Do you feel like you never have enough time? You are not alone. Many people feel the same. Let’s talk about food—yes, food! How we handle our meals can save us a lot of time and money. Let’s look at different ways to manage our meals and find the best one for you!
Eating Out
Pros:
- Time Savings: Zero prep, cooking, or cleanup. You can quickly grab a meal and get back to work, maximizing time.
- Focus on Income: If you have a busy schedule or are running a business, spending time on food prep might detract from more profitable activities.
Cons:
- Cost: Eating out is the most expensive option. If you’re spending $12 per meal and eating out five times a week, that’s $60—a significant amount over time.
How to Do it Right:
- If eating out gives you more time to focus on high-leverage tasks (like growing your business or investing), limit eating out to critical days when your schedule is tight, but ensure that time saved is truly spent on income-generating activities.
Pre-Made Meals
Pros:
- Time Efficient: You still save on cooking and cleaning time, allowing you to invest that time into work or projects.
- Lower Cost: At $8 per meal, this option is cheaper than eating out but still offers convenience.
Cons:
- Cost Still Adds Up: While it’s more affordable than eating out, you’re still spending $40 per week on meals.
How to Do it Right:
- Look for bulk deals or subscription services for pre-made meals to cut down costs. Use the extra time saved by not cooking to focus on high-return tasks like refining your business strategy or learning new skills.
Pre-Prepped Meals
Pros:
- Balance of Time and Cost: These meals are cheaper at around $6 each, and they don’t require extensive cooking skills or effort—just some light preparation.
- Time for Income Growth: Pre-prepped meals take less time to cook compared to making everything from scratch, leaving you more time for productive work.
Cons:
- Still Involves Some Cooking: While convenient, it still requires a little effort and time to complete the meal.
How to Do it Right:
- Choose meal kits that have quick prep times (15-20 minutes). The key is optimizing the time saved for income-generating activities like freelance work, side gigs, or building a personal brand. Use the cooking time strategically—catch up on emails or consume educational content while preparing your meal.
Bulk Meal Prepping
Pros:
- Most Cost-Efficient: At just $3 per meal, bulk prepping is hands down the cheapest option, which means more money stays in your pocket for investments.
- Time Optimization: You cook once for the week, freeing up time for focused work over multiple days.
Cons:
- Time-Intensive on Prep Day: You’ll need to dedicate a few hours one day to prepare multiple meals, but this pays off over the week in time savings.
How to Do it Right:
- Set aside a block of time (perhaps Sunday) to cook all your meals for the week. While meals cook, use that time to knock out tasks like financial planning, networking, or working on side projects. This method keeps costs low and ensures that every other day of the week, you can focus on building wealth without worrying about food prep.
What’s Best For You?
Well— it depends on your situation.
When paying more to free up time makes sense: If your job is not capped, you can work more hours and make more money. Sometimes, eating out or getting premade meals makes sense because it allows you to use that focus and time more effectively to earn more money. As multi-millionaire and business influencer Alex Hormozi says: “Buy time to earn more.”.
When it doesn’t: If your income and hours are capped or you’re spending time trying but not guaranteed to make more money, then spending extra money on meals doesn’t make sense. In this situation, bulk meal prepping will be the most efficient route to living a more abundant life.
Conclusion
If you have a busy job, pre-made meals save time and let you keep working. If you want to save the most money, try bulk meal prepping on a free day. Also, you don’t have to choose just one. Sometimes, a combination can also make sense. The goal is that you should cater your eating habits and meals around being healthy and leveraging your time effectively. Remember, every minute counts, and choosing the right meal option can give you more time to do what you love or make more money!
