if you "pay" yourself for labor in the accounting it's often cheaper to eat out, but if you'd be spending time driving to mcdonald's anyway the cost of home cooking is much lower. I average $3 per dinner (for one). For me, this meal would be
- two or three potatoes, $0.50 (1 lb @$2.49/5lbs)
- 8oz soda, $0.12 or $0.20 for name brand (tenth of a two-liter bottle)
- two beyond burgers, $3 (I wouldn't normally eat this meal, this is the price of two pounds of tofu lol)
- bread and condiments - basically free
Chop potatoes, dump in pot of oil, fry burgers, assemble. If you are an hourly contractor making more than a McDonald's worker and count the 20m cooking as half an hour of wages lost, then it's better to buy. Otherwise, cheaper than the restaurant because material price is about the same and you don't have to pay for their real estate expenses, stolen labor share, etc.