Eating out...

Okay, show of hands: How many of you love to eat out?  Come on, I know you're out there!  Yep, I like eating out, too.  Here's the thing though, eating out can really add up!

Let's say that you go out with you husband or wife or girlfriend, boyfriend, partner or on a date with the cutie who lives next door to you.  You figure, hey this'll be fun!  Eating out with someone I like (and eating out can be a social experience, after all.)

So, you get to a restaurant that you both like that also happens to serve great vegetarian and vegan food.  You think, "Hey, an appetizer would be nice."  So you spend, let's say, $7 on your appetizer.  Your order a bottle of wine because you think it'll go well with supper.  The bottle cost $16.  Then you order your supper.  Let's say that you order an entree that costs $12.99 and your date orders an entree that costs $11.99.  Let's add that up:

Appetizer: $7.00
Wine: $16.00
Entree 1: $12.99
Entree 2: $11.99

Total: $47.99

Adding in tax, you've just eaten a meal that costs roughly $50.  Now, you add a tip, because the waitress did a good job and you're feeling generous.  So, you give her $10.  That means you just spent $60 on a meal out.  That's a lot of money, right?

Now, let's assume that the average single person living alone is like me: You spend about 40 to 60 a week on groceries.  If you have two people at home, I think that it's safe to assume that jumps to roughly 80 to 100 a week on food.  If you have kids, you probably spend 150 to 200 a week on food depending on how many kids you have and how much they eat (because, really some kids seem to have a hollow leg don't they?)

So, unless your Bill Gates, you probably don't have tons and tons of money to spend on eating out a lot.  It also takes money out of what you could be spending on food to cook at home!

So, save yourself a dime, go to the grocery store and cook at home!  It'll taste great, and you'll save some money.

The {Not So Secret} Garden

Gardens, really, are a great way to save money as a vegetarian or vegan.  You can grow your own produce and save yourself a ton of money, because we all know produce at the market doesn't come cheap!

Some gardening ideas:

*If you have a house, take up a plot in your yard.  You can determine the size based on how much space you have.  Grow whatever plants you feel like growing over the summer.

*If you live in an apartment with a balcony, consider doing some container balcony gardening.  It doesn't take a lot of space, and you can still get some awesome, great tasting veggies when you're done!  Here are some cool photos of container balcony gardens:

*If you just don't have the space, ask a friend if they'd be willing to share some yard space with you.  Afterwards, you can share some of your produce with them!

After your fruits and veggies start to grow, you may find that you have too much for just one person.  You don't want the fruits of your labor to spoil!  SO, get some freezer bags (or those vacuum bag things) and store the leftovers in your freezer.  You can take them out and use them as you need them.

And there you have it: a great way to save money and still have great tasting fruits and veggies!