Frugality Binge, Or How I Beat The Cycle Of Always Eating Out

A few months back, when things were not going well and I had an urgent need to cut back on spending, I went to rather extreme measures to save on food costs.

Ramen noodles.

I'd heard stories about people who were starting to serve ramen one night a week to cut back on grocery bills. I took it one step further, bought a 6-pack of ramen and a can of Spam, and challenged myself to make that my dinner for the next week.

Yes, I really thought I was nuts at first, but I felt a lot better walking out of the grocery store after paying less than $5 for a week of dinners. And really, ramen noodles were fast and easy to make even when I got home late, and they weren't so bad. The Spam was a little harder to get used to until I found that if you pan-fried it before serving, it didn't look so much like you were eating Spam. I also had a bag of frozen veggies in the freezer that help liven up ramen noodles after day 3.

After a week of keeping ramen noodles around for quick dinners, I happily picked up more and experimented with adding different proteins (sausage, chicken, tofu and yes, Spam) and different veggies so it was still a different meal each night. The money I save by not running out and getting take-out went to much better uses.

Granted, I'm single and not cooking for anyone else, so I'm sure ramen noodle night won't work for every family. But it taught me that a little bit of creativity helped me forget that I'm cutting back. It also helped me break the eating-out habit.