“Just cook at home” is the default money-saving advice. And yes, it’s correct. But the gap between home cooking and eating out might be bigger or smaller than you think, depending on how you cook.

I tracked my food spending for three months across home-cooked meals, takeaway, and meal kits. Here are the actual numbers.

The Raw Numbers

Home-cooked dinner for two: $8-$18 per meal, depending on what you’re making. A pasta with homemade sauce costs about $8. A steak dinner with sides runs about $18. Average across my tracking period: $12.

Restaurant dinner for two: $50-$120, depending on the restaurant. A casual pub meal is about $50 including drinks. A decent restaurant is $80-$120. Average: $75.

Takeaway dinner for two: $30-$55. UberEats adds delivery fees and service charges that push the cost well above the menu price. Average: $42.

Meal kit for two: $22-$30 per meal (HelloFresh, Marley Spoon). You’re paying for convenience, portioning, and recipe selection. Average: $25.

Over a month of dinners (30 meals), that’s roughly:

• Home cooking: $360
• Meal kits: $750
• Takeaway: $1,260
• Restaurants: $2,250

The difference between cooking at home and eating out every night is over $20,000 a year. Even switching from takeaway to home cooking three nights a week saves about $4,700 annually.

The Time Argument

People say they don’t have time to cook. Let’s examine that.

A simple home-cooked meal takes 20-40 minutes including prep and cleanup. Ordering takeaway takes 10 minutes to order and 30-60 minutes to arrive. Restaurant dining takes the commute, waiting for a table, ordering, eating, and paying: typically 90 minutes minimum.

Home cooking isn’t actually slower than the alternatives for weeknight meals. It just feels more effortful because you’re actively doing something rather than waiting.

What Actually Works for Weeknights

The key to sustainable home cooking isn’t elaborate recipes. It’s having a rotation of simple meals you can make without thinking.

My rotation includes: stir-fries (any protein, any vegetables, sauce, rice: 25 minutes), pasta with various sauces (20 minutes), sheet pan dinners (dump everything on a tray, bake for 30 minutes), and simple curries from jars of paste (30 minutes).

None of these are complicated. None require special skills. All of them cost under $15 for two people.

The trick is having a stocked pantry: rice, pasta, oils, sauces, spices, and canned goods. With a stocked pantry, you only need to buy fresh ingredients (protein, vegetables) each week.

The Meal Prep Approach

Spending two to three hours on Sunday preparing components for the week is the most effective strategy for consistent home cooking.

Cook a big batch of rice or grain. Roast a tray of vegetables. Prepare two proteins. Make a sauce or two.

During the week, you’re assembling meals from prepared components, not cooking from scratch. A weeknight dinner becomes ten minutes of reheating and combining.

This approach also reduces food waste. When ingredients are already prepped, you use them before they go bad.

Where Meal Kits Fit

Meal kits get a lot of criticism for being overpriced groceries. And yes, per-meal they’re more expensive than buying ingredients yourself.

But they serve a real purpose for specific people. If you’re learning to cook, meal kits teach techniques and introduce you to ingredients you might not try otherwise. If you hate meal planning, they eliminate that decision fatigue.

Use them as training wheels, not a permanent solution. After a few months, you’ll have enough recipes in your head to shop independently.

The Grocery Strategy

Grocery spending is where most people leak money.

Shop with a list. This alone reduces impulse spending by 20-30%.

Buy seasonal produce. Asparagus in winter costs three times what it costs in spring. Eat what’s in season and your grocery bill drops.

Check unit prices, not just shelf prices. The bigger package isn’t always cheaper per unit. Australian supermarkets are required to display unit prices. Use them.

Don’t shop hungry. This sounds like a cliche because it is one. It’s also true. Studies show hungry shoppers spend 15-20% more.

The Social Factor

One thing that gets overlooked: cooking at home can be social too. Having friends over for a home-cooked meal is often more enjoyable (and always cheaper) than meeting at a restaurant.

You control the music, the timing, and the portions. You can actually hear each other talk. And a bottle of wine from the bottle shop costs $15 instead of $60 at a restaurant.

The Balance

I’m not suggesting you never eat out. Restaurants are enjoyable. Takeaway is convenient on rough days. These are legitimate uses of money.

The goal is intentionality. Eating out because you want to, not because you didn’t plan dinner. Ordering takeaway as a treat, not a default.

Cook at home most nights. Eat out when you genuinely want to. That balance saves significant money without feeling restrictive.