this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2025
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Weird pitch, would you guys be able to cook your own meals or eat out for a week?
As in, don't use anything you didn't buy yourself for a week just to get an idea. Obviously that is not going to help you save up for your place, but the research might be worth it.
Also if you still live at home use this time to consider what you use to cook (pots, pans, utensils, etc)
I had no idea what food costs were until I moved out, I learned the hard way that I had to learn to cook or my budget would be forever broken, but grocery costs and budgeting are a whole other skill so it isn't automatic that shopping and cooking will be cheaper if you don't shop carefully.
Good luck, the very fact that you are thinking about this ahead of time is a good sign!
I might be able to try that, thanks for the idea. I need to learn to cool anyways. not that I'm bed I just do it sooooo rarely
I'm learning to budget now, its much easier with a stable paycheck, but the money still flows so easily
I'd suggest one of the meal prep delivery companies, if they are in your area. You'll get a fixed price, food delivered and they are like diy cooking lessons. Recipes get a bit samey over time but you'll find a few favourites to buy yourself when you stop.
You're definitely doing the right thing by asking these questions first!
If you're not comfortable cooking by yourselves yet, I'd suggest focusing on that before moving out. The alternative is to eat out a lot, which is bad for your body and wallet. Once you do cook regularly, you'll have a good sense of how much groceries cost for you.
100% thats the plan. I've been getting tired of just sandwiches for lunch at work daily, so I was gonna start meal prepping stuff in the freezer, but buying everything myself so I can get an idea of the cost
Awesome! I've definitely been there before haha, there's only so much pizzaz you can add to a sandwich :)
FWIW, my main concern with cooking was time. Meal prep is good, but I personally prefer more variety. I've found that this book has a great approach - you do one meal prep cook, and get 3 different meals that use the same core ingredients. During the weekday, since all your proteins and vegetables are prepped, it typically just needs to be thrown together and put into the oven. 10 minutes max of human time, and maybe 20 minutes in the oven.
She has a few free recipes that follow the same format so you can try a cycle of meals before buying the book.
If you're still honing your cooking skills, there are a ton of helpful youtube channels to learn from. J Kenji Lopez Alt is great, but some other good ones are Chef John/Food Wishes, Ethan Chlebowski/Cook Well, Brian Lagerstrom, Adam Ragusea, Matty Matheson, Pailin's Kitchen, Internet Shaquille, Rick Martinez, and many more.
Internet Shaquille is probably one of my favorite content producers period. He's just so....real with all of his content haha.