Budgeting: Is Cooking at Home Worth It?
- Bubba Miller
- Mar 29
- 6 min read
The best way to maximize your money at the end of the month is finding ways to lower your expenses. It is usually a bit harder to find ways to make more money than it is to find ways to spend less money. From my experience I have realized there are two categories of expenses: fixed and variable.
Fixed expenses are expenses that you will encounter every month. Whether it's basic expenses like bills or the additional expenses that are add-ons such as Spotify or Netflix, you cannot avoid paying these expenses unless you want to receive a late fee or cancellation of that service. The typical fixed expenses that most people encounter are mortgage/rent, bills, insurance, debt payments, and memberships/subscriptions.
Variable expenses usually will be encountered weekly or even daily but the amount you pay should be based on a budgeted amount. These categories would be groceries, gasoline, “fun money” and other ad hoc expenses. These expenses can usually be decreased or vary due to what you buy and where you go.
Whenever I budget, I always like to make sure that my fixed expenses WILL be paid; these are non-negotiables. You can check out my post about scheduling if you want to see how I set this up. Usually, these expenses are paid on a similar date every month and you can get that date by calling them or having an online account. I like to make sure these are paid because simply put… if they are not paid, you will have either a late fee or even worse if it is an auto or home loan… a repossession or foreclosure notice. And if you do not pay your water, phone, or other bills like that, the service can be shut off, and it can even directly make your credit score worse. And on top of that, you have to pay additional money to turn the service back on!
Fixed expenses, although the payments do not vary much month to month, the amount you pay can be lower. For example, auto or home insurance. How many times do you see an insurance commercial that states “you can save money by switching to us.” While not every person will save money by switching to that company, what may save you money is every year having your insurance portfolio reviewed by a few companies and seeing if you can get a better rate! I will actually have another blog post on the types of insurance and how to ensure getting the best rate for your insurance policies.
Variable expenses can also be less or more month to month. A successful budget would have this expense be similar month to month, but we are human and life ebbs and flows.
Let’s use the two most common expenses categories. Food and gasoline. For gasoline, there are only a few ways to save money on gas. Either drive less or you can download an app and find gas for cheaper at other gas stations near you. Or you can purchase a vehicle that gets better gas mileage… but that seems to defeat the point of spending less.
I would say the best way to save money month to month is changing where you shop for groceries. In my town we have Price Chopper, Walmart, Aldi, and HyVee. I have learned over the years that Aldi is the best way to save money. Although the selection may be limited because it is a smaller store, the prices are much lower. Going there instead of HyVee can save me around $10 per trip!
Also being more intentional with your meal planning will save you money. Going to the grocery store with a list and planning out 3 or 4 meals for the week and buying groceries for that will save you much more money vs the latter of going into the grocery store with absolutely no plan and money burning a hole in your pocket.
And I know I will catch some flack on this one, but it is common sense. Fast food and going out to eat may be more convenient… but it is also more expensive. The best way to save money is to cook dinner at home, bring lunch to work, and be more intentional with your meal planning.
Real World Example
Let’s say you are on your way home from work and you just got off the phone with your spouse. You are feeling lazy tonight, and the last two nights, and decide to get fast food for the family… again. You, your spouse, and two kids are wanting some burgers from Wendy’s. It will save you time and you will not have to do dishes. Perfect! Well, you decide on everyone getting a “$6 Biggie Bag” and after tax the total is $28. You get home and, while you get full, you look at your credit card app and suddenly the food does not taste very good, and you get an empty feeling in your stomach even though you just consumed 500 calories of delicious, saturated fats and sodium. After getting food out three straight nights you realize you have spent nearly $90 on fast food for the week, and it is only Thursday.
What could $90 get you in groceries? Well - we live a busy life, so let me ask Microsoft Copilot so it can do the work for me.
🛒 $90 Walmart Grocery List for a Family of 4
(2 adults, 2 kids — no dietary restrictions) Includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
🍳 Breakfast Ingredients
Breakfast Ideas:
Scrambled eggs + toast
Peanut butter banana toast
Oatmeal with sliced bananas
Breakfast Total: ~$12.50
🥪 Lunch Ingredients
Item | Est. Price |
Deli turkey or ham (1 lb) | ~$5.00 |
Sliced cheese | ~$2.00 |
Additional loaf of bread (already included above) | — |
Fresh apples (3 lb bag) | ~$4.00 |
Baby carrots (1 lb) | ~$1.50 |
Great Value Chips (family size) | ~$2.00 |
Lunch Ideas:
Turkey/ham & cheese sandwiches
Chips + carrots
Apples as sides or snacks
Lunch Total: ~$14.50
🍽️ Dinner Ingredients
I’m choosing meals that stretch ingredients well and are easy to prepare.
Meal 1: Spaghetti Night
Item | Price |
Great Value Spaghetti | ~$1.50 |
Pasta Sauce | ~$2.00 |
Ground beef (1 lb) | ~$5.00 |
Total: ~$8.50
Meal 2: Chicken, Rice & Broccoli
Total: ~$15.60
Meal 3: Tacos
Total: ~$13.98
🍎 Snacks
Item | Price |
Fresh Strawberries (1 lb) | ~$2.57 Walmart |
Yogurt 4‑pack | ~$2.00 |
Popcorn (microwave, 6 pack) | ~$2.00 |
Granola bars (10 pack) | ~$2.50 |
Snacks Total: ~$9.00
💵 Estimated Total Cost
Category | Total |
Breakfast | ~$12.50 |
Lunch | ~$14.50 |
Dinner (3 meals) | ~$38.08 |
Snacks | ~$9.00 |
Grand Total | $74.08 |
Dave Ramsey may get a bad rap on some things, but this is one, I must agree with him on.
After spending nearly $90 on just three dinner meals, being more intentional with your money and having a plan going to the grocery store, you are able to get almost a week’s worth of groceries for the same amount of money (actually a little less).
I think this is where intentionality needs to be focused on more. Intentions can impact our lives in many ways. How much money we spend. What we eat. How we use our time. Or on a deeper note, how we treat people, how well we work, and our relationship with The Lord. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died on the cross and some days, just like everyone, I get a little bit lazy and think that I am so important that I cannot spend 5-15 minutes talking with Him. Whether it be reading the Bible, saying a rosary, or just a few minutes talking to him, it all takes some level of being intentional with your time and actions. Ephesians chapter 5 verses 15 and 16 tell us “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.” The Lord gives us a great mind and so many wonderful gifts to partake in, the least we can do is be intentional with him daily.
God Bless
Bubba Miller
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