I doubt that cooking at home is cheaper than eating out

[Anonymous]

Ok, so OP has established that the opportunity cost for cooking when you bill $625/hr makes eating at a restaurant more cost effective for the very tiny percent of people in this category. Great? This is not a broadly applicable truth that merits a thread.

Also, it's still not clear to me if OP makes $625/hr or simply bills $625/hr. When I worked at a large firm, I billed $500/hr. I didn't make that much though. So even then, it was cost effective to me to cook, provided I could do so while still meeting annual billing targets and doing good enough work to qualify for a bonus, because a client wasn't literally giving ME $500 for my work. The firm got it, and then I was pretty well compensated for that contribution.

I have encountered young associates who will boast about how their time is "worth" their billable rate and this is not quite accurate if you understand the financials of a large law firm (and especially when you know how much junior associate time gets written off of client bills to appease clients who don't want 1st and 2nd year associates doing their work, but I digress...)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cook most of our meals but the prep is maybe 15 minutes. Yes, it may take another 30-45 minutes but I’m not hard at work. Clean up? That’s my husbands job. Yes, you could use that time better to bill $1000 but how about spending it with your kid and husband. There are tons of quick meal cookbooks that can solve your problem and you should put your husband to work.

Also, make enough for 2 dinners for 3 plus 2-3 lunches (for 1). Everything we make is for at least 2 dinners for 2 of us and typically other 2-3 lunches. Do this and you only need to cooke 2-3 times per week and get takeout the other 2-3 nights or go out. We have found we eat healthier lunches/less snacking on junk if we basically have dinner food for lunch. So while it might take 1 hour to prep and cook (and another 20 mins to clean up), we have several meals out of it, or if it's freezable, we freeze some in individual containers for lunches

[Anonymous]

Typical lawyer! Takes an hour to cook when 30 minutes works. Takes 30 minutes to clean, when 15 will do. When you bill by the hour you tend to take a long time to accomplish any task. It’s in the lawyer DNA. It might be great for sex though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many ways to prep ahead, clean as you go, and generally make it easier for yourself. But if you are committed to not learning any of those techniques or skills and are instead convinced that cooking = making a huge mess and doing it all in the moment, then what is there to say?

For *you,* it does sound better to eat at a restaurant. For people willing to learn some basic skills, techniques, tips, and tricks, and put in some practice, it's well worth it--rewarding, satisfying, even--to cook at home.

OP here. Actually I do know how to cook. My mother taught me in my childhood in Europe, mostly French and Austrian dishes. Because she was busy working, as a teenager it was me who would cook for our family of four on a daily basis. I dare even say that I am an excellent cook. But I just do not enjoy it, and now that I am older, I tire more easily than in my youth.

Not PP, but I hear this. I find cooking, even something simple, totally exhausting. I wish I found it fun, but I don't, and never will.

But I do it, because restaurant/take out/prepared food is not at all healthy enough for me given my weight and health challenges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

If I'm crying during meal prep tonight - it's the onions I swear!

[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.

For over $600 an hour? What "type of law" is that? I need to change practice areas...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

OP here. Good for you "Super low expenses" -- I take it that you also work from home. I will look into increasing my hourly rate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok, so OP has established that the opportunity cost for cooking when you bill $625/hr makes eating at a restaurant more cost effective for the very tiny percent of people in this category. Great? This is not a broadly applicable truth that merits a thread.

Also, it's still not clear to me if OP makes $625/hr or simply bills $625/hr. When I worked at a large firm, I billed $500/hr. I didn't make that much though. So even then, it was cost effective to me to cook, provided I could do so while still meeting annual billing targets and doing good enough work to qualify for a bonus, because a client wasn't literally giving ME $500 for my work. The firm got it, and then I was pretty well compensated for that contribution.

I have encountered young associates who will boast about how their time is "worth" their billable rate and this is not quite accurate if you understand the financials of a large law firm (and especially when you know how much junior associate time gets written off of client bills to appease clients who don't want 1st and 2nd year associates doing their work, but I digress...)

OP here. As I said, I am not employed but I have my own law firm. I am a sole practitioner, employ an office manager and a paralegal.
I bill $625/hour, and I take it all home after expenses and taxes. But given that it would be extra time billed per month (as I said, I always have a ton of work and am often late replying to clients), I consider expenses to be zero on these extra hours which I would otherwise not be able to squeeze in.

So yes, I do take home $625 minus SEP IRA contribution and taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

For over $600 an hour? What "type of law" is that? I need to change practice areas...

OP here. Tax law.

[Anonymous]

I hate cooking too, but whenever we have weeks where we eat a ton of takeout for whatever reason, I just don't feel well. I literally feel less healthy than when we eat most meals at home.

[Anonymous]

I can completely relate, but I make like 70 K per year after they take out retirement and such, so the calculus is different.

Hello Fresh though…..a bit of a stretch but the mental work load reduction is priceless.

No dishwasher either, but I have 3 kids and make my oldest do a sink full.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At that income you probably have a cook and household help. Lets not pretend you are doing it yourself.

Please - at that billing rate, OP is a 3rd or 4th year associate. She not taking home her billing rate.

OP here. I have my own law firm. I am not a Big Law associate.

Uh huh. Of course you are.

OP here. What is your issue? Are you having a bad day?

Not PP but you must admit that these kinds of posts are insufferable. I make ~$30/hour. I've got the world's smallest violin going over here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, so OP has established that the opportunity cost for cooking when you bill $625/hr makes eating at a restaurant more cost effective for the very tiny percent of people in this category. Great? This is not a broadly applicable truth that merits a thread.

Also, it's still not clear to me if OP makes $625/hr or simply bills $625/hr. When I worked at a large firm, I billed $500/hr. I didn't make that much though. So even then, it was cost effective to me to cook, provided I could do so while still meeting annual billing targets and doing good enough work to qualify for a bonus, because a client wasn't literally giving ME $500 for my work. The firm got it, and then I was pretty well compensated for that contribution.

I have encountered young associates who will boast about how their time is "worth" their billable rate and this is not quite accurate if you understand the financials of a large law firm (and especially when you know how much junior associate time gets written off of client bills to appease clients who don't want 1st and 2nd year associates doing their work, but I digress...)

OP here. As I said, I am not employed but I have my own law firm. I am a sole practitioner, employ an office manager and a paralegal.
I bill $625/hour, and I take it all home after expenses and taxes. But given that it would be extra time billed per month (as I said, I always have a ton of work and am often late replying to clients), I consider expenses to be zero on these extra hours which I would otherwise not be able to squeeze in.

So yes, I do take home $625 minus SEP IRA contribution and taxes.

You take home 625 on hours you actually bill. You don’t take home 625 on hours you are posting on dcum, doing client development, or general admin and unless you’re beating clients off with a broom, the extra capacity you have from not cooking would translate to some fraction of your actual billable rate.

[Anonymous]

Do takeout but also a make a salad at home. Make sure that you are not eating the entire takeout meal but combining it with a healthy homemade option. Split the takeout meal with other members of the family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do takeout but also a make a salad at home. Make sure that you are not eating the entire takeout meal but combining it with a healthy homemade option. Split the takeout meal with other members of the family.

I should add, that if you have so much client work that all you need to do to make an extra 3000ish a week is to work an extra 5 hours and that doesn’t cannibalize future earnings, then you need to hire someone and grow the firm.