--- title: "How to save money on eating out without giving it up" description: "A guide to how to save money on eating out: find what it costs now, cut the workday lunch first, and set a monthly number you can keep to." author: "Wealtie Team" published: 2026-11-09 updated: 2026-11-09 category: "Budgeting" canonical: https://wealtie.com/blog/save-money-eating-out --- # How to save money on eating out without giving it up Here's how to save money on eating out: log a month of it first, then go after the habits you repeat. Swapping 20 workday lunches at 12 for packed ones at 3 saves about 180 a month. ## Key takeaways - Log a full month of eating out before you change anything, including coffee, delivery and drinks. - Twenty workday lunches at 12 cost 240 a month, while packed lunches at 3 cost 60. - Delivery usually costs more than eating the same food at the restaurant, once fees and tips are added. - Setting a monthly number and a weekly limit works better than trying to stop altogether. ## How much does eating out cost you now? You'll only know by counting it for a month. Log every coffee, lunch, takeaway, delivery, round of drinks and restaurant meal, however small. Then add it up. The total usually lands higher than the guess, and it's usually the small repeat purchases that do it. A dinner out is memorable. Forty coffees aren't. Sort what you find into three piles: things you do out of habit, things you do because you're tired, and things you do because you enjoy them. They need different fixes. ## How do you save money on eating out at work? Start with lunch, because you buy it about 20 times a month. In round numbers that work in any currency: | Workday lunch | Each | 20 days | | --- | --- | --- | | Bought | 12 | 240 | | Packed | 3 | 60 | | **Saved each month** | | **180** | ![What 20 workday lunches cost a month. Bought at 12: 240, Packed at 3: 60.](https://us-1-s3.polodev.net/wealtie-blog-media/posts/2026/11/what-20-workday-lunches-cost-a-month-bought-at-12-240-6901ec6616.webp "Source: Worked example in round numbers") You don't have to do it every day. Three packed lunches a week out of five saves about 108 a month at those prices, and it's a lot easier to keep up. Cook one extra portion at dinner and lunch is done. Coffee works the same way. Two bought coffees a day at 4 over 20 days is 160, and one of them made at home halves it. ## Why does delivery cost so much more? Because you pay for the food and for getting it to you. Delivery fees, service fees and a tip go on top, and menu prices on delivery apps are often higher than they are in the restaurant. Collecting the same order yourself removes most of that. If you order twice a week, check last month's receipts and compare what you paid with the restaurant's own menu. Keep the app off your home screen and take your card details out of it. A small amount of friction stops a lot of orders placed at 9pm because nobody could face cooking. ## What do you do on the nights you can't face cooking? Have something ready that's quicker than ordering. A delivery takes 40 minutes anyway. Pasta, eggs, a frozen meal or something from the freezer can be on the table in less time, for a fraction of the price. Cook double once or twice a week and freeze half. Those portions are there for the tired nights, which is when most takeaway decisions get made. A weekly meal plan helps too, because [how to save money on groceries](https://wealtie.com/blog/save-money-on-groceries) and this problem are closely tied together. ## How much should you spend on eating out? Whatever you decide fits after bills and savings. It's part of your spending money, so work out how much that is with the [50/30/20 rule](https://wealtie.com/guides/50-30-20-rule) and give eating out a share of it. Go down in steps. If it's been 400 a month, try 300 before you try 150. A limit far below what you've been spending tends to be abandoned in a few weeks, and [why budgets fail](https://wealtie.com/blog/why-budgets-fail) goes into why. Then turn the monthly figure into a weekly one. On 300 a month, that's about 70 a week, and you'll know on a Thursday whether Friday's dinner fits. ## How do you eat out with friends and spend less? Suggest the place or the time. Lunch menus are usually cheaper than dinner for the same food, and early-evening deals are common. Eat something first if you know the place is expensive, and look at the menu online so you've chosen before you get there. When a group splits the bill evenly and you've had less, say so early or pay for your own at the start. It's a normal thing to ask, and it's much less awkward before the bill arrives. Pick the meals that are worth it, like a birthday dinner with people you like, and let the forgettable desk sandwiches go. ## How do you stop eating out so much without feeling deprived? Keep the ones you enjoy and remove the ones you don't. Most people can cut the spending by a lot just by going after the habit lunches and tired-night deliveries, without touching the meals they'd miss. Give yourself something to spend the savings on. Putting the 180 a month toward a named goal or a trip gives you a reason to keep packing lunch. ## How do you track eating out in Wealtie? Make one category for it, or split it into Lunch, Delivery and Going Out to see which one's growing. Your [expense categories](https://wealtie.com/features/categories) then show where the money goes, and giving eating out its own share of the monthly limit in the [budget tracker](https://wealtie.com/features/budgets) shows how much of it's gone. Budget Health warns you mid-month if your pace would take you over. ## Questions people ask ### How can I save money on eating out? Log a month of it first, then cut the habits you repeat, starting with workday lunches and delivery. Keep the meals you'd miss and set a monthly limit you can reach in steps. ### How much should I spend on eating out per month? A share of your spending money that fits after bills and savings. If you've been spending 400, try 300 first and reduce it in steps. ### Is it cheaper to cook or eat out? Cooking is usually much cheaper. A packed lunch at about 3 compares with about 12 for a bought one in a worked example, or 180 saved over 20 working days. ### How do I stop ordering takeaway? Remove the app from your home screen, delete your saved card and keep a quick meal in the freezer for tired nights. Most orders happen when nothing's ready and you're too tired to cook. *This article is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Your situation is your own; check the numbers that apply to you before you act on them.*