One of the easiest ways to save money is to stop dining out frequently. Going out to eat all the time has its share of conveniences, but it’s costly, whether going to fast food and pizza places or sit-down restaurants. Those visits can put a huge dent in your budget.

There are strategies to avoid dining out, and they are relatively easy to add to your daily routine. A few small changes at home, work, and on the go will help you keep more of your hard-earned money in your pocket. Give them a try and watch your savings add up.

1. Eat More Protein

Fast food meals are a quick and easy way to satisfy feelings of hunger. These quick meals aren’t the healthiest, and they aren’t necessarily the cheapest, with some meals costing $10-$11. A few of these a week adds up to significant money.

If you want to get rid of those feelings of hunger or want to keep them at bay, add more high-protein foods to your diet. Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, lean cuts of beef, milk, almonds, and chicken breasts are excellent sources of protein and fill you up. 

2. Increase Fiber Intake

Another way to fill up on healthier foods that keep you away from restaurant eating is to increase your fiber intake. It also has proven health benefits. Some types of fiber help you feel full for a longer time and fiber-rich diets have been associated with fewer instances of heart disease.

Examples of dietary fiber include grains, fruit, vegetables, and beans. While adding them to your diet is good, you want to add them gradually instead of all at once. The health benefits of fiber are numerous, and it can make you less hungry for restaurant meals. 

3. Eat Regularly

To avoid restaurant dining, eating regular meals around the same time each day is important. Your body needs a certain amount of energy to function, and having balanced meals and snacks scheduled throughout the day provides it. 

You might have two snack breaks while eating three larger meals a day or six smaller meals a day. The key is eating around the same time each day. Having regular meals and snack periods makes you feel full and less deprived.

4. Slow Down 

With busy lives and full schedules, finding the time to sit down for a proper meal is challenging. But taking the time to sit down and have a meal keeps you away from restaurants. Sitting down to enjoy a meal is relaxing and gives you time to start your day or decompress at the end of the day.

While sitting down for your meals, instead of rushing to eat them as if you’re in a contest to see who’ll finish first, take the time to enjoy and savor your food. This is nearly impossible to do in restaurants, where table turnover is prioritized. 

5. Don’t Skip Meals

Skipping meals seems like a good way to save time and work on other tasks, but all that does is deny your body the fuel it needs to get through the day. It also makes it easier to catch a quick meal on the go from a fast food restaurant. 

Following a regular meal schedule decreases the likelihood of feeling hungry enough to get the urge to dine away from home. Taking the time to eat a real breakfast, lunch, or dinner, even when you’re at your busiest, is a money saver. 

6. Get Enough Sleep

Surprisingly, there’s a connection between sleep and eating habits. The body gets much of its energy from sleeping. If you don’t get enough sleep, you’re more inclined to look for quick-fix foods like sugary snacks or fast foods to compensate for that lost energy. 

Getting yourself on a sleep schedule affects your eating patterns. The number of hours of sleep required varies from person to person. You may need 7-8 hours of sleep to replenish your energy, but others may need 8-9 hours of rest. 

7. Drink More Water

Feeling hungry after a meal isn’t unusual, but you might just be thirsty and are mistaking that sensation for hunger. This is easy to test; when you feel hungry in between meals, instead of grabbing a snack or a quick bite of fast food, try drinking a glass of water.

If the sensation of hunger subsides, then you know your body needs water. Staying hydrated throughout the day has countless health benefits, but keeping you from unnecessarily going to a fast food place to feed your hunger is also a money-saving hack. 

8. Eat Before Leaving Home 

Have you ever heard the advice about never going to the grocery store on an empty stomach because you’ll spend way more money than anticipated? The same logic applies if you’re trying to break the dining-out habit. 

Think about it; leaving the house without having eaten first increases the likelihood that you’ll find someplace else to eat, be it a fast food or casual dining restaurant. This means spending $10-$20 or even more, which is money you’re better off saving.

9. Cook Enough for Leftovers

You don’t have to cook dinner every night to avoid restaurant dining. You can cook a few dinners a week, making enough leftovers for lunch and dinner for a few days. To keep the food from getting boring, add a different side dish. 

Another thing that can be done with the leftovers is to put them in individual containers and freeze them for later. That way, on the days you don’t feel like cooking, you’ll have a ready-made heat-and-eat meal on hand.

10. Look for Eating Patterns

Look at your eating habits to see when you’re most likely to go out to eat. Do you pick up a fast food breakfast on your way to work? Maybe you go out for lunch during the workweek? Or do you place a carryout order from your favorite casual restaurant for dinner? 

Once you’ve identified the times that you’re most likely to dine out, you can develop a strategy to make sure you’re eating at home during those times when you’re most inclined to buy your food from a restaurant. 

11. Buy Precooked Meals

Instead of cooking and freezing your meals for later, you can also buy precooked frozen meals that are easy to heat and eat. This option isn’t as cheap as preparing your own food, but it costs much less than dining out. 

Buying precooked meals from the grocery store is especially convenient when your busy schedule doesn’t allow you to spend a lot of time making meals from scratch. They’re also sold in family size and individual servings. 

12. Stock up on Quick Foods

For those days when cooking even the most basic meals is more than you can handle, stock up on food to cook quickly without a lot of effort. This includes foods like boxed macaroni and cheese, frozen pizza, ramen noodles, and soup.

These meals are more than quick; they’re also cheaper than a lunch or dinner from your favorite restaurant. Eating like this every day can get boring, so try adding ingredients to the dishes to make them interesting. An egg cooked with ramen is quite tasty!

13. Copycat Recipes 

Avoiding dining out doesn’t mean you have to deny yourself the taste of your favorite restaurant dishes. You can recreate them at home in a way that tastes just as good if not better than the originals. The recipes are easy to find online.

There are numerous websites providing copycats of the recipes from dishes made at popular chain restaurants. When you prepare them yourself, you can control the salt intake, making them a healthier version of the originals. 

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