Which Is Cheaper – Eating Out Every Day, Or Cooking A Home Cooked Meal?
Written By: The Grindylow on October 24, 2009
31 Comments
A girl that I know says that it is cheaper for her to eat out every day than to cook a home cooked meal. She has a family of four, and I have a family of four. I just can’t understand how it could be cheaper!!!??? Is she right? OR Is she lazy?
She’s lazy
At my house
Eggs, sausage, toast, juice and coffee
$8 for 4 people
Sandwiches, fruit, water
$7 for 4 people
roast, potatoes, carrots, dinner rolls and soda
$20 for 4 people
At Burger King
Breakfast meal
$12 for four pople
4 value meals
$20 for four people
4 Value meals
$20 for four people
Add it up
At home $35
at BK $60
She may not be lazy or a liar — she may just be ignorant. Someone who plans carefully and cooks without wasting can save significant money compared with someone who always eats at restaurants. This is particularly true if you want to feed your family healthy food. It is possible that you might be able to savey money by eating nothing but 99-cent burgers and tacos, but your health will suffer.
On the other hand, if this is a person who works a lot, it is possible that the money she would lose by taking time to cook makes it worth buying all her meals. That is an unusual situation, though.
I guess it depends on what she cooks at home vs. where she eats out. McDonald’s is a lot cheaper than some home-cooked meals, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
it all depends what shes eating (out)opposed to cooking @ home,how unhealthy to feed your family food with ingredients you have no control over-loaded with fats and preservatives-YUCK oh, and shes lazy too.
It depends on where and what you eat. For instance you could eat .99 cent chili at Wendy’s 3 times a day and drink water and get by for less than $4.00 a day. But who wants to do that?
Personlly I think she’s a little lazy, but I guess the real answer is in WHAT they’re eating. It might be cheaper to eat off a fast food value menu, but you are putting a lot of bad thinigs in your body.
On the other hand, if you are cooking filet mignon at home every night, it’s going to be way more expensive.
I think you will find the consensus her that cooking you rown meals at home is a much better value. You know you’re doing the right thing, and you’re probably spending way more valuable time with your family because of it. And if you happen to have your kids help you in the kitchen well then you’re teaching them a very valuable skill at the same time.
So, what time is dinner?
Obviuosly home-cooked is cheaper than eating out. Of course we have to make comparable comparisons. One cannot compare the price of ingredients of a lobster and salmon supper to a BigMac.
It depends. If it is for a lot of people (4 or more) it is probably cheaper to cook at home. Some times when it is just 2 depending on the menu then if it is a special even for 4 or more it could be cheaper to eat out , By the time you bur special ingredients. It could cost more. But I don’t think it is cheaper to eat out every day.
I hate to break it to you but she’s either lazy, a liar, or confused.
some people are just too stupid…. there is no chance in hell its cheaper to eat out unless youre stealing the food
I’d be curious about where she takes her family of 4 that’s cheaper than eating at home! Of course, she may be factoring in the time it takes to prepare meals and thinking time is money, plus the utilities used to cook and refrigerate, but still……as another responder put it, McDonald’s MIGHT be cheaper (depending on what you order), but you wouldn’t want to do it every day.
she is lazy its defin cheaper to eat in.
I suppose, it is where and what you eat!
Obviously she’s lazy. Cooking at home is much cheaper than eating out, specially when you have a family of four members or more. Why then go to the supermarket to get groceries when you’re not even going to eat them? They will rotten and that’s money thrown away.
I know it’s cheaper to cook at home. Even if you get stuff off the dollar menu for four people. I use fresh ingredients for my dinners pretty much every night and I know I spend less than going out and it sure as hell tastes better.
She’s lazy. It’s way cheaper to cook and eat at home.
For a family of four it’s probably cheaper to eat in. For someone living on their own it can probably be cheaper to eat out (depending on where they go).
She’s lazy… It is way cheaper to eat at home.
Now days it just about as cheap to eat out as it is to cook!
If she is using coupons maybe so . I can’t see how though . I find it cheaper to by at a store on sale days with coupons . I have a family of 3 and my meals don’t cost more than $10.00 I feel maybe she is just a bit too lazy to cook for her family . Can you imagine the fat , and MSG’s they are consuming ? Yuk! Also I have a garden and I freeze my vegetables . So with one little bag of seeds for a quarter I got 20 ears of corn .. can’t get any cheaper than that .
It depends on where u go and what u make
a family of 4 can prob eat a t taco bell or a 99 cent burger joint cheaper than u can cook a home cooked meal but u will b hungry again b 4 the day is out..a home cooked meal can last u 2 days… beans and ground meat with cornbread…mmm but if you cook steak or fillet Mignon then no
She is sort of right and probably not lazy. The fact of the matter is I know that if I look in a cook book and see something I want to make and go to the store and get all the ingredients it can cost me anywhere from 40-60 dollars a meal. In this case it would definitely be cheaper to order Chinese, pizza, or go to McDonald’s.
On the other hand if I want to make something that I have some or all of the ingredients for it is technically free. Of course I am not counting the fact that these ingredients I already have were bought at some time or other. If I’m missing some ingredients then I have to go and purchase them too.
??? I suppose it is probably about even in the end.
And Vicky or vici is wrong…a pound of lunchmeat alone (not even counting the cheese) is 5 to 7 dollars. What about bread…mayo…the fruit and the drink??? It cost way more than 7 dollars to make sandwiches for lunch and have fruit (lets not even get into the cost of that per pound!!) and drinks.
depends on what you eat.. but most of the time, eating at home is much cheaper!
she is lazy and a liar!
more cheaper in my opinion is eat out, but more healthier is in home
She is just lazy—-much cheaper to cook at home.
There are some people out there who can’t stand leftovers. I personally think it is easier to eat out, but not cheaper.
And is it cheaper because her children will only eat nuggets and fries????
I have tallied up one month’s worth of eating out receipts and one month of my grocery bills, and cooking at home runs much cheaper. Plus it’s a darn sight healthier.
Eating at home with a home cooked meal. I worked in a deli, and was amazed at the working people who would stop by EVERY night to pick up the family’s supper, average cost was 30.00 to 50.00
Our family of 4 to even eat at McDonald’s just for lunch cost about 25.00 I can make a weeks worth of lunches for that price
its cheaper to make a home cooked meal… look at it this way… if there are any left-overs… you can either have them for breakfast or lunch the next day!!
Unless you try really hard to buy expensive ingredients, eating in is much cheaper
Fashion as King is sometimes a very stupid ruler.
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