Running a general poll --- I'm pretty sure that one of the largest chunks out of our budget, aside from paying bills, goes to food and drink. How much do you spend on food every month (dining out plus groceries)?

Here's how it's looking for me:

DINING OUT - I have a somewhat standing Friday lunch with some of my working girls, and then a bi-weekly Wednesday lunch with some of my other working girls (the Wednesday one is usually more expensive since that group is a little more indulgent food-wise). I'd say that alone runs at about $7 - $18 a week depending on where we eat that week. I usually don't drink anything there except ice water (only because it's during work hours, mind you).

Marc and I will go out on occasion but more often than not we eat at home. If we're invited out then we'll have food and drink, but these dates fluctuate depending on how popular we are at the moment. Maybe $12 to $40 there for the both of us when we are most loved. Otherwise we have a (monthly?) sushi craving which eats up $50 at a time. And I am NOT apologizing for sushi.

Okay, I'm not even on groceries and this is already starting to look extravagant. At this point I'm going to say that I have been using the same $6.00 sneakers (cheerleader shoes!) that Laura and I bought at Wal-f*k back when I used to shop there, and the same three pairs of jeans that Kia and Heather gave me after the fire, AND that I haven't replaced either despite really, really, really, really wanting new ones.

On to GROCERIES - I admit there are some cases where price takes a backseat to health and personal preference, but I'm sure the benefits appear elsewhere in these cases (savings in health care, general happiness, etc.).

The markups for organic/vegetarian food and whatnot is probably evened out by the fact that we usually don't buy pricey meats. We don't go every week, but when we do we'll spend usually $50 to $90, which includes my chocolate and sweets budget, which as a lot of you know can be quite ample.

Anyway, e-mail/call/comment/stop by the house with sushi/etc. and let me know how you're doing when it comes to this and other matters of the stomach or heart or whatever...