Comments on: Young Broke People – A Fundamental Difference in Thought

By: Revanche

Revanche — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:19:05 +0000

The only problem with splitting meals is that I usually can’t decide between 2-3 dishes, and SO knows that he invariably likes whatever I like, so we end up ordering two entrees and sharing both. Greedy!!

We don’t eat out much so that’s sort of par for the course, but we do split meals in restaurants where we know that the entree is too large to handle. I prefer to do the latter, I feel less guilty about spending money eating out when we make frugal choices.

By: MoneyMateKate

MoneyMateKate — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:51:58 +0000

My father acted like he was to the manor born, but never “made good”. We were very, very broke. But he liked to order big when we went out to dinner (this would be when credit cards were being dished out to everyone and their dog, literally) – always the most expensive thing on the menu, always an after-dinner drink, that sort of thing. Even at a young age, I thought it was ostentatious. And if you dared suggest that he hold back a bit, he’d add a bottle of wine and a dram of single malt to the order. So my parents rarely went out – just as well really.

My mom loves going out to eat with me – we don’t order alcohol, I’m usually up on any available “buy one entree get one free” deals, and so the bill is never painful.

By: Michael R

Michael R — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:43:40 +0000

Whenever my wife sees someone who is very frugal she exclaims “That’s how the rich stay rich!” I’ve come to agree with her.

By: Jace

Jace — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:23:50 +0000

@Donnie, at my local hibachi place, if you want the Filet Mignon and Chicken, it’s $25/ea without drinks – so an extra $6 for a larger portion is a better deal than another $25.. perhaps not for the $15 or $16 plate but definitely for the $25 one.

By: Donnie

Donnie — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:20:57 +0000

Paying an extra $6 for what is essentially the same amount of food seems like a bad financial decision, no matter how much money you have.

By: Jace

Jace — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:24:22 +0000

Sometimes it’s not about money at all. America needs to go on a diet in general. My girlfriend and I usually split meals just because the portion sizes are so large. We commonly order a sandwich that comes with a pasta salad and eat half of each and we’re satisfied. Granted, we have our moments when we gorge ourselves but our decision to split our meal has nothing to do with money. I am very happy that our lunch only cost $12 for two people but I love food and am just as happy at spending $25/ea for a nice meal (food is my weakness). If someone were to think we’re poor for splitting our meal, they would be completely wrong, especially if they’re only considering financial reasons.

Besides, we don’t really eat leftovers so a doggie bag is just wasted money and food abuse (there’s my frugality).

By: Jason @ Redeeming Riches

Jason @ Redeeming Riches — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:11:11 +0000

This post made me laugh because my wife is a very frugal person and always wants to split meals. The problem is she’s a plain eater so unless I want grilled chicken almost every time (which I dont) I usually need to order something else! =)

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:25:39 +0000

Good for you, we are down to just my student loan, it is at a sub 2% interest rate though so we are holding off on kicking it to the curb until things settle down with the new baby. Hard to believe I only have four weeks left.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:24:45 +0000

Coming from a frugal family really influenced how I perceive spending. My wife comes from the opposite so we see things differently. Not to say that she is thinking anything bad about people spending less, just that she assumes they have to where I assume they want to.

By: Jason R Fisher

Jason R Fisher — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:26:26 +0000

My wife and I almost never order separately. We share a meal and our daughters share one as well (I am sure our servers hate us) We only eat at places we have coupons for too so we look like cheap people but we just paid off the last of our non-mortgage debt so I don’t care.