Debt Hater and Fabulously Broke recently blogged about the costs of cooking at home versus eating out every meal. Honestly, I think eating out every day would be bliss – but it’s a luxury FB says gets old, fast, and sometimes you just want a simple basic meal instead of heavy, restaurant fare. Something I can totally understand.
We spend around $120 a week on groceries for the two of us. Sometimes it’s more, especially when we get lots of fruit and veg. (This also usually includes bits and bobs like cleaning products and toilet paper). I have to admit, we’re usually out of food by the Saturday and eat breakfast and lunch out. But the $120, by and large, covers most of all our basic meals.
If we were to eat out three times a day, it would cost us $294. That’s cutting it really low, too – I’m talking a pie or roll from the bakery for breakfast, and an average food court/fast food meal for lunch and dinner. It would probably also be enough for sushi, a salad or something similar at that price.
Breakfasts – 14 x $3 ($42)
Lunches – 14 x $9 ($126)
Dinners – 14 x $9 ($126)
Ouch! Dinners alone would be the equivalent of our weekly shop. I’ve thought about this topic a lot, but never actually sat down to crunch the numbers. Looks like it’s definitely worth it for us to cook and eat at home.
(Just as a side thought: why are all the quintessentially NZ foods so greasy and fatty? Fish and chips, pies, sausage rolls…)
Photo / midorisyu
$120 a week? That sounds like a lot. Is food just a lot more expensive over there?
Apparently so, from what I’ve heard. I blogged about this a while ago and weighed in on Carrie’s blog about food prices – I couldn’t believe how little things cost in Kansas…
me in millions: YES, FOOD IS EXPENSIVE IN NZ!! along with everything else. 🙂 I used to spend $120 in a month in the US, and now I’m averaging $80 to $100 a week, for just me… 🙁 it doesn’t help that there are no coupons here.
but seriously–$60 per person per week is AMAZINGLY low in my book. I have to really struggle to get mine that low. That’s the lowest I can reasonably manage, splitting my shopping between New World and the cheaper, large, local asian grocery store. You are doing really well there, lady!
I can’t imagine how much I’d spend if I ate out all the time…it’d probably be Grasshopper Thai every night! 🙂
Sorry–I meant to say that $80 to $100 a week is the lowest I can manage…
Also–I agree that NZ foods are gross. meat pies disgust me. I’m a huge fan of fush’n’chups, though (once every 6 months or so!!).
I really want to try everything on your list of quintessentially NZ foods! I refuse to believe meat pies are disgusting … but someone recently described it to me as full of gristle. Is that true? Please say it’s not …
@Sense – Is Grasshopper Thai any good? That’s the one at the bottom of that hotel on Albert St, yea?
Ok..so I did say they’re all greasy and fatty, yet I love (most of) those foods :] @Revanche – it depends where you go. Some pies ARE icky and gristly, but some are delicious!
I hope you’ll be up to date on the good places if I ever get to visit NZ!
NZ food sounds just like UK food!
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Aaaa fish in chips:) That seems like a lot of money for food, I’m sure you could get it down if you tried. Less meat? Sorry I should say I’m a vego so I’m heavily biased:)
Even if I wanted to go vego, I doubt it would save much. Vegetarian meals just don’t keep me going for long. No idea what Aussie prices are like, but after three years, $120 really is about as low as we can go.
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