On one hand, cooking meals like pizza or chili in bulk at home is far less expensive than dining out. However if you are going to cook a full meal filled with nutritious ingredients, this will cost you more and take more time then say going through the McDonalds drive through. The article also provides a great example of trying to replicate what you would get at a fast food chain. The article uses a familiar anecdote of going to the grocery store, "you'll likely have to buy ingredients from the grocery store in larger amounts, as items like chicken breast, buns, veggies and sauces rarely come in single-serving sizes. In most cases, there's no way to come in at the $2 to $4 price range for a single sandwich in a single sitting."

This article provides great context into navigating eating out vs cooking at home. It allows the reader to contemplate their own priorities when eating a meal. If the reader prefers saving the time that it would take to get groceries and cook to save a few dollars they will side with eating out. However if the reader purely wants to save money they will side with cooking their own meals. This raises the question of the time value of money and if that time you spent cooking in worth the few dollars you might save. Throughout this presentation will we examine eating out vs cooking at home and the economic principals that are involved in this decision that affects every person.

The article also talks about the economies of scale, specifically saying how cooking in bulk can lead to cost savings, but for single meals, fast food may be cheaper due to the larger quantities required when buying ingredients. Overall, the article encourages its readers to reflect on their own priorities when making these everyday economic decisions.

Experts like chef Dennis Littley suggest in the article that cooking at home is still the better choice, as it’s usually healthier and cheaper. You can buy groceries in bulk, plan meals ahead, and use leftovers, which can make your food budget go a lot further. Even though fast food is convenient and fits into busy lives, cooking at home remains a solid way to save money and eat healthier.

An information imperfection discussed in the article highlights how eating out may seem cheaper at the moment, but cooking your own meals at home can save more money in the long term. While buying the groceries to make a meal may seem more expensive upfront, larger quantities can be consumed compared to buying just one meal at a restaurant. The groceries can also last longer and be used multiple times.

Consumers are paying more, both at home and at the grocery store, for food than they have before. Shrinkflation has caused the prices of grocery store items and food at restaurants to increase, while the actual quantity and size of the items have become smaller.  This trend can shift the demand curve because consumers may reduce their demand for certain items as food prices continue to rise.

The conclusion of eating out vs making food depends a lot on your personal priorities. In the short run buying fast food is effective whereas making and buying food isn't but, in the long run, its the opposite. Buying food in bulk saves you money and eating that food is healthier for yourself. If you have a busy schedule it may be more efficient to run out and get food rather than making food. People who win would be the ones who don't care about long-term health problems and focus on buying fast food saving themselves some time. Some people who lose are people who are forced into fast food purchasing as they cannot afford to purchase a surplus of groceries to make healthy food and must resort to buying cheap fast food items because of their financial situation. In all economic contexts, personal priorities, inflation, and much more determine a person's likeliness to consume fast food or homemade food.