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Daily Dose of Thrifty: Dinner By 10

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September 5 by Cassie 23 Comments

why-its-important-dinner-by-10

Today’s Daily Dose of Thrifty is called “Dinner By 10.”  You may be wondering… “Wow, what does that mean??” and thinking we’re over here eating and feeding the kids into the late evening!

But we wanted to share what this means to us: it is a rule in our house.  As we have recently shared, in our “unthrifty” past, we had an issue with going into debt by eating out constantly! Not only was this a major problem due to health reasons, but especially because our budget could not handle it – thus the significant amount of acquired debt.

We had to create an easy rule for us to follow and even now we still do this in our thriftier days as this is still a temptation for us.  It is just so easy to justify blowing this part of our budget when it gets late into the afternoon or early evening and we don’t even know what we are eating or we haven’t made the necessary preparations for the dinner that night!

So the rule is “Dinner By 10” – this means that we need to know by 10 am what will be for dinner that night! This allows for adequate time to defrost, set-out and make any necessary plans for dinner.  This little rule has saved us so many times.  Even when we have a menu planned out, simply writing it out is just not enough! If you have pot roast on your menu and you did not look at it until 3pm…. it is a little late and makes for a wide open door excuse to grabbing a bite out.

Also, if you work or are gone during the day, the “Dinner by 10” rule can still apply to rule for your family.  Simply switch the time to 10pm the night before!

Our challenge to help you save your food dollars:  When that short hand hits the 10 in the morning or evening…. know and have a plan for the next dinner! Set that mental – or even literal – alarm!

UPDATE: We are excited that ALL YOU magazine featured our Dinner by 10 tip in their July ’12 magazine!  Here’s a quick glimpse:

See more Daily Doses of Thrifty

Filed Under: Daily Dose of Thrifty, Frugal Living, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Weekly Menu

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Deeanna

    This is so me! We totally need this rule. Great idea!!

    Reply
  2. Deeanna

    This is so me! We totally need this rule. Great idea!!

    Reply
  3. Julie

    This is a rule I need. We eat out too much and it’s a habit easy to get accustomed to.

    Reply
  4. Julie

    This is a rule I need. We eat out too much and it’s a habit easy to get accustomed to.

    Reply
  5. Sunkist

    LOVE this simple yet VERY helpful idea!!!!!!

    Reply
  6. Sunkist

    LOVE this simple yet VERY helpful idea!!!!!!

    Reply
  7. Jennifer

    this is a wonderful idea. I will definently keep this in mind every day.

    Reply
  8. Stefanie Moran

    Going to try this and see if it helps! Wish me luck.

    Reply
    • Cassie

      Yay Stefanie! Let us know if it helps!

      Reply
  9. Liz

    First, thank you for all your great ideas. Second I have to say when I read you & your husbands name were, I had to read them again because I have a daughter & son with the same names. The dinner by 10 is a great idea, I have been doing this since I became a stay at home mom & it’s been the best.

    Reply
    • Cassie

      LOL – that is so great! I don’t know if you knew this (you probably did!) but our names are both Greek (the long versions of our names) and they both have the same meaning, one is just the female version and the other is the male version. The meaning of our names is “Helper of Men.” How cool is that!? 🙂

      Reply
      • Elida

        As Charlie Sheen says, this article is “WN!IINGN”

        Reply
  10. jk

    this so true my husband always tells me to plan something for the next day , I don’t always stick to the plan but 80 % of the time i do and it does work.we both work and eating out gets to be to much specially with kids ,this helps

    Reply
  11. Judith Coe

    Thanks for Sharing the Dinner by 10 Rule. I was wondering what it meant. That is so Kool that All You magazine share it with a bunch of people! Thanks for all you doing Sharing what you have been through and being transparent.

    Reply
  12. Noriko

    This makes total sense! Not knowing what to cook that day for dinner as a mom of four school-age children is very stressful.
    Of course I need to make up weekly menu planning to get this done easier.
    Thanks for you inspiration again!

    Reply
  13. Jane C.

    I have been doing this for decades. I first heard it on Dr. Laura.

    Reply
  14. Katie F.

    I love this rule. I have tried writing out meals for the week and then forget to look at my plan. Thanks so much

    Reply
  15. Anna

    We do a weekly menu and I love this…but I have on occasion forgotten and then can’t be bothered…this is a greAt reminder….. Thanks….

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 3 Simple Ways Make Your Hubby, Your Wife and Your Budget Happy says:
    November 29 at 1:04 pm

    […] mind you, I have shared our personal dinner by 10 rule and although I am not perfect about it, I often have dinner figured out by then.  Also, we make a […]

    Reply
  2. Be Intentional Challenge #9 - Dinner By 10 (Sounds Silly, But You Will Know What It Means By Reading This) says:
    January 10 at 3:34 pm

    […] Dinner by 10 […]

    Reply
  3. What's For Dinner Tonight? Here's What Were Having (Portabella Mushroom Special) - January 22, 2013 says:
    January 22 at 9:44 am

    […] We’ve been dealing with sickness over here since the weekend, so we are a little more quiet than usual.  But as we continue with Be Intentional Month, Dinner By 10 is one of those habits that we encourage you to develop.  Not sure what Dinner By 10 is?  Read about Dinner By 10 HERE. […]

    Reply
  4. Our Weekly Plan and Menu for 2/18/13 Week (Share Yours Too!) says:
    February 18 at 1:58 pm

    […] And… no matter whether you make a menu or not, don’t forget about “dinner by 10!” […]

    Reply
  5. Our Weekly Plan and Menu for 3/4/13 Week and The Sweet Event Later This Week says:
    March 4 at 2:05 pm

    […] And… no matter whether you make a menu or not, don’t forget about “dinner by 10.” […]

    Reply

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