13. Eat at home or out?

After a hard day of work or study, many people feel like cooking for themselves is too much trouble. They prefer to grab a quick bite to eat at a restaurant and go home for rest as quickly as possible. But for me cooking at home is worth the time and trouble because it is cheaper, healthier, and more enjoyable.

Buying my own groceries and cooking for myself is much less expensive than eating in a restaurant. I find that a meal that I cook myself on average costs half to two-thirds less than a comparable meal in a restaurant. Restaurants have to rent space, hire chefs, waiters, and managers, as well as buy food and make a profit. When I cook I have no overhead. The only extra expense I have to pay is the time it takes for me to cook the food.

In addition to being less expensive, when I buy my own groceries I can be sure I am buying the freshest and cleanest meats and vegetables available. Restaurants might think it's more important to buy the cheapest food possible in large quantities to make a higher profit. I also try and buy the healthiest food possible. For instance, when I buy meat, I try and buy the meat with the least fat on it. In a restaurant they add more fat and oil to dishes to make them taste better, but for me, health is more important.

Finally, cooking food with my friends and family brings me a special kind of joy. In a world that has increasingly focused on turning everyone into consumers, I enjoy being creative and producing something good. I enjoy learning and inventing new recipes and sharing them with friends. Even though it takes more time to shop, cook, and clean up when I cook for myself, at the end I have a sense that I did not waste the time so much as I truly enjoyed life for an hour at the end of the day.