Food Budget

Hi. me again, still with some sociological questions around

Long story short, I'm trying to find out...

a) How much someone spents their money for specifically food (daily basis, not in terms of eating out) per month?

b) And on what?
By that I mean, if someone eats out on a food court/cheap restaurant/takeout, what do they usually have?
Or if they're cooking, what do they usually cook?

I'm mostly assuming about single people. It could be in general.
And if it isn't bothering, I really appreciate personal experiences here.

c) and somewhat steering a bit from my original questions, do you think cooking vegetables on your own is cheaper than eating out? (probably more expensive than bentos though?)

Thanks :)

Trifle,

a) and b) contradict with each other, because while you say that a) is not about "eating out" you're asking about eating out in b).

Either way, what one eats totally depends on the indivisual even if you limit it to "single people".

c) Cooking vegetables on your own is definately cheaper than eating out or buying bento (Why should they be more expensive than bento?)

a) How much someone spents their money for specifically food (daily basis, not in terms of eating out) per month?

When I was single I spent about 30000-40000 yen per month on food, not counting eating out.

b) And on what?
By that I mean, if someone eats out on a food court/cheap restaurant/takeout, what do they usually have?

Do you mean, what do people eat if they want to eat out regularly but on a budget? There's quite a variety of very cheap takeout food available in Japan. Udon, gyudon, ramen, and soba are some pretty cheap options that can cost from 300-1000 per meal.

Or if they're cooking, what do they usually cook?

I usually ate typical Japanese dishes, plus other types of dishes that I could easily prepare from things regularly available at the supermarket. The more seasonal, local ingredients you use, the cheaper your cooking will be.

c) and somewhat steering a bit from my original questions, do you think cooking vegetables on your own is cheaper than eating out? (probably more expensive than bentos though?)

It depends. Are you asking about vegetables specifically because they are cheap, or because you are a vegetarian? If its the former, it can depend more on how you are cooking rather than what you are cooking. I often found that cooking single meals is not necessarily cheap, however the savings by home cooking gets better when you cook larger volumes of food.

If its because you are a vegetarian, however, you may find that depending on your level of vegetarianism, you may actually have few options to eat out, which will have a big influence when comparing home cooking to eating out.

You can find cheap vegetables and cooking them is easy.

Maintaining a healthy and balanced vegetarian or vegan lifestyle definitely is more expensive than eating out or buying all your meals without cooking anything.

thanks for the replies :)
a) and b) contradict with each other, because while you say that a) is not about "eating out" you're asking about eating out in b).
Ah, the first 'eating out' is about eating in posh restaurants and cafes, that kind of eating out. For some people probably spend a majority of their time eating out in economic places (as opposed to cooking)

c) Cooking vegetables on your own is definately cheaper than eating out or buying bento (Why should they be more expensive than bento?)
Just wondering. For bentos are generally sold around 100-300 yen price range.... (which should be cheap enough?) Then how would cooking vegetables cost (per dish)? O_O;

Do you mean, what do people eat if they want to eat out regularly but on a budget? There's quite a variety of very cheap takeout food available in Japan. Udon, gyudon, ramen, and soba are some pretty cheap options that can cost from 300-1000 per meal.
Basically, yes.
Hmm, is noodle the de facto cheap food of Japan? Or there are other cheap rice-based dishes other than gyudon?

The more seasonal, local ingredients you use, the cheaper your cooking will be.

It depends. Are you asking about vegetables specifically because they are cheap, or because you are a vegetarian? If its the former, it can depend more on how you are cooking rather than what you are cooking. I often found that cooking single meals is not necessarily cheap, however the savings by home cooking gets better when you cook larger volumes of food.
The former. Personal preference, actually; I also like vegetables so it's sort of a win-win. XD; From what I'd searched it seems strict vegetarian is very hard to follow in Japan?

how am I cooking? As in, the method of cooking?

Seasonal vegetable....now that I haven't looked on. How different are the prices (during its season compared to other times) , I wonder?
....uuuh, example; carrots?