---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before you open the lunch menu or order…"
description: "\"Before you open the lunch menu or order that cheeseburger or consider eating the cake with the frosting intact, haul out the psychic calculator and sta..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/caroline-knapp-7652_cake_before-you-open-the-lunch-menu-or-order_1832225.jpg"
---

#  Before you open the lunch menu or order that cheeseburger…

![“Before you open the lunch menu or order that cheeseburger or consider eating the cake with the frosting intact, haul out the psychic calculator and start tinkering with the budget.” quote by Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/caroline-knapp-7652_cake_before-you-open-the-lunch-menu-or-order_1832225.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/caroline-knapp-7652_cake_before-you-open-the-lunch-menu-or-order_1832225.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/caroline-knapp-7652_cake_before-you-open-the-lunch-menu-or-order_1832225.jpg)

> “Before you open the lunch menu or order that cheeseburger or consider eating the cake with the frosting intact, haul out the psychic calculator and start tinkering with the budget.”

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Consider financial limits before indulging in food choices; budgeting prevents impulsive spending on meals and treats.

**In simple terms:** Think about cost before eating.

Key Takeaway

Check budget first.

Themes

budgeting selfcontrol food choices

Mood

practical reflective

Type

advice financial

When to use this quote

- grocery shopping
- restaurant dining
- holiday meals
- snacking
- special occasions

Key Concepts

financial planning impulse control

Questions to Reflect On

- How often do you budget for meals?
- What triggers impulse food purchases?

A Different Perspective

May ignore cravings and overspend despite budget.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Psychics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychics/) [Tinkering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tinkering/)

## Related quotes

> [To say that AI will start doing what it wants for its own purposes is like saying a calculator will start making its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oren-etzioni/to-say-that-ai-will-start-doing-what-it-wants-for-its-own-purposes-is/)

[Oren Etzioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oren-etzioni/)

> [“... Chinese consider eating food to be one of the rare joys of living...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-j-simoons/chinese-consider-eating-food-to-be-one-of-the-rare-joys-of-living/)

Frederick J. Simoons

> [“Oh God, for a few who will love me in tiny ways every single day of my flashing existence. For a mere one or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chila-woychik/oh-god-for-a-few-who-will-love-me-in-tiny-ways-every-single-day-of-my/)

[Chila Woychik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chila-woychik/)

> [People say I talk slowly. I talk in a way sometimes called laconic. The phone rings, I answer, and people ask if they've woken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/people-say-i-talk-slowly-i-talk-in-a-way-sometimes-called-laconic-the/)

[Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/)

> [Nature hates calculators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nature-hates-calculators/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [No Geologist worth anything is permanently bound to a desk or laboratory, but the charming notion that true science can only be based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/no-geologist-worth-anything-is-permanently-bound-to-a-desk-or/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [People think that the arts are optional and they aren't. They teach a level of emotional depth that's equally important to mathematic skill. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/people-think-that-the-arts-are-optional-and-they-aren-t-they-teach-a/)

[Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/)

> [I am not personally a parent. But I do have two godchildren and am expecting a third. I am naturally concerned for their future.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/i-am-not-personally-a-parent-but-i-do-have-two-godchildren-and-am/)

[Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/)

> [Value investing is at its core the marriage of a contrarian streak and a calculator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investing-is-at-its-core-the-marriage-of-a-contrarian-streak/)

[Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/)

> [Fighting emotion with logic is like bringing a calculator to a knife fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-sundquist/fighting-emotion-with-logic-is-like-bringing-a-calculator-to-a-knife/)

[Josh Sundquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-sundquist/)

> [Electronic calculators can solve problems which the man who made them cannot solve; but no government subsidised commission of engineers and physicists could create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/electronic-calculators-can-solve-problems-which-the-man-who-made-them/)

[Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/)

> [My fellow nerds and I will retire to the nerdery with our calculators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-spade/my-fellow-nerds-and-i-will-retire-to-the-nerdery-with-our-calculators/)

[David Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-spade/)

> [Calculators can only calculate - they cannot do mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-van-de-walle/calculators-can-only-calculate-they-cannot-do-mathematics/)

John A. Van de Walle

> [Look, this is a man, he's got great numbers. He talks about numbers. I'm beginning to think not only did he invent the Internet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/look-this-is-a-man-he-s-got-great-numbers-he-talks-about-numbers-i-m/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [In our society we have hard nerds and soft nerds. The hard nerds are the ones who used to have the slide rules at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/in-our-society-we-have-hard-nerds-and-soft-nerds-the-hard-nerds-are/)

[Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/)

## More by Caroline Knapp

> [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [The kinds of roles dogs fill can be hard to come by in human relationships. We touch the dog or the pet at whim.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/the-kinds-of-roles-dogs-fill-can-be-hard-to-come-by-in-human/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [It happened this way: I fell in love and then, because the love was ruining everything I cared about, I had to fall out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/it-happened-this-way-i-fell-in-love-and-then-because-the-love-was/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Was he smart enough? Introspective enough? Was it just enough to love him, or should I attach myself to someone who seemed farther ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/was-he-smart-enough-introspective-enough-was-it-just-enough-to-love/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Who has the best features? This was a little game, conducted several times and always with the same results, in seventh grade, the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/who-has-the-best-features-this-was-a-little-game-conducted-several/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [“Life had this unmoored quality, full of voids and barely acknowledged yearnings, and if I'd made a list of things I wanted desperately at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/life-had-this-unmoored-quality-full-of-voids-and-barely-acknowledged/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [The hard things in life, the things you really learn from, happen with a clear mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/the-hard-things-in-life-the-things-you-really-learn-from-happen-with/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [When you're starving or wrapped up in a cycle of binge-ing-and-purging, or sexually obsessed with (someone), it is very hard to think about anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/when-you-re-starving-or-wrapped-up-in-a-cycle-of-binge-ing-and/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Dogs are fantasies that don't disappoint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/dogs-are-fantasies-that-don-t-disappoint/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [The clothes are different: pre-dog, I used to be very finicky and self-conscious about how I looked; now I schlep around in the worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/the-clothes-are-different-pre-dog-i-used-to-be-very-finicky-and-self/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Dogs have such short life spans, it's like a concentrated version of a human life. When they get older, they become much more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/dogs-have-such-short-life-spans-it-s-like-a-concentrated-version-of-a/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Anorexia is a response to cultural images of the female body - waiflike, angular - that both capitulates to the ideal and also mocks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/anorexia-is-a-response-to-cultural-images-of-the-female-body-waiflike/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [By definition, memoir demands a certain degree of introspection and self-disclosure: In order to fully engage a reader, the narrator has to make herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/by-definition-memoir-demands-a-certain-degree-of-introspection-and/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Academic achievement was something I'd always sought as a form of reward. Good grades pleased my parents, good grades pleased my teachers; you got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/academic-achievement-was-something-i-d-always-sought-as-a-form-of/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [These are big trade-offs for a simple piece of cake - add five hundred calories, subtract well-being, allure, and self-esteem - and the feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/these-are-big-trade-offs-for-a-simple-piece-of-cake-add-five-hundred/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

[Explore all 89 Caroline Knapp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

## More Cake quotes

> [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-erhard/a-compromise-is-the-art-of-dividing-a-cake-in-such-a-way-that/)

Ludwig Erhard

> [You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/you-can-t-bake-a-cake-without-getting-the-kitchen-messy-halfway/)

[Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/)

> [Baby I love you like a fat kid loves cake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/baby-i-love-you-like-a-fat-kid-loves-cake/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [A lot of people are programmed to think, 'Oh, I want to do this, but I also want this.' It's like they want everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/metro-boomin/a-lot-of-people-are-programmed-to-think-oh-i-want-to-do-this-but-i/)

[Metro Boomin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/metro-boomin/)

> [Happy Birthday To Me,I just turned twenty three(23),I want a new Puppy, And I'll name it Julie:) Chocolate cake anyone all I have leftover,,,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becka-miller/happy-birthday-to-me-i-just-turned-twenty-three-23-i-want-a-new-puppy/)

[Becka Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becka-miller/)

> [It's strange because pandan cake isn't hard to make but yet it can only be bought in Singapore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhao-wei/it-s-strange-because-pandan-cake-isn-t-hard-to-make-but-yet-it-can/)

[Zhao Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhao-wei/)

> [Let them eat cake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoinette/let-them-eat-cake/)

[Marie Antoinette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoinette/)

> [“I bring the leftovers to rehearsal, and Ms. Albright lets us have a cake picnic on the stage. And by cake picnic, I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-albertalli/i-bring-the-leftovers-to-rehearsal-and-ms-albright-lets-us-have-a/)

[Becky Albertalli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-albertalli/)

> [Your favorite kind of cake can't be birthday cake, that's like saying your favorite kind of cereal is breakfast cereal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-ansari/your-favorite-kind-of-cake-can-t-be-birthday-cake-that-s-like-saying/)

[Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/)

> [“We went for a walk on College Street and popped into Coco's for a snack. There, I revealed my future, much like the exquisitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-rosen/we-went-for-a-walk-on-college-street-and-popped-into-coco-s-for-a/)

Amy Rosen

> [The three of us just try put our heads down and stay creative. The awards truly are just cake. It's one of those things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-scott/the-three-of-us-just-try-put-our-heads-down-and-stay-creative-the/)

[Hillary Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-scott/)

> [Sam loved to listen to music and make his own songs, to wear soft velvets, to play in the castle kitchen beside the cooks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sam-loved-to-listen-to-music-and-make-his-own-songs-to-wear-soft/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Photographing a cake can be art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-penn/photographing-a-cake-can-be-art/)

[Irving Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-penn/)

> [What do you think they're going to do to us when they find us guilty?" she says after a few minutes of silence have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/what-do-you-think-they-re-going-to-do-to-us-when-they-find-us-guilty/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

Browse all 1,341 Cake quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Before you open the lunch menu or order that cheeseburger or consider eating the cake with the frosting intact, haul out the psychic calculator and start tinkering with the budget.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Caroline Knapp"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/before-you-open-the-lunch-menu-or-order-that-cheeseburger-or-consider/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cake"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/before-you-open-the-lunch-menu-or-order-that-cheeseburger-or-consider/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/caroline-knapp-7652_cake_before-you-open-the-lunch-menu-or-order_1832225.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/caroline-knapp-7652_cake_before-you-open-the-lunch-menu-or-order_1832225.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ee/caroline-knapp-7652_cake_before-you-open-the-lunch-menu-or-order_1832225.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Before you open the lunch menu or order that cheeseburger or consider eating the cake with the frosting…” — Caroline Knapp",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Caroline Knapp",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Before you open the lunch menu...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/before-you-open-the-lunch-menu-or-order-that-cheeseburger-or-consider/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/before-you-open-the-lunch-menu-or-order-that-cheeseburger-or-consider/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
