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I'm trying to do the sensible thing.
When you work at home, is it better to eat out every day ?
(Or, if not every day, most days.)
Since starting my work from home job, I have observed that I have spent as many as 60 hours without opening the door. During those times, I have slept less, slept far more irregularly, exercised less and exercised less regularly; i.e., all the bad things; and these behaviors have shown an absolutely singularly defining mark: working at home instead of a company owned building.
I did a little thinking, and I'm wondering if I am making up an excuse to be lazy and avoid the ancillary facets of a meal (also known as "work") or if this really is the cause of the problem (or at least a significantly contributing factor) and should be rectified by local restaurants.
Food via home cooking...
- Internet shopping and comparison of local stores
- Drive to grocery store(s)
- Stalk the aisles
- Stand in line to checkout
- Load car
- Drive back home
- Unload car
- Refrigerator space allocation
Those occur two or three times a week
- Meal prep
- Dishwasher and the dishes
- Kitchen chores
- Take out the trash
Those occur every day, sometimes twice
Now for...
Food via eating out...
- Drive to restaurant
- Order the meal, wait on the prep
- Eat it
- Pay
- Leave and drive back home
From looking at those two lists, I see three factors that are about the same: Driving there, driving back, and the wait (the prep time is about equal to the checkout lane).
Have others here (others who have worked both traditionally, and from home) done a similar analysis ? If so, can you share knowledge gleaned from personal experience ?
I'm starting to wonder how much money I'm actually "saving" by doing all the work myself at home.
I would like to suggest a reference point salary of eight hundred dollars per week. I got that number from the U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, HERE[^] While far from perfect, it's in the ballpark and close enough for this discussion.
If Joe Generalguy makes $800 a week, then how much is he "paying himself" by doing his own food as opposed to buying two burgers and fries out of his wages ?
More to the point: Does home food prep have any real payoff for work-at-home people ?
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Simple.
Spend a week eating out and a week at home doing it self. Compare the costs. I suspect the second will be cheaper, but most of the time its not about money...
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What does the Mrs. think?
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The Mrs. = {}
(i.e., the null set)
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C-P, from this I assume you are single, from other posts I figure you are not a child programmer any more. I guess this is not about cost or even eating, it sounds like the lower level of social interaction caused by working from home is getting to you.
I had family around me when I worked from home so there was little peace and quiet. I had a rule that after dinner, fairly early with kids I did not work that evening. I have been known to plug in at 4 am though!
I would go with your first option, not for the cost saving but just to get out of the house and away from the blasted computer and work.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Positive Resonance is occurring with much of what you have written. Thanks.
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Smartest reply in this thread! 
Jeremy Falcon
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Well he IS Sherlock's politically astute brother.
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No he's the first self aware computer on the moon - Moon is a Harsh Mistress!
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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I work from home, and live out in the boonies (southern Ohio). It's all remote office for us--other guys are in Wisconsin, and we've had Colorado developers on the line for a while.
For me, it's not a problem. I like being away from people, and my family is about all I need to interact with. On the other hand, Jeff (one of the bachelor cheese heads) got so starved for social interaction that he took a job as the night shift clerk at a liquor store. Because he was willing to work all sorts of odd hours and weekends, they were more than happy to accommodate him if project work took a weird turn for business travel.
Although, in most places, the statement "I'm taking a job at a liquor store for less than 1/3 my pay here" would seem strange or foreboding in most situations, I completely understood. He seemed pretty happy for a long time, until he finally got an offer to work for a local multinational in a traditional office.
Lesson for me: You do what it takes to make you happy. I'm happy being left alone, and Jeff was happier with people to talk to.
vuolsi così colà dove si puote
ciò che si vuole, e più non dimandare
--The answer to Minos and any question of "Why are we doing it this way?"
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Assuming you are single, you can cook at at home during the week. Every day. Please do not develop habit of eating left overs or doing bulk cooking. Cooking everyday will give you a break from work. For weekends, you can set a day and time to buy groceries for the week (not online). And also have a schedule to socialize with people.
Money wise, I find eating out and cooking at home at par (depends on kind of restaurants you visit). However, quality wise, it may be better since you have control over raw materials. Also, if you are good cook, you might end up eating better tasting food and might even start enjoying cookery.
Time wise, if you stick to a schedule, there should be any problems. Western food in my opinion is quick to cook in comparison to Indian food. I would assume 20 minutes would be good enough to cook for one (?). In that case, you are spending 40 minutes cooking and might end up reducing your break times (if you take any) by at least some margin if not 40 minutes.
Here is a routine I would suggest:
1. Sunday morning: Buy groceries in person from nearby store.
2. Monday through Friday: Work with cooking lunch for yourself. I was flexible with cooking dinners and would aim to get it from a local cafe rather than a fast food place.
3. Saturday morning: Go out and do something that you like.
4. Saturday evening: Socialize.
I used to live like this and it was optimal for me.
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d@nish wrote: In that case, you are spending 40 minutes cooking
Way underestimated, big time. I'm thinking that you and I may have different ideas on dishes, kitchen, etc.
Perhaps you have a glass-top stove, in which case I'm highway green with jealousy.
I have one of those electric eye things; the fire hazard kind which attracts a mess as a result of one use.
It's generally 20 to 30 to prepare the meal, and 30 to 45 to clean up after it. Actually more, as the plates must come out of the dishwasher, the plastic stuff must be set out to dry off, etc., etc..
90 minutes is not out of the ballpark at all, and that really hits home; what with all the other thoughts folks here have tossed into the mix of thoughts. (Thanks, both you, d@nish, and a dozen others here)
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I'm the master of the 20 minute meal (cook time). During cooking I normally have time to empty the dishwasher from the previous day and clean up any prep work mess. Now in fairness that's a two course meal. A meat and a vegetable and sometimes a starch. Maybe look to the crock pot meals and see if that helps. From my experience, it's cheaper to eat at home and much healthier. I don't know how it is for you, but I do find cooking cathartic, especially once you learn technique and throw away recipe cards. 
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I am also not living with my family and doing a job in a city which is not my hometown. For food i mostly go outside. I have tried to cook food by myself for a month in the past but do not continue as i do not find it worth. i keep some packed food at home every time in case i can't go out due to weather or some other reason. Money wise you can say if you prepare a food at home you can save 20% as compare to eating food outside but at the same time you have to compromise with the time factor which you give to prepare the food.
Ravi Khoda
Humanity is the best religion and smile is the best medicine.
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ravikhoda wrote: you have to compromise with the time factor which you give to prepare the food.
Small comment, huge implications.
You nailed a big one.
Thank you.
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If you're just making the same quick stuff when you cook at home, then maybe you're better off going out as at least you get to meet people; even if they all think of you as the 'sad loner guy'.
If you use the opportunity to experiment and try out new things, then go for it. I find cooking very therapeutic.
All that said, get out of the frigging house! Walk / run / cycle / swim. Just get out and use your body to match up the use of your mind.
veni bibi saltavi
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Nagy Vilmos wrote: Just get out and use your body
Correct. I heard a piece of advice given by a guy speaking in public: You are not what you produce.
Totally agreed; but, fact is that most of us refuse to believe that and act accordingly (as you have suggested).
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I eat out...well, pretty much never these days.
The main reason is that we stopped when Herself was diagnosed with high blood pressure, and we needed to drastically control her sodium intake. When you eat out, you can't do that - you have no idea how much salt, MSG, and other nasties are in the food you eat.
Now that's all under control - she's off the pills and "sensible" diet keeps it reasonable - it's a habit. And I found I like to know what the heck I am eating! 
It's certainly cheaper: if you plan the meal and the shopping, go with a list, know where everything is, and don't take Herself the actual shopping part is pretty quick and painless. Plus I tend to cook in bulk and freeze stuff so I can grab a good-quality "ready meal" from the freezer and spend minutes finishing it when I want to eat about three or four times a week.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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If you work from home you HAVE to do something outside your home each time you're not in your working hours.
I'd really like to be able to work from home (but then not for other reasons) because commuting costs me 2000€ / year, which is about 10% of my wage. Plus eating out is way too costly and my company doesn't give lunch tickets - in fact I often bring food from home.
Also I spend circa 3 hours a day commuting, which drastically reduce my free time and the quality of it - and with that my working hours too are lower quality, arriving at work after 90 minutes of drive - wait train - delay (Italian trains are ALWAYS late or cancelled) - hop on - delay - hop off - wait bus - hop on bus - delay - walk to the office means arriving already sick and tired. Double that for the return and the day is done.
Being able to work from home I'd spend much of my day doing stuff outside.
Geek code v 3.12 {
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- r++>+++ y+++*
Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
}
If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver
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OriginalGriff wrote: It's certainly cheaper:
I do wonder.
I made some coleslaw Sunday. Mine is way better than most I've tried.
I'm watching that entire head of shredded cabbage slowly turn from the nice stuff to inedible.
From that large head, and the 30 minutes to fix the dressing, I have had two servings.
As the rest goes to waste, the unit cost of those two servings (which, yes, were better, way better) goes up to the point that it may not be less expensive, on dollar accounting alone.
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While it's still fresh, shred it, blanch it, vacuum pack it, freeze it and use it as a cooking vegetable with winter meals. Lovely lightly boiled with butter and black pepper.
If it's vac-packed and frozen it'll last a year or so in the freezer because you are seriously inhibiting bacterial growth.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Cooking in bulk is really the way to go. You get the food preparation dishes out of the way in one morning, and have prepared food that only requires a quick reheat through the rest of the week. I've used this method on occasion while my family is out traveling and I stay home to work. I used Saturday morning to cook up everything, cleaned up, and the rest of the week I only needed to clean the dishes I ate from.
It does take discipline to set that time aside and you have to anticipate what your tastes will be during the week, but it is quite effective. Salads can also be filling, are (potentially) healthier than burgers and fries (depending on the amount of dressing, cheese, and bacon present) and don't take a great deal of time to make fresh.
With that said, and to echo other comments above, there's plenty of merit to stepping away from where you work-- be it home or a corporate building-- on occasion. I tend to build in at least one restaurant meal on weeks where I use this technique.
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I work at home, and love it.
Calculate how much money you used to spend in gas costs and use that as your meal funds, never dining out more than the cost of gas/petrol for a month.
Treat your day at home, just like you did at the office.
I shave in the morning, and put on day clothes (not dress and not PJs, either). I take 2 breaks and a lunch break. I work 9-10 hours a day, starting at 5 or 6am every morning. This gives me plenty of family time in the evening.
I try not to work more hours or on the weekends.
YOU MUST HAVE A DESIGNATED OFFICE at the home, or it can be very hard in regards to sleeping, etc...
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C-P-User-3 wrote: I have spent as many as 60 hours without opening the door.
Only three days? Amateur! 
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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