Is it cheaper to eat out or cook your own food?

Discussion in Food & Drink started by True2marie • Dec 25, 2013.

  1. True2marie

    True2marieActive Member

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    I saw a special a few years ago on how a woman never cooked at home. Her monthly food bill was really low because she always ate out. To me, this sounded crazy, but, of course, the media followed her around for a day and sure enough, the amount she paid was low. I still think, though, over the long run eating out would add up. (Interesting Read -

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    So, in your opinion, is it cheaper to eat out or cook your own food?

    _medium_toronutrition_78326. (cute fake couple)
     
  2. Cara18

    Cara18Member

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    I think it depends. But I still think eating out is more expensive and not as healthy as eating at home. I wonder where she was eating out at or if they gave her some type of discount from going there all the time. I also read a story about a mom who feed herself and her three sons on ten dollars a week.
     
  3. pandandesign

    pandandesignActive Member

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    It depends where do I go when I eat out and where do I get my grocery at. I think it is sometimes cheaper to eat out because I do my budget each month, it is definitely less expensive to eat out than cook myself. However, I cannot always eat out, so I will look for good deals when I shop for groceries. If you know how to save to cook at home, then it's better to eat at home.
     
  4. tweety23

    tweety23Member

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    It might be depending on where you go to eat. If you go to fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Burger King, etc. everyday, it might be cheaper since the food they sell at those restaurants are sold at a cheap price. I, however, wouldn't be able to eat fast food everyday for the simple fact that it's just not healthy. So depending on if eating out is cheaper or not, I would still try to cook my own food at home most of the time.
     
  5. JosieP

    JosiePWell-Known Member

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    It depends on the meal, but either way.. the excuses people come up with to eat garbage is crazy. If you can afford junk food, you can afford healthy food too. You can do the famous junk food eaters comparison all you want.. if you give me the money you would spend on fast food (to actually fill yourself) I can find something healthy to eat. And I'm always satisfied after a healthy meal.. I'm actually hungrier after eating processed foods.
     
  6. minda

    mindaNew Member

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    When you are alone or maybe when there are only 2 of you it is cheaper to eat out as long as it isn't anything fancy. It's hard to cook small portions and you will have to buy the same ingredients anyway. You use about the same amount of gas or electricity as if you were cooking for a whole family. By eating out you also save yourself the trouble of doing the dishes and you can save on water and dish washing liquid as well. When there are many of you in the family it is cheaper to cook at home. Let's say you want to prepare fried chicken. The cost of 1 whole chicken cooked at home will always be cheaper than buying one whole chicken in a restaurant.
     
  7. Parker

    ParkerWell-Known Member

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    I can't imagine that it's cheaper to eat out than cooking your own food. Eating a cheap restaurants maybe lost cost, but they are very bad for your health. Loaded with preservatives, food additives and salt.

    Buying healthy food doesn't have to break the food budget. And you can control what goes into your food. I can't really put a price on good health.
     
  8. TheViper

    TheViperActive Member

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    I agree that is all depends on where you go to determine if eating out will cost more or less. The same applies to cooking at home as food in generally is expensive. To save a little money you should try and bundle deals with coupons to maximize savings.
     
  9. Oakster

    OaksterActive Member

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    Well this depends greatly on where she is going out to eat and what type of groceries she was buying.
    After reading the article it seems like there is some exaggeration, one of the example is taking home a baked potato so you have lunch the next day? This seems ridiculous to me, or maybe I'm just not that much into baked potatoes that they make up an entire lunch...
    I prefer cooking at home, not only is it cheaper if you know what to buy and where, it's definitely much healthier as you know exactly what goes into your meal.
     
  10. JoanMcWench

    JoanMcWenchActive Member

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    Everyone, regardless of your feelings about the nutritional value, must admit that a $1 burger from McDonald's will feed one person cheaper than a trip to the grocery store. You have to take into account prep time, cooking costs, traveling costs, AND ingredient cost. Though it may be the cheaper option you sure are going to pay for it in the long run. The best way to prepare your meals are in large quantities when on sale and freeze them. Use as needed.
     
  11. Miaka_M

    Miaka_MActive Member

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    I think it's cheaper to make your own food. You can shop around for cheap ingredients in bulk and use the items to concoct some amazing dishes. A Bagel and Cream cheese sandwich would cost about $2 at the store for one, but if you were to make your own you'd have enough ingredients to make up to 6 of them for about $5 and you can make it at any time you like and they'd taste just the same.
     
  12. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    Cooking your own food is definitely cheaper than eating out. I noticed that a premium burger with fries and drinks costs the same as a whole raw chicken already, so if you know how to cook, that chicken will last for several meals as compared to the burger which is good for only 1 meal.
     
  13. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    I think if the restaurant you go to serves quality food at the best price, then it might be cheaper. Otherwise, if it's an unhealthy type of restaurant, even if the food would turn out cheaper than if you cooked the same meal yourself, you might just be spending a lot more in hospital bills in the future. In my opinion, I think cooking at home is still the best way to go as it ensures you of what ingredients you are going to be putting into your body, but if there are good restaurants in your area that can serve as a good alternative then the time you can save should also be taken into consideration.
     
  14. ohiotom76

    ohiotom76Well-Known Member

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    I'm not so sure I believe that article is a way to eat out and save money vs. cooking at home. The math just doesn't add up. If you are going out to eat at a common chain restaurant, dinner items are at the very least $10, and a drink is going to add on at least another $2, then you have to tip too, which would bring you closer to $16 if you were really eating out on the cheap. More realistically, dinner items are in the $15-$20 range at your chain restaurants, and with a drink and a tip you are easily over $25 per person.

    Even if you stretched one restaurant meal into three meals by bringing home leftovers, that's still almost $10 per person for each meal - it's super easy to make all sorts of meals for far less than $10 per person. There are recipes that will feed a family of four for under $10 if you are crafty enough.

    The one exception for me would be Chinese takeout. One container of that stuff will last me like 3 or 4 meals, and they regularly run combo specials for about $7. I would pay far more to buy all the ingredients to make those meals.
     
  15. rossonomous

    rossonomousActive Member

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    It depends on what you want to eat I guess. When I eat out, I would spend £15-20 for my meal + drink. If I did this every night then I would certainly be spending a lot more when eating out instead of cooking my own food.
     
  16. fmax168

    fmax168New Member

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    It depends on what your making. If it's pizza, it's cheaper to have it delivered.
     
  17. FatesWing

    FatesWingActive Member

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    I know that for me and my household, eating out always adds up to way more at the end of the month versus if we make our food. The thing with going out is you may or may not have left overs. Whereas if you do your own cooking, you can almost always guarantee that you'll have left overs. Not only this, but it is much healthier and cheaper to buy snacks like granola bars and yogurt versus buying a burger from McDonalds. So for me, regardless of what they "discovered" through that lady eating out all the time, for me it's still definitely cheaper to cook your own food.
     
  18. justusforus

    justusforusActive Member

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    I think that even if you factor in "value menus" you will still be able to eat for less if you cook things yourself and be conscious of where you do your grocery shopping. A dollar burger is one small meal and if you think about it you can get a loaf of bread at many stores for that same dollar. A can of tuna is under a dollar and you can make several sandwiches and so on. It is true that you have to buy the ingredients for even making a simple burger or sandwich that will be more than a dollar, but you have to factor in the "unit price" once you have all the fixings. I guarantee that even if you bought a pound of hamburger for say $2.50 a pound that is 62 cents for a quarter pound patty. That value burger is not going to be a quarter pound of meat.

    If you are a smart shopper, watch sales and yes freeze (for example make patties and freeze them) you will do better shopping and cooking for yourself and I am sure you will notice the quality difference over "value" food menus. Value menus are good in a pinch and if you don't have the time or money to go do a full shop, but I would do it sparingly.


    The only exception I would take to this is as to Chinese take out. Rice is easy to make and very inexpensive. I find making stir fries using lots of veggies and maybe some of the left over baked chicken or whatever you have would really cost less than buying it at a take out Chinese restaurant. Other than that, I agree completely with you about the chains even taking home leftovers. For those who say they can't cook, the internet provides tons of "easy" recipes if you just put that word and what ever you are looking to make in the browser. I looked up how to make some Chinese type sauces and found it quite easy even using things like orange and lemon rind.
     
  19. Freedofwar

    FreedofwarNew Member

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    I love eating at home with my husband and family. Especially to add to the benefits of spending time with the family but we also get to save a couple pretty pennies.
     
  20. Hedonologist

    HedonologistActive Member

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    The cost of cooking can be surprisingly high if considering how much electricity/gas you are using in your oven. Often the economy of scale for cooking a large amount of food is larger than the profit of the business, sometimes therefore it's cheaper to eat out, not even taking into account time saved.