Eating out is still getting more expensive.
The latest Consumer Price Index by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed food away from home prices are up 3.9% over the past year and 0.3% from February. For households already watching every dollar, that can make dining out feel like an easy cut.
However, in some cases, skipping it can actually cost more. Here are five times dining out can make financial sense in today’s economy.
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Savings disappear when groceries go unused.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 30% to 40% of the nation’s food supply goes uneaten, much of it at the household level.
Fresh items like produce, dairy and proteins spoil quickly, especially in smaller households or busy weeks. When ingredients are unlikely to be used in time, cooking at home can turn into a full loss.
In those cases, a single prepared meal can be the more controlled expense, limiting spend to what will actually be eaten instead of risking waste.
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Restaurant portions are often large enough to cover more than one sitting.
In some cases, a single entrée can be split into two meals, lowering the per-meal cost.
That can matter as grocery prices continue to rise across the board. The USDA expects food-at-home prices to increase 3.1% this year, with higher costs hitting a wide range of categories, including beef, seafood, vegetables, cereals and beverages.
When one purchase can stretch across multiple meals, dining out can offer clearer cost control than buying several ingredients upfront.
Dining out can sometimes replace more than just the cost of food. A single purchase can eliminate the need for a separate grocery run, extra ingredients or last-minute add-ons that increase the total bill.
Costs outside the kitchen are rising, too. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gas is now about $4.09, driven in part by the Iran conflict.
When one meal avoids an extra trip and added purchases, it can offer a more predictable total cost.
Cooking at home isn’t always efficient for smaller households.
Recipes and grocery packages are often built for larger portions, which can lead to unused ingredients or repeated meals that go uneaten.
In those cases, paying for a prepared meal can limit waste and avoid buying more food than needed.
Dining and Cooking