Is it cheaper to eat out than cook?

[Language]

I'm guessing at least someone here has done the math on this once. I recently moved to Calgary and am living on my own. If I bought food (lunch and dinner) each day of the week, would that be much greater than if I did weekly shopping? I usually have cereal or eggs for breakfast and wouldn't eat out.

Shopping would consist of things like potatoes, rice, chicken, salmon, bread, cold cuts, pasta, vegetables, etc. I've done a rough calculation and if I spent around $10 dollars a day on lunch, and bought some sort of dinner for $10 - $20, it doesn't seem that far off from if I had to do a weekly shopping trip for all those things.

The other factor is that I like to eat relatively healthy and don't know if I'd start feeling like crap eating out all the time. I wouldn't be going to places like A&W though. Probably Tim's for lunch and maybe Subway or Shawarama plate for dinner.

Thoughts? I've thought about just buying lunch every day and making dinners but every time I look at my visa bill and look at my spending, eating out always seems like something I could cut back on, but am unsure if by shopping I'd spend the same amount. Before I do the math thought someone else would have evaluated this.

[Slava]

I haven't done the math, but I would doubt its even close? Eating out costs way more and if you factor in time it would also get really irritating.

[OffsideSpecialist]

I eat out one or two meals a week and spend $30-40 per week on groceries for only myself. Fair to say that unless you are buying luxury items every time you go grocery shopping I don't think it should be close.

EDIT: Also keep in mind you shouldn't have to buy ALL those things every week. If you buy a bag of rice, it should last you for a little while. My father buys bread and cold cuts and the stuff he buys usually lasts him a couple of weeks. You should also be able to buy enough potatoes and pasta to last for a little while.

[Language]

Originally Posted by OffsideSpecialist

I eat out one or two meals a week and spend $30-40 per week on groceries for only myself. Fair to say that unless you are buying luxury items every time you go grocery shopping I don't think it should be close.

I must not know how to shop because a 5-pack of chicken breast on its own at Safeway to last me the week on its own is about 15-20 dollars. How do you only spend 30-40 dollars at the grocery store each week?

[GGG]

I feed a family of 2 adults and 2 small children for around $150-$200 a week. You plan to spend around that amount eating out.

You can eat very well for $100 a week, not to mention you are guaranteed to be healthier cooking for yourself

[Ozy_Flame]

Depends what you eat.

If you like salads, for example, and you like greens like Arugula / Swiss Chard / Kale, etc. with all the fixings, you can get a salad at places like Sunterra or Olly Fresco's for marginally more than what you would pay in the grocery store for that kind of stuff. I usually only make my own salad now if it's a basic Romaine or Green Leaf salad, but if I want designer salad, I would just buy it. Most of these places have a great selection of stuff to put on top.

As for staple food like chicken / rice, I would definitely make it at home. Much cheaper to buy a chicken breast from the grocery store than buy it fresh at a take out restaurant.

[OffsideSpecialist]

Originally Posted by Language

I must not know how to shop because a 5-pack of chicken breast on its own at Safeway to last me the week on its own is about 15-20 dollars. How do you only spend 30-40 dollars at the grocery store each week?

My grocery list goes something like this:
Pack of Chicken Breasts = $8, also I usually opt for thighs which are much cheaper.
Fish = $7
Pork = $4
Mushrooms = $5
Red Onions = $2
Bananas = $2
Apples/Peaches/Something = $3
Spinach = $3
Nuts = $6
Quinoa = $3
If I'm running out, I'll buy some dressing, seasoning, sauces, or frozen berries for smoothies. Let's say I spend $6 on that kind of thing

I realize that adds up to more than $40, but that would be the worst case scenario, I don't usually have to buy all of that.

I'll also substitute some things for others that happen to be on sale (meat in particular)

[mrdonkey]

If your goal is to eat healthy then eating out is the last thing you should do. Period. No exceptions.

Buying groceries can be affordable if you know how and where to shop. For instance, Safeway is 10% off on Tuesdays, so that is when I do the bulk of my grocery shopping. It may not seem like much, but over the course of a year you are basically getting a free month's worth of food just by making this simple adjustment. Things like cheese, meats, and seasonal fruits frequently go on sale, but can be quite expensive at regular price. I will always buy these things when they are on sale and freeze/refrigerate them.

I would never recommend to anyone that they eat out every day. If you're finding that you can't comfortably afford groceries then maybe re-assess your budget and find other ways to cut costs first. If you keep an eye on sales and coupons you should be able to get by comfortably with a healthy diet for $250-300 per month, as an estimate. And that is very much on the generous side.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Language

I must not know how to shop because a 5-pack of chicken breast on its own at Safeway to last me the week on its own is about 15-20 dollars. How do you only spend 30-40 dollars at the grocery store each week?

Dont buy chicken unless its onsale. You should never pay more than 11.00 per kg on chicken. About once a month at each grocery store they will put theie chicken breasts on sale. It works out to between $1.50 and $2 a breast so if you have two chicken breasts its 3-4 dollars a meal.

[Language]

Thanks for all your input guys. Sounds like I just need to learn to shop better in terms of buying things when they're on sale, etc. I can definitely afford grocery shopping, it wasn't about a budgetary constraint, but more just wanted to see if it was roughly equivalent. Sounds like grocery shopping is definitely more reasonable if done right.

[Ozy_Flame]

Regarding the eating healthy thing, another tip:

By default, most people eat portions that are too large anyways - they eat until they're full, not until they're not hungry. I found that when I started buying healthier groceries, I was also regulating my portions and eating a bit less just because the food was more wholesome and satisfying. In the end, I ended up spending about the same now eating healthy as I did when I was younger eating crappy food. Plus you save more room in your fridge, and you feel better throughout the day.

A baked chicken breast on a bit of brown rice and a side of fresh greens is much more satisfying than the bucket of food some places give you for a lunch box (and cooked in all kinds of fat no less).

[chemgear]

Part of it would also depend up how much value you put on your time/convenience.

Regardless, this may also be of interest to you. They do every month (?) and the results are usually pretty consistent I believe.

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/ctv-grocer...arch-1.1182095

[Hack&Lube]

There are a lot of hidden deals for cheap and prepared food that is also healthy.

You can buy a footlong falafel sub at subway, get it absolutely full of fresh veggies on a multigrain bun for a little over $5.

I sometimes buy a 1 lb of ready to eat BBQ pork in Chinatown for $9. You can just eat it with anything like a cheap starch.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Language

Thanks for all your input guys. Sounds like I just need to learn to shop better in terms of buying things when they're on sale, etc. I can definitely afford grocery shopping, it wasn't about a budgetary constraint, but more just wanted to see if it was roughly equivalent. Sounds like grocery shopping is definitely more reasonable if done right.

Look into a meal planner. I'm a bachelor, and I love to cook but when I'm cooking for myself I find my creativity is often pretty low. I find my meal planner often gives me a lot of ideas that I wouldn't bother cooking normally. The other good thing is that it's a planner for two people, so whatever I make for dinner is usually enough to take for lunch the next day. I also make sure I do all of my grocery shopping on Sunday and stock up for the entire week. I think this has saved me around $100/month so far on my food bill.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Eating at home is much cheaper. Especially for something simple like breakfast. If all you're having is something like cereal it's pretty darn cheap.

[flamesfan6]

Originally Posted by Language

Shopping would consist of things like potatoes, rice, chicken, salmon, bread, cold cuts, pasta, vegetables, etc. I've done a rough calculation and if I spent around $10 dollars a day on lunch, and bought some sort of dinner for $10 - $20, it doesn't seem that far off from if I had to do a weekly shopping trip for all those things.

a) good luck finding places for $10 lunches and $15 (average) suppers that are healthy and that's $25 for 2 meals (breakfast?)

I spend $70-$100 a week on groceries (depending on what buys, some things last longer than others) and that is for all 7 days. You're at that after 3-4 days and that is just 2 cheap meals, not with breakfast, lunch, supper, dessert, and snacks accounted for.

not sure of prices too, I think being on the island has a bit more cost to items.

[Vulcan]

Just don't go grocery shopping when you are hungry, you'll overbuy.

[Minnie]

We buy our chicken breasts at Costco. Frozen, about 4 kg, I think it is. It lasts us pretty well, and there are four of us to feed. I rarely buy thighs or anything else - hate the bones. I never ever buy a roasting chicken anymore - we just grab a rotisserie chicken. The price is comparable or cheaper plus I don't have to turn the oven on, lol.

You could buy a rotisserie chicken and pull it apart and freeze portions, for later. We also buy a lot of our other meat in bulk as well, and I separate it into portion sizes that we typically use for different meals. If you were to buy in bulk a little, and separate it all out when you get home, you could have a lot of meat put away for quite a long while. You'd only have to shop for that every few months, since there's just you.

[MRCboicgy]

Taco Bell. Just don't order off the fresco menu, cause that's where stuff gets expensive.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by Language

Thanks for all your input guys. Sounds like I just need to learn to shop better in terms of buying things when they're on sale, etc. I can definitely afford grocery shopping, it wasn't about a budgetary constraint, but more just wanted to see if it was roughly equivalent. Sounds like grocery shopping is definitely more reasonable if done right.

I would highly recommend you check out M&M meat shops.

I know I shop there are lots of great stuff - you can buy bulk frozen chicken (seasoned or breaded) for far cheaper than buying the fresh stuff at Safeway or other retailers - IIRC I think it works out to 1.50-2$ per serving. You could also go bulk at Superstore and buy a 5 lb box or something, but its not as good.

I'd also recommend doing something in bulk - for example, you can cook a pizza which would probably give you 1.5 to 2 full meals for about $5 if you do it in bulk (like 7 or 8 at a time). Make the dough from scratch, sauce from a tomato paste base, large block of cheese, some veggies, etc (if you buy the pre-made crust it is a lot more expensive, also doing it in bulk is only slightly more time consuming than 1-2). Then Freeze them.

Maybe you have pizza night once a week for the next 2 months or something?

Also how are you spending 10$ for lunch? A well built homemade sandwich might run you $3.00 at most in cost.