I have a coworker who we were talking about blue apron and all of the rest of us were saying how it is so much cheaper to go to the grocery store and get the ingredients that we need to make the same thing. We were also commenting on how sad it is that we will pay so much for convenience in the US. When dumb coworker chimes in. She says that because she lives alone it is cheaper for her to just eat out for every meal. I flat out told her no it is not. Even cooking for one person. You can always have leftovers. I just don't understand the stupidity here...
I just mentioned this on another thread.
Part of it is that people don't compare apples to oranges.
Part of it is boredom.
Part of it is lack of skill.
If you are going to go to McDonald's and get an extra value meal (too much food, yeah, but work with me here), it will be, what $8? (I don't know).
But if you go to the grocery store to get the ingredients -
1 lb beef: $5
8 buns: $2
Ketchup, mustard: $4
1 lb potatoes: $2 (because of course you only only buying them loose)
1 container oil: $3
salt, pepper: $2
That's $18 right there! AND you have to make it (nevermind that it's enough for at least 4 meals). People who are single talk about getting "bored" eating leftovers (which, yeah, I remember those days).
In order to cook and eat more cheaply than eating out, it takes practice and skill to shop, cook, use things in the pantry. If you want to further your skills and eat ethnic foods, that takes more practice. If you want to be super efficient and bulk-cook, and save leftovers - then that takes planning, cooking, cleaning, some sort of record keeping.
There are people out there who really don't want to be bothered. I learned to cook in my early 30's, and it took me several years to develop the cooking skills, planning skills, etc. to do it. And at least I had a husband to eat the stuff. Now I have kids - making it more worth it - but when the husband is gone? Man that pot of spaghetti can last WAY too long.
Then there are the endless dishes.
I am really impressed with this guy:
http://mybodymykitchen.com/(I follow him on instagram too). I think it's a great place for single people to get inspiration on how to cook and save money and eat healthfully. He even said (somewhere), that he makes 2 different meals a week but rotates through the freezer over a couple of weeks, so he doesn't get bored.
With a family of 4, my food almost never lasts that long. Worst case, I make a pot of chili or fried rice, and put half of it (or one meals worth) in the freezer for later. But it's rarely in there for more than a week. I fear the teen years.