September 2021 Summary and Observations

September was a very quiet month that we spent entirely at home. 

Our evening meals continue to be about 20% down on last year, with a wider variety of protein! 

The averages for this month:

  • Lunch prepared at home $2.20 ($2.26 in Aug)
  • Lunch eaten or purchased outside the home: $8.75 ($12.58)
  • Dinner eaten at home: $4.71 ($4.95)
  • Dinner prepared in a restaurant $17.74 ($20.15)

The variation is small month to month.

Our most expensive meal of the month was. again. our modified Bento Box with Tataki Tuna for $20.93 per serve.

This month, lunches at home cost 25% of the cost of eating lunches prepared outside the home. Our evening meals prepared in the home are 28% of the cost of take-out meals.

Had we purchased every lunch and prepared none it would have cost us $92.50 per person in June. We actually spent $50.02 for lunches at home plus $48.75 for lunches purchased or eaten out:  $98.77 per person in total. These are within a few cents of the averages for recent months.

If every evening meal cost us the same as our one this month, it would be $514.20. We actually spent $127.14 for dinners at home and $51.42 for six dinners out, or $178.56 per person in total.

Without the travel we’re back to our typical meal costs, within normal variation. We saved about $330 per person by preparing almost all our meals at home and we have a lot more control over what we eat.

Sep 30: Saltimbocca with Sautéed Garlic Spinach and Pumpkin Sage Ravioli

Lunch

It was time to return to Mr Fish and Chips in Simi Valley as part of a larger errand run, where we picked up our typical Scallops, Coleslaw and Fries (with extra Coleslaw) $7.27 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

Foodie Greg picked up some thin cut, boneless Pork Chops from Whole Foods, along with some Prosciutto, so obviously we are eating Saltimbocca. Tonight we served with Sautéed Garlic Spinach, and Pumpkin Sage Ravioli from Aldi.

  • Prosciutto was $3.99 or $2.00 per serve
  • The thin cut, boneless Pork Chops were $7.59 or $3.80 per serve
  • Sage came from our garden
  • The Ravioli was $2.79 or $1.40 per serve
  • The Spinach was $1.39 and we used half, or 35c per serve
  • Add 10c for Garlic.

The Saltimbocca was cooked perfectly, with a crisp Prosciutto crust and tender, juicy Pork inside. The Ravioli was disappointingly seasoned more like Pumpkin Spice Pie with no Sage taste at all. Overall a very good meal for $7.65 per serve.