Everybody is guilty of coming home from a long day of work, looking in the fridge and sighing at the thought that now you must make dinner, when all you want to do is sit and relax. So, you think to yourself, why not have a takeaway? Just this once… it won’t hurt, and with a takeaway at your fingertips with apps such as Just Eat and Deliveroo, it couldn’t be easier to order one.
But just how much money does the average family spend on ordering takeaways and eating out at restaurants? The results may shock you. According to NimbleFins, the average UK Household spends a whopping £1,628 a year, on takeaways and restaurants. In comparison, the average UK Household then spends £4,296 on their yearly food shop.
However, what are we buying from a takeaway or a restaurant and is it cost effective in comparison to going to the shops and buying it yourself? Let’s look.3
A Large Big Mac Meal from McDonalds, which includes fries, and a drink will cost you £6.19 for one person, however if you were to go to Tesco, you could buy the following: 4 Burgers, 4 Pack of Buns, 10 Cheese Slices, 1 Onion, a whole Lettuce, 1.5kg of Fries, and a 2-litre bottle of Coke Zero for just £9.96. Whilst this initially looks more expensive, you could make two Big Mac Meals, with leftover food to save almost £5!
Again, a 4pc Boneless Meal from KFC will set you back £7.49 for 4 mini fillets, fries and a drink. In comparison to Tesco, where you can get 300g of Southern Fried Mini fillets, 1.5kg fries for £1.99 and a 2-litre bottle of coke which comes to just £6.89. It’s a no brainer really isn’t it?
Now let’s see how much going to a restaurant could set you back. We’re going to be using chain restaurant Zizzi for our example. Zizzi is known for their pasta and pizza, and we’re going to use a classic Spaghetti Bolognese with a side of Garlic Bread to see the comparison. A Spaghetti Bolognese at Zizzi’s would cost you £12.75, and with a side of Garlic Bread for £5.50 would take your total to £18.25. Now, going back to Tesco to keep all our comparisons fair, let’s see how much making your own Spaghetti Bolognese with a side of Garlic Bread would cost at home. You can get a 500g packet of Spaghetti for just 28p, 250g of Beef Mince for £2.10, 500g Dolmio Bolognese sauce for £2.20, 100g of Grated Parmesan for £2.35 which is just £6.93. You can also get a whole Garlic Baguette for just 0.37p taking you to a grand total of £7.30, saving you a massive £10.95!
As you can see, it is obvious that you can make your own food at home cheaper than eating out or ordering a takeaway, but that doesn’t mean that you must do it all the time. It is perfectly okay to not want to do an abundance of washing up when you’ve been out all day, or if you’ve been looking after the kids and just want a quick dinner before they head off to bed, or even if you just want a nice meal out. Luckily, there are other ways of cutting the cost down, so you don’t have to feel so guilty about your spending.
With Niftiee, you can save 7% on JustEat, 5% on Deliveroo, and 8% at Zizzi. Which, over the course of the year, based on the UK average, you could save up to £130.