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I posted a video on TikTok that was unreasonably polarizing. Here's what it looked like. The average cost of a meal right now is $13. Eating at home, $4. So when you eat out, here's the math, because I'm a nerd, you spent 325% more.
Enjoy it. I mean, people were viscerally offended by this video. Let me read just some of the comments that showed up. Ryan said, "Sorry, pal. No one is eating for $4 a meal unless you're in a calorie deficit and shopping at Aldi." Well, joke's on you, Ryan. I live in a calorie deficit. Okay, that's how you get this body. User 3231492029272
LMAO, $4, not even maybe if I turn them to pesos in Mexico. Nailed it. On the username and the comment. Greg had this to say. What you eat at home, Kraft Dinner? I think he meant Kraft Dinner with a K, like Camel with a K. No, I don't eat Kraft Dinner. Number one, it's not gluten-free. And so I'm offended that you would even suggest that I would put gluten in this body and defile this temple. And number two,
Shut up, Greg. Brayden had this to say. Tell me you're out of touch without saying you're out of touch. I don't think I even have to respond to a guy named Brayden, okay? I'm not gonna even dignify this with a response. And then my favorite, Exotic Morty. When was this video made? Because $4 is just one ingredient. He's right. I take it all back.
Exotic Morty just shut this whole operation down. So why in the world would I make such an offensive statement? Well, believe it or not, I'm trying to save you money, not make you mad. And triggering millions of you is just an unintended bonus for me, so thank you. And here's why this food stuff is a big deal.
Let's say the average American eats out four to six times per week, with the average cost of a meal eating out is $13. That's over $300 a month you're spending eating out. Plus, in 2023, nearly 75% of restaurants plan to increase their prices. So think about it this way. If you replace just four of those six meals eating out with a $4 homemade meal, you would save $150 a month. That would cut your food budget in half. Wow!
So to prove to all of you naysayers that a quality homemade $4 meal is possible, let's take a look at some of the most common rebuttals and see how they stand up against Chef George. Which, to be clear, I am not a cook. So if I can do it, you definitely can. So here's one of the main comments we got. Bacon.
So the ingredients that you buy should be making you multiple meals. That's why you've got to be intentional about what you're buying. But let's take that bacon and talk about a hearty breakfast of bacon and avocado toast. And let's throw in some cold brew for good measure. Now, all of the ingredients, a loaf of bread, a pack of bacon, avocado, and even the cold brew, that might cost you close to $10 or $15.
That per serving, if you make this at home, it all adds up to $2.41. And don't come at me with that, it's not enough food for my tum-tum. Listen, make two of this and it's still less than half the price of a single avocado toast from your local hipster coffee shop. And don't get me started on those aci bowls. What are we doing paying $17 for sorbet for breakfast? It is delicious. It's good for me. It's a perfect way to start the day. Next comment.
When I eat at home, I have to plan my groceries, find a recipe, make the food, do my dishes, all of which I don't do when I go to a restaurant. And the restaurant tastes better and offers meals I wouldn't be able to cook myself. Enter a camel household tried and true, Costco's Chicken Tortilla Soup. And it rings in at $2.15 a serving.
Only a bowl and spoon required. You can instantly heat it up in the microwave or on the stovetop in just a few minutes. And we all know it's probably the exact same soup the restaurants are dishing out. I mean, Ratatouille ain't back there chopping up the ingredients by hand. Look, we can even throw in some cheese and tortilla chips, and it still comes out to under four bucks. And if you want to be extra bougie, add some fresh cilantro. And if you even dare try to diss a good soup... No soup for you!
On to our next comment. The hour I spend cooking is sometimes worth the cost difference. Okay.
This one came up more often than I thought. And here's the logic behind it. George, I make too much money to be sitting there for an hour, two hours cooking this meal, cleaning up. My time is worth more than that. Listen, you're not that busy. And if your hourly rate is so valuable, why are you wasting so much time watching this video? You should be out there making money, mo money bags. I like money. For kicks and giggles, let's work through this logic. Let's say you make $25 an hour and you think, wow,
But why would I spend that time cooking a meal at home to save a few bucks when my time is so valuable? Well, let's break it down. First of all, when you leave work, you make $0 an hour. Your time is not worth $25 an hour for 24 hours a day. It's eight hours. You're basically an unpaid intern for yourself for the other 16 hours of the day. So technically at 25 bucks an hour, eight hours a day, it's about $200 a day of gross income. So let's divide that by 24 hours.
It turns out you're worth more like eight bucks an hour as you live and breathe and sleep. So if that doesn't make you look at your time differently, consider this. Every time you hit up an Applebee's instead of eating at home, you're spending time and money driving there, you're waiting for a table, you're waiting for the waiter to get your drink order, then you wait for your food, then you wait 17 minutes for them to bring the check after you eat, then you wait on them to come back to get your card, then you wait another 13 minutes while they go to the back to process the payment, and then you can finally leave.
It's a lot of wasted time if you're counting every dollar a minute. And if you're really concerned about your time, here are some tips to help you speed up this process. You can do grocery pickup to avoid shopping for meals and wasting time in the grocery store and loading up on crap you didn't need. Next, you can meal prep so that you're not having to cook every single day. You can get away with cooking two times for a week max. Make enough food for the next three days. All right, last comment we're going to talk about. I appreciate a nice sit-down meal in a restaurant. It's a real treat. You're right. Eating out is a treat.
In fact, it's entertainment. It's not a necessity. It is pure luxury to eat out. And it's part of the reason you're broke. So it's time to stop treating ourselves. Now, I'm not saying eating out is bad. I love to eat out. But I'm saying if you're hurting from inflation, you're strapped for cash, you got a bunch of debt, you need to sacrifice for a short season to create the margin to get out of that cycle. You know how much I sacrificed?
And also, you can treat yourself without going to a restaurant. Here's another meal that you can make at home that is bougie, luxury, delicious, and filling. Shrimp stir fry. Now tell me that doesn't say treat yourself. And here's what it costs. $3.17 for this entire meal. This would easily be 15 or 20 bucks at any restaurant worth its salt.
So if we look at what we made, the bacon avocado toast, the chicken tortilla soup, and the shrimp stir fry, I spent $60 total for five days of food. And I've got the receipts to prove it. Literally. Here's my receipts.
So if you're doing the math at home, here's what that amounts to. 60 bucks, five days, that's 12 bucks a day, three meals a day, $4 per serving. So take that Ryan and Greg and Braden and Exotic Morty and user 323-149-2029272. And I'm not eating Kraft dinner, okay? I'm eating like a short king out here. This all might seem like big whoop, are you really saving that much?
Think about what that could add up to. That is $1,800 a year. And with that kind of money, you could build up your emergency fund, you could pay off debt, you could pay for a vacation to Mexico in cash. - Come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs. - You could cover your Christmas shopping without turning to a credit card, AKA, you could be more in control of your life with no rag rats, no payments month after month,
and a better life. So hope you guys enjoyed this video. Be sure to like and subscribe if you want more content like this and leave a comment of your go-to cheap meal on a budget that's healthy to give all of us some great meal ideas on a budget. And if you're one of the original haters, feel free to apologize in the comment section. We love a redemption story. So subscribe to get more content like this. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.
