The Surprisingly Simple Math of Udon Noodles
Overcoming the financial cost of eating out, and the social cost of not... er... eating out.
Not so long ago, our family of four could spend $2500 each month in restaurants without even trying. Then came the pandemic and a year of cooking at home, and we never really reacquired the habit after that. Now, we eat out maybe once a month, and sometimes once every two.
Food is one of the financial independence retire early big three (the other two being housing and cars). Master your food costs, and you get to keep more of your income to save and invest to reach financial freedom.
This week, we were invited to eat out with extended family members who live nearby. My oldest just celebrated a birthday and, keeping with tradition, we like to get the families together for a meal on special occasions. We chose a local sushi joint that we love.
I had the $12 spider roll, which was top-notch, and a culinary experience I can’t realistically recreate at home.
Our kids both went with udon noodles mixed with a tiny bit of diced teriyaki chicken and vegetables. This was a dish that looked better than it tasted. And at $18 a bowl…
Ordinary noodles, extraordinary price
I’ve made udon noodles multiple times. It’s about 20 cents worth of flour, salt, and water. Add a sautéed chicken thigh and some broccoli and I can recreate a better version of that $18 bowl for about $2.
This is the math that goes through the mind of a budding home chef while sitting at a restaurant table.
Is it deprivation?
I see this question often from FIRE critics and curious onlookers.
Doesn’t it feel like deprivation?! That you can’t go eat at restaurants because you want to save money all the time?
In our experience, the answer is an emphatic no.
There is a transformation that happens when you both learn to cook food that you enjoy and simultaneously become more intentional with your money.
Rather than feeling like deprivation when you don’t go out, it starts to feel like a rip-off when you do. When you start to feel like that, you know you’ve begun to master food.
Rather than feeling like deprivation when you don’t go out, it starts to feel like a rip-off when you do. When you start to feel like that, you know you’ve begun to master food.
The surprisingly simple math of socializing with friends and family
We have many close friends and family who do enjoy a good meal out. They work hard, and they value that experience. No judgment here. We all are walking our own financial path.
While we don’t often accept invitations to pay top dollar in order to be cooked for and waited on like a Duke and Duchess, it is still important for us to stay connected with people who mean a lot to us. What to do?
Tapas & ‘Tails
We recently hosted several close friends at our home for an evening of Tapas & ‘Tails (that’s fancy talk for appetizers and cocktails).
We fed eight people for about $15. Our tapas consisted of:
Caprese Bruschetta. A very simple mix of cherry tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil, mozzarella, sea salt and fresh ground pepper atop a toasted sliced baguette from the bakery.
Black Bean Tostadas. This is a combo of two different recipes - a base of Indian fry bread (remember, flour + water + salt = ~30 cents) and a black bean topping with lettuce, cheese, and a sour cream drizzle.
Samosadillas. This fusion of quesadillas and samosas is from Chef John at foodwishes. If you haven’t been exposed to Chef John, and you are a budding home cook like me, you are going to love his videos.
It’s not just about saving money
To be honest, by the time we bought all of the liquor, juice, and fruit for the cocktails, we probably spent $100 (roughly the same amount we would have spent joining our friends for drinks and an expensive dinner out somewhere).
If it were just about saving money, we wouldn’t have bothered. So why did we?
Giving feels better than taking.
Serving feels better than being served.
It is an exhilarating feeling to make and dish up something that your friends think is amazing. It really does the spirit good.
In addition, the very best conversations happen, not in a noisy restaurant with your server constantly interrupting, but in your living room or around your kitchen table.
Perfect a few simple appetizers, call up a few of your best friends, and give it a try. And then take all that money you saved and send it to Allen invest it in a nice low-cost index fund.
EIGHTEEN DOLLARS A BOWL?!?!?!
Man, one of the best things for us as nomads is that all of the money we didn't spend while living in the US, we now get to spend on fantastic food that costs WAY less.