Eating out is one of those expenses that doesn’t feel huge in the moment… until it does.
The trick is that restaurants are priced per event. Groceries are priced per pile of ingredients. So it’s easy to compare them badly.
The pattern most people see
- A typical home-cooked dinner often lands in a reasonable range per person.
- A typical restaurant meal lands higher—especially once drinks, tip, and “let’s add an appetizer” happen.
But the difference that really matters is frequency. One restaurant night is fine. Three a week becomes “wait, why are we broke?”
The hidden costs on both sides
To be fair, cooking has costs too:
- Time
- Planning
- Cleanup
- Food waste
And eating out has hidden costs too:
- Convenience spending (delivery fees, extra items)
- Tip drift
- “It’s just easier” becoming a habit
A simple way to compare (without overthinking it)
- Pick one week.
- Total your dining out.
- Estimate your home dinners (even roughly).
- Ask: what happens if I shift one restaurant night?
That’s the move that gives you control without turning life into a spreadsheet.
The takeaway
Cooking at home is usually cheaper. But the real win is seeing your pattern. If you can spot the “we’re tired so we order” nights, you can change them intentionally.