Sunday, September 25, 2011

McDonalds vs. Home Meal

To help prove that eating at home is cheaper than McDonalds, Here I'll compare the costs of eating a meal at McDonalds vs. At Home:

Meal for 4:
McDonald's McDouble (2.6 oz. Beef): 1.00 x 4 = 4.00
McDonald's Dollar Fries: 1.00 x 4 = 4.00
Total Cost: $8.00

Home Meal:
1 lb of beef (quarter pound each)  = $3.29
Cheddar Cheese Slice (1 oz) = $0.80
4 Bun = $1.00
1.5 pounds potatoes (4 potatoes)  = .73
Olive Oil for sliced potatoes = .30
Total Cost for healthier home meal: $6.12

(you can even have a quarter pound burgers instead of 2.6 oz beef)

Eat this for dinner for a month and save $56.40

Oh wait...don't most states have to pay taxes at fast food restaurants??? So here in Minnesota, prepared food is taxed at 6.875%, so really this McDonald's meal costs $8.55, so if you ate this meal everyday for a month (which I hope you don't!) - you would save $72.90 a month just for dinner...

Let's say instead you had Chicken, Rice, and Veggies for dinner, what would that cost:

4 - 1/2 Chicken Breast for 4 - $2.14

4 - 1/2 Cup Rice - $3.68
4 servings of veggies (raw, steamed, broiled) - approximately $2.00 for in season vegetables
Total: $7.82

Again, even with this healthier meal, we save... .73/day = a total savings of $21.90 per month

This dinner costs $1.96 per person; which leaves $3.04 for the remainder of the day. 2 Eggs, toast, milk, and a piece of fruit for breakfast? $0.97 for breakfast, leaving $2.07 for the rest of the day... PB&J Sandwich for lunch, fruit, veggie & milk - $1.53.

We have 54 cents left...

So far with this meal we've had the following from the food pyramid:
4 proteins: Peanut Butter, 2 eggs, Chicken
4 Grains: Toast, 2 pieces of bread for sandwich, Rice
4 Fruits & Vegetables: Fruit @ breakfast, Fruit & Vegetable @ Lunch, Vegetable @ Dinner
1 Sweet: Jelly
2 Dairy's: Milk @ breakfast, Milk @ Lunch

You could another fruit or vegetable, a piece of toast or some oatmeal for a snack...however, this is a well balanced menu for a day helping you get all the nutrients you need...

The total cost of the day for each individual is $4.46; leaving $0.54 remaining per person. This leaves, for a family of 4, $64.80 per family. This can be spent on additional snacks, nuts, fruits & veggies, a treat, whatever you'd like...

Imagine if you began making some of your own breads or started a garden... This could save substantial amounts of money a month and even allow you to freeze or can fruits & veggies for the winter months... ahh...so much money to save.

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