Is it cheaper to eat at fast food or make the same at home?

I never order a value meal. ALways off the $1.00 value menu. It is cheaper that way. Especially for the kids - a hamburger/nuggets, fries, small drink is $3. The Kids Meal is $4 or more and the only extra you get is a stupid toy that gets tossed at the next car wash.

But I have to say... I make hamburgers at home.. and except for the mini's I make that the kids love... I can't stand a homemade burger. For some reason it just doesn't have the taste a fast food burger has. Don't know what it is but I'd just as soon not have a burger at home.

But this article, just says.. it is just as cheap to make at home, than buy at fast food.... but... with everyone on the go... the convenience of a fast food and the less time it takes at a fast food... is worth something

The burgers I make at home are never any good either, but my mother in law can make some mouth watering ones. I'd rather have one of hers than a fast food burger any day.

Yeah, they didn't include the gas cost, and on the same lines... they didn't include the shopping time to make at home OR the clean up time at home!!! LIke you said.. I'd agree and venture to say.. most do fast food simple cause of the time and convenience. The chart shows it basically cost about the same, give or take...so it is down to the convenience and time aspects.

Of course it is healthier - or at least can be. That wasn't the point. They were comparing cost. At fast food you buy and go. At home, you cook and clean up and then go. It cost gas to get to the fast food, but usually people stop at fast food on their way here or there. It also cost gas to get to the grocery store and time to cook it and time to clean it up at home.. none of which you ahve with fast food.

I myself do most cooking at home as mentioned in my original post, but it is a treat to fast food for me. I just don't eat fast food very often, but gotta say...lot of fast food is really good! No burger I have ever made or had anywhere else is as good as a Burger King Whopper, no tomatoe, extra pickle!!! AndI get the WHopper Jr on the $1.00 value meal and it suits me just fine!

Technically yes. But..a Whopper Jr is on the dollar menu at Burger King... not sure you could make it any cheaper and since it is my favorite burger of all time....

And it is just enjoyable to not have to do all the work and spend all the time cleaning up from all that work!

From one old time granny to another....many things are cheaper to do at home. Been there...lived that!! But sometimes us moms/grannys like to have the work done for us! Grab a burger and enjoy for nearly the same price it costs to slave over the stove to make it, and then while others are having fun, we have to do the cleaning!!!

I am SOOOO with you on that! I like to just sit and enjoy and talk with my grand kids...and have fun doing it and not worn out by making it and dreading having to spend my time cleaning it up instead of playing with them! Going out to eat at anytime or place, to me....is all about not having to cook/clean it myself. NOt to mention shop and organize and prepare after you bring it home to make meal sized portions!

I don't eat fast food alot cause of the fat, but know that doing it at home, doesn't make it fat free or cholorestrol or sugar free!

Cheaper to make usually, but what about all the work doing it? NOt only shopping for the groceries, but seperating to meal size portions, freeze etc. then cook it, prepare it, serve it, grab a bite and then get up and clean it all up!!!!

I can't afford to eat fine dinning very often, but when I do, I pay attention to what I order. Often I will eat the salad and potatoe and take the steak and bread home for another meal.

When my kids were in school, I'd make a meal for 8 (instead of 4) and the extra was frozen in single sized portions as that is what the kids could heat up themselves for after school snack. Worked great.

The article showed that it is basically the same cost... give or take a few pennies one way or another. But it didn't inlcude costs like gas to get the fast food, or gas to go to the grocery or the saran/foil wraps to wrap the bulk stuff you buy and all that time spent there and the time spent to cook the food and the time spent to clean it all up. Yeah, usually healthier at home, but what is your time worth? Add that to the home made meal and it could cost more. I dont do fast food very often.. love it, and make it a treat... but the fat and cholestrol is what keeps me away. I can't afford fine dining and the $1 menu is perfect. Often what I do is buy a burger (Whopper at Burger King is world's best burger!) and take it home, make my own drink, and have corn chips or something like that to go with it.

And they didn't include the cost of a grocery run, time to put the groceries away, sepearte the food for freezing and such. Nor did they include the cost of YOUR time to do that, prepare the food and clean it all up. I make my own Chicken nuggets at home.. the kids love them! I even taught the oldest (6 at the time) to do the dredge part of it! And they prefer mine over fast food ones... but it takes alot of time to prepare the chicken, dredge it, deep fry it and clean it all up!

And the "point" of fast food, was to eat on the go. Dont' have time to go home and prepare a meal so pick something up "on the way".

I think the "point" is that it takes so much time to bake/cook at home. Prepare it, cook it, clean it up... and what....3-6 minutes at the fast food? BOils down to what you have time for that day.

My assembly line of mini burgers and breakfast sandwiches.. and I also make a fantastic burrito (I use London broil beef) and make about 2 dozen of them and freeze them. Then again, wrap in a napkin and nuke for a minute... works well, but I spend about 3 hours on a sunday morning to make them all and clean it all up. How much is my time worth?