How rich are you that $20 in savings isn’t worth 30 minutes cooking time? That’s $40 per hour after tax, which if you work full time puts you in the top 20% richest Americans.
Even if you can’t share appliances with friends or neighbors, a stove, pan, microwave, and fridge combined cost only a couple months’ profit up front. Save up $400 one time and in five years you’ll have $5000 more than if you keep buying takeout.
(I’m assuming you cook for multiple meals at once and put the remainder in the fridge/freezer)
My jobs don’t have “work as long as you like” schedules. You work until the day is done - even if you’d rather be cooking. I’m up at 5 to start the day and don’t get home until 8 or 9 most nights. With so little time at home, I don’t have 30 minutes to dedicate to cooking.
Yeah - I could spend my weekend cooking and cleaning, but then my life would entirely be working or prepping for the week in which I’ll be working. I need to have some time that’s for me.
I have, on several occasions, realized I was waiting longer for ‘fast food’ than it takes to make the food myself at a quarter the price. ‘Fast food’ is no longer fast or cheap, which were pretty much the only two things it had going for it.
What if you worked an entire day less, or quit one of your jobs? Maybe the savings from groceries wouldn’t quite make up for it, but you would have the rest of the day to fill the rest of the shortfall. I can’t imagine your medical expenses are looking great with all the stress you must be under, maybe 10 hours of simple rest would be enough.
Prep time: Pull the steak, veggies, and a pan out (2 min), optionally trim fat (+2 min)
Cook time: 10 min. Use this time to add seasonings to the meat/veggies and clean your cutting board if you trimmed fat. Use the same pan for the meat and the veggies.
After eating cleanup: 5 min. Clean your 1 pan, 1 spatula, 1 fork, 1 knife, 1 plate. (even less time if you have a dishwasher)
Total cooking and cleanup time: < 20 min
I have no clue how you would take 30 min just to prep. Or, how you would take 30 min to pan-fry this steak (are you eating pure ash by then?!), and another 30 min to clean a pan, spatula, fork, knife, and plate.
Furthermore, it would take even more time to go out and order a steak. You are saving time by cooking this steak yourself.
Assuming you have … appliances to cook and prepare the food
An inexpensive toaster oven and hot plate is all you need to make anything. The money you save in the first week of buying groceries instead of eating out will more than pay for those two appliances. Every week thereafter is more money in your pocket to put toward debt, fun, etc.
idk what you’re cooking but it’s mostly bread and cheese and some vegetables for me. vegetables can be eaten raw, so i don’t even need to turn on the stove.
Assuming you have the free time/appliances to cook and prepare the food, yeah
How rich are you that $20 in savings isn’t worth 30 minutes cooking time? That’s $40 per hour after tax, which if you work full time puts you in the top 20% richest Americans.
Even if you can’t share appliances with friends or neighbors, a stove, pan, microwave, and fridge combined cost only a couple months’ profit up front. Save up $400 one time and in five years you’ll have $5000 more than if you keep buying takeout.
(I’m assuming you cook for multiple meals at once and put the remainder in the fridge/freezer)
My jobs don’t have “work as long as you like” schedules. You work until the day is done - even if you’d rather be cooking. I’m up at 5 to start the day and don’t get home until 8 or 9 most nights. With so little time at home, I don’t have 30 minutes to dedicate to cooking.
Yeah - I could spend my weekend cooking and cleaning, but then my life would entirely be working or prepping for the week in which I’ll be working. I need to have some time that’s for me.
Wow. That’s only extremely illegal here.
Having required hours or multiple jobs is illegal?
Having a shitty commute is illegal?
You can meal prep on one of your days off. Would take an hour or two. Then you’re set for the week and off the fast junk food that’s bleeding you dry
I have, on several occasions, realized I was waiting longer for ‘fast food’ than it takes to make the food myself at a quarter the price. ‘Fast food’ is no longer fast or cheap, which were pretty much the only two things it had going for it.
I think some people are trying to solve your “problem” but you’ve already balanced it out and what you’re doing works for you.
What if you worked an entire day less, or quit one of your jobs? Maybe the savings from groceries wouldn’t quite make up for it, but you would have the rest of the day to fill the rest of the shortfall. I can’t imagine your medical expenses are looking great with all the stress you must be under, maybe 10 hours of simple rest would be enough.
30mins of cook time actually equals
30 mins to prepare
30 mins to cook
30 mins to eat
30 mins to clean up
So now it’s a two hour thing when I just got home from work and I’m tired and just want to relax.
A with that logic eating out is
10 minutes deciding where to go
10 minutes going there
10 minutes queuing
10 minutes ordering
10-30 minutes waiting for food
30 minutes eating
10 minutes going back home or wherever
You aren’t saving much time.
(I don’t understand how you spend 30 minutes eating or cleaning after yourself)
Why are you including eating time?
Also there’s no way it should be taking you 30 mins to clean up.
The extremely drawn out timetable feels like me unloading the dishwasher as a kid, a task which took 30-60 min.
See, the dishes were 6 min, and the rest was watching Dragon Ball Z. :p
Yeah, even an hour to prep and cook feels like a lot for an average meal.
Let’s do a dinner for one: Steak and a Veggie
Prep time: Pull the steak, veggies, and a pan out (2 min), optionally trim fat (+2 min)
Cook time: 10 min. Use this time to add seasonings to the meat/veggies and clean your cutting board if you trimmed fat. Use the same pan for the meat and the veggies.
After eating cleanup: 5 min. Clean your 1 pan, 1 spatula, 1 fork, 1 knife, 1 plate. (even less time if you have a dishwasher)
Total cooking and cleanup time: < 20 min
I have no clue how you would take 30 min just to prep. Or, how you would take 30 min to pan-fry this steak (are you eating pure ash by then?!), and another 30 min to clean a pan, spatula, fork, knife, and plate.
Furthermore, it would take even more time to go out and order a steak. You are saving time by cooking this steak yourself.
An inexpensive toaster oven and hot plate is all you need to make anything. The money you save in the first week of buying groceries instead of eating out will more than pay for those two appliances. Every week thereafter is more money in your pocket to put toward debt, fun, etc.
idk what you’re cooking but it’s mostly bread and cheese and some vegetables for me. vegetables can be eaten raw, so i don’t even need to turn on the stove.