How times have changed.
Gone are the days when families had takeaway once a week (which usually consisted of fish and chips on Friday night) or when the biggest family night out was heading down to the local Chinese restaurant.
The fact is, it’s a tell-tale sign that things have changed when you can watch a 5 year-old eat sushi with chopsticks better than you can!
In short, there’s been a generational change in how we go about our social lives – and for some borrowers and aspiring home buyers, they simply can’t afford it because some of these social habits are holding them financially captive.
Even if you try and justify it by saying that because there’s more choice in takeaway food and restaurants, it’s therefore easier to find something cheap – think again. Once you add in a few drinks, the cost of parking and various other add-ons that seem to creep onto a bill, the final spend is never as basic as you first intended.
The $10 steak for example, often comes without salad, a drink and that bread roll. So let’s add in that cost, multiply it by two or four and it’s easy to see where $50 or more can go for what was intended as a cheap and quick bite out.
And the temptations are everywhere – because its not just dinner, but also the plethora of lunch places that have conveniently allowed us to replaced the packed lunch, it’s that $3.50 morning coffee multiplied by five working days and 48 weeks a year, and it’s that quick drink after work that turns into two, or even a round where you’re double checking your change because you can’t believe it just cost that much!
There are however some people who have already determined a way in which they can seemingly have their cake and eat it too. A news item over the weekend reported that McDonalds are doing bigger business than ever because families are looking for a chance to eat out –without the significant price tag.
It may not beat the old tried and trusted Chinese Restaurant, but perhaps it’s a modern equivalent.
However the real answer lies not in always trying to find the bottom dollar option to feed your social habits – but instead re-thinking what it’s costing you to socialise in general.
Because if you are feeling the financial pinch, but understandably still want the benefits that a healthy social life provides – remember what your parents used to say: ‘less is more’, ‘a penny saved is a penny earnt’ and above all, ‘keep it simple’. They are habits certainly worth holding onto from our childhood.
Tags: affordability, Budget, First Home Buyers, Saving, Spending
I think this is something that we as a society are subconsciously aware of.
I reckon the success of TV shows like MasterChef stems directly from a desire to return to the
days when the home was a place you gathered for most meals.
The thinking goes something like “If I can cook something special at home it draws us all together.”
Financially it makes sense too.
You can do a 4 person roast for around $20, but take the same 4 people to Macca’s and you won’t get much change from $30.