I live close to work, and have never lived alone - but living close to economic opportunities costs more, not less. Not having to drive saves some money, sure, but probably not enough to make up for the difference in housing cost.

Cooking from scratch at home is more a quality of life thing, I do that so we can eat well & reasonably healthy. The more money we make, the more I cook from ingredients. Have a garden now, even - it's a luxury of having space for one, not a cost saving measure.

Nothing you can do on the expense side will ever make up for the depressed wages - productivity and costs have increased much faster than pay, and nobody can save their way out of that.