Spending on Takeout/Delivery

[Anonymous]

We never get delivery. Take out about twice a month. Another one or two meals out each month. 2 adults, 2 teens

We did get pizza delivered when the kids were little

[Anonymous]

Maybe 1-2 times per month at around $100 each time. And I hate it every time but sometimes I just don’t have it in me to cook!

[Anonymous]

$0, we never get takeout and only eat out maybe once every other month. We do eat out on vacation.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand how people eat out so much.

Eating out 2-3x a month, ok. But getting takeout constantly? Just cook something simple at home. Make a lot. Eat leftovers.

The internet makes it seem like you need to eat a new/fun meal all the time, but you really don't. That shit is also terrible for your health, as well as your wallet.

[Anonymous]

$0.

I enjoy cooking and I cook meals that allow for plenty of leftovers so I'm not cooking every night. Takeaway food is also high in fat, sugar and sodium.

We also rarely dine out. When we travel it's a different story, but at home we cook pretty much everything wr eat other than the occasional bakery splurge or lunch out with coworkers.

I don't feel like I'm missing anything. When we do go out to a restaurant, typically nicer ones, I always have a good time with the company but the food itself rarely impresses me enough to want to make it a regular habit.

[Anonymous]

Here is the other thing. Restaurants get about 55% of the money from delivery. If you picked up your own food from the restaurant, it would not only be cheaper, it would save some of the restaurants in DC who are going out of business.

[Anonymous]

You could hire someone to come cook you 3 dinners for less than $700/week.

[Anonymous]

I looks like no one else has posted it, so here is the short video from Saturday Night Live

Uber Eats Wrapped
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx7Vv5pqpHg

Billions are spent on takeout and delivery but most people are in denial.

[Anonymous]

I haven’t added it up, but maybe 3-4 times/month, and that is mainly cheap bagels and lunch when my teen son has a friend over. I only do door dash dinner if I am extremely stressed or busy (single mom). I cannot justify the expense or poor quality when I know I can quickly make tasty pasta with meat sauce for like $4/serving.

The exception (noted in this article) is door dashing when a friend comes over! That is a really fun way to have a close friend over for dinner but neither of you have to cook or get a babysitter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand how people eat out so much.

Eating out 2-3x a month, ok. But getting takeout constantly? Just cook something simple at home. Make a lot. Eat leftovers.

The internet makes it seem like you need to eat a new/fun meal all the time, but you really don't. That shit is also terrible for your health, as well as your wallet.

When you and your spouse work 60+ hours a week, every minute not spent working is precious. And if you have a job where you're always on call, it can be really challenging to even make the weekly plan where you take inventory of what you have, build a shopping list, and procure the groceries.

I cook only 1-2 days per week. On Sunday, I do a big batch recipe that serves as lunches during the week. I also often cook on Friday night. The other nights are takeout or the healthy meal service I use.

Food prep is hard. Even simple, balanced meals require a good amount of labor. Making my own food is very low on my priority list when I have so much else going on.

[Anonymous]

I track my spending so as a single person in a fairly urban area (aka lots of access to fast casual, restaurant etc), I spent $1350 on food last year that wasn’t groceries. This would include coffee, a sweetgreen salad, a meal on the road, but it would also include restaurants and I know that was also skewed by 2-3 fairly significant restaurant spends (was in Vegas last spring for example). I don’t spend on Uber/Doordash etc. i have a rule that if I order something I need to go walk over and pick it up.

[Anonymous]

I would say that we make dinner far, far more often than ordering delivery. It's a rare occasion anymore.

My DS though, who is 19, has burned through cash for DoorDash for food for sure. He works, he pays for it so it's on him if he chooses to spend. That's more on him not wanting to either make himself something or eat the leftovers that we have.

We would regularly order on Friday's from a local pizza place, delivery, and after looking at the additional fees, we started to pick up instead. It's now at the point where we are just buying the ingredients and making at home. Local Chinese place still has no delivery fees so may order once and a while form them. More often than not, it's a pickup when ordering.

Doing this everyday is not a non-starter. Don't have the $$ and don't think I would want to eat that way anyway.

[Anonymous]

We get delivery way too much. I know it. But I don't really know how to stop it. I cook 2-3 nights a week. I try to make enough for leftovers, but those end up as lunches. We usually have one leftover/scrounge dinner night, and the rest are delivery. DH doesn't cook.

I just restarted Hello Fresh hoping it would inspire me to cook more.

[Anonymous]

$0. We either go to a restaurant or make food at home. Delivered food is just throwing money away. My kids know how to make themselves simple foods if they are hungry. Quesadillas, grilled cheese, sandwiches, etc. They also know how to use the air fryer to make frozen foods. They are 10-15. They never ask to get food delivered. We've done it maybe 3 times in 6 years and it was always cold and gross.

[Anonymous]

$0 on delivery.

~$350/month on takeout. Friday pizza night plus fast casual take out.

This does not include dining in a restaurants which is probably close to $250/month.