Out is Out, In is In

Oh, the economy. Every day it seems like we hear more disturbing news.

This month, the Consumer Spending Indicator study asked how respondents planned to trim the fat, and dining out is in the hot seat--with 57% of respondents saying they plan to spend less. Entertainment was up there, too, with 50% of respondents cutting back.

So is staying in the new "in?" Instead of heading out for dinner and a movie will people be looking for more affordable ways to entertain themselves at home?

Am I the only one thinking "intimate surprises?" One of the things we loved about this idea was that for less than what a couple typically spends on dinner and a night out you can have way more fun, way more personal attention and way more intimate enjoyment than waiting for the bread basket and passing the salt.

Case in point (according to CNN and in 2005 dollars):
- average meal in NYC costs $37.61 per person, while your tab for a meal at the most expensive restaurants will average $112.49 (and that was 3 years ago!!!).

- An average meal in San Francisco costs $35.52, swank meals in the Bay Area average $85.27.

- Atlanta comes in at $24.72 a person or $55.70 per meal.


And that doesn't include gas and parking and other associated expenses. Staying in with an intimate surprise sounds downright frugal compared to that.