'It's even gotten worse': Suze Orman doubles down on eating out being a total waste of money

“I couldn’t agree with that more if I tried,” said Orman on the Wall Street Journal’s “My Monday Morning” podcast. “It’s even gotten worse… We still to this day eat at home.”

Orman said that the only time she ever eats at a restaurant is when her friends invite her — and she and her wife always insist on picking up the bill.

“If we go out, the deal is we have to pay,” Orman said. “Because I am not going to let people who I know don’t have the kind of money that we have waste their money on food eating out… If you want to save money, eat at home.”

Here’s why Orman says it’s more important than ever to eat your meals at home — and how you can get out of the habit of relying on takeout or dining out for meals.

Fast food is more expensive — and no restaurant is safe from food recalls

Consumers have been dealing with sharply rising food prices in 2026 — potentially heralding a larger global food crisis as soon as 2027. Food prices have risen almost 35% since January 2020, according to USA Today.

And eating continues to be more expensive than dining at home. Over the past calendar year, restaurant meal prices have risen twice as fast as grocery prices, according to BLS data released in July. Food away from home rose 4.1% over that period.

And not even historically cheap fast food options are safe from price increases.

“Look up McDonald’s. Look up Taco Bell. Are you kidding me?” said Orman to WSJ. “$23, $30 just to go to McDonalds for whatever you eat there.”

According to FinanceBuzz, McDonald’s prices have doubled since 2014. Taco Bell’s have risen by 81%. The reasons for this are complex — everything from rising labor costs to supply chain issues have made restaurant chains raise prices. The result is that consumers have even fewer places to affordably get meals away from home.

Recently, there’s even been a number of high-profile food recalls, impacting everything from lettuce and jalapenos to frozen berries. If you’re buying food at the grocery store, you can watch out for recalls and make sure your groceries aren’t part of them.

If you’re eating out, it’s not as easy to check.

Taco Bell recently had to remove Taylor Farms lettuce from its restaurants after people reportedly got sick. Keep in mind that not every restaurant will receive the national attention Taco Bell did; if you’re eating out, you’ll have to hope the company you chose is being careful and paying attention to food recalls.

How to get out of the habit of eating or ordering out

The best way to kick the habit of eating out whenever you feel tired or you don’t want to cook is to start small.