Cost of Eating Out vs Eating at Home

    In my yesterday's entry, I wrote about how to save money. One of the most effective ways to save money is to limit the frequency of eating out. As I mentioned in my previous entry, if you eat out, it's easy to spend $10 to $20 for one meal. If you cook, it costs about $1 to $5 for several meals. If you eat out regularly, you end up spending huge money for foods.

■ Cost of Eating Out (You eat out two times a day.)
1 month : 60 meals = $600 - $1200
6 months : 360 meals = $3600 - $7200
1 year : 720 meals = $7200 - $14400
 
■ Cost of Eating Out (You eat out one time a day.)
1 meal = $10 - $20
1 month: 30 meals = $300 - $600
6 months : 180 meals = $1800 - $3600
1 year : 360 meals = $3600 - $7200

◇Cost of Eating at Home
1 day = $3 - $6
1 month = $90 - $180
6 months = $540 - $1080
1 year = $1080 - $2160


     If you eat out two times a day, it might cost $7,200 to $14,400 in a year. If you cook your meals, it will probably cost only $1,080 to $2,160 in a year. The amount of difference between eating out and cooking is $6,120 to $12,240 in a year. It's very huge saving, isn't it? If two people live together, the difference is twice! Two people can probably save $12,240 to $24,480 by cooking at home in a year. How much can you save by cooking every meal for 5 years? How about for 10 years?
 
     When I was working in Japan, my boss who was 10 years older than me told me and my coworkers that she had purchased a investment property in abroad, and she also would buy a new house for her mother soon. Everyone thought she was rich! My friend who didn't manage her money well told me that our boss could afford to purchase those because her husband had a high-paid job, but I didn't think so. I thought that my boss really knew how to spend money well. My boss had two young children. She always carried a fancy Louis Vuitton bag to work and traveled abroad once in a while. However, I knew that she always brought a lunch meal and homemade tea to the work place every day. I thought it's not easy for her to cook every meal with having two kids and demanding job, but she did. I thought that she and her husband had clear idea of what they should save and what they should invest. Even if you have a high-paid job, you cannot buy whatever you want. If you cook at home, you are saving huge money in the long term.

      I am not saying you shouldn't eat out whatsoever. Actually, you can enjoy eating out once in a while. If you eat out only once in months, I think it's good idea to spend $100 for having a delicious meal at a fancy restaurant. It will be a special day for you. :) If you have lunch with your friend at restaurant once a week, enjoy a precious time with your friend. My point is the frequency of eating out. Think the reason why you eat out. It's good idea to eat out if you want to celebrate something or want to talk to friend. However, I think you should avoid to eat out when you only want to fill your stomach.  

     As I mentioned in my previous entry, my friend bought every meal and drinks everyday. She never cooked. She even didn't have a pan nor kettle. I told her, "Why don't you cook? If you cook, you can save much money. How about making tea at home instead of buying one at a convenience store?" However, she told me that she didn't have money for buying cooking stencils. She told me that she assumed the reason why I didn't have any financial trouble was that my husband had a high-paid job. That was not true at all. We were still young. Who can get high-paid job in young age? I guessed the amount of her and her boyfriend's income and our income were almost same. She also told me that the problem was expensive apartment fee. Yes, it was true, but it was not the only reason why she had no saving at all because I was also paying expensive apartment fee. My husband and I tried to cook for our meals as many times as possible, so we could save up a huge money in the long term. If she had cooked sometimes, she could probably have saved some money every month. She also needed to make budgets for her purchase though.

     Anyway, if you want to save money, it's good idea to cook at home from now on. It will be huge saving in the long term. Next time, I will write about how to save moneys during grocery shopping.


These are my entries you might like.

1. Why Couldn't You Save Money?

2. Start Saving Money In Your Early 20s

3. 3 Steps : How to Start Saving Money

4. Cost of Eating Out vs Eating at Home

5. 9 Ways to Save Money on Food - Grocery Shopping

6. 8 Tips to Save Money on Foods - Cooking


     My entries related to money can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/money

     My entries related to cooking can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking

     This is my entries related to my favorite recipes.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes 

     My entries related to Japan can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Japan