Nope. It sure isn’t, but Trent at the Simple Dollar makes a good case for why you should just make yourself a cheeseburger. He went to McDonald’s, bought a cheeseburger and then tried to replicate it at home for the same amount of money. (He used real tomato instead of ketchup, however.)
The burger Trent assembled cost $1.83, while the McDonald’s double cheeseburger was $1.06, but he still thinks he got a pretty good deal.
Is The Value Menu Really A Value? Comparing The Homemade Double Cheeseburger To The McDonald’s $1 Version [The Simple Dollar] (Thanks, T!)
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@silvanx: No not really healthy, either one, depending on what one has for a metabolism. Bet the home cooked one tasted better though.
@serreca:
Yes. Greater utility offsets the higher price.
Depending on the calorie and ingredient content you might want to take into considering health costs. O.o
Regardless of home vs. storebought (I vote for the home team!), is a difference of 70-odd cents meaningful when there is a clear difference in quality?
Can cost really be a factor when you know exactly what is going into your body when you make it at home versus those grey wonderpatties from MickyD’s?
Fastfood almost always seems to be perceived to be “cheaper” because:
1) They buy in BULK (and I mean ALOT) – you cant buy nearly that much to offset the “deal for meat”
2) They prepare when you buy fastfood, you dont
3) They pay for the energy and appliance wear, you dont…
the list can go on and on
But really what is your health worth?
I brought up this same argument on consumerist before over [HERE], and people didn’t believe me. I’m glad to see someone actually did the experiment and that consumerist posted it.
@infinitysnake: Believe it or not, I used to be a vegetarian before my body just couldn’t handle the lack of protein. I tried everything I could before ultimately resorting to the steaks, but I’ve come to like my baked/grilled cow.
@Klassy: Nah, that’s just $37 for the steak (no sides, drinks,etc.), dinner usually runs me ~$25-75/night, not per week!
I think much of this arguement depends on how much your time is really worth. One hour of my time = quite a bit of money, enough to easily justify paying other people to handle the cooking for me. That’s one more chargable hour for me. I have pondered hiring private chefs, but I travel too much and it’d be unfair to ask a chef to prepare an elaborate meal for only one person.
@mthrndr: There is scant evidence out there to back me up, but in high school I used to order this thing called a Big N Cheesy from the McDonalds closest to school. If memory serves me it was four beef patties and five slices of cheese. It was like eating a greasy cheesy soft ball sized lump of meat. And they were cheap, I think around three bucks or so. I was one of those high school kids who was perpetually hungry but couldn’t gain a pound, and could slam down two of those puppies in a single sitting. I can’t eat a double cheeseburger without missing the Big N Cheesy just a little bit.
@louisb3: Not to mention the karma that you
avoid by refusing to put money into the hands of an evil corporation
that harms the environment.
This only works in McDonald’s favor if making ONE burger. When cooking for yourself, wife, and children it is far more cost effective to do it at home.
Homemade burgers and baked fries for two adults and three children:
beef: 2.89
cheese: 1.99
buns: 1.99
Fries (one bag): 2.49
Total: $9.36
McDonalds runs about $25
Ah, economies of scale… Not news…
@FLConsumer: Are you talking about cooking during work time? I don’t measure my time outside work in money.
@silvanx: I measure ALL my time in money. With the majority of my income coming from contract-work, I can work as many hours as I wish.
Ultimately, you should measure your off-time in terms of dollars…as in, “How much would I pay to be able to get that extra hour / get that hour back?” When you start realising how much your time is truly worth, you do tend to approach life differently in both how you spend your time and money.
Could be worse. If you accidentally ate a homemade cheeseburger made with topps hamburger meat, it is more cost effective to eat at McDonalds after the medical bills.
Course, if you do eat at McDonalds instead, it’s really a 5050 chance of landing in the hospital.