Here’s something nobody really warns you about: eating out or ordering delivery is expensive in a way that sneaks up on you fast. Research by Priceonomics, cited by Crown Financial Ministries, found that ordering delivery from a restaurant costs, on average, almost five times more than cooking the same meal at home. Even meal kit services — those boxes that do half the work for you — still run nearly three times the cost of cooking from scratch. That gap adds up to a lot of money over a month, a year, a lifetime.
The savings can be significant when you actually run the numbers. One home cook shared that they could make a big batch of soup stretching to about 12 meals for less than the cost of a couple of cans of store-bought soup. Results will vary depending on where you shop and what you make, but the general principle holds: cooking from scratch is almost always cheaper than any alternative.
But it’s not just about money. Learning to cook builds real independence. When you can feed yourself without relying on restaurants, apps, or someone else making your food, something shifts. You feel more capable. More in control. That confidence carries over into other parts of life too.
You don’t need to become a chef. Seriously. A handful of go-to meals — eggs a few ways, pasta, a simple soup, rice and protein — gets you most of the way there. Start small, get comfortable, and build from there.