Real Cost of Convenience

What is the real cost of convenience? From the pizza delivered to your door to those whole, peeled baby carrots, there is a cost. What are all of these purchases costing you?

Fast food is everywhere. A family meal for 4 at McDonald’s costs just under $30. If you prepared the burgers and fries at home, you’d spend much less than $7.00 per person. We just never seem to think in these terms when we are looking for a fast, easy meal.

Technology gives us more options for a fast, easy meal. Most food delivery services do charge you… something. A fee? A percentage? A flat rate? What are you actually paying for? The costs accumulate quickly, making a meal that would otherwise be $4 from the grocery store to up to $10 a meal delivered.

Speaking of the grocery store. Buying items like bags of lettuce and apple slices add up.

Apple slices? Check this out. Apples are $1.29 a pound and a pound of pre-sliced apples adds up to $4.76 a pound. Invest in an apple slicer ($1.99) to slice up a few apples at dinnertime and completely clean it up in about 30 seconds. By my math, buying un-cut apples saves me about $80 for every hour of apple-slicing I’m willing to do. Who would have guessed?

Convenience has a really, really high cost, much more than it might seem. There are times when convenience is absolutely worth the price. Weigh your options and know what you are paying for.

Resource: www.thesimpledollar.com/convenience-foods-what-they-really-cost