My dad had this really cool idea this morning for a steemit post, which could actually be turned into a continuing cycle of subsequent posts to follow. His idea is to assess the cost of what it may be to eat the exact same meal out at a restaurant instead of packing. The numbers are going to be subject to variability depending on how modest or presumptuous my estimations are, but nonetheless +/- a few dollars here or there will still give a pretty good idea of how much money I’m actually saving by packing as compared to eating out.
Today’s lunch consisted of chicken noodle soup and a matzos cracker, baked beans and a side of coleslaw, carrots and hummus, as well as some fresh green grapes.
If I were to guess, the main dish - chicken noodle soup - would have probably cost somewhere around $5, the side of beans and coleslaw $3.95, the carrots and hummus $2.99, and the side of fruit about $1.95. The total cost of such a meal at a restaurant, based on my roughly calculated estimates, would be $13.89, not including tax and a generous tip.
For the purposes of cost comparison methodology, the chicken noodle soup was free since our next door neighbor gave it to us for helping him shovel his snow, the serving size of coleslaw and beans would be roughly equivalent to $0.75, the hummus and carrots approximately $0.99, and the grapes about $0.40. The total of this meal from home then equates to about $2.14, likely plus or minus 50 cents.
This being said, today’s lunch saved me approximately $11.75 by packing from home versus eating the same exact meal out at a restaurant. Not too shabby if you ask me!
I may continue this cycle of posts next week to see how much money I would save (approximately) by the end of a work week.