Cooking at Home vs Eating Out: How I Decide
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Cooking or eating out both make sense depending on your stage of life, income, and time. The key is knowing your opportunity cost what the meal costs in money, time, and lost focus.
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Outline
- Why it depends on your situation
- The cost of your time
- Trade-offs between cooking and eating out
- How working from home changes the equation
- Extending the principle beyond food
- Why advice is context-dependent
Why It Depends on Your Situation
Cooking at home or eating out is not a one-size-fits-all answer. Both can be good choices. The right option depends on your stage in life, how much you earn, and what your priorities are. What feels wasteful for one person might be efficient for another.
The Cost of Your Time
The real question is: how much is your time worth? If you earn $100,000 a year about $50 an hour then a $25 meal equals 30 minutes of your work time. Your choice becomes clear: spend 30 minutes cooking, or spend $25 eating out. It’s not just about food, it’s about opportunity cost.
Trade-Offs Between Cooking and Eating Out
Cooking has health benefits and gives you control over quality. Eating out saves time and frees up mental energy. You can buy healthy food outside if you’re willing to pay for it. The choice isn’t about right or wrong it’s about which trade-off makes sense for you at this moment.
How Working From Home Changes the Equation
If you work from home, eating can be blended into your day. For example, you can grab a meal during a meeting where you’re just a background listener. That way you’re still earning while eating. In this case, the opportunity cost of eating out becomes lower.
Extending the Principle Beyond Food
The same logic applies to tasks like cleaning. Some people enjoy it and find it relaxing. That’s fine. But if efficiency is your goal, your time might be better spent on work or something you enjoy more while outsourcing the task.
Why Advice Is Context-Dependent
That’s why advice like “don’t buy coffee” or “don’t order food” is only partly true. It’s valid in general, but not always in your case. You can only save so much, but your earning potential has no cap. What matters is knowing your own context and deciding based on your reality.
