Single person here. I eat out nearly everyday but not necessarily at full service restaurants. A lot of times it’s fast casual fare that has fresh and healthy options - think Mediterranean plates, poke bowls, deli sandwiches, etc. A typical day is $15-$25 that covers two meals.
Yes, I could be saving some money by cooking at home but the time, gas, and energy I would need to spend makes it not worth it. I’ve also found that my attempts at cooking leads to a lot of food waste. A 2.5 lbs roast is equal to 2 weeks of meals for me and even though I could freeze some of it, I know from past experience that ill never pull it out of deep freezer storage. I’ll get bored of eating the same thing after a few days and then abandon everything.
I like eating out because I get to do a variety of foods throughout the week, enjoy the social aspect, and like to support good local businesses with my money. Some tips if you go this route:
I always bring my containers for leftovers. I get to pack things my way and I’m 90% more likely to eat my leftovers.
I always bring my own drink (when possible), usually water to cut down cost.
Sometimes I’ll bring my own dessert, like a snickers bar, to not be tempted to buy their desserts.
So to share a little more, the $15-25 per day spend isn’t the entire food spend picture for me. I typically will have at least 3-5 social/splurge events per month that will range between $60-$120. I live in a HCOL area so my housing cost is $3500/mo. If we calculate on the higher side if things (5 days × $120, and 25 days × $25), I spend about 35% of my housing cost on food so it is significant. However, it’s also the main source of my social entertainment so I justify my spending based on both that and eating necessity. I try to keep my daily food spend on the lower/reasonable side because I know I’ll have my splurge days.