What’s for lunch today? Did you bring your lunch with you? 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.
First off, if you’ve noticed a lot of traffic coming and going from your place on a regular basis, then chances are you call the delivery driver a little too often. If they know how to get to your house without using GPS, then they likely have been there too many times already.
If your house or apartment is starting to be overtaken by takeout containers, then you probably rely on these services too much. A sure sign is the tower your kids built in the living room with all the Styrofoam towers that have been building up.
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’re spending your money and enable you to budget better. It’s easy to order delivery because it’s convenient, but utilizing a financial tracking system can show you how much you’re spending on takeout over time, and you’ll likely be amazed.
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. Otherwise, you could end up sending your deliveryman’s kids to college instead of your own.
http://www.wisebread.com/7-signs-your-takeout-habit-has-gone-too-far
The post Is Your Takeout Habit Dragging You Down? first appeared on Advisors to the Ultra-Affluent – Groco.
