Cost Comparison: Meal Prep Versus Buying Food

Always wondered if meal prepping or buying food costs more in the long run? Wonder no more, we’ve done the math so you don’t have to. 

Picture this: you’re at a family dinner and someone at the table humblebrags about their culinary skills comments, ‘I can make this dish at home for only $5, instead of the $30 they are charging here’. Does that line sound vaguely familiar? 

Well, it has happened to us one too many times before. Instead of being annoyed and letting someone ruin a pleasant dinner, our savvy spender senses started tingling and led us to wonder if it is really cheaper to prepare our own meals. (If you have been spending a lot on meals, we do hope you are utilising the best credit cards, paired with credit card promos for dining to save and get rewards for every order!)

Fast forward a couple of days, and here we are. 

Below, we calculate the cost of preparing breakfasts, lunches and dinners versus buying them for a week (21 meals) based on healthy or regular meals. So, grab your popcorn and get ready to be shocked at the price difference. 

Last updated on 27 May 2021. Prices are subject to change without prior notice. The calculations below are estimates, and prices of groceries and buying ready-meals may vary depending on credit card discounts, among others. As far as possible, mid-range items from mid-tier eateries are selected for this guide.

Table of contents

• Preparing your meals
  • Cost of preparing healthy meals
  • Cost of preparing regular meals
• Buying your meals
  • Cost of buying healthy meals
  • Cost of buying regular meals
• The bottom line
  • Cost comparison for a week’s worth of healthy meals
  • Cost comparison for a week’s worth of regular meals
  • The final word on meal prep vs. buying food

Preparing your meals

Yes, this might require you to put on an apron and devote some time in the kitchen, but we assure you that it has more yays than nays. 

By preparing your meals:

1. It is easier to eat healthier because you know exactly what goes into each dish.
2. You only pay for what you eat (or want more of) instead of a standard portion that you may or may not finish.
3. As you’re the one cooking, you get to decide exactly what your meals would be! 

Assuming you own basic cooking equipment, cooking oil, seasonings and spices*, this is how much preparing healthy and regular meals will cost you for an entire week.

*Nothing too fancy, pepper, salt, soya sauce (light and dark), sesame oil, oyster sauce, vinegar, a good selection of dried herbs, etc. 

Cost of preparing healthy meals

Before we begin calculating the cost of healthy meals, let’s start with our definition of healthy. For us, healthy does not mean basic salads that consist of shredded iceberg lettuce with a sprinkle of sunflower seeds and doused in salad dressing, but nutritionally balanced meals. 

This means each meal would consist of a tonne of fibre, some carbohydrates (not all are bad for you) and a good portion of protein with minimal seasoning or dressing (trust us, it still tastes as good, if not better). 

Armed with Google on our side, this is how we’ve planned our meals for the week: 

• Breakfast: One serving of protein and carbohydrate
• Lunch and dinner: One serving of protein and carbohydrate, and two servings of fibre. 
• To keep meals interesting, we’ve accounted for variety to ensure that this list better reflects actual healthy meal preps.

Assuming that you are prepping healthy meals for an entire week, this is approximately how much it will cost you.

*Prices are taken from NTUC FairPrice, Cold Storage or Redmart. 

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Cost of preparing regular meals

As compared to healthy meals, regular meals will not need such ‘serious and calculated’ planning. To keep things simple, we have picked fresh and easily accessible ingredients that do not contain too many foreign-sounding words on its ingredient list (a.k.a. instant food). 

This is what we’ve meal planned for the week:  

• Breakfast: Cereal with milk, granola with yoghurt, and peanut butter and jelly toasts
• Lunch: Sandwiches, noodles, rice-based meals, etc. 
• Dinner: Rice- or noodle-based meals with a good amount of vegetables and meat
• To keep meals interesting, we’ve accounted for variety to ensure that this list better reflects actual regular meal preps.

Below are calculations for a week’s worth of regular breakfasts, lunches and dinners, if you were to prepare them yourself.

*Prices are taken from NTUC FairPrice, Cold Storage or Redmart. 

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But wait, that is not all. By preparing your meals frequently, the cost per meal actually goes down further. As some items are purchased in bulk (e.g. brown rice, quinoa, onions, etc.), they can be used for the following week’s meals and so on.

Not to mention, you could be saving more on groceries by charging it to the right cashback card. Apply for one with us today to start earning up to 10% in cashback!

Buying your meals

With a coffee shop, cafe or restaurant at almost every turn, we can understand why many would rather buy their meals instead of preparing them. Time-saving, convenient and no clean-up required — what’s not to like? 

Cost of buying healthy meals

There are quite a few eateries that offer healthy meals, some starting from an affordable $6, while others are a bit pricier and can cost upwards of $20 per meal. 

To arrive at the average cost of purchasing healthy meals for a week, we calculated based on five mid-tier eateries that we have either tried and loved, or heard raving reviews about (because wasting calories is a crime!).

*Prices listed do not include delivery fees, if any. 

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Cost of buying regular meals

For the lucky few who do not have food allergies or need to be on a perpetual diet to maintain their weight, the delicious world of food is your oyster. From hawker goodness to fast food to  fancy takeaways, this is the average cost of buying regular meals for an entire week.

*Prices listed do not include delivery fees, if any.  

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The bottom line

So what is the actual cost difference between preparing and buying your meals? Take a deep breath and get ready to be shocked by the numbers. 

Cost comparison for a week’s worth of healthy meals

Yikes, that’s almost $100/week or $400/month!

We get it, preparing meals is hard when you have to juggle work, house chores and a social life, but just think of the potential savings you could have.

If you absolutely cannot afford any kitchen time and would still like to save, consider a mix of meal prep and purchasing healthy meals from places that offer discounts (e.g. credit card dining deals, promo codes, ordering food on foodpanda and choosing the Pick-Up option, etc.). 

Cost comparison for a week’s worth of regular meals

When compared to healthy meals, the cost difference of meal prepping and buying regular meals isn’t as large. That said, you could still be saving a cool $42/week just by preparing your meals at home. 

If cooking is too much of a hassle, cost isn’t really an issue and you prefer purchasing your meals anyway, consider charging it to a good cashback credit card to help lower your total bill. 

The final word on meal prep vs. buying food

It might just be just tens of dollars a week, but it really adds up.

Based on our calculations, you could be saving anything between $2,184/year and $4,986.28/year, just by setting aside a couple of hours a week to prepare your meals. Although this amount doesn’t account for electricity, gas, water or dishwashing liquid, we are certain that their cost won’t make much of a dent on the potential savings you could have. 

To put things into perspective, preparing your own meals for an entire year can buy you an all-inclusive 7D6N trip to Japan, insurance premiums for a year, a new Apple iMac 2021 with upgraded specifications or 200+ pints of beer.

With these numbers in mind, will you be meal prepping more often from now on? 

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