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I work as a professional, so know people with that mentality. I think it's more the fact that they work so much than there being a true opportunity cost of making the food. You simply would rather spend the time sleeping or doing other necessary chores over cooking when you work 12+ hours a day.
Unless you're the big boss driving extra sales during the extra 2 hours, the workers are generally on salary and see no direct benefit of working 2 hours more vs staying home and cooking besides the potential for a raise at the end of the year.
For me it's more about housecleaning than cooking but yeah. I don't work 12 hours a day but long enough days that I want to use my non-work time in ways that I value more than cleaning but of course it still has to be done. So I outsource that happily. When I have the time and energy, I enjoy cooking but I also try to batch cook so that covers us for a lot of the times when I'd rather not cook, and going out to eat is usually not a substitute for cooking in a direct sense, although I might pick up some prepared food at the market for a night like that vs going out to a restaurant, which I suppose is a middle ground. But that's ok because it keeps going to a restaurant more of a treat rather than just the way to provide food for another meal.
It really depends on what your definition of a "good meal" is. People need to eat continuously, but replace window trim once in decades maybe? Assuming all your meals are "good meals" at $30/meal including tip, the $3000 would last a month. Every other meal, 2 months. There is a good reason why food budget is one of the largest budget items in the US.
It's just one example I gave, I have many other repairs and upgrades that costs thousands. For example, my friend recently spent $50k to renovate his kitchen, what I would do would be spent $10k, and spend $40k on food.
$30/meal, while you buy your own groceries, spend cooking time and cleaning up the mess. and saving probably $15?
It can depend where you are buying your groceries. If you are one of those, everything must be fresh and organic, your eat home bill will be very expensive.
depends how much you enjoy food and how much money you have.
if you're in debt with no savings and eat out a lot yes it's a total waste of money.
if you don't really enjoy eating out and it's just purely eating for you it's a waste.
for example i eat a lot but think fancy places are over priced douchey places and a total waste of money so i avoid them. but a low key place with good reasonably priced food and good friends is well worth it.
I met a woman recently who said she hardly eats out as its a massive waste of one's money regardless of enjoyment because she said you can cook it yourself at home for quarter the cost.
I disagree as I think it's an enjoyment just like anything else. I love eating out, love experiencing dishes cooked like I can never cook them or even care to spend the time and effort, experiencing the social aspect of it etc. I must've spent tens of thousands eating out in the last decade but enjoyed it greatly... why is this a waste of money?
You said it yourself.
You don't want to put out the effort.
There are lots of things we don't feel like putting effort into. Cleaning. Lawn mowing. Washing or fixing a car. You choose your priorities and spend your money accordingly. No wrong or right about it unless it is affecting your bottom line.
I find it hard to believe that any real, true foodie wouldn't want command over their ingredients or possess the skills to make good food (rivaling most restaurants) at home, though.
It's just one example I gave, I have many other repairs and upgrades that costs thousands. For example, my friend recently spent $50k to renovate his kitchen, what I would do would be spent $10k, and spend $40k on food.
$30/meal, while you buy your own groceries, spend cooking time and cleaning up the mess. and saving probably $15?
Or spend $0 on the revonation, and $50k into your bank account. Renovations, unless your house is falling apart, is a waste of money, whether it be the kitchen or anywhere else in the house. just my .02 I wouldn't replace my trim "for fun", and only do it if it's dry rotted or there's some other compelling reason than the old one wasn't pretty enough. But to each his own.
Unless I'm cooking something more exotic or pricey, say a nice ribeye, the cost to make a meal is probably around $2 for me. I dont really count the time it takes to prep/clean as I'm not currently in a situation where that time can be substituted for OT at work when I feel like. I've generally found that the cost of eating out is 4-5x the cost of preparing something similar yourself (as a rule of thumb).
I find it hard to believe that any real, true foodie wouldn't want command over their ingredients or possess the skills to make good food (rivaling most restaurants) at home, though.
Agreed. When you cook, you control what goes into the meal and taste and quality. When I go out to eat, I must largely accept how the cook prepared it. But when I cook, I find that I constantly push myself to make things better or to try things I haven't done before. Being able to cook gives you a greater appreciation of food in general, as you have the knowledge and understanding to do more than say "wow that tasted really good". Most "foodies" I know pretty much just go around eating at expensive restaurants all the time and have no clue how or why the food tastes or looks the way it does. Of course that's their choice.
I recently impressed some friends the other week. We'd all gone out to eat, and they really liked a particular dish and commented to the effect that they wish they could make something like that. So I did some testing over the weekend, and came up with a recipe that was pretty close to the dish we had. Possibly could have gotten it even closer with a side by side comparison and more testing. But unnecessary, as the recipe, although not an exact replica was really good in its own right.
I'll always eat out unless I can't afford to. But one thing that does bother me about eating out is how many people have used your coffee cup and utensils before you? That spoon you just put in your mouth might have had tens of thousands of people before you. Maybe even hundreds of thousands! Some places probably never replace utensils and have been using them since they opened. I find that gross.
I'll always eat out unless I can't afford to. But one thing that does bother me about eating out is how many people have used your coffee cup and utensils before you? That spoon you just put in your mouth might have had tens of thousands of people before you. Maybe even hundreds of thousands! Some places probably never replace utensils and have been using them since they opened. I find that gross.
The way to get over finding that gross is to remember that you yourself are a host for billions of bacteria, microbes, and those weird mite things that live in the roots of our eyelashes. There's nothing particularly special or extra clean about you over anyone else, and those forks and spoons were sanitized at high temps in the commercial dishwasher. You're likely taking more germs into the restaurant than you will take out.
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