Why You Can Afford to Eat at Home

Single, Cooking & Public Accounting

I'm a public accountant, which means that I work approximately 66 or mor hours a week from mid-January until April 15th. I've been working for 18 months, and I have yet to pay for a lunch. I do everything on Sundays (my day off): buy groceries and make dinners and lunches for the week.

I don't know if I net savings because I have expensive taste, try to buy local and/or organic and I live alone, but at least I know what goes into my body--and that is more valuable to me than convenience. You have no idea what you're truly eating when you go to a restaurant. How can you be sure that "wheat" is actually whole wheat? Or that the steamed veggies aren't exceeding sodium allowance for the day? The only way you'll know for sure what you're eating is if you make it.

The only way I'll go out to eat is if I can't cook something, and that usually limits things to very gourmet restaurants where I can easily spend half of my monthly food buget on one meal...or barbecue (NOT grilling!), which I can't make due to my condo's fire codes. Why would I pay [insert common chain restaurant name] $15 for a mediocre steak when I can cook a better tasting steak from a grass-fed cow the way I like it with the sides I like for the same cost? It doesn't make sense. More importantly, I get to control my portions and seasonings.

Fortunatley, I do enjoy cooking, and people tell me I'm good at it. I would have the typical accountant's build if I didn't cook, and not knowing what you're eating is just asking for an early death in this industry.

I think this country has a major problem with setting priorities. We should care more about how much we sleep, how much we exercise and what we eat than we should about money or objects. Yes, I understand that I'm ignoring families here, but something should be in place to nurish kids better than standard school lunches or fast food. Do you really think that pizza and fries are going to produce healthy kids? I actually blame Congress more than any one parent because of this nutritional abuse, but that's another rant.

I don't know what my point is, but I'd like to think that even if I'm not saving money by cooking at home, I'm saving for the future by eating right.

Now, back to my grass-fed local brisket, organic quinoa and organic kale with caramelized onions and mushrooms...

promark420 of GA @ Jun 12, 2009 16:27:46 PM

It's cheaper to eat in,but it ain't easy

Eating out will always cost more,on top of that you have to give a tip if its a dine in place,like Friday's.Unless you are one of those people that don't mind giving 2 dollar tips,lol.Restaurant foos always taste better than home cooked,unless a you are dating a chef student.Yes at home is time consuming,you have to prepare,cook,then clean those dirty dishes,and place any left overs in containers,that takes to much time,that's woman's work if you have a stay at home wife

Michael Knight of FL @ Jun 05, 2009 05:17:04 AM

It's possible, but at what cost?

Most people talk about saving cash eating at home, but they usually make entrees that are not the same as they would get at a restaurant, and I've hardly ever had a home cooked meal that really as tasty as at a restaurant... be that the bad stuff the restaurants put in their food for flavoring or not, it's basically been true. And how often do you order the chicken and rice dish at a restaurant? That one's an easy staple of home cooking, because you just throw it together, then bake, which seems to be a common practice with home cooking. I like to pride myself with my abilities in the kitchen, as I can mimic some of the best items you can order at fancy restaurants, but I can rarely save a ton of cash if I do purchase quality ingredients, and on top of that, I spend hours in the kitchen to do it. I make my own pizza, pizza dough to sauce from scratch, but it takes me a lot of time to do it. I make my own gourmet burgers, but I can spend quite a bit for decent cheese, meat, all the toppings, etc., and I end up with enough ingredients for many burgers, so if I'm not hosting a party, I'm stuck eating burgers all week, or throwing away a lot of food that goes bad before I get to it. That usually ends up costing me more money than going out.

Ultimately though, how much your time is worth is where my idea of "savings" comes in. Not everyone has an hour or more each day to prepare meals that are more than mediocre sandwiches or canned soup. If you consider your time being worth anywhere from $10+ per hour, then what does eating at home really cost you? I'd gladly pay $10+ a day for an extra hour of free time each day. Maybe some would rather save money than live their lives... not I.

Jon of KY @ May 28, 2009 13:21:30 PM

Saving Money by Cooking

I'm 50 years old, and grew up in a small town where eating out wasn't an option. The nearest McDonald's was 45 miles away. So, I really know how to cook well, and on a budget.

First, shop meat specials. I stock up on buy one/get one free deals. I also never run out of rice, pasta, dried beans, potatoes, salad ingredients, canned tomatoes, and canned tuns.

Your best bet is to make a turkey or ham on Sunday. This will give a family of four numerous meals. Then, as soon as the meal is done, take the leftovers and make soup. I can make a HUGE pot of soup from leftover ham, dried beans, potatoes, onions, and carrots. It's ridiculously cheap and healthy.

I am also a pro at turkey soup. I actually bake mine using the leftover turkey and stock (strain it carefully first), and then I either add wild rice or noodles, with a lot of vegetables. The flavor is unbelievably rich, and it also makes a huge amount.

There's another benefit of this: besides saving money, you will eat a much lower calorie diet, and it will be far healthier.

I also bake a lot, and make other meals, too. By the way, I work 50 hours a week as an accountant, and raised two children at the same time, and cooked. It's called working hard. My husband and I are moderately well off, and we deserve to be.

Beth of MN @ Apr 20, 2009 17:44:36 PM

Editting? Really?

So... Kimberly, perhaps you should proofread YOUR own comments before you post them.

T of MO @ Apr 16, 2009 12:05:40 PM

My husband and I

just gotta be smart about it..most times eating out here is more for social purposes...don't want to not do that ever..cut down, sure....

Gary of NY @ Apr 03, 2009 20:46:56 PM

Hi Kimberly

Hi!

Do you edit you own articles? In one recent article about investing you wrote "still" instead of "steal" as in "the crooks will steal my money". Just wanted to point that out.

Kirk of MN @ Mar 31, 2009 17:52:50 PM

Check out the 'ethnic' section/'ethnic' stores

I have found that in my grocery store, the 'ethnic' section has virtually the same products (rice, or beans, or salsa, for example) at prices cheaper than the non-ethnic aisle. The brand-names are different (a mexican brand vs. Pace or Tostitos) but taste better and are much cheaper. The same can be said for vegetables and other products purchased at ethnic grocery stores (veggies especially--the rest really depends on what you're buying). Try it and see; it makes a difference.

JR of MN @ Dec 25, 2008 22:52:11 PM