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Green smoothies are calorie bombs. You need a lot of fruit and juice to combat that disgusting green flavor. Entrée salads can be stunningly high in fat and calories. Even something as basic as water with lemon is a risk. In one study, 70 per cent of restaurant lemons that were tested had bacterial contamination.

All of these foods appear on a list of 24 things you should never order when you eat out. The list is so comprehensive you may hesitate to ever eat out again. At least a little bit less restaurant dining would probably be good for your personal finances, as well as your health.

The food industry experts at Dalhousie University have noted an increasing tendency for Canadians to eat at restaurants instead of at home. Can we afford all this dining out? The question has to be asked when the latest numbers on indebtedness show households were ramping up borrowing just ahead of the two recent interest rate increases.

A suggestion if you're trying to cut spending: Look back over the past few months at how much money you dropped at restaurants and bars. Try cutting your spending by 25 to 30 per cent, or more. As for your grocery shopping, consider dropping these 35 unhealthy items from your list.

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Rob's personal finance reading list…

How to set your teens up for financial success
Research shows that talking about money once or twice a week with your teens is a big help in making them financially literate.

How students can eat cheaply and well
Helpful advice for young adults on how to spend wisely on food. There's a good suggestion here on how to make sure you have food on hand to create a balanced meal.

Transparent furniture and fake grass
Married entrepreneurs living in a condo of just 500 square feet explain how they decorated their home. Lots of tips for living in a small space.

This is why you have an emergency fund
Six expenses that came from nowhere. As is right and proper, home repairs rank first on this list. Any home owner would have to agree.

Today's featured financial tool
As I noted in a recent column, a lot of people are planning to use the equity in their home to fund their retirement. If you're in this group, check out these tips.

Ask Rob
The question: "Are all ETFs (Canadian, U.S., and International) RRSP-eligible? I have been having difficulty verifying individual ETFs eligibility.

The answer: "Yes, most any ETF listed on Canadian or U.S. exchanges should be eligible for your RRSP, as well as your RRIF or TFSA."

In case you missed these Globe and Mail personal finance stories
– How parents can keep down-payment gifts safe when couples split
– How to pick the right mortgage amid growing uncertainty over rates
– Inside the Liberals' controversial tax changes: What's proposed, why they're doing it and what comes next (for Globe Unlimited subscribers)

Featured Video
Millennial money blogger Bridget Casey on how to deal with your friends' bad financial habits. Don't lecture. Be a good role model.

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