Many Americans eat out on a weekly basis. With more mothers in the workforce working more hours, it gives them less time to cook at home. The same holds true for fathers who cook at home. It's all about a time issue. So does it really cost more or less to eat at home? And can you stay out of debt by eating in, especially after getting off a debt consolidation plan? This has been debated many times, and it all comes down to lifestyle.

Taking an hour to prep and cook and another hour to sit and enjoy the meal and clean up afterwards, you are looking at two hours spent. For many families this is too long. Kids have many activities that they are involved in these days. So they eat out more often than eating home.

The costs of eating in can sometimes be more than eating out. it comes down to choices and what you are willing to eat. For some palettes, they will spend up to $15 on a steak at the supermarket, $3 on potatoes, $3 on fresh veggies, maybe $5 if they get mushrooms with it as well. Add in some wine, a salad and some fresh spices and you have a meal that cost you $30 or more. In most cases, you could go to a restaurant and pay less for this meal and get it sooner.

However, if you go for a less gourmet meal, it would costs allot less to eat at home. For example a spaghetti dinner will cost $1 for noodles, $2 for a can of pre made sauce, some garlic bread and meatballs and your total costs would come out to less than $10.  You cannot get this kind of meal cheaper in a restaurant. 

So how does debt play in to this. If you just got out of a debt consolidation plan for example, your first priority is budgeting and cutting costs to maintain a debt free lifestyle. So this transcends into the supermarket as well. For some, this mean sacrificing the steak and going for ground beef instead, getting store brand instead of name brand. By making the right choices you can stay out of debt, because every little bit counts.