Why do so many people think eating out is a waste of money?

SlavOz on 07/11/2019 - 20:02
Last edited 08/11/2019 - 09:14 by 1 other user

Eating out is like the devil to financially savvy people. I can't believe how bad of a reputation its gotten, when in reality it hardly makes a difference to your finances. Here's the math on a hypothetical situation:

You can get a decent lunch deal for $10-15. I don't mean Maccas or any other fast food - I mean a freshly prepared chicken salad, or butter chicken, a few plates of sushi, or even some lamb tandoori. At an average of $13 a day for 5 days, you're out $65 a week for buying lunch.

Now subtract the total cost of 5 days worth of raw ingredients to make the meals yourself. You're looking at least $20. Factor in another $15 for electricity and water used for cooking/cleaning. To make your own lunch for those 5 days, you would spend around $35.

Congratulations - you're saving $30 a week by eating in. That's about the average person's full-time hourly wage. How long would it take you to prepare the meals yourself, heat them up, and clean up afterwards? Probably more than an hour.

For someone on hourly pay with a busy lifestyle, accounting for overtime rates, that extra hour could've been spent at work which would yield you at least $45. So accounting for time (which is just as valuable as money), you're almost better off buying your lunch if you can do it strategically.

Feel free to neg me if you own 7 houses by the age of 23 by giving up your avo on toast.

Food & Grocery

Comments

  • Cluster on 08/11/2019 - 17:45
    +9

    Apart from skewed costs, the OP is comparing the time taken to prepare food and clean up versus income for the same period of time. The problem here is you can measure any activity versus how much money you could have made. What if I like to prepare my own food and get enjoyment out of it? If you watch a movie do you lament the lost $60 that you could have made working during that time?

    • gromit on 08/11/2019 - 19:34
      +8

      Not only that he hasn't added all the costs of the time taken to go and get the food from the restaurant etc. Bascially he is just doing the maths (badly) to convince himself he isn't wasting lots of money. Eating out doesn't make financial sense and if you need to justify it that way then you probably need to take a long hard look at your money management. IF he is doing because he prefers and enjoys it and is under no financial pressures then great, but using wonky math to try to justify is just silly.

    • crentist on 08/11/2019 - 20:18
      +3

      Sleep is 8 hours wasted profit

      • happirt on 09/11/2019 - 16:10

        what if i get paid while i sleep?

  • cauilfield on 08/11/2019 - 17:57
    +4

    Factor in another $15 for electricity and water used for cooking/cleaning.<<
    LOL

  • sa-ozzie on 08/11/2019 - 18:33
    +1

    Eating out is cheaper than ordering Uber eats

    • profar on 08/11/2019 - 19:24

      Obviously you don't know the boys perks that are multi burning devices !

      And no you couldn't cook at home to even get close to competing lol .

  • gromit on 08/11/2019 - 19:20
    +2

    $15 for electricity and water??? did you put the decimal place in the wrong place or do you really believe those insane numbers? $20 TOTAL should be the upper end of your costs by making your lunch. so that is $45+ a week you are spending extra or $2000-2500 a year. eating out is very expensive, I earn several times your pay and I still bring my lunch and only go out to dinner once every few weeks. I prefer to save my money for other things, I guess if you enjoy eating out that much then fine but if you think it makes little or no difference in cost you really need some desperate lessons in money management and budgeting.

    • SlavOz on 08/11/2019 - 22:48
      -7

      Nope - like I said in a previous reply, making your own lunch saves you about $1500 a year, but it can also cost you up to 65 hours a year of your personal time. Do the numbers on that and you're working an extra 65 hours to make $1500 - $23 an hour.

      If you value your time on either a personal or professional basis, giving it away for $23 an hour doesn't exactly scream of fiscal responsibility either. Mega billionaires literally wear the same clothes everyday to save as much time as possible. You're not exactly following the advice of the wealthy yourself. It's much more nuanced than that. There's no right or wrong, all I'm saying is that it's not as simple as the "richer than thou" crowd pretends it is.

      • gromit on 08/11/2019 - 23:08
        +2

        Or do the maths and work out you are working an extra two weeks a year to buy your lunch. plus losing hundreds of hours going out to get your lunch. Any way you cut it going out for lunch is many times more expensive. Obviously you don't value your time otherwise you would realise you save far more time by making lunch. having said that if money isn't important to you and you aren't needing to save for anything like a house purchase then go for it, you can enjoy spending your money any way you choose.

        Also making your own lunch saves you a lot more than $1500, it is only 1500 if you use the ridiculous numbers you put in your post.

        • SlavOz on 09/11/2019 - 12:25
          -3

          If you have restaurants near your home or office, pick it up on your daily workout session during your lunch break (you do get your steps in everyday, right?). That's literally 0 additional minutes wasted (the average healthy person would need to spend that 15-20 minutes working out regardless).

          Many places do free delivery if it's close by, or you can Uber Eats from a free delivery place based on your location. Food delivered to your desk for basically the same cost without having to even get up. But tell me more about how much time you save by chopping up onions, seasoning things, heating up the oven, cooking everything, putting it in plastic containers, cleaning up afterwards, then heating it up everyday.

          • gromit on 09/11/2019 - 13:08
            +1

            @SlavOz: If you make your lunch while cooking breakfast or dinner that is literally Zero extra minutes, you do have breakfast or dinner right? Obviously you aren't interested in reality you are just trying to justify your extravagance, so fine, all the Financially Savvy people are wrong and you are right. It takes 15 mins to make lunch not 2 or 3 and it costs $15 for water and electricity each week to make lunch. They are all just clueless.

            • SlavOz on 09/11/2019 - 14:52
              -1

              @gromit: Wrong. Making only breakfast is a lot faster than making both breakfast and lunch at once. Yeah you can combine certain tasks but unless you're gonna eat bacon and eggs with a side of weetbix for lunch too, you're gonna have to cook extra things. That's gonna take longer and likely use up more dishes, which means more cleaning time.

              • gromit on 09/11/2019 - 15:40
                +2

                @SlavOz: dude get over it. Your right. Obviously purchasing lunch is free cheap and smart. Never any queues or time taken to get it and every lunch you make at home has to be cooked and is hugely time consuming and expensive. You asked why people say buying lunch is a waste of money, many tried explaining it yet you come up with dodgy maths and ignore everything everyone says, you didn't come to learn, you are just looking for validation of your bad maths and expensive practises.

                • Hybroid on 09/11/2019 - 15:47
                  +1

                  @gromit: Look at OPs post history, literally tries to drum up controversy as much as possible. That's all this is about, pure trolling. Hence why everyone's logic is being ignored on purpose. Looks like we keep falling for it.

      • [Deactivated] on 09/11/2019 - 04:22
        +2

        It takes me ~3 minutes to make my lunch, it takes around 30 minutes to leave the office wait in line for someone to make you lunch and come back. At $150/hr that's $15,862 a year in extra earnings by booking that time instead of wasting it getting lunch… :p

        /o\

        Oddly my entirely weekly groceries including all incidentals (cleaning product, toiletries etc) is less than you spend on lunch! Better yet, it doesn't even cost any power or water because I make my lunch using the office's power and water!

        There's a reason to buy lunch, it's because you enjoy it. Most people can't book extra time to make more money so the time thing really doesn't matter anyway. But it's really easy to make lunch. Like super super super easy. You're absolutely splashing out if it costs you more than $4 a meal all in, you can make lunch for < $1 if you were actually trying to save money like a buck mattered.

        It doesn't matter what costs you factor in, buying lunch is more expensive.

        • whooah1979 on 09/11/2019 - 12:33
          +1

          At $150/hr that's $15,862
          You're absolutely splashing out if it costs you more than $4 a meal all in, you can make lunch for < $1

          You make $150 an hour but only spent one dollar on food that goes into your body?

          • [Deactivated] on 09/11/2019 - 18:49

            @whooah1979: That's all the place that's charging you $8-15 for the same spent on ingredients….

            Obviously not every meal is a $1 meal, but price is not the same thing as quality. Some people don't earn that much and get by just fine on cheaper food, some of the poorest don't pay anything.

  • MessyG on 08/11/2019 - 20:15
    +8

    If you want to eat out, just eat out. Forget about the negative opinion about it. Everyone has negative opinions about everything. Even if you home cooked all your food you'd still be doing it wrong. You'd be using plastic. And even if you bought it in biodegradable everything, it wouldn't be organic. And if it was organic, it wouldn't be sustainable. And if it were plastic free, sustainable, and organic, you'd be a murderer for eating meat. And if it were plastic free, sustainable, organic, and vegan, everyone would be ripping into you for being a socialist commie leftie. And if you do none of those things and just eat your damn lunch the way you want, you'd be a climate hating RWNJ.

    So just buy your lunch if you want to buy your lunch. You don't need to justify it, you're not hurting anyone. And when people tell you that your smashed avo is contributing to some kind of financial crisis, smile at them and say "thankyou for your opinion, I've had many".

  • crentist on 08/11/2019 - 20:37
    +2

    Other than terrible maths regarding costs in general, another reason eating out isn't great is quality of ingredients. You'll get stuffed full of cheap carbs and unhealthy fats.
    There's some good stuff around, but often a $13 meal is probably going to be about 50% rice, noodles or chips.
    And in order to make you want the food it might be oily and full of added and salt and sugar.
    So you are overpaying for ingredients that will make you fat and spend more on a gym membership you won't use.

    eg Instead of a greasy 1/4 chicken and chips you could season and roast your own chicken and eat half of it for a meal without chips. Which would cost less, give you more of the good stuff, and make you slightly less of a lardboy.

  • Levathian on 08/11/2019 - 20:54
    +5

    There's nothing wrong with eating out. Having a weekly or fortnightly dinner with the family or friends is great.

    But the expensive 'eating out' are those small food purchases you make every single day which can add up i.e multiple coffees, McDonalds, buying shit from 7/11, snacks/sodas from a vending machine… Hell if you bought a cheap thermo to take in home coffee, and bought one less $4 coffee a day you'd save $1K annually…
    Then if entire families had bad habits like that it would blow your family budget right out.

    Also as others have said, OP is way overestimating the cost and time it takes to make food at home.

  • bmerigan on 08/11/2019 - 21:20
    +3

    If I buy my typical lunch at work it's $11.50. If I take lunch from home it's less than $2, and I toast it at work.
    Your calculations are significantly different to mine. Maybe it's because the reason I take lunch is to save money, so I don't make a $10 lunch to take to work. A conservative estimate is I save $1500 per year.

    P.S. I think your $3 per day for water and electricity just to make lunch might be a bit high.
    Water is $2 per 1000 litres.
    It costs 5c to boil a kettle.

    • WT on 09/11/2019 - 01:25

      5c fk im gonna drink my tea/coffe cold from now on

  • stewy on 08/11/2019 - 22:55
    +2

    $35 for 5 lunches seems excessive.

    Even when veggies are at their dearest I probably pay about the following for a weeks food:
    $4 chicken
    $1 legumes
    $0.30 for sauce or spices to cook these in

    $5 Baby Spinach leaves
    $5 Capsicum
    $4 Tomatoes
    $1 Cheese
    $1 Salad Dressing

    $1 Electricity

    So about $22.30 for 5 meals.

    Time's not a major issue, I make the salad at night whilst I let the dog outside to have his dinner and do his business before bedtime…

    Cheapest lunch I could buy from work is $6 (hot dog) plus $1.50 petrol and 15mins of my time to drive to nearest food vendor. So I am still ahead atleast $15/week making my own lunch.

    • Blitz001 on 11/11/2019 - 11:28

      But now you have to eat that 5 days straight. You could pay a bit extra and have a different meal everyday.

  • happirt on 08/11/2019 - 23:30
    +1

    perhaps none of your family members or yourself can't cook, but home cooked meals are the best. you know exactly what's in your food at least. the same cannot be said for $10 take out lunches. you think all that stuff is made from good fresh produce?

    perhaps you are not a connoisseur of great food, but you are what you eat after all. without the right amount of good energy your productivity and efficiency is down at work anyway during that overtime. so it's not all about time and money.

    with all that said, i'm pretty sure the reports you are referring to are generally speaking of people who spend out on everything from branded coffee, to branded breakfast, branded lunch and branded snacks in between. the ones that spend $50+ a day.

  • GregMonarch on 09/11/2019 - 00:37
    +7

    Eating out is like the devil to financially savvy people.

    It's not just about finances though. You also don't know what you're getting/eating. They're going to cheap-out wherever they can to make the most profit. So for example, you'll get the highest sugar/salt/filler content possible in condiments, etc. - low cost ingredients, and therefore low nutritional value.

    I can't believe how bad of a reputation its gotten, when in reality it hardly makes a difference to your finances.

    Sorry but this is nonsense. See below.

    You can get a decent lunch deal for $10-15. I don't mean Maccas or any other fast food - I mean a freshly prepared chicken salad, or butter chicken, a few plates of sushi, or even some lamb tandoori. At an average of $13 a day for 5 days, you're out $65 a week for buying lunch.

    LOL $65 a week for lunches!? I'm not sure where you get the idea a chicken salad costs $13… PER DAY to make yourself. Just… wow.

    • Chicken breast is typically $10/kg and a large 333g serving (a third of that 1kg) = $3.33 per lunch. It might cost 25 or 50 cents to cook it, and everything else sits in the fridge you have turned on 24/7 anyway.
    • Aldi lettuce at $2 lasts at least a week for $0.29 per day.
    • Grated carrot (1kg bag is often $1.20 at Aldi) should last at least 2 weeks or $0.09 per day.
    • Can of $0.85 Aldi beetroot lasts a week for $0.12 per day.
    • Tomato - not sure but maybe $1 a day.
    • A sprinkle of shredded cheese at $5 for 700g at Aldi. Should last 3 weeks for $0.24 per day.

    Cost per day:

    Chicken: $3.33
    Lettuce: $0.29
    Carrot: $0.09
    Beetroot: $0.12
    Tomato: $1
    Cheese: $0.24

    TOTAL: $5.07 per day.

    Cook a few chicken breast fillets Mon and Wed while you're already in the kitchen cooking dinner anyway, to save time. Into the fridge. Next day literally two minutes tearing off the lettuce, etc. to put in a container. Cut the tomato at work. Wash the container at work too during lunch break so 'your' time isn't wasted washing up.

    Something like butter chicken is even cheaper because it's going to have maybe an onion, but use rice instead of the salad, some spices (cents per tsp), with some coconut milk and cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Well Aldi Jasmine rice is $2.49 for 1kg, contains 5 cups of rice, and 1/2 cup uncooked rice expands when cooked to make one serving. So 1kg rice = 10 servings, or $0.25 per meal. You can also make it in bulk, freeze it, leaving the coconut milk ($2 at Aldi) out and mix it in only after reheating. So you cook once and eat several times with ONE plate to rinse. Open that $2 can of coconut milk and use it for say 4 meals in the same week = $0.50 more per meal. Eat something different next week.

    Cost: something like $3 or $4 per meal instead of the $5 salad, or the $10 to $15 you think it takes for some reason. (Plus no petrol/fare cost, no buying 'extras' you impulse-buy because you're hungry while you're waiting, etc.).

    • If dishes is the problem, buy and toss paper plates and you'll still be ahead.
    • As above, there's also the cost of fuel/fare/time/extras you buy if buying meals away from home. It leads to buying a dessert, then having a $6 coffee, etc.

    How long would it take you to prepare the meals yourself, heat them up, and clean up afterwards? Probably more than an hour.

    So choose meals that don't require so much prep time. Put an hour into one meal in bulk per month and freeze it. Then it takes 4-7 minutes in the microwave. Which is less time than it takes ordering food online, walking to the door, and getting your wallet out - or driving somewhere to get it.

    For someone on hourly pay with a busy lifestyle, accounting for overtime rates, that extra hour could've been spent at work which would yield you at least $45.

    Maybe for lunch. But you don't get paid an hourly rate to walk/drive outside work hours to buy breakfast and dinner. You can either make something better and cheaper at home - or spend that same (or more) time buying something someone else made for you at a greater cost.

    Allocated time to eat is a mandatory part of awards anyway for most people. So unless you're the business owner, you're not earning more by 'not wasting time eating'. And again, it doesn't apply for breakfast and dinner.

    Man… $10-$15 per person, per meal… Adopt me! ;-D

    • Blitz001 on 11/11/2019 - 11:32

      Why even have the chicken, sub in a can of $1 chickpeas which you’ll use half per meal and you’re down to $3/meal.

      • GregMonarch on 11/11/2019 - 20:05

        Well, yeah - all sorts of options. I was just sticking to his claim that chicken salad or butter chicken = $10-$15 to make yourself. Maybe he meant if you raise the chicken yourself too. ;-p

    • leiiv on 12/11/2019 - 02:47

      This is a more accurate example. Cost of ingredients is around $3 to $5 per meal.
      But you can buy a chicken curry for $5 from the shop, at least in Brisbane CBD.
      Cooking your own food is definitely cheaper, but not much cheaper. Not cheap enough for some people to justify the extra time and effort to cook and clean.
      That is the main issue, the cost of grocery is just too high.

      • GregMonarch on 12/11/2019 - 03:57

        People say that (that it takes extra time to cook), but it's not really true. You either spend time cooking, or cooking and putting things in the fridge/freezer for later - or - you spend that time walking/driving somewhere to pick it up. i.e. They count the time when they're cooking, but they don't count the time when they travel or wait while someone else cooks it.

        I frequently defrost a chicken breast/steak/pork chop, while the kettle boils then tip that into a bowl with some frozen mixed vegetables and microwave those for ~8 minutes while the meat fries… Turn the meat over halfway through the vegetables microwaving. Eat it, wash the one plate, the bowl, bang the strainer on the sink and rinse (I don't wash it if it's just vegetables and hot water been in it), and 15 seconds washing the frypan. All done before I'd be pulling back in the driveway with takeaway.

        Oh, and if someone learned to cook some Chinese style meals, it's even faster. e.g. Garlic prawns is literally 6 minutes and you're eating. Spoon some garlic (or garlic & chili) out of a jar, olive oil, run prawns (out of a freezer bag) under water 2-3 minutes, fry those, and sprinkle some dried parsley or sliced spring onion.

        It takes me 1.5 minutes just to get the car out of the garage and another 1.5 back in again (manual roller door). So that's 3 minutes without actually driving anywhere.

        The real reason is people are 'lazy'/fickle. i.e. It's 'easier' to go buy it on a whim, it doesn't require any thought, and they can eat whatever they desire at that moment, etc. That's fine, but it's not really about the things they claim it's about (saving money and time), because buying out is neither. ;-p

  • Frozen Pizza on 09/11/2019 - 02:59
    +2

    To be honest it's where you see value. If you value buying your lunch every day because you enjoy it, I'd say go for it. Some people may choose to take their own lunch to work, but may instead choose to spend $30 per week on alcohol, saving for a holiday, a new phone every year or a range of other non essential items. When your circumstances change your perceived value changes, you might be happy spending a little extra per week now when you have very little commitments or have a good paying job, but in the future when you've got a family or a mortgage to pay you may find it harder to justify. I find it very hard to believe that savvy people only buy the essentials, and to be honest I think it's important to do the little things that make you happy or save you stress. Afterall, is the true reason we work to allow us to enjoy life, or do we live to service our work and what society says we should have?

  • umoddbro on 09/11/2019 - 06:23

    As a single person I see where OP is going with his argument. Cooking for one person is a pain in the arse and the savings may seem marginal for some when you factor in cost of ingredients and time taken to prepare/cook. The only time you are really saving money cooking for one is if you are meal prepping but what fun is it eating chicken, rice and veggies everyday, forget steak cause that'll blow your budget. I think the extra cost associated with cooking is needing to buy all the extra ingredients aswell such as sauces and spices. Personally if I had a partner or family then I can see where cooking at home will be significantly cheaper per unit as you'd buy everything in bulk. Obviously everyone's circumstances are different for me spending $15 a day on food is not going to break the bank and after a long day at work the last thing on my mind is having to go home and cook.

  • Slippage on 09/11/2019 - 07:23

    I cook up a dish on Sunday night, which is my lunch all week at work. Pasta, ‘asian’ noodles, curry, etc.

    I recon I’m paying no more than a few dollars for lunch…

  • gimme on 09/11/2019 - 08:50

    I mostly eat at home as I prefer my own cooking but so glad that I'm in a situation where I can't identify with the majority of comments here, for and against

  • DarkOz on 09/11/2019 - 08:51
    +3

    OP is obviously single, desperate and dateless. Wait until when you dine out and you need to pay for your date as well. Wait there is more. When you have kids, don't forget to bring them along and not leaving them at home.

    We prepared a meal last night as follows:
    Pasta: $1.5 a pack
    Sauce: $2 a jar
    Meat: $2.5
    Veg: $2
    Total: $8 and served 4 people

    We got the high quality ingredients otherwise this could have been $5 easily.

    I don't know where you can eat out for $2 per person for a full meal. If you have the time and you don't mind doing some washings, eating at home is always cheaper by a long way.

    • profar on 09/11/2019 - 09:49

      We got the high quality ingredients otherwise this could have been $5 easily .

      Really you have the quality ingredients for $8 lol .

      You wouldn't know what quality is full stop !

    • SlavOz on 09/11/2019 - 12:40

      $2 of vegetables is not feeding 4 people, at least with a decent and balanced portion of vegetables (a few grates of sliced onion in your pasta doesn't count).

      A bunch of brocollini alone is $2.50-$3 at most supermarkets. Granted you don't have to buy the best stuff but if you're feeding a family of 4 for $8 a meal I'd be worried.

      • superValue on 09/11/2019 - 12:44

        Shopping at the supermarket is the reason for your high cost but I understand it's a convenience thing or you don't live near a good value greengrocer.

    • whooah1979 on 09/11/2019 - 12:54

      Meat: $2.5

      Is this mystery meat?

  • krisspy on 09/11/2019 - 08:57
    +1

    But what about the people that enjoy cooking? I love standing around the stove with a video or podcast in the background. Great way to unwind after a day's work. Plus building on your culinary skills is a great feeling.

    Better than going to Google Maps and looking for 4 star restos, then regretti g spending the money going there.

  • ddhar on 09/11/2019 - 09:15

    I cook my own lunch and dinner. By rough estimate, it costs about $4-5 per meal (and an hour a day to cook/clean; utility expenses are marginal in my experience).

    Assuming cost of eating out is $10 per meal (cheap by Sydney standard) and only cooking for weekdays, we have a $5 difference per meal. Multiply that by 5 workdays and 2 meals per days, there is saving of $50 per week / $200 per month / $2,500 per year. I cook for 2-3 persons so the savings increase accordingly. Pretty substantial savings, I think.

    Don't count the hours spent cooking unless you actually have paid work during those hours (aka true opportunity cost).

    It helps that I love cooking and discovering new recipe anyway.

  • Thenarrator on 09/11/2019 - 09:34

    do you also eat out for dinner? sometimes lunch are just leftovers of dinner last night

    • capslock janitor on 09/11/2019 - 11:14

      Does my missus count?

      • Ghost47 on 09/11/2019 - 11:53
        +1

        Always a cheap and free dessert when you eat out with the missus… he he he.

  • Hangryuman on 09/11/2019 - 10:11
    +2

    I've done the math.

    I once batched with a fellow student who was too lazy to cook - he'd always say 'Let's go to Mario's!' - when it was the new fave place in Fitzroy - I'd acquiesce - until I did the sums and realised it was costing me an extra $400 a week !

    I've also calculated the cost of home-cooked vs average restaurant - for the same price as 1 restaurant meal I could buy ingredients to make 3 meals at home.

    Restaurant meals tend to be high fat/salt/sugar for instant satiety and taste sensation - but not so healthy - folk who eat mostly takeout tend towards the unhealthy and obese.

    That said, it's normal for young adults enjoying the freedom and discovery of new money in their pocket - to spend all they earn in trying out 'new', 'shiny' experiences while also being out there for mating opportunities - at least that was before food deliveries (extra cost - who knows how much they ate on the way?) - now you can also order in with Tinder?

    As an old guy I have the pleasure of a wonderful partner home cook who happily cooks great food we can share with friends - and a home meal is a cheaper and better bonding experience than random expensive restaurant everyone walks away from with a hole in their pocket.

    And I'd rather pay $6 each for a nice filet steak cooked perfectly at home, than $50 each for probably not so good steak in a wanktastic wait-in-a-queue snotty irritatingly noisy bad service restaurant.

    I don't wish to stand in line to waste money.

    But I understand young people feeling like Captains of Industry (Fortnite Champions?) enjoying feeling 'special' by paying lotsa money for fancy food they didn't feel like cooking.

  • Chumly on 09/11/2019 - 10:18
    +4

    Neg me all you want.

    But I find it a gross waste of money to spend upwards of $10 on a glass of alcohol that has no nutritional value.

    Yet there us no uproar on that.

    • capslock janitor on 09/11/2019 - 11:12
      +1

      Sometimes we like to forget what Deals and Pricing Errors/GC's we missed out on OZB… cheaper than a private therapist

  • capslock janitor on 09/11/2019 - 11:11
    +1

    The trick is buying in bulk and making large amount at once, then portioned to save for later..

    • SlavOz on 09/11/2019 - 11:18
      -5

      Then you're eating the same thing over and over again, frozen and then microwaved 5 days later. The nutritional value has decreased and you've lost any supposed health benefits you thought you were getting by making your own food.

      • capslock janitor on 09/11/2019 - 11:27
        +1

        Bruh you freeze it one time in already made portions, then microwave/reheat the ones when you eat it, not going to lose All it's value..

        Some takeout places do the same/or worse and leave it out much longer, made with less care and probs less hygiene behind closed doors etc

        If you don't like to eat the same thing days in a row, Other things like soups and stews can be in the freezer even longer. One item for lunch, and different food for dinner too

        • happirt on 09/11/2019 - 12:33
          +1

          on point. I don't think OP has worked in or seen the state of most of these kitchens. lol.

  • Ghost47 on 09/11/2019 - 11:42
    +1

    You can get a decent lunch deal for $10-15. I don't mean Maccas or any other fast food - I mean a freshly prepared chicken salad, or butter chicken, a few plates of sushi, or even some lamb tandoori.

    This is true, my workplace does lunches for $10 of different cuisine types.

    At an average of $13 a day for 5 days, you're out $65 a week for buying lunch.

    I can spend that much on groceries for the week, possibly less to be honest (I average $60 for a decent buy in fact), and have dinner and lunch each day (eating same thing, e.g. pork chops cooked in various ways 3 days a week, salmon the other two days, or taking leftovers to work but it doesn't bother me).

    Now subtract the total cost of 5 days worth of raw ingredients to make the meals yourself. You're looking at least $20. Factor in another $15 for electricity and water used for cooking/cleaning. To make your own lunch for those 5 days, you would spend around $35.

    I'm actually not sure if it would be $15 per week for electricity and water just on cooking. That sounds kind of high.. but honestly not sure, maybe someone else can do the math. You also forgot to mention gas which is cheaper than electricity.

    Congratulations - you're saving $30 a week by eating in. That's about the average person's full-time hourly wage. How long would it take you to prepare the meals yourself, heat them up, and clean up afterwards? Probably more than an hour.

    You're only factoring lunches in. You're spending at least $65 a week buying lunch, what about dinners? That'd bring it up to $130 (simply doubling the lunch cost — which is being somewhat generous because you said "lunch deals"). I can spend half that and have both meals for every day of the week.

    For someone on hourly pay with a busy lifestyle, accounting for overtime rates, that extra hour could've been spent at work which would yield you at least $45. So accounting for time (which is just as valuable as money), you're almost better off buying your lunch if you can do it strategically.

    I personally earn a salary so do not work extra hours for extra money. Even if I was casual or part time you can't just say "hey boss I'm going to work an extra hour for money". I do agree that if you were to work on a side hustle (as a salaried person) the time spent cooking could be better spent working on a side hustle for a monetary return instead. The Atlassian guys have said they lived on instant noodles whilst developing their software.

    Feel free to neg me if you own 7 houses by the age of 23 by giving up your avo on toast.

    Who hurt you? Some frugal person come along and bad mouth your spending habits or something? I invest my cash and earn passive income already, the time I spend cooking isn't a massive deal. Plus some girls find guys who can cook sexy, I'd rather be able to cook than an old man having no idea how to butterfly a chicken or fillet a fish.

    Personally, I'd rather retire a millionaire (possibly even retire early) than rely on super and the pension (if that exists by the time I retire), and watching what I spend is crucial if I want to achieve that goal. Everyone's different and has different goals. That being said, girlfriends aren't cheap either and I do make it a priority to eat out with her once or twice a week (and we take turns paying). The best thing is to have a balance — not eat out every day of the week and not cook every day of the week. Doing either extreme would drive me mad personally.

    OP you sound like the type of person who just needs instant gratification (i.e. "I'm hungry, I'll go buy food now and satiate my appetite"). Sometimes things that are worth while take time. For instance if you spent $80,000 on your new car, if you had've invested that $80,000 instead for 35 years at 7% annual average return you'd have $920,492 in retirement. I know what I'd prefer.

    • SlavOz on 09/11/2019 - 12:48
      -8

      Bruh I appreciate your balanced outlook but I ain't putting $80k aside for 35 years. I'll be over 60 years old by that time - wtf you gonna spend your riches on at 60…a heart pacer and walking stick? That's even if you're lucky enough to live the next 35 years…life is way too fragile and unpredictable for that (according to me).

      Most rich old people buy fancy expensive cars anyway. What's the difference buying it at 60 or buying it in your 20s?

      • Ghost47 on 09/11/2019 - 13:11

        wtf you gonna spend your riches on at 60

        Oh you know, rising cost of living, medical costs, holidays, eating out.

        life is way too fragile and unpredictable for that (according to me).

        Right so just live as if today is your last, that's a smart and prudent thing to do.

        Most rich old people buy fancy expensive cars anyway. What's the difference buying it at 60 or buying it in your 20s?

        Only if they have money. And about $840,000 in nominal terms.

        • Black Brown Blue on 10/11/2019 - 07:57
          +2

          Ghost47
          What is your passive income and how do you invest?
          I lack financial knowledge and experience. The uBank interest rates have dropped from 2.8 to 2.5 and this year to 2.1. That does not seem like a great option anymore as it is close to inflation. Your tips would be appreciated.
          Thanks

          • capslock janitor on 10/11/2019 - 14:59

            @Black Brown Blue: tell me tips too

          • Ghost47 on 11/11/2019 - 17:30
            +1

            @Black Brown Blue: Passive incomes comes from dividends from ETFs and shares. ETFs are low cost funds that track indexes, and if you look at any historical chart markets have only ever grown in the past 100 years.

            Yeah I use Ubank and the rates are pretty average these days (but that's across the board). On the other hand my net worth has increased about $60k since the start of the year, most of that is from returns from investments. I use Raiz also. Got lucky with some shares (namely APX, A2M, ALU, SWF, NEA, JIN) but most of my money is in ETFs with dividends reinvested.

            Super is a really good vehicle due to it's tax structure, so funnelling money into Super is always a good idea IMO (although you obviously can't access it till you're retired).

            • Black Brown Blue on 12/11/2019 - 01:06

              @Ghost47: Thank you for your insight.

              • Ghost47 on 12/11/2019 - 11:54
                +1

                @Black Brown Blue: No worries. Definitely take a look at investing into ETFs, they're a safe investment and over the long term you are very likely to make much more money in ETFs than in a savings account. It is somewhat ironic because proponents for ETFs tend to state that markets do grow over the long term, but any investment adviser will warn people that historical performance is not an indication of future performance.

                Take a look into Vanguard, they are highly regarded.

                • Black Brown Blue on 13/11/2019 - 06:51

                  @Ghost47: Really Appreciate your reply! Will definitely try a small amount first and go from there

  • Black Brown Blue on 09/11/2019 - 12:40
    +2

    Stop trying to criticise everyone.
    I love cooking and time spent cooking. I enjoy different dishes and ingredients. I spend 30 min to 1 hours every 2nd or 3rd day to make a good curry or dish. I only eat out once a week. It is my money after all. I would rather buy a gadget or go for holiday rather than eating out unnecessarily. You sound like you cannot make basic food and utilities cost estimate are rubbish.

    • SlavOz on 09/11/2019 - 12:49
      -5

      Not criticizing mate, just pointing out the double standard in the typical way of thinking. I actually love to cook too.

      • Black Brown Blue on 10/11/2019 - 08:12

        Cooking is a skill and a art. I can control the flavours, spices and ingredients. I find reasturant and shop food bland and same every time. Home cooked food is tasty and cheap. Win win

        Cost- eating out - 10 lunch, 20 dinner - At least 30 a day at cheap place excluding breakfast. Some places are up to 20 for lunch and up to 40 for dinner for one person alone.
        Total - 30x7 - 210 plus waiting time, fuel, inconvenience.
        My weekly grocery is 50-60 pw plus one day eating out - 20-30. Total - 90

  • Ononono on 09/11/2019 - 13:01

    When i was poor(er) I used to budget $30/week for groceries and did pretty well. If you actually know how to cook then you can eat really cheaply, however most people can't and will opt for things like premade sauces, pre marinated meats, processed foods, etc which are always significantly more expensive than buying raw ingredients. Example of what I ate yesterday:

    breakfast - toast with scrambled eggs and kiwifruit ($3)
    lunch - pasta with garlic oil and chili ($2)
    snack - tuna salad sandwich with muesli bar ($2.50)
    dinner - pork chop with salad and potatoes ($6)

    These days I often buy lunch just because I'm lazy and there are cheap options available around me but if you're trying to save money then eating out everyday is a huge waste of money.

    • SlavOz on 09/11/2019 - 14:45
      -5

      On the contrary when I cook my own meal for myself - chickpeas $3.50 a can. An eggplant, onions, tomatoes,mushrooms, and carrots - about $5. A small bottle of sauce - $3. That's $11.50 for 2 meals, so $5.75 per meal. That meal would cost about $9 eating out.

      Saving $3.25 and having to do the work myself? Nah.

      • Ononono on 09/11/2019 - 15:44
        +7

        Your calculations are so off it really shows how clueless you are. In what world are chickpeas $3.50 a can? Try $1/can or even better you can buy a 1kg bag for $5 and soak your own which will give you 10 cans at $0.50ea. Those $5 veges will last you more than two meals, do you use a whole bag of onions snd carrots in 2 meals? I have no issues with eating out and paying for the convenience but don't delude yourself into thinking it's somehow cheaper

      • sigur on 09/11/2019 - 15:51
        +4

        Chickpeas for $3.50 a can? If you are paying over a dollar you are not ozbargaining properly.
        1 Onion would cost 50 cents (but who'd buy one. $2 will get you half a kilo, enough for a week or two).
        Carrots are around $2 a kilo, a tin of tomatoes $1.50.

        You clearly don't know how cheap food can be (these prices are from Coles, I'm sure I'd get better at a proper market/greengrocer). Your water and electricity calculations are also way wrong.

        I've usually got 3 different soups on the go - home made and far more nutritious than anything you are finding in a food court. Easy enough to change it up on the day with different sauces/adding leftover chicken etc from last night's meal).

        Fine if you want to eat lunch out everyday, but you are dreaming if you think it's healthier than homecooked, and - as so many have pointed out - you'll save a bundle by making it at home.

  • funnysht on 09/11/2019 - 13:20
    +2

    some ppl don't eat out every day because of other reasons

    like if you eat out every day then it just isn't special…

  • swen83 on 09/11/2019 - 14:12
    +4

    $65 per week just on lunch? when i was single i was averaging about $80 per week total on groceries.

    i'm all for eating out on occasion, but i generally only get food i cant cook well myself.

    I really can't see how the "time saved" automatically converts to additional time at work for most people, surely that is a minority at best, and more likely people on salary getting no financial benefit from the extra hours.

  • dufflover on 09/11/2019 - 14:29
    +2

    pffft OP is an amateur.
    $10 semi-prepared meal from Aldi is enough for a lunch and dinner (it says serves 4-6 but that's bs small lol). If you buy one of the curries just cook your own rice; if it's one of the pastas, nothing extra needed at all.

    And to point out one obvious flaw in the OP's logic (despite it being a common saying):

    "Time is money" … only if someone is actually paying you for it

  • EDM on 09/11/2019 - 14:47

    I eat breakfast and lunch 5-6 days a week for a total of $6-7. Takes me a total of 20 minutes to make two weeks worth of food.

  • TheMindsetTraveller on 09/11/2019 - 16:06
    +1

    Do whatever you like, it's your life and your choice. Who cares what people think or say.

    If I had a billion dollars, you are doing it all wrong. And if I had 20cents, you are also doing it all wrong. But in between those two, and you're still doing it all wrong. Get my drift?

    Go out there, live life and enjoy whatever choices you make.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/11/2019 - 16:38
    -1

    I only read the heading.
    Personally I spend $15 a day on lunch and $25 at dinner for uber eat, instead of $30 a week cooking for myself.
    This is why.
    It takes 2x 1 hour sessions of cooking which I doubt costs $15 in electricity and water, maybe like $1-2 tops.
    So I'm not saving $30 a week, closer to $250…
    Which I've recently started doing

  • KinderBueno on 09/11/2019 - 17:35
    +1

    Eating out is alot more expensive. Quality of food that you purchase is the cheapest home brand crap that you would go past in coles or woollies. Alternatively if the place is half decent they order bulk to keep the cost low. As a result of that you get 12 or 13 dollar meals. You gotta understand that some people would prefer to cook even if it costs the same because they wanna know whats in the food and can control how much salt/sugar etc is in food. Some people actually enjoy cooking as a hobby and don't see it as a waste of time. Buying food sometimes makes u eat more than you would normally because you do not control portions when you purchase food and tend to think it's waste to throw it out since you paid for it and hence put on extra weight. There are many factors to take into consideration such us if you are little or large person.13 meal for a large person might not be enough.. 30 dollars extra a wk to those who are earning less than you and are barely getting through the week is alot as oppose to those that save 500 a wk and can afford extra luxury. Aim is to save as much when you can so when you lose your job, you do not have to stress or sell your house after 6mths because you could not find a job. Any extra money can help you repay your mortgage sooner, go an a holiday or be the difference vetween public/private school when you have kids. 3000k a yr over 40 yrs plus investment of that money can be the deference between retiring at age 60 as oppose to 65..

  • ronnknee on 09/11/2019 - 18:00
    +4

    Factor in another $15 for electricity and water used for cooking/cleaning.

    You should consider changing energy providers or find more efficient ways of using water/electricity.

  • Ozie on 09/11/2019 - 19:13

    So mate you are talking about just lunch?? How about breakfast and dinner? If you consider the hygiene, wait time, travelling cost, luxury of sitting at home in peace watching netflix you will be far better eating at home.

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 09/11/2019 - 19:31
    +2

    Maccas monthly dollar deals brav!!

    Smashed 4 big Macs in 1 day

    heartattack

    • Blue Cat on 10/11/2019 - 09:43

      Weaksauce, I ate 4 small Quarter Pounder meals yesterday all by myself!

  • srr on 09/11/2019 - 20:53

    I know what's in my home food and it also tastes better. Example: today I had sous vide picanha finished on BBQ with rice and salad. Amazing taste, easy to cook, feeds whole family of four for about $15.
    I love cooking, so the time spent well. Took about 15 min prep, 1 hour wait time, another 5 min BBQ time.

  • Bunnyburger on 09/11/2019 - 20:55

    Someone hasn't read the CIA textbook on batch cookery!

  • Miss B on 09/11/2019 - 22:16
    +1

    Currently I need to save pretty heavily (compared to basically living pay to pay) and there are other things I'd prefer to spend my money on. I make meals that cost up to about $10 each, but get 4+ serves out of them. It's very much worth the saving for me. Now that I'm seeing how much I've been saving I'm actually thinking I'll keep my saving going, I'm not on a particularly good income and am saving $6k in 4 months, I'll probably relax things a bit and try saving $15k/year.

    It's obviously not just lunches, but buying meals, drinks and snacks adds up. I'm drinking water or other free drinks at work and taking in snacks that I've made as well. Along with cutting out other things that I'm not really missing.

    If you'd only save $30 and it's not important to you, cool buy your lunch, we all value different things and it's not really important what other people think.

  • Samsungnote10 on 10/11/2019 - 01:07
    +4

    Op, you sound like a kid whos living with mummy and daddy and has never cooked in his life,

    Im not going to break down every figure youve mentioned, but

    you said you dont drink, most people do go out for a drink, and pay $9 for a beer or whatever with a mark up of 300%

    you dont hear them going on about how they could have spent the hour drinking your $9 beer earnign $x per hour

    clueless people just say I earn $x per hour, and its not worth it

    its only worth it if you are sacrificing earning time, by doing the activity, which you dont earn when youre going out for dinner

    you can sit there and calculate of food for the next 10 years of your life, and how much you can save hypotehtically
    however, nobody is going to eat 2 minute noodles every day to save money, youd be dead within 10 years,

    you also forgotten to include boredom, getting sick of the same foods, your health, mental wellbeing or lack of, tastes, changes in lifestyle, changes in family situation

    your energy calculations are off too, like very off?

    you also didnt consider the wear and tear on your oven/grill/ microwave, the more you use them ,the more they break down

    TLDR, you have no idea,

    • Hangryuman on 12/11/2019 - 10:34

      'most people do go out for a drink, and pay $9 for a beer or whatever with a mark up of 300%'

      I used to homebrew my beer for a cost of around $0.25 for a stubby

      As for markups, what gets my goat is while I pay about $2.10 per Kl for SydneyWater, last I looked Coca-Cola was paying SydneyWater about $1 for an Olympic Swimming Pool size or 2.5 Megalitres ($0.0004 per Kl) - i.e. I pay over 5000 times as much for the same water!

      But THEN Coke adds sugar/caramel/colour and sells it for maybe $1 per litre, so on the water they bought massively cheaply from SydneyWater (did anyone say 'drought'?) their mark up is about 250 MILLION % !!!

      • Samsungnote10 on 12/11/2019 - 10:49

        How did you find out how much coke pays for water!

  • [Deactivated] on 10/11/2019 - 01:18
    +2

    Has Slav ever said anything that's made sense?

  • Zachary on 10/11/2019 - 01:53

    IMHO, it is; I reckon if you really want to save is to just have one meal a week, say bread, jam and butter, and fast the rest of the days till the next week coming….that should bring your fat levels down from obese to skinny….

  • coupeborgward on 10/11/2019 - 09:02
    +1

    Eating out is not only bad for your wallet but also for your health. The health reason is for me my main driver to cook at home.

  • leiiv on 10/11/2019 - 09:21
    -1

    In some places, you can still get fulfilling lunch for $5 to $10. Eg, $5 Japanese chicken curry. If you want to compare apple to apple, it is more cost effective to buy that curry rather than cooking the same thing at home. Especially if considering buying the ingredients at supermarket at full price, the prep time, washing, etc. And the homemade ones may not taste as good as store-bought ones.

  • OzzyOzbourne on 10/11/2019 - 09:25

    Didn't realise so many people did…. But financially….. For a single person there's not much in it…. For a family of 4,it gets expensive to eat out

  • Blue Cat on 10/11/2019 - 09:39

    You can get a decent lunch deal for $10-15.

    Stopped reading right there.
    The best that you can get in Sydney is a tiny tiny burger and you have to pay $5 extra for fries $3 for a drink.

  • TEER3X on 10/11/2019 - 13:10
    +4

    Thread should be closed. OP needs to be schooled on real cost of making lunches/dinners as well as cost of utilities.

    I guess it doesn't matter much if you live at home and parents cook and buy everything for you.

  • 2Poor4Ozb on 10/11/2019 - 14:52

    when I used to own a restaurant, I would dine out everyday due to the long hours. Just dinner alone piece good steak $65 entrée $25 drinks $40 minimum= $130 now since I sold the shop and have time to cook for myself the same type of meal steak $20 entrée $7 and quit drinking, cooking time 20mins. You do saved a lot, after you cooking for awhile you start to have every ingredients you ever need. At first you spend hundreds on herbs and spice but that would last you for ages.

  • matt-ozb on 10/11/2019 - 16:02
    +3

    I stopped reading the original post after i read this …. "Factor in another $15 for electricity and water used for cooking/cleaning"

    wtf

  • mini2 on 10/11/2019 - 16:32

    I only eat out on stuff that I can't make myself. Same theory applies to stuff that I can't do/don't have the tools to do/legally can't do/cheaper to let a pro have a go than remediating the mess I've create.

  • Bargaingeek on 10/11/2019 - 16:55
    +1

    Cost of groceries And energy (gas electricity )have gone up so much that eating out is getting on par with making your own food

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