4 ms·

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

by Naritai 10y ago

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.
      - Nadya 10y ago
        >The 1/2 loaf probably costs 3/4 of what a full loaf does. Correct. I'm not going to pay more for less which is why I end up throwing away surplus. I hate being wasteful of food - but I hate being wasteful of my money (and my time) even more. In addition to that, in the U.S your size options are "buy a whole loaf" or "buy a different brand of whole loaf". Bread comes pre-packaged in a twist-tied (or clip-on) bag as a whole loaf. Unless you visit a bakery or the grocery store you visit has a bakery section.
_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)

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

by 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.
    - Nadya 10y ago
      >The 1/2 loaf probably costs 3/4 of what a full loaf does. Correct. I'm not going to pay more for less which is why I end up throwing away surplus. I hate being wasteful of food - but I hate being wasteful of my money (and my time) even more. In addition to that, in the U.S your size options are "buy a whole loaf" or "buy a different brand of whole loaf". Bread comes pre-packaged in a twist-tied (or clip-on) bag as a whole loaf. Unless you visit a bakery or the grocery store you visit has a bakery section.

_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)