Certain types of fast food are healthier than other types. For instance, Subway would be more healthy than McDonald's. In that case, it might be a good idea to eat there every day rather than cooking - for certain people. Anyhow, though, I think the health police have exaggerated the problems associated with McDonald's food etc.. Note, you have to take into consideration that much of the population might not exercise or exercise enough, as in the case of the US population.
@Jason76 I tend to agree with you but cooking at home is way cheaper than fast food even if that is available at cheaper rates or considered healthier compared to some other places. However, we in our country have a habit of eating home coocked food even in work place. You must be surprised to note that we have professional lunch carrying services available which deliver home cooked food at our work place at a very reasonable rate.
Ordering fast food will be more expensive than cooking the food at home. Secondly, I like a good home cooked meal more than the restaurant one. It is healthier and inexpensive too. And it also tastes better, since you know how much spice etc. you like and will cook accordingly. Unlike the ordered food which sometimes is not according to our taste.
I think that this is just a fallacy that a lot of people fall for. Yes the prices are cheap but they are also tricky, because it still averages out to about five or so dollars to fill up and you can do much much better than that with some good thought and planning.
Sometimes it's okay (we live in a very agitaded world and it's even "normal" to eat this type of food sometimes), but reversing order in the food supply would be a big mistake (with unpleasant consequences for health... and for the pocket too).
I think it really depends on what you get. In most cases, it will be cheaper to go grocery shopping and prepare your own food at home. Sometimes, if you don't have any of the ingredients already, it will cost you more to buy everything (of course there will be leftover supplies which you can use again). Long term, it's most likely cheaper. At the moment though, it might seem cheaper to just grab a burger than to buy meat, cheese, buns, lettuce, ketchup, mustard, onion, etc. I think that's the part that a lot of people miss. They add all that up and think of it as costing more, not stopping to consider that they can use all those items for other meals without spending any more money.
@thisnthat I agree with you but in our case we always buy enough ingredients from wholesale market as we generally cook our food at home and even carry home-cooked lunch to work place. Buying from fast food is our last choice in case we have no other options left. As a general rule we have a fixed grocery items' list and we know that what is our monthly consumption of each item including spices, bakery items, vegetables foods and grains.
Just think of these. There are many poor families who can provide 3 meals which are enough to feed there family members. I mean, they cannot totally afford to eat in fast food chains even the value meals because for them its way expensive. So, how are they're able to budget there money in order for them to feed their family? The answer maybe to cook food on their own, usually taking the ingredients of their meal just outside their home. I mean is, these families tend to plant veggies on their backyard in order for there meal not too costly. They will just stir-fry some veggies together with a small portion of meat then they already have a meal that they can share evenly. For me, how we can save our food budget really depends on our lifestyle and how are we contented enough with what food are served in the table. Its also a matter of how we cook our food. There are palatable meals that you can actually list down in your menu without jeopardizing your budget and your health as well.
I suggest that if you want to save the most money, never buy fast food from places like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's etc. Go to a Mexican grocery or any bigger lesser-known store and purchase hot foods from there. The food there is usually home-cooked style and it gives you a lot more amount for the price you pay.
Eating fast food is more expensive that having home cooked meals. These foods are massed produced, therefore, the cost is spread over a large number of items, however, when the overheads and profit costs are added I believe that the home cooked meal cost will be lower. At home, the ingredients can be bought in bulk with portions being spread over a number of preparations and there will be added energy cost and there will not be the need for profit consideration. In the long run, fast food could have someone facing extra costs because many of them are deemed to be somewhat unhealthy.
What I do when I am very low on cash is buy the necessaties and plan ahead. You can plan simple dishes ahead and buy only what it is needed for the weeks food plan. Leave out some of the snacks out or buy ones that are cheaper. I find that the cheapest things to cook are vegetable soup and anything you can do with eggs. You can also cook up some rice and beans and combine them with different food items. For example eggs with beans, rice with vegetables, fried rice which includes eggs and vegetables, and rice with beans. There are more cheap possibilities that can be made with these cheaper items.
Fast food isn't safe at all. You should avoid them as much as possible. Because most of them are prepared in dusty place. So, I didn't support to eat them basically.
