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Comment by reducesuffering | Hacker News Reader

Chipotle, In N Out, Chick fil A, taquerias, Wendys 4 for 4 and chili. 2 meals a day would run you like $15-$20 depending on locale.

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Using Chipotle as a reference point as that is one of the least expensive places I order from and just had last week: On DoorDash my last order for one meal was $26. $19 for a bowl and side of guac, $1 service fee, $2 tax, and $4 tip. I could save a little traveling instead of ordering delivery, but that doesn't make sense due to the additional time that would take. So that would come out to $52 /day or $1560 /month which would be better than the almost twice that that I currently spend, but most food is more expensive than Chipotle, and I should have maybe also mentioned in my post that health is very important to me so eating a lot of fast food wouldn't be acceptable unless the quality was relatively decent like Chipotle. Maybe I just need to seek out more places like Chipotle that are on the cheaper side while still being healthy and rotate through them, as while that's still a fair bit to spend a month it would be a huge improvement.

I don’t think you should discount traveling to get food. What are you actually doing in that saved time? Food delivery is extremely expensive. It seems to be a consistent 30-40% upcharge even if you get discounts, which is a pretty large slice of your total budget. Assuming you do delivery for every meal, you’re looking at hundreds of dollars a month, which is a pretty meaningful cost to cut out. Picking up yourself is also a good way to get out of the house more!

Also, I’m not sure what you’re ordering, but a chicken salad is only $10.59 including tax in downtown San Francisco. So if you drop the very optional sides like guac, chips, drinks, etc., and pick up yourself, you could save a lot of money.

For example, when I get fast food, I just avoid getting soda. Easy health win, and I already have water with me so it’s not necessary.

You could even decide to buy only specific things at the grocery store, like a bag of chips or avocados, for a lot cheaper if you really get enjoyment out of those things :)

Another point is that you could eat less food, or get groceries for smaller meals. For example, bread and eggs are cheap but good for breakfast. That’s one less takeout meal a day. Lunch could be pretty light as well, and then you can use a specific $/day amount to keep you in budget for dining out

Chipotle was the first thing to come to mind for me as well, my pollo asado burrito today was $9.60, that fills me up for 80% of the day. I’d only need a snack more in the evening to feel full.

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