You’ve probably heard lots of times that eating at home is much better for you than eating out. The large portions offered at restaurants encourage you to eat too much. And the rich glazes and sauces that accompany restaurant meals add unnecessary sodium and fat to your meals. There’s no doubt that you could make better choices for yourself than the restaurant’s staff are making for you. However, did you realize that eating at home is also better for your financial health?
Preparing your own food at home is much more cost-effective than a meal at a fancy restaurant. Consider the average cost of a restaurant meal for a family of four: an appetizer ($8), two children’s entrees ($7 each), two adult’s entrees ($12), and four drinks ($2 each). Without adding a dessert or a tip, you’ve already spent $54, and that wasn’t even a fancy restaurant!
Now consider the cost of a meal at the grocery store: greens for a salad ($4), a package of chicken breasts to bake ($9), a can of mixed vegetables ($1), a few potatoes ($3 for a bag), and four drinks ($.50 each). Mixed with a few spices you already have in your pantry, these ingredients only set you back $19. You’ve probably even got some leftovers to recycle into tomorrow’s lunch.
Besides saving you over $30 for each meal, you can rest secure in the knowledge that any meal you prepare for your family has been made with their best interests in mind. If your husband needs to cut back on the sodium in his diet, you’ll be able to find other ways to season his dinner. If your child is allergic to dairy products, you’ll know to find a substitute for any dairy required by your recipe. The restaurant cook who has to prepare food for hundreds of people each day will not be able to make a special effort for your husband and child.
Overall, cooking most of your meals at home just makes good sense for families. You’ll find that your budget dollars designated for food will go much further at the grocery store than at your local restaurant. And who would pay more attention to your family’s dietary needs than you?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve found that planning my meals around new recipes really inspires me to want to stay home and cook. I get tired of making the same meals day in and day out but by actually taking the time to find new recipes, it makes me excited to cook! It’s also great to get the whole family involved, the kids can help prep the food and it’s nice quality time spent in the kitchen together.
I cut back quite a it on eating out when I was trying to get financially “right”.
However, I still did enjoy a trip to a restaurant from time to time–I used it as a little reward when I reached a particular financial benchmark
We also think we cook better than the restaurants. We save money & can have that same meal as often as we’d like because of it. Why let someone else have the pleasure of cooking your food?
My wife and I are arrogant enough to think that we cook better than a cook in an average restaurant. But the fact of the matter is that we like each other’s cooking whether it is indeed better or not. Eating at home also allows us to buy better ingredients while still saving money compared to eating out.