You'd be surprised at how much a lot of people eat out. As of 2016, total spending among all Americans was higher on restaurants than on groceries. The average American (although not necessarily the median one) spends more on restaurants than groceries.
Only if days you cook for yourself (heavily) dominate days you order a takeaway.
Also, 'groceries' probably accounts for a lot more alcohol (assuming you drink of course!) really tilting the balance. Not least because if you order a takeaway you're probably still drinking something from your grocery order.
If you eat three meals a day and have staple breakfasts and lunches (for us it’s oatmeal/muesli in the morning with fruits, sandwiches for lunch) and only ever order in for dinner, at least ⅔ of your meals each day automatically come from “groceries”. And home cooked dinners are usually the most expensive meal of the day (if they feature the typical dinner meats).
Trading off for takeout, many restaurants are overjoyed to give you two servings in the name of one, and that makes at least one meal for the next day! At least this is how it works for us.
Alcohol is a good point though! It can definitely make groceries look more expensive than they are.
Maybe let me add, when I buy a bottle of wine, it's a $5 bottle.
> 'groceries' probably accounts for a lot more alcohol
I spend 150€/month on groceries. Reducing that would be really difficult, and involve changing my diet and buying cheaper ingredients. Even then, I wouldn't save enough to make a difference.
A restaurant meal is 10-15€.
This was an eye opener to me, after meticulously tracking my finances for a year.
There’s two takeaways. (1) on the days where you don’t feel like cooking, do not feel bad about ordering take out or dining out. (2) consider how you can minmax your staple grocery items, by buying in bulk, joining a food co-op. Etc
You win a lot more by shaving dimes off every pound of oatmeal, integrated over a lifetime. And it’s recurring returns on a one-time investment of finding the best source in your neighborhood.
Buy the coffee every once in a while if it brings you joy. Everything in moderation, of course.