Eating in vs. Dining out

[GopherLady]

Am I the only one that thinks it's been cheaper to eat-out lately, than it is to cook at home? I am a person who loves to cook, and groceries have always been a good deal - is I pretty much make everything from scratch, and don't pay the high prices for the pre-made food. However, it's getting to the point where cooking at home is just not a good deal.

Case in point - making homemade pizzas. I had a few friends over the other night, and we got Papa Murphy's - I got a pepperoni pizza and a large italian salad with olives (which I pick out), mozzarella, pepperoni and tomatoes on it. It was a family size salad. Total was $12.00

If I were to make homemade pizza, get the salad and the fixin's, that would have easily cost $25 or $30. And that's a simple, cheap dinner...not like a good fish, steak dinner - those will run you $100 with sides for 4 people (and that's shopping at Trader Joe's - not Lund's or Byerly's)

Anyone else facing this dilemma? It's so unhealthy to eat out all of the time, but it's cheap and easy.

[Schnoodler]

I can still get a good mac n cheese box for about 75 cents if I wait for a sale or go to Sams.

I can usually get 4 cardboard pizzas for 10 bucks.

If you want a good meal, I'll agree, you aren't savings much if anything. But if you just want to feed your face, it's still way cheaper at home.

[GopherLady]

Mac and Cheese for dinner? Schnoodler, are you still loving in the dorms? Lol - just kidding! But I agree, you can eat super crappy, like Raman or frozen pizza. But if you want a meat, veggies, fruits, etc - it's spend

[Schnoodler]

I'm cheap. I hover around the meat section and just can't get myself to buy anything that's not a great deal. Veggies, the same thing.

So, I guess in a way I've already adjusted to what you're saying. I usually get the good stuff when I go out and eat, and go cheap at home. I'm a grazer and a lo-carber so I eat some interesting meals. Last night I ate light, but I had a bowl of wheat chex (on sale for 2$) with a little half and half over the top. And then later a Pickle (bought in a large jar at sams for 3.86). Dinner probably cost me about 85 cents.

A feast fit for a king.

For lunch, I stopped at Wendy's and picked up two side Ceasar salads for a $1.29 a piece. So there you have it, try making a salad with parmesian cheese, bacon bits, romaine and dressing for under 2.50 out of the gocery store. So you're right, cheaper eating out.

[Sarah0633]

Sometimes for one person I think it is easier to eat out because a lot of stuff is packaged for families and not one or two people (that's why I like Trader Joe's because they have a lot of single/two serving things and a lot of it is still healthy). But I like that you can totally control what is going into your food if you make it yourself.

[MNSnowman]

Actually, I've come to the opposite conclusion. We've drastically cut back in our eating out and I've been doing more of the cooking (and barbecuing during the summer). We've found it's a lot less expensive but then usually dinner is for either two or three of us.


For example, we had salad, tortellini with home-made pasta sauce and garlic bread a few nights ago. Froze part of the garlic bread for later use and had the tortellini for lunch a couple days later. Tonight we're having beef stew -- we'll have enough left over for lunch this weekend. Friday night it's a stir-fry with rice. Saturday night we're having steak & fingerling potatoes with (if available) asparagus. We'll have a pork tenderloin on Monday and then Wednesday make a hash with the left over pork and potatoes from Friday.

And one of our favorite/quick meals is a black bean soup that I can get on the table within 20 minutes of getting home. We'll get at least one night's dinner for less than $10.

What works for us is to buy the "value packs" from Byerlys, repackage the meat into smaller serving sizes and to plan out a week's menu. My frugal Norwegian wife is also a big believer in "leftover nights" which is a huge incentive for me to meld in left-overs over the course of a week rather than one night. :rolleyes:

[freshtrout]

Well, if you make pizzas at home from scratch, I'd say it's cheaper that going out for pizza or bringing in something like Papa Murphys.
Flour-pepperoni-olives-fresh mozzarella-sauce .. probably less than $5/pizza.

[BleedGopher]

"Saturday night we're having steak & fingerling potatoes with (if available) asparagus."

Whoa!!...the rest of us will be eating a Dome dog while getting ready to feast on poor old Floyd of Rosedale and you're sneaking steak, fingerling potatoes and asparagus into the Dome?! I'm heading over to your section!!

Go Gophers!!

[station19]

"You never make a pizza-you build a pizza", Jerry Teeson 1967 Moorhead State College.

[MNSnowman]

I'm getting my days mixed up ... sign of age ;)

[Moonlight]

I'm feeling agreeable now that I'm FINALLY a recognised member again. I've noticed that both are true. If you're selective you can get some good deals out, and utilizing the leftover approach can yield some really cheap at-home meals. For example, I like to get a good sized pot roast and then add to the leftovers to make a beef stew for very cheap. Same with a roast chicken and Chix soup. Also, a good spaghetti carbonara is quick and cheap. I keep some good pancetta and fresh pasta on hand in the freezer and parmesan keeps well. The biggest problem I have is having the right items on hand when I need them and making sure I use them before they go bad!

[Bad Gopher]

Those "cardboard" Totinos pizzas are a guilty pleasure. The other night my 10-year old daughter polished off a whole one of those after gymnastics practice (for her fourth meal of the day). 3-1/2 hours of flying around the gym will do that to a gal.

[Schnoodler]

Bad, your daughters in the gymnastics thing? I went through that. How's your bank account?:p

[Bad Gopher]

Better than the account of the family who has two daughters on the team. Or the rumored family in another gym that has 5 - count 'em, five - chicks in the sport. I try not to think how much we're spending...or have spent...or how good that would look in a college fund. Truth is, it's been the greatest experience for her, and these will be great memories for us to keep someday.

I take it you spent some coin on the sport?

[Schnoodler]

Yes I did. but we got out before it got really bad. We dropped out at a car payment, we saw the next step was significant and my daughter really wasn't all that into the competition but loved the sport. So we went in a different direction. We were at Twisters. A great club IMHO.

[Sour1729]

How is gymnastics expensive? I mean, it isn't like you have to buy a ton of equipment like hockey or something. Are lessons/gym time expensive?

[Schnoodler]

think about it, 12 to 20 hours a week with professional coaches. It's actually very similar to hockey. It's been a few years for me, but a ten year old in club will easily cost 3-400/mo.

[Gold Rush]

I think it can work both ways. You can get by pretty cheap at the restaurants if you are going the fast food route and bringing it home to avoid paying the exorbitant drink prices. That is why McDonalds is still quite popular today even in a recession where more upscale restaurants are closing their doors or losing a lot of money and customers.

However, most restaurants have significantly raised their prices over the last several years. A tab of 60.00 (plus tip of another 15-20 per cent) for a family of four is fairly common for even an average meal at Applebees or Ruby Tuesday's. After you pay 12 bucks for the tip and you walk out of there 72 bucks lighter a couple times, you start realizing that you could make a pretty good meal with 72.00 and you start cutting back on it, especially when the restaurant meals really aren't that good. I can cook up something on the grill and get some fixings to go with it and do a lot better than that and it tastes better, too. I can especially beat all these places with 8.00 burgers and expensive drink prices at home, too!!

With the economy the way it is, I think you will see a lot more of these mid to upper level restaurants either come up with some lower cost menu items or go out of business. I think you will also see people cutting back a little more on the expensive restaurants and choosing to eat in a little more or going the fast food route more often.

[Gopher4Life]

Some of you, most of you, or perhaps all of you are too young to remember the days of 25-cent burgers (free cheese and pickles optional). There was a joint on Front Street (top of the hill) in Mankato called Smorgey's. It would have been about 1960. One Sunday per month, they offered 20-cent burgers, 10-cent fries or tots, and nickel pop. When Mom sent me in with two dollars, I came out with a lot of food. In this day of $8.00 burgers and billion dollar bailouts, it's nice to remember.

[Schnoodler]

For a long time in the 80's McDonalds and Burger king would have burger wars. You could usually get a single for 39 cents. Even now, being on the Lo-Carb I get two doubles at McDonalds and throw out one set of buns and make a quad for two bucks. Not too bad for lunch and 35 carbs.

given inflation I think a dollar double is pretty close to a quarter in 1960.