Home Cooking Saves More Than You Think

Home Cooking Saves More Than You Think Image

We all know that home cooked meals are better for our health and well-being, but they're surprisingly good for your wallet as well. Let's look at how much America spends on eating out, and see how much we could save if we cooked at home a little more. The Situation Almost half of all spending on food in the US is now on eating food away from home. Half of all spending is going into eating out, an average of 18.2 meals per month, and the other half of spending is going towards every other meal. Clearly those 18.2 meals cost a lot more per meal. Graph of where America eats The Math The average American eats away from home 18.2 meals per month. This costs $232 per month, per person. Cooking at home instead, costs about $73 per month per person. That means cooking at home could save you $159 per month. That works out to $1900 per year. If the average American family of 4 cooked at home instead of eating out for 15 years, they would save... About $115,000! That's an amazing amount of money, but of course, exclusively cooking at home for 15 years is impossible. We're busier than ever, and sometimes it's nice to go out for a nice meal. Say the same family just replaced 1 in 3 of their away-from-home meals with home cooked meals. That means just 6 meals per month at home instead of at a restaurant. That reasonable scenario still saves about $38,000 over 15 years! food tray The Conclusion We could all save a lot of money, with a little home cookin'. There are also many more benefits beyond saving money, like eating healthier at home, helping the environment, and knowing exactly what goes into each meal. So, give it a shot! How much could you save by cooking a few more meals at home? Looking for recipe ideas? Check out our Recipes of the Month, and comment below with your ideas to share!