21 guilty pleasures that are hurting your bank account

Eating at Nice Restaurants

While there’s nothing wrong with splurging on a nice meal every once in a while, serious foodies are dropping way more than a dime to check out the latest and greatest restaurant openings. In fact, in 2015, Americans spent more money at bars and restaurants ($54.9 billion) than on groceries ($52.5 billion) for the first time in history. Yes, the average American family spends just over $3,000 a year eating out. That’s more than two months of rent in most U.S. cities.

Moreover, many dishes come with insane markups, sometimes as much as 300 percent. So, that $15 pasta dish actually might cost the venue $5 to make. It’s enough to make you, and your stomach, think twice about an evening out.