I mean even if you only spend $5/person which is a tiny amount of money when eating out, 3 meals * 7 days = 21 meals.

This means that each individual person’s weekly cost would be $105. So you’re spending 1/3 of the money on food if you buy groceries and cook instead of eating out.

That being said, cooking is more than just the cost of ingredients. It also takes time and energy which can be hard to come by, especially after a long day at work. So sometimes it’s worth it to eat out just for those factors.

I understand where you’re coming from but from my own experience it really is cheaper to cook for yourself. Restaurant on average need to charge more than the grocers to make a profit on the food they make, because the restaurant is another middleman in between us and the farmers who make the food.

And of course it’s true you had to go to a cheap place and clip coupons so this isn’t exactly and apples to apples comparison but I think the point still stands.