To wonder how people can afford a takeaway for a family?

[MaknCheeese]

We haven't had a takeaway for a while and I was thinking about ordering one for the family as a treat tonight. I decided not to once I worked out the price, I just couldn't justify paying 1/3 of my weekly groceries budget, £30 on a curry for 4.
When did you last have a takeaway?
How much did it cost and how many did it feed?

PP posted to that effect. Assume they are rural.

My weekly food shop is £50-£55 so £30 on a take away seems a lot when I can knock up a curry for less than £5. We rarely have take aways and when we do it’s usually fish and chips. I probably have a Chinese or Indian once a year.

Because you can afford to do that AND have takeaways.

Lots of parents can't....

2 adults 2 dc here. We get a takeaway at least once a month. It is expensive but ..

• everyone can have what they want
• great selection within our area
• cheaper than eating out
• easier than eating out with kids
• complete night off cooking for me

We either get Chinese or Indian, usually, and it's £40ish, doesn't take long as we live within 3 miles of many decent places. That's a wide selection of dishes with some leftover for the next day. The DC don't always eat a lot but it does mean they are trying new foods, and they are gradually getting more open minded. We also have really good Thai and Vietnamese locally and many other cuisines, and it's better than my attempts at cooking the cuisine.

We sometimes get Dominoes when DD's friends are here. That is really expensive as one of them is coeliac and another is vegan, so they don't share pizzas. It's not great value considering how simple it is, but it's their favourite!

I would say we only get a takeaway for us for a special occasion like birthday, mother's day etc, so I consider it cheaper than going out. I'd rather have a decent takeaway than spend the same money on cheap pub meal.

We have one weekly on a friday or sat night.

We had a takeaway last night at a new burger place for 3 adults and it was £67 including delivery for 2 burger and chips and a mac and cheese with loaded chips. I felt that was expensive for what it was.

Usually our takeaways are £40 to 50

We spend loads on take away... like easy 50 quid on an indian or Chinese... at least once a week

£28!
Surely, most of that was a delivery charge?
i can’t imagine ordered a burger TA, but last time we got Indian it was about £20/head.
thai/Chinese I cook better at home (and don’t mind cooking)

We have a kids activity in our local Brick Lane quarter, so buy a pre-made curry cold for a fiver each, plus samosas. We buy large and get a treat and a couple of days sandwiches out of it.

I make naan bread at home in the breadmaker because our kids eat too much bread anyway and at least naan has yoghurt in it. It's very affordable - but the trick is buying the best bit of the meal cold and in advance.

Someone here also recommended Curry Club, which has been a brilliant Christmas present. Very fast and reasonable priced recipes and taste great.

At least once sometimes twice week.
About £45 for one and £40 for the other.

We hardly ever get one - but never really did. I think we got more takeaways during 2020 lockdown than we'd ever done in the years before, just because it felt like a treat and something you could actually DO!

But one reason I seldom get a takeaway is that it always feels like terrible value. I'm a pretty good cook and make nice curries. I don't want to pay several times the amount I'd spend making one, and end up with something much more unhealthy. If I lived somewhere there were loads of fantastic food outlets - independent and interesting cuisine - I'd be more tempted - but for a greasy korma from the place in town? nah. If we really can't be arsed to cook I'll get a supermarket pizza or two.

Plus, back in the days when DH and I used to go out to eat in the evenings occasionally, part of the deal was you were eating somewhere different, you weren't at home, there was a buzz. I don't see the point in paying the same money for the same food but eating it at home.

@JaneFondue

Oh right apologies. Our Chinese takeaway for six is £30 and that includes delivery via just eat

Had take away last night for 7 of us, cost about £60.

tonight we bought a take away pack from sainsburys for £8.25, was lovely, nicer than last nights!

You can't afford take out so anyone who does is depriving their children of shoes?🤣

I understand why prices have increased increased (the overheads of the establishments) but it's quite unappealing now for what you get. Quality/flavour/ingredients seem to have declined too. Takeaway has always been expensive around here. With the increase it just doesn't feel worth it and is generally disappointing since the pandemic. Pot luck whether you get something delicious or mediocre.

I'd rather cook a curry at home or throw some nicer pizzas and sides in the oven. Sometimes we have a 'supermarket takeaway' of particular dishes we like.

We love Chinese takeaway but there aren't really any good ones around here (going on 40 years?!) and their prices have increased by a third when they were already fairly pricey.

We have a takeaway every weekend ,usually on Friday
Its not from shopping budget ,but from treat budget

It was a voucher I got for my birthday that I wanted to use but just couldn’t bring myself to do it!

£20 for two fish and one chips we share between 3
£30 for 4 dishes and rice from Chinese - we share

perhaps once a month maximum

We had fish and chips from the mobile chip shop a couple of weeks ago which was £19 for 2 , which was 2 medium cod and 1 chips . It was lovely , good portion size and 1 regular chips could easily feed 3 . We don’t eat Chinese and I prefer to cook a curry as I know what I’m getting . My daughter and I do have lunch out fairly regularly , generally an Italian as she is coeliac and picky . I wouldn’t have takeaways if I was on a remotely tight budget as I personally would always think I could do it myself cheaper .

But one reason I seldom get a takeaway is that it always feels like terrible value. I'm a pretty good cook and make nice curries.

Yes, that's how I feel. The stuff you get at most Indian takeways is nothing like Indian home cooking. Greasy- an inch of oil on the top, all tastes the same because they cook it all in the same gravies of onion and tomato, and the same 3 types of vegetables.

Of course, there are exceptions to this.

That's cheap for 4! Costs us the best part of £50 for just the 2 of us. A couple of starters, 2 mains, 2 rice, naans, poppadoms and delivery is about £47.

In the great scheme of things £30 is not that much money for a reasonable number of people. None of my colleagues I can think of would think anything of spending £20-30 on a work lunch out for just them. I try not to buy takeaway as if I do we inevitably just eat too much. Our most common thing to get when we can’t be bothered to cook is pizza. It’s £11 for an XXL from papa johns and it feeds all 4 of us if I have some salad bits in the fridge to go with it. We had a couple of those last month and most recently an Indian for £21 (1 x adult meal deal & 1 kids meal).

We have a lot of takeaways in walking distance and it’s far too tempting to just think sod it and pop up and get pizza.

@HollyFern1110
i posted a photo of portion size. The chicken goujons and chips were not “kids” portions, so about a full portion of chips were spread amongst adults too! Some got more or less of their preference, DH got a bit of everything as was last in.

Or maybe mum/ dad are depressed, ill, overwhelmed with struggling day to day, and are doing the best that they can by making sure the children are at least fed. So judgy!

🤣

We have one a week, usually on a Sunday and neither me or my husband have any item of clothing that's dropping to bits or buy our son cheap shoes from shoe zone!

It's about £25/30 for the three of us depending on what we have!

I make a wicked curry for less than a tenner with lots of naan and condiments. So I wouldn’t pay for a curry as a takeaway. The only takeaway we ever order is McDonalds and that comes to about £12.