Warren Buffett Doesn't Waste Money On This Common Spending Habit

Despite being one of the greatest investors in the world, Warren Buffett is renowned for his frugal lifestyle and thrifty choices when it comes to spending money. Although he is sitting on a net worth of over $148 billion, Buffett lives in the same house he bought back in 1958. He doesn't buy fancy cars for fun, and has even vowed to donate nearly all of his money when he dies. In fact, at one point, Buffett even quit giving his family pricey gifts for Christmas. Instead, he chose to give them shares in companies, as those assets could grow in value over time and prove more beneficial to own. However, what very few people know is that Buffett doesn't spend too much of a fortune eating out, either.

Unlike the average American, who SWNS Media Group reports spends more than $2,500 per year eating out (via The New York Post), Buffett is more than satisfied with an inexpensive, McDonald's-heavy diet. Although Warren Buffett's eating choices are debatable from a health standpoint –- even at 94, he has five cans of Coke every day –- a lot can be said about the efficacy of saving money on food. After all, one spontaneous trip to a fancy restaurant often ends up being more expensive than an individual's grocery budget for the entire week.

Warren Buffett has been eating the same breakfast for the last six decades or so. Although Buffett may regularly visit establishments like Gorat's or Dairy Queen too, he buys one of three breakfast staples from McDonald's every day on his way to the office. Depending on his mood and the stock market, Buffett either orders two sausage patties; a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich; or a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. He was so consistent about this habit that he admitted in his HBO documentary that his wife has the exact change for these breakfast options ready for him every day. Considering Buffett once bought Microsoft founder Bill Gates lunch by redeeming McDonald's coupons, this routine isn't a particular surprise.

Although Warren Buffett eats out regularly, he is also perfectly capable of repeating his diet for days on end. He revealed in his biography, "The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life," that he would gladly eat the same ham sandwich for breakfast "50 days in a row". Considering the fact that a lot of people spend loads of money dining out, either to break their monotonous routine or as a means to interact with others, opting for more practical options and preparing food at home could very well be the key to efficient budgeting for many Americans.

There are lots of money tips and tricks you can steal from Warren Buffett, but nutrition might be a bit of a different situation. We don't exactly advise everyone to eat McDonald's for breakfast every morning, but the fact that Buffett keeps his breakfast options affordable and consistent is a pragmatic choice he knows he can continue to make. Given the fact that most restaurants mark food up considerably higher than you'd find it at a grocery store or wholesaler, routinely going out for meals can very quickly burn a hole in your pocket. When it comes to wines, those price hikes can get even higher, especially if you're dealing with rare or specialty bottles. Before you know it, you could wind up spending a lot more on a single meal than you ever planned to.

So, while you may not want to eat the same thing at the same time every day, you could consider putting together a separate budget for eating out and treat it more like a fun, social activity, rather than the go-to option for getting your nutrition. Having a set budget could help stop you from impulsively splurging on meals, and will probably make you feel less guilty about your spending on the occasions you do opt to eat out. After all, not everyone is as blessed as the Oracle of Omaha when it comes to the ability to spend money, or consume heavy calories.