mexican bowl with extra meat to share with Charlie. This made for two meals and only $3.50 spent because I had a free entrée coupon.
- Starbucks: I got a coffee using stars I had in my app
- Cava: I went in to order a Mediterranean bowl and use my $8 reward I had on their app. I ended up getting the entire bowl for free because their system wasn’t working correctly to be able to use my rewards
- Firehouse Subs: I have so many points here so I used some to buy a sandwich for Charlie and I to share on our way home from the mountains one Sunday afternoon.
- Noodles and Co: I had points to use and got a regular size entre for Charlie and I to share for dinner one night to go along with some leftovers we had to eat up at home.
- Mad Greens: I had a coupon for buy- get one get one free salads. I was buying a salad for my work lunch and was able to use the coupon to get an extra salad entree to save for dinner that night.
- Fuzzy’s tacos: I have had a coupon in my wallet for over a year now for a free chips and queso that I got after part of my order was missed one time. I used this to get a free appetizer on my way home from climbing one afternoon.
Lastly, I was with Charlie visiting his parents and we all went out together for a fabulous meal at my favorite restaurant. Neither of us had to break our challenge because his parents were kind enough to take us out on their dime. And let me tell you, it was delicious!
So there it is. I went out to eat 10 times in the last month. I spent a total of $40.50 and am proud to say, I did not fail my challenge. Thanks to hoarding my reward points on apps, getting lucky with some free meals and coupons, and the kindness of my family, I was able to eat out without failing my challenge. The one time I did spend money to eat out, I did so within the parameters of my rules.
After 70 days of my no eating challenge I am sure you are curious how I ended it. Well on October 1st I landed in Madrid, Spain and went straight to a food tour where we went to 4 different restaurants and I enjoyed lots of yummy food out, and happily paid the price tag.
October will be a big month for me when it comes to eating out and spending more money than usual, that is partially why I did this challenge. However, I also did it to prove I could, to make myself more mindful of my spending, to pad my budget and to experiment on a challenge I am going to be giving my clients. I think it went well and I am looking forward to my next challenge.
Tell me, what money challenge should I do next?
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