Some of my old friends like to tease me about being “rich” because I decided I was financially independent enough not to need a job after I turned 35. It’s all in good fun, but I’m not rich at all. In fact, many people my age would like to have a much larger net worth than I do (a little over $900k total combined for a family of four). I am more frugal than most of my friends, but I have a few that are certainly more frugal than me. Almost everyone I know, though, regularly eats meals in restaurants. I would guess that most of them underestimate how much they really spend eating out. I can’t spend less than about $50 to feed my family of four in a restaurant. If we ate out 4 meals per week, that would cost more than $10,000 per year. Eating out is totally worth it for some people, but it’s worth considering how much you could be saving toward a quicker path to financial independence. Most of our grandparents (and certainly our great grandparents) would consider the extent to which we eat out to be extravagant. Eating at home can be more nutritious, warm, and intimate. It also gives one a chance to work on their food preparation skills, which affects wellbeing in multiple dimensions.