A two-week experiment by a Malaysian shows cooking at home during Ramadan can cost far less than buying daily meals at Ramadan bazaar.

THE age-old adage of whether cooking at home or eating out is more budget-friendly has become quite a prevalent topic recently, with many believing that cooking at home can now cost as much as eating out.

Recently, a Malaysian man took it upon himself to prove that home-cooked meals are better for your wallet after conducting a two-week experiment to compare how much each option costs.

He also clarified that he lives with another person; therefore, the budget covers food for two individuals.

READ MORE: Malaysians spend up to RM50 daily at Ramadan bazaars

According to his post on Threads, he claimed to have spent RM250 in one week at Ramadan bazaars.

The RM250 spent at the bazaars was meant to cover not only his and his housemate’s iftar meals, but also their sahur meals. He calculated this to be RM18 per day for each individual and RM9 for each meal.

“I noticed that when buying food from the bazaar throughout the week, I kind of had to ration the dishes carefully so the portions would last for both iftar and sahur.

“In this economy, there’s only so much you can get. It wasn’t enjoyable because I kept worrying the food wouldn’t be enough,” he remarked in his post.

For the second week, he chose to consistently prepare home-cooked meals for both his and his housemate’s sahur and iftar. Based on his findings, he claimed that he spent only RM110 for the entire week on groceries.

He added that during the second week, he did visit Ramadan bazaars, but only to purchase snacks such as kuih worth around RM3 per day, amounting to approximately RM21 per week. He also spent an additional RM19 to “top up” ingredients such as spices.

When it comes to preparing home-cooked meals, he stated that he has an “intermediate” level of cooking skills, with each dish taking up to 45 minutes to prepare, depending on its “complexity”.

“When cooking, I can plan portions properly for two meals and even have a bit extra. Sometimes I make extra dishes. I don’t have to worry about the food not being enough,” he added.

Netizens largely validated his findings, agreeing that preparing home-cooked meals is cheaper in the long run, especially during the fasting month when it is not sustainable to keep buying food from outside, whether from Ramadan bazaars or other places.

“As a housewife who was previously a working mum, the data presented is correct. I used to buy food from outside often in the past, and the cost of buying was more than 50% higher compared to cooking ourselves. It doesn’t matter how many people are eating,” one user remarked.

However, another user agreed but pointed out that cooking comes with its own drawbacks, such as the time and energy required, and was of the opinion that sometimes it is perfectly fine to buy food from outside.

 The Sun Malaysia