5 ms·
> Eating out was a luxury, two to three times a week. Frozen pizza was a good friend to me then. Wow I thought eating out 2-3 times a week was in the normal/hi
by carlob 10y ago
> Eating out was a luxury, two to three times a week. Frozen pizza was a good friend to me then.
Wow I thought eating out 2-3 times a week was in the normal/high range. Maybe it's one of those US vs Europe things.
Also frozen pizza is kind of an expensive meal once you have access to a kitchen.
- maxxxxx 10y agoIn the US eating out all the time is pretty normal. It's also relatively a little bit cheaper than in most places in Europe.
- carlob 10y agoI live in Italy, you can easily get a seated dinner for under 10 euros (including tax and service) if you get pizza, or a quick lunch for 5 or under. I don't think it's really a factor of cost, it's more that a lot more people know how to cook and keep a stocked kitchen.
- pm90 10y ago> Also frozen pizza is kind of an expensive meal once you have access to a kitchen. Correct. She mentions in passing that she doesn't cook. Which is a shame since one can easily cook very large amounts of healthy, nutritious and tasty meals very cheaply.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- sandworm101 10y agoHonestly, I don't eat out unless a client is somehow involved. They must either be at least at the table, if not covering the bill, before I bother. Anyone eating out so often either has too much money or cannot cook. (Don't talk about time. Cooking it yourself almost always takes less time than going out.)
- nilkn 10y agoWhat about all the people who actually enjoy eating out? It's fun, it's social, you potentially get to go somewhere new, you get out of the house, etc. Cooking can be fun too. But you're definitely making a false dichotomy here.
- sandworm101 10y ago>> It's fun, it's social, you potentially get to go somewhere new, you get out of the house, etc. Yes. That's also why it's optional. Those struggling to get out from under debt don't have the time for such luxuries.
- nilkn 10y agoAll I'm saying is that this statement is not true and ignores a huge gulf of people: > Anyone eating out so often either has too much money or cannot cook. The only way this can be true is if you define "too much money" precisely to be any amount over the smallest amount necessary to fund eating out frequently, in which case I think the statement is not meaningful. Your response is talking about something else entirely.
- rifung 10y agoHow does cooking take less time? I'm new to cooking so maybe that's why I'm slow but I feel like it takes much longer than going out.. You have to buy the groceries, prep them, cook, and wash your pans/dishes afterwards too. I can't imagine I'd be able to do all of that faster than going to a restaurant and eating, not to mention that while they are making your food you can be doing something else. I love cooking but I still find it to be tiring as opposed to going out where I'm just resting waiting for someone else to prepare my food.
- seanmcdirmid 10y agoWe have a tiny kitchen in our apartment and very poor grocery store options, which have to be local since we don't own a car. In addition, resteraunts are cheap (< $20 for a decent 3 dish dinner for two) and relatively tasty (and 5 minutes away). Yes, we do cook, but no, we aren't saving time or money when we do it. I swear everyone here assumes everyone lives in the USA or Europe, their are other countries where eating out a lot makes a lot of economic sense, especially developing ones.
- tombert 10y agoI almost never eat out...2-3 times a week seems kind of high to me. Then again, restaurants in New York are kind of pricey.
- sshasan 10y ago2-3 times takes a toll almost everywhere, I am a grad student in Iowa where costs are not that high. Eating out more than once a week seems like a luxury to me.
- seanmcdirmid 10y agoWe spend more money cooking than when we eat out, just because getting access to decent produce is a bit difficult. But I live in Beijing right now, and know this combination of crappy grocery stores and decent/cheap eateries can't last when I move back to the states.
- samspenc 10y agoCan you clarify that a bit? The reason I ask is I work as a software engineer in NYC, and I'm single, and I eat out during work weekdays almost every day (I unfortunately don't work in one of those tech companies which give freebie lunches!) I estimate my cost of eating out = $15 per day x 22 work days a month x 12 months ~= $4000 per year, or $330 a month. That seems reasonable to me personally.
- tombert 10y agoI live with my wife. Eating out together will end up costing around 30 bucks, vs $5-6 eating in and cooking. I find eating out while single is ok, it just doesn't scale well if you're paying for multiple people.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- ethanbond 10y agoIf something is "a luxury" and you do it nearly every other day... it's not a luxury. This woman is totally out of touch.
- fizzbatter 10y agoI'm trying to save money hard, and we eat out once a month. Yeesh, 2-3 nights seems crazy to me
- akgerber 10y agoEven without a kitchen, an electric pressure/slow cooker goes a pretty damn long way.
- Jemmeh 10y agoDepends on where you live in the US I think. From my experience people in the city (with more restaurants around them) eat out far more.
- throwaway2016a 10y agoRelated... my wife and I stopped eating out three days a week when ww had a kid. We started cooking instead. The amount of money we have saved more or less paid for our childcare costs.