The Today Show had a feature on this story from the Christian Science Monitor this morning: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1006/p01s01-usec.html[/url]

Basically, the story recognizes that people are eating out more than before due to busy schedules and the fact that the cost to eat at home is comparable to that of eating out. I definitely disagree...given our lifestyle/choices, eating in is cheaper hands-down. But then again, we are not "sophisticated" eaters (give us a tuna casserole any day!) I guess that if, when you eat at home, that you choose to eat steaks, seafood, fancy vegetables, etc. that restaurant meals could potentially be cheaper....

I'm curious to know what others experiences are....do you find that it is cheaper to eat out? Or is this article just plain wrong?

I think the first paragraph in the article spoke volumes about where they are coming from. They talked to Atlanta residents going out to eat. I think a lot of your decision depends on travel time to and from work. If I was a working mom in Atlanta we would be eating out a bunch, too, because of the time spent in the car. My friends in Atlanta are known to eat out a bunch.

Also, the first paragraph talked about the man going to the store for organic ingredients. He was probably going to a high end grocery store buying the most expensive ingredients. Sure, if you do that, yes, it would be just as expensive. But, like you say, if you can eat a tuna casserole, like most of us on here , then you would save money by eating home.

We eat a lot of fish, but it is still cheaper to make it at home than going out. We eat salmon at least once every two weeks, mahi mahi quite a bit, grouper, flounder, you name it and it is STILL cheaper than going out. AND, we live near areas where fresh fish is common.

This just reinforces my thoughts about the media skewing results and stories to fit what they want them to say. JMO

It is only cheaper to eat out if you eat junk, pizza, Mcdonalds dollar menu and other items like that.

It is definitely cheaper to eat out.

Every trip to the grocery store that I make for meal ingredients inevitably pushes over $20. I have the receipts right here. I can't even make a piffling pot of soup for less than $20.

Yet I spend less than that to take my DD and me to a sit-down restaurant any night of the week. Not BK, McD's or any of that crap. I'm talking Red Robin, Olive Garden, Kelly's, Cazadores or any of the choices around here. I have yet to rack up a bill of more than $15 (that's including an adult beverage of choice). Heck, add in my DH on the rare occasion and we still don't break that far up.

It's simply not worth it to me to cook.

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The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
-- H. L. Mencken

We need to help you with some recipes then if you can't feed your dd and yourself for less than $20!!!! If it is just the two of you - shoot even if your dh is there - you can eat for less than $15 even a meal. I have five in my household and we eat a meal (for example, broccoli, salad, salmon and noodles and a dessert - that is one of my easy standards) for under $10 for all of us!!!

Not picking on you, just saying. Of course, time is a factor, too. We eat out more than we should, that is for sure!

When time factors into it, yes it's definetly cheaper to eat out than to cook at home at times. Like they say, time is money. Tho we only eay out once every 2-3 weeks, and we don't do fast food AT ALL!!.

I can feed a family of 6 for less that $25 cooking at home AND have left overs! However it always has to do with where you live I am sure. I on the outskirts of Atlanta and it is EXPENSIVE here unless you find a little "Country grocery store" like piggly wiggly (who knew they still existed???) because Kroger and Publix here are high high high!
Back home in Alabama, everything was dirt cheap..... talk about culture shock.


I love cooking and we have stopped eating out and save almost $150 a month!!!

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I agree. We don't eat fast food, so when we go out, it's definately more expensive.

Kemtee I agree with you 100%! We eat out a lot of the time and it's less expensive for us. And not McDonald's Burger King or Wendy's either. Even with 4 of us now and the kids splitting a meal it's cheaper than buying everything for to make one meal. If we go to Olive Garden or Outback or TGI Friday's the bill may come to $30. Most of the time to buy all the ingredients to make one meal will be more than that, especially if you have to buy every single thing for that meal. We don't eat out as much as we used to but at least twice a week for breakfast and once or twice for dinner.

It's a lot cheaper for me to cook at home...I'm feeding a family of 7 and to go out each night or several nights a week at a decent restaurant - it would cost me anywhere from $80 to $100 tops. But I can feed my family for less than $25 - $30 at home and that's eating steaks (sirloins), london broils, salmon, shrimp, etc. with salad, veggies, and deserts.

Not to stir any pots, but I don't understand how eating out is cheaper unless your buying pizza and fast food and even then I'm spending a lot. Pizza for my family cost anywhere from $40 to $45 for one night and Chinese can run me up to $60...just going to McDonald's is a $40 bill. It's much cheaper as well as healthier to cook at home for us!