June was the quietest month of the year with almost all evening meals at home.
The averages for this month:
- Lunch prepared at home $2.57 ($2.47 in May)
- Lunch eaten or purchased outside the home: $11.28 ($8.10)
- Dinner eaten at home: $6.13 ($5.60)
- Dinner eaten out: $11.80 ($14.82)
Our lunches at home are consistent around the $2.50 per serve. Lunches prepared outside the home have skewed a little higher, largely because of lunch at Cafe Habana in the last days of the month and a lunch at The Country Deli.
Our most expensive meal was that lunch at Cafe Habana in Malibu at $23.58 per serve. Our evening meal out was less expensive than usual thanks to a discount voucher taking 30% off the meal at Gordon Biersch.
Our most expensive at home meal was Grilled Rib Eye Steak, with Cauliflower Gnocchi in Blue Cheese sauce at $13.39 per serve.
Lunches at home cost 23% of the cost of eating food prepared outside the home , while dinners at home cost 69% the average of dinner out this month.
Had we purchased every lunch and prepared none it would have cost us $338.40 per person in June. We actually spent $59.13 for lunches at home plus $78.95 for lunches purchased or eaten out: $138.08 in total.
Had we purchased every evening meal out and prepared none at home, it would have cost us $354.00. We actually spent $159.34 for dinners at home and $23.60 for dinners out: $182.94 in total.
We saved $371.38 by preparing and eating most meals at home, plus we have better control over what we eat.
Over the month we prepared 18 different recipes for evening meals.