4 ms·

> mainly because meals out cost 3-10x as much as eating at home If you are at a place that sells an experience that happens to come with food that may be true,

> mainly because meals out cost 3-10x as much as eating at home If you are at a place that sells an experience that happens to come with food that may be true, but one in the business of selling food is going to beat your home kitchen every time. The big difference is that the home kitchen costs are largely front-loaded. This does mean you generally need less free cashflow when you are hungry, which is an appealing attribute to someone who budgets by looking at their bank account balance. However, it also means you sacrifice a fair amount of opportunity. That does not come cheap.

pillefitz 4y ago
Home kitchens can be had for cheap, so I don't really get why paying 15 USD vs. 3 USD 2-3 times a day should be a better deal.
- randomdata 4y ago
  $15 USD for a meal at a business in the business of selling food? Your local cost of living must be insane! I think you'd be hard-pressed to spend much more than $5 USD for a meal at a food business around here. In these parts, I can go to a restaurant in the business of selling an experience, with nice ambiance, a server who will wait on you hand and foot like you are some kind of king, etc. and can have nearly anything on the menu for $15 USD. At that price you're paying to get to act like a king for an hour or two, not for food. If your local cost of living is that high, what's the housing market like? High CoL and high rent often to go hand in hand. If you sold your appliances and offered your kitchen space as a bedroom rental, what kind of income are we talking here?
  - nomad225 4y ago
    Are you referring to fast food when you say that $5 USD is a meal?
    - randomdata 4y ago
      Some fast food restaurants are in the experience business, so not strictly so, although I am sure that some food produced in the food business would be considered fast food, so I suppose it doesn't preclude it either. I'm not sure the question really overlaps with the discussion, although perhaps I don't fully understand what you are asking.
    - chasd00 4y ago
      yeah, i would like an example of a meal for $5 from a restaurant of any kind. A meal for < $10 is quite rare even for fast food, a slice of pizza and a coke from 7/11 is pushing $10.
      - lost_tourist 4y ago
        Almost nothing around here is less that $10 and most $12-15 a head unless it's taco bell or the dollar menu at some fast food menu for sure. I think someone lives in a much smaller town than we do or something ?
      - randomdata 4y ago
        > yeah, i would like an example of a meal for $5 from a restaurant of any kind. Eating out doesn't necessarily mean restaurant, unless you use the term loosely. Restaurants typically sell an experience, not food, and indeed you expect to pay for that experience. It is something not duplicatable at home, at least not for the price a restaurant can offer it to you. Even a high priced restaurant is cheap compared to hiring servants to come to your home. What's fast food? I consider McDonalds fast food, but they aren't in the food business and thus wouldn't be expected to provide for $5. The term fast food is quite loaded, in my experience. Which market are you in? We know for certain that there isn't price uniformity in all locations. I'm not at all surprised that you could be paying $10+ for the same meal I pay $5 for. Which brings us back to asking what is rent? Again, that kitchen is occupying space that must be accounted for. You're being completely disingenuous if you ignore the bulk of your costs of operating a kitchen. You can choose to accept those costs. I like to cook and would hate life if I had to eat out every day even if were at the best restaurants around, so I do too, but I'm not going to pretend they don't exist. The cost of eating at home isn't just the raw ingredients. That would be unfair to not only the discussion, but also yourself and your finances if you aren't being honest with yourself.

pillefitz 4y ago

Home kitchens can be had for cheap, so I don't really get why paying 15 USD vs. 3 USD 2-3 times a day should be a better deal.

randomdata 4y ago
$15 USD for a meal at a business in the business of selling food? Your local cost of living must be insane! I think you'd be hard-pressed to spend much more than $5 USD for a meal at a food business around here. In these parts, I can go to a restaurant in the business of selling an experience, with nice ambiance, a server who will wait on you hand and foot like you are some kind of king, etc. and can have nearly anything on the menu for $15 USD. At that price you're paying to get to act like a king for an hour or two, not for food. If your local cost of living is that high, what's the housing market like? High CoL and high rent often to go hand in hand. If you sold your appliances and offered your kitchen space as a bedroom rental, what kind of income are we talking here?
- nomad225 4y ago
  Are you referring to fast food when you say that $5 USD is a meal?
  - randomdata 4y ago
    Some fast food restaurants are in the experience business, so not strictly so, although I am sure that some food produced in the food business would be considered fast food, so I suppose it doesn't preclude it either. I'm not sure the question really overlaps with the discussion, although perhaps I don't fully understand what you are asking.
  - chasd00 4y ago
    yeah, i would like an example of a meal for $5 from a restaurant of any kind. A meal for < $10 is quite rare even for fast food, a slice of pizza and a coke from 7/11 is pushing $10.
    - lost_tourist 4y ago
      Almost nothing around here is less that $10 and most $12-15 a head unless it's taco bell or the dollar menu at some fast food menu for sure. I think someone lives in a much smaller town than we do or something ?
    - randomdata 4y ago
      > yeah, i would like an example of a meal for $5 from a restaurant of any kind. Eating out doesn't necessarily mean restaurant, unless you use the term loosely. Restaurants typically sell an experience, not food, and indeed you expect to pay for that experience. It is something not duplicatable at home, at least not for the price a restaurant can offer it to you. Even a high priced restaurant is cheap compared to hiring servants to come to your home. What's fast food? I consider McDonalds fast food, but they aren't in the food business and thus wouldn't be expected to provide for $5. The term fast food is quite loaded, in my experience. Which market are you in? We know for certain that there isn't price uniformity in all locations. I'm not at all surprised that you could be paying $10+ for the same meal I pay $5 for. Which brings us back to asking what is rent? Again, that kitchen is occupying space that must be accounted for. You're being completely disingenuous if you ignore the bulk of your costs of operating a kitchen. You can choose to accept those costs. I like to cook and would hate life if I had to eat out every day even if were at the best restaurants around, so I do too, but I'm not going to pretend they don't exist. The cost of eating at home isn't just the raw ingredients. That would be unfair to not only the discussion, but also yourself and your finances if you aren't being honest with yourself.