Is Your Takeout Habit Dragging you Down?

Is your takeout habit what’s for lunch today or did you bring your lunch to work?  Maybe you plan to figure it out as noontime gets closer? The business world is busy and professionals are always on the go, which means sometimes they don’t even have time for lunch, let alone to bring a self-made lunch from home. Thus, the delivery and takeout food industry is a huge business.

Eating out, in one form or another, is easy to do, but that extra cash you keep spending every day really starts to add up if you’re not paying attention. So how can you tell if your takeout habit has become a problem? There are some telltale signs.

Telltale Signs you Order Too Much Takeout

First off, if you have noticed a lot of traffic coming and going from your place on a regular basis, or your neighbors are complaining there is always a food delivery car blocking their parking space, chances are you call the delivery driver a little too often. If the food delivery drivers know how to get to your house without using GPS, then they likely have been there too many times already.

If your home or office is starting to be overtaken by takeout containers, then you probably rely on food services too much. A sure sign is the tower your kids built in the living room with all the Styrofoam boxes that have been piling up.

Does your checking account often have less in it than you expected it to because you bought takeout twice as often as you budgeted for? These seemingly small food purchases, a burger here and a soda there, quietly but surely chip away at your finances, and the costs seem to be getting higher every day.

How to Curb Your Takeout Habit

An easy way to curb this bad habit is through some sort of financial tracking system, such as Mint.com. This type of system is free and will track all expenditures and classify them into categories (car, education, travel, fast food, etc.) for you. This helps you see exactly where you are spending your money and enable you to better budget your outgoing cash flow. It’s easy to order delivery because it’s convenient and fast, but utilizing a financial tracking system can show you how much you’re spending on takeout over time, and you’ll likely see it’s more than you would actually like to spend.

These are just a few examples of some of the signs that your takeout habit has gone too far. If this sounds like you, then perhaps it’s time to rethink your meal planning and sign up for a financial tracking system. Perhaps a simple change like signing up with a grocery store delivery service would maintain the convenience you desire, while giving you the lower food costs you need. Otherwise, you could end up sending your delivery person’s kids to college instead of your own.

We hope you found this updated article about a possible takeout habit problem helpful.  If you have questions or need expert tax or family office advice that’s refreshingly objective (we never sell investments), please contact us or visit our Family office page or our home page www.GROCO.com. Unfortunately, we no longer give advice to other tax professionals gratis.  Considerately yours, GROCO, GROCO Tax, GROCO Technology, GROCO Advisory Services, GROCO Consulting Services, GROCO Relationship Services, GROCO Family Office Wealth, Family Office Services, GROCO Consulting/Advisory Services.

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Considerately yours,

GROCO, GROCO Tax, GROCO Technology, GROCO Advisory Services, GROCO Consulting Services, GROCO Relationship Services, GROCO Consulting/Advisory Services, GROCO Family Office Wealth, and GROCO Family Office Services.

http://www.wisebread.com/7-signs-your-takeout-habit-has-gone-too-far