8 ms·

Cooking for yourself is only cheaper if you've already spent the money to outfit your kitchen. There's a big up front investment in terms of ingredients and too

Cooking for yourself is only cheaper if you've already spent the money to outfit your kitchen. There's a big up front investment in terms of ingredients and tools. You can spend $50 up front, and then eat for $3/meal by cooking for yourself... Or you can just spend $6/meal at McDonalds. If you only have $10 in your pocket you really don't have much of a choice. This is, I think, the most important thing to understand about poverty in a capitalist system. It is much more difficult to make good investments when you have very little liquidity.

Naritai 10y ago
S/He also ignores the time invested in cooking. What must your hourly wage be, for the $3 saved by cooking to be worthwhile?
- chrisper 10y ago
  Also, cooking for only one person seems to me to be more expensive, because the ingredients don't really come in the size for only one person.
  - Nadya 10y ago
    Even with 2 people - most ingredients I purchase are assuming 3-4 eaters the "large sizes" assume 6-8. If you don't eat leftovers it can get pricey or you end up eating more than you probably should... The other issue I run into is that most of my food goes bad before I even finish it coupled with the fact I refuse to even have "leftovers". I either buy too little of what I need (smaller amounts/sizes) and end up spending more money for not purchasing bulk, or I waste money by throwing away surplus after it has expired. It's a fine balance to try and get "just the right amount". I often find myself throwing away 1/2 a loaf of bread, several meals worth of lunch meats, rotten fruits/vegetables, etc. And that's keeping some items a while after the "use by:" date... An example of my problem: 1 gallon of milk is often too much. ½ a gallon of milk is often too little. It is cheaper (both economically and time spent going to the store) to buy 1 gallon of milk and dump it when it goes bad than to buy ½ a gallon as I need it.
    - _Codemonkeyism 10y ago
      I have no problem for cooking for two people. But perhaps this is specific to Germany. "throwing away 1/2 a loaf of bread" I buy 1/2 not a whole bread then. About the milk: Not sure if you buy fresh milk from the farm, otherwise milk in the fridge does not go bad for days. Today we had a delicious lentil salad with feta and rucola and a vinaigrette of lemon and tomatoes. The base salad can easily be used 2 days in a row with different toppings with capers and olives and a different dressing. Should be around $3 per meal, whereas McDonalds is >$6 in Germany (the only way to eat cheap at McDonalds is having 3 hamburgers for $1 each).
      - niftich 10y ago
        In the US bread comes pre-sliced in a plastic bag. You can pick up this kind of bread nearly anywhere, from a convenience store to a fill-up station or a pharmacy. Bakeries which put out product that Europeans would consider bread are almost exclusively found inside grocery stores. This bread is slightly more expensive per weight. Grocery stores, like most commercial establishments in the US, can be hard to get to without a car, and public transport, if exists outside the few major cities, typically has low frequency and poor coverage of residential areas. UHT milk does exist, but most people don't know about it, and it's expensive. Most milk sold isn't shelf-stable and needs to be refrigerated the entire time. You make a good case with the salad, though.
        lorenzhs 10y ago
        I don't think the OP was referring to UHT, but rather ESL milk (also known as HTST). Most milk sold in Germany is now ESL, and you can keep it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. It's also sold in units of 1 litre (a little over a quart) and if you want more, you just buy more than one.
      - Naritai 10y ago
        The 1/2 loaf probably costs 3/4 of what a full loaf does. That addition 25% is pure margin for the retailer - they thank you for your willingness to pay more for the same product.
- _Codemonkeyism 10y ago
  This assumes you can work 24h a day. It could be extended to every free hour: What must your your hourly wage be, that it's worth watching TV. Also if you are poor and have no money, and no opportunity to earn more, and perhaps already have a second job, then $3 saved a day makes a huge difference. Though I'd say savings for 3 meals (lunch and breakfast and dinner) should be around $10 not $3 (at least from my experience comparing prices for cooking and going to McDonalds)
refurb 10y ago
What equipment are you thinking of? Don't most homes have stoves? A pan or pot is maybe a couple dollars from a garage sale.
- Merad 10y ago
  You won't get very far with one pot or pan. I live alone and cook for myself, and my kitchen probably has a dozen. For anything beyond the very basics you'll need a variety of mixing bowls, mixing spoons, measuring cups/spoons, spatulas, etc. Knives and cutting board to chop ingredients. Not to mention the need for a basic assortment of spices, butter, oil appropriate for cooking, etc. Sure, you don't need all of that to get started cooking, but making do with a minimal kitchen is going to make cooking more difficult and is likely to also affect the quality of your food.
  - refurb 10y ago
    I guess it depends on your standards. Back in college I cooked a ton of meals in just one pot. Cook some ground pork, drain, cook rice, add pork and frozen veggies. Probably costs $10 to make 5 or 6 meals.
    - boodm 10y ago
      You're correct. It's sad there are people voting you down with no explanation. I cook every meal I eat (4 a day) in a single frying pan, a single cooking sheet, microwave, and a rice cooker. For seasoning, I have salt, pepper, and some Ms Dash. I don't know much that I can't cook with those items alone.
      - lorenzhs 10y ago
        I think those of us with fancy kitchens don't really consider how much of that is just convenience (and which percentage of the equipment just sits there, unused, 99% of the time), and how much you can achieve with very simple tools.
_Codemonkeyism 10y ago
Good point.
boodm 10y ago
I'd argue the up front cost is much less than $50. However, using the numbers as provided, the break-even is still less than a single week. In the breakfast example, you can buy a single McD meal or buy a dozen eggs with a container of quick oats - both are ~$6. The latter is much better for liquidity. Not to mention, the eggs and oats is easy to cook, requires little 'ingredients and tools', is healthier, and will last multiple days (helping w/ liquidity).
- erikpukinskis 10y ago
  Go ahead and try to plan out a week's worth of meals while building up the list of staples and cookware that you would need to support it. I've done it. I think $50 is pretty conservative actually. It would be easy just to spend $50 on some fats and spices.
  - maxerickson 10y ago
    If you are talking about avoiding McDonald's to save money, it starts to get easier. Plain pasta. Plain potatoes. Rice-A-Roni. Hamburger Helper. Now, should someone stick to that diet for years? No. Will the savings compound at a fantastic rate using that diet? Yeah. If it is sufficiently horrifying, a person could even limit themselves to the above for ~1/2 of meals.

Naritai 10y ago

S/He also ignores the time invested in cooking. What must your hourly wage be, for the $3 saved by cooking to be worthwhile?

chrisper 10y ago
Also, cooking for only one person seems to me to be more expensive, because the ingredients don't really come in the size for only one person.
- Nadya 10y ago
  Even with 2 people - most ingredients I purchase are assuming 3-4 eaters the "large sizes" assume 6-8. If you don't eat leftovers it can get pricey or you end up eating more than you probably should... The other issue I run into is that most of my food goes bad before I even finish it coupled with the fact I refuse to even have "leftovers". I either buy too little of what I need (smaller amounts/sizes) and end up spending more money for not purchasing bulk, or I waste money by throwing away surplus after it has expired. It's a fine balance to try and get "just the right amount". I often find myself throwing away 1/2 a loaf of bread, several meals worth of lunch meats, rotten fruits/vegetables, etc. And that's keeping some items a while after the "use by:" date... An example of my problem: 1 gallon of milk is often too much. ½ a gallon of milk is often too little. It is cheaper (both economically and time spent going to the store) to buy 1 gallon of milk and dump it when it goes bad than to buy ½ a gallon as I need it.
  - _Codemonkeyism 10y ago
    I have no problem for cooking for two people. But perhaps this is specific to Germany. "throwing away 1/2 a loaf of bread" I buy 1/2 not a whole bread then. About the milk: Not sure if you buy fresh milk from the farm, otherwise milk in the fridge does not go bad for days. Today we had a delicious lentil salad with feta and rucola and a vinaigrette of lemon and tomatoes. The base salad can easily be used 2 days in a row with different toppings with capers and olives and a different dressing. Should be around $3 per meal, whereas McDonalds is >$6 in Germany (the only way to eat cheap at McDonalds is having 3 hamburgers for $1 each).
    - niftich 10y ago
      In the US bread comes pre-sliced in a plastic bag. You can pick up this kind of bread nearly anywhere, from a convenience store to a fill-up station or a pharmacy. Bakeries which put out product that Europeans would consider bread are almost exclusively found inside grocery stores. This bread is slightly more expensive per weight. Grocery stores, like most commercial establishments in the US, can be hard to get to without a car, and public transport, if exists outside the few major cities, typically has low frequency and poor coverage of residential areas. UHT milk does exist, but most people don't know about it, and it's expensive. Most milk sold isn't shelf-stable and needs to be refrigerated the entire time. You make a good case with the salad, though.
      - lorenzhs 10y ago
        I don't think the OP was referring to UHT, but rather ESL milk (also known as HTST). Most milk sold in Germany is now ESL, and you can keep it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. It's also sold in units of 1 litre (a little over a quart) and if you want more, you just buy more than one.
    - Naritai 10y ago
      The 1/2 loaf probably costs 3/4 of what a full loaf does. That addition 25% is pure margin for the retailer - they thank you for your willingness to pay more for the same product.
_Codemonkeyism 10y ago
This assumes you can work 24h a day. It could be extended to every free hour: What must your your hourly wage be, that it's worth watching TV. Also if you are poor and have no money, and no opportunity to earn more, and perhaps already have a second job, then $3 saved a day makes a huge difference. Though I'd say savings for 3 meals (lunch and breakfast and dinner) should be around $10 not $3 (at least from my experience comparing prices for cooking and going to McDonalds)

refurb 10y ago

What equipment are you thinking of? Don't most homes have stoves? A pan or pot is maybe a couple dollars from a garage sale.

Merad 10y ago
You won't get very far with one pot or pan. I live alone and cook for myself, and my kitchen probably has a dozen. For anything beyond the very basics you'll need a variety of mixing bowls, mixing spoons, measuring cups/spoons, spatulas, etc. Knives and cutting board to chop ingredients. Not to mention the need for a basic assortment of spices, butter, oil appropriate for cooking, etc. Sure, you don't need all of that to get started cooking, but making do with a minimal kitchen is going to make cooking more difficult and is likely to also affect the quality of your food.
- refurb 10y ago
  I guess it depends on your standards. Back in college I cooked a ton of meals in just one pot. Cook some ground pork, drain, cook rice, add pork and frozen veggies. Probably costs $10 to make 5 or 6 meals.
  - boodm 10y ago
    You're correct. It's sad there are people voting you down with no explanation. I cook every meal I eat (4 a day) in a single frying pan, a single cooking sheet, microwave, and a rice cooker. For seasoning, I have salt, pepper, and some Ms Dash. I don't know much that I can't cook with those items alone.
    - lorenzhs 10y ago
      I think those of us with fancy kitchens don't really consider how much of that is just convenience (and which percentage of the equipment just sits there, unused, 99% of the time), and how much you can achieve with very simple tools.

_Codemonkeyism 10y ago

Good point.

boodm 10y ago

I'd argue the up front cost is much less than $50. However, using the numbers as provided, the break-even is still less than a single week. In the breakfast example, you can buy a single McD meal or buy a dozen eggs with a container of quick oats - both are ~$6. The latter is much better for liquidity. Not to mention, the eggs and oats is easy to cook, requires little 'ingredients and tools', is healthier, and will last multiple days (helping w/ liquidity).

erikpukinskis 10y ago
Go ahead and try to plan out a week's worth of meals while building up the list of staples and cookware that you would need to support it. I've done it. I think $50 is pretty conservative actually. It would be easy just to spend $50 on some fats and spices.
- maxerickson 10y ago
  If you are talking about avoiding McDonald's to save money, it starts to get easier. Plain pasta. Plain potatoes. Rice-A-Roni. Hamburger Helper. Now, should someone stick to that diet for years? No. Will the savings compound at a fantastic rate using that diet? Yeah. If it is sufficiently horrifying, a person could even limit themselves to the above for ~1/2 of meals.