Please tell me... is it true that in the USA take out / delivery is more cheap than actually cooking yourself?
Coz in the Netherlands take out / delivery is more seen as "luxury" and usually is as expensive as or even more than cooking yourself.
Depends on what you eat...
For example, Bread is $1 usd for 0.45kg, 1637 calories for $1
So if you ate mostly bread, add some basic veggies and processed meats a whole day might only cost $5
Where is bread a dollar? Even loafs of cheap store-brand white are $2.99 here. Baguettes are $1.75
For a dollar you could maybe get a dinner roll around here.
The white slice bread at the big chain Grocery stores.. $1 per pound.. all day every day..
Not out here. The cheapest loafs of white are $2.99 - Most of the bread on the shelf is priced at $4-6. Cheapest place I know of is probably Trader Joe's but I haven't been in one for a while because everything else they sell is so pricey.
Look for wealthier neighborhoods nearby and shop in their grocery stores.
Essentially, the more affluent the neighborhood, the cheaper the general goods, because the shops know that all of the people living there have cars, and will not settle for higher prices.
Whereas the tighter budget families lack transportation, so the shops can raise rates on them with no consequence.
I strongly disagree with that assertion. The average poor household in the United States has a car; a third own two. Transportation has very little consequence in the aggregate. Nor does supply and demand vacate the premises when you're looking at less affluent neighbors.
The locations of various grocers are placed in accordance with the consumer base in that area. Whole Foods is significantly more expensive than Walmart. If you are in poverty you do not have the disposable income to purchase those premium goods such as milk that is hand milked by virgin milk maidens in Wisconsin. This is because the higher your income the higher your disposable income will be. Once you have enough money to cover your necessities the excess money can be spent on luxury or higher quality goods. This is why Whole Foods, Sprouts, Central Market, and similar grocers are not found in less affluent neighborhoods. It is also the reason that those in poverty are less likely to shop at Whole Foods even though they are likely to have a car to drive there. Lack of excess funds. Simply put, people in those neighborhoods do not have the disposable income to purchase those more expensive goods. This is why sales and VAT taxes are considered regressive taxes because they effect those of less means than those with greater.
That is to say people (and those with cars) will settle for higher prices. There wouldn't be expensive restaurants, high-end grocers, and a plethora of organic foods if there wasn't a demand for such goods. The fact that wealthier individuals are willing to pay $5 for a loaf of organic whole wheat bread at Whole Foods (I'm assuming, I don't remember how much bread is there) compared to buying a $1.50 loaf of store-brand white bread at Walmart is contradictory to your assertion. People are acting in ways that contradict with your hypothesis.
Supply and demand also persists in lower economic areas. Why doesn't a store charge $5 instead of $1.50 for a loaf of bread? It's because if you increase the price of something while everything else remains more or less equal (for example, it's more expensive to get food into downtown Manhattan than say, Dallas so that would be a case in which it everything wouldn't be more or less equal) you'll get less of it. There is a equilibrium that must be found. If you charge too much people will buy less and in the long run you will make less than if you charged less initially. It's true across the spectrum, even taxes. Also, if you charge too much someone will come along and charge less and try to take away your consumers. This drives down the price and according to the USDA households are spending a smaller percentage of their income on food than in the past when inflation is taken into account. It is certainly more complicated when you consider preferences (it's a more pleasant experience to shop at Kroger than Walmart, and paying a premium is worth that cost for me. So is purchasing high-end goods because I enjoy cooking and like eating good food) but the point is the point.
Plus, it's a lot more expensive for me to get take-out curry than making it myself and I make a mighty fine Thai curry. So why do I get take-out curry? Price isn't everything. There's a lot more going on. Instant gratification and time is a huge one to be honest. Curry is best left to sit overnight and who has the patience for that? I do, but not always. That's why I haven't made creme brulee in months despite being GOAT.
No, I stand corrected after looking at local Safeway and QFC prices - cheapest loaf breads are $1.99
Still not a dollar though.
Where do you live? It's certainly geographic to an extent. My brother pays more for basically the same bread than I do. He lives in NY City and I live near Dallas. There's a lot of variables that just make food more expensive there than here. I can get bread a loaf of store-brand white bread for around $1.50. I don't really eat sandwiches and I make my own loafs (with that real cream butter, hmmmm....) but I made brisket a month or two ago and I think Mr.s Baird's was about $2.00 a loaf.
