I doubt that cooking at home is cheaper than eating out

[Anonymous]

Since you don't enjoy it, I would hire someone to come in a few days and cook. It won't necessarily be cheaper than takeout, but it can be a lot healthier.

[Anonymous]

Be honest you just wanted to tell people you bill 625 an hour.

[Anonymous]

Are you a single mom?

[Anonymous]

Try Hello Fresh or one of those option. It may be a happy compromise.

[Anonymous]

If I made $625/hr I'd probably not cook either!

I'm poor though, so off to the kitchen for me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I made $625/hr I'd probably not cook either!

I'm poor though, so off to the kitchen for me

lol +1.
But my family eats homemade healthy food every day so I’m gonna just keep telling myself I made the right decisions instead of dreaming of what I could do with $625 an hour.

[Anonymous]

I just bought scallops at Whole Foods on my lunch hour. They were $11, and I'll make them with pasta, butter and salt. So let's say that's $14 total. At what restaurant will I get a meal for $14? It'll take me 20 minutes to make, and most of that time is waiting for the pasta water to boil and the 8 minutes the pasta has to cook. I'll clean up for a total of five minutes. Most of the time when I want pizza, I toss a piece of naan on a baking tray, pour TJ's pizza sauce on, sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top and bake, while munching on raw veggies. So yeah, it's cheaper at home for those two meals.

Now there are some meals I can't make at home - I'm not that good a cook, have a very tiny, poorly-laid out kitchen, and don't enjoy it. So in those cases, ordering in or going out makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Well, if you make that much per hour, then it isn't worth cooking. For the rest of us who don't, it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, any time you spend not billing, is expensive for you.

Sleeping
Being with your kid
Commuting
Shopping
Vacationing
Having sex
Exercising
Using the bathroom.

You are actually very screwed.

I am not making any money as I am a SAHM. I am able to do a lot of work and activities that makes me happy but does not earn me any money. My hourly rate is $0

You should also do what makes you happy. Making money makes you happy so why are you cooking? Do the Math.

OP here. Only during cooking am I thinking about the money I would be earning, because I do not enjoy it. Of course I live a normal life otherwise, and am not a slave of the billable hours.

Cooking is tiring, whereas my work is actually far more enjoyable and less tiring. I practice a type of law that is low-stress.

It sounds like you really hate cooking. You won't be letting anyone down if you stop! Why don't you keep a couple of easy homemade meals in rotation just to have them - cheese, crackers, and veggies; make your own sandwiches; spaghetti; whatever - and just do what you prefer for the other meals. Is anyone complaining about eating out too much? If you have a spouse, do they like cooking or eating at home - or what do they think about eating out a lot?

[Anonymous]

In our house the person who cooks doesn't have to clean up. It sounds like your kid is old enough to start helping with chores, like cleaning up.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't make sense for YOU to cook at home because (frankly) your not good at it and your have not figured out how to do it quickly/cheaply/healthy.

I'd personally hire someone to provide home cooked meals because eating out is bad for you.

Perhaps that person can be a role model on how to cook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Be honest you just wanted to tell people you bill 625 an hour.

She was just expressing the contrast between her non working and working hours to display the perspective in her mindset. I don't know why everyone is being so mean. She makes a lot of money for her work no shame in that. As a GS13 I find her insights into her life interesting. OP, you are tired after work, and don't enjoy cooking, so you are doing what is best for you. But if you are considering a change, nothing wrong with that. Look up simple dinners on the internet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just bought scallops at Whole Foods on my lunch hour. They were $11, and I'll make them with pasta, butter and salt. So let's say that's $14 total. At what restaurant will I get a meal for $14? It'll take me 20 minutes to make, and most of that time is waiting for the pasta water to boil and the 8 minutes the pasta has to cook. I'll clean up for a total of five minutes. Most of the time when I want pizza, I toss a piece of naan on a baking tray, pour TJ's pizza sauce on, sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top and bake, while munching on raw veggies. So yeah, it's cheaper at home for those two meals.

Now there are some meals I can't make at home - I'm not that good a cook, have a very tiny, poorly-laid out kitchen, and don't enjoy it. So in those cases, ordering in or going out makes sense.

First of all, congrats on getting Whole Foods scallops for $11- that seems like a great deal. However, Op’s point is not about the cost of the ingredients but the opportunity cost if she could otherwise allegedly be billing $625/hr. So even a 30 minute meal would be well over $300 and that’s not even taking into account the time to shop for ingredients.

[Anonymous]

You've just spent $625 worth of time just posting on DCUM!

I get the logic - I charge $900/hour (with super low expenses) and it is hard to turn down work but I focus on a target annual revenue amount that balances personal life with $. You can't look at everything as a tradeoff with $.

That said there are tons of solutions as suggested - personal chef, meal kits, simpler meals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's healthier, which will save you money in the long run. And you can't/shouldn't work all the time. You can also have "pleasant conversations" while you cook and clean up.

This plus you should really work to involve your kid(s) with cooking/cleanup/etc.