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Budgeting

How to stop ordering takeaway

Two deliveries a week costs about $64.00 — more than a full week of groceries for two. The fix is not willpower, it is having a twelve-minute option.

By Joao Dunlap · · 4 min read

Cheesy bean quesadillas cut into wedges

The short version

  • Two deliveries a week is roughly $64.00 — about $3328.00 a year.
  • That is more per week than a full grocery shop for two, which is $85.27.
  • You order because there is no fast option, not because you lack discipline.
  • Fix it by keeping three twelve-minute meals permanently possible.

Nobody orders delivery because they wanted to spend the money. They order because it is seven o'clock, nothing is defrosted, and the alternative is forty minutes of work after a day that already used everything up.

The cost is genuinely large. Two deliveries a week — two mains, fees, tip — is about $64.00, which is more than a full week of groceries for two people at $85.27. Over a year it is roughly $3328.00.

$32.00

One delivery, two people

$85.27

A whole week of groceries, two people

$3328.00

Twice a week, for a year

Why willpower is the wrong tool

Deciding to order is a decision made under tiredness, hunger and time pressure, which is the exact condition in which intentions lose. Anything that relies on being disciplined at 7pm on a Wednesday will fail eventually, and usually quickly.

What works is removing the decision — making the fast option genuinely faster than opening the app.

Twelve minutesDelivery takes 30–45 minutes to arrive. Anything you can cook in twelve genuinely wins on speed.
Already shoppedThe meal has to be possible with what is in the house right now. A recipe requiring a shop is not an option.
Zero decisionsIf you have to choose what to cook, you have already lost. It should be a default, not a choice.
Actually wantedPlain rice is not competing with a curry. The fallback has to be food you would choose.

The three-meal defence

Keep three specific meals permanently possible. Not a list of ideas — three meals whose ingredients live in the house at all times.

  1. 1

    One from the freezer

    A portion of chilli or stew frozen flat, thawed in a sink of water in twenty minutes or straight into a pan. This is the one that beats delivery on nights you have nothing fresh at all.

  2. 2

    One from the cupboard

    Pasta with tinned tomatoes and whatever pulse is open. Ten minutes, entirely shelf-stable, always possible.

  3. 3

    One from eggs

    Fried rice, an omelette, or eggs on toast. Eggs keep for weeks and cook in four minutes — the fastest real food in the house.

  4. 4

    Never let all three run out at once

    Put them on the shopping list permanently, whether or not you plan to cook them. They are insurance, and the cost of the ingredients is trivial against one delivery.

Meals faster than delivery

All of these are quicker than a delivery arrives, and made from things that keep. From the NeatEat library, which plans a fast option into every week on purpose.

Cheesy Bean Quesadillas15 min

Cheesy Bean Quesadillas

Fifteen minutes, four ingredients, children eat it.

Cheap and Cheerful Egg Fried Rice20 min

Cheap and Cheerful Egg Fried Rice

Leftover rice plus eggs. Twelve minutes, pennies a serving.

Spinach and Cheese Scramble15 min

Spinach and Cheese Scramble

Fifteen minutes, 20g of protein, three ingredients.

Tomato and Chickpea Pasta20 min

Tomato and Chickpea Pasta

Two tins and a bag of pasta.

Greek Yogurt and Chickpea Salad10 min

Greek Yogurt and Chickpea Salad

Ten minutes, no cooking, 32g protein.

Budget Garlic and Herb Pasta with White Beans20 min

Budget Garlic and Herb Pasta with White Beans

Pantry-only. The night you forgot to shop.

Frequently asked questions

How much does ordering takeaway actually cost?

More than most people realise once delivery fees, service charges and tips are counted. Two orders a week for two people runs around $64.00, which is more than a full week of groceries for the same household at $85.27. Across a year that is roughly $3328.00.

How do I stop ordering food when I am tired?

Stop relying on willpower at 7pm and make the fast option genuinely faster than the app. Keep three specific meals permanently possible - one frozen portion, one entirely from the cupboard, and one built on eggs - and keep their ingredients in the house at all times. Delivery takes 30 to 45 minutes; anything you can cook in twelve beats it on speed as well as cost.

Should I stop ordering takeaway completely?

Usually not. A total ban tends to be followed by a rebound that cancels the saving. Keep one planned takeaway a week, budget for it, and defend the other nights - a known, chosen cost is very different from four unplanned orders driven by tiredness.

Does meal planning stop takeaway ordering?

It removes the main cause, which is arriving at dinner time with no plan and nothing defrosted. A planned week means the food is already bought and the decision is already made, so the fast option is available rather than theoretical.