Keep Cooking For Yourself, No Matter Where you are or what's going on in your house

Being able to cook for yourself unlocks a world of savings.

Eating away from home and paying other people to turn groceries into dishes is a fantastic way to spend more money than you really need to, and you don't necessarily need a lot of equipment to prepare food.

I've made fine dishes with only access to a microwave, refrigerator, and a set of dishes, but a camp stove or grill are great additions to makeshift kitchens.

Personally, as long as I have a way to make rice and cook meat, beans and vegetables I am happy, but I can also achieve massive savings over restaurant food by buying lunchmeats and bread at the deli counter and making sandwiches at home. I've gone the sandwich route twice in my life, and both times I thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace from my normal spoon and bowl cuisine to something that I could eat with my hands.

If you want to go the sandwich route, I recommend making a whole loaf of bread's worth of sandwiches at once and storing the individual portions in plastic wrap either under refrigeration or in the freezer.

The savings in this activity are considerable. Many people can easily spend 100 dollars per week eating cheap takeout, and if eating out for every meal are tempted to eat fast food or pre-prepared food from grocery stores and cafes. I have even observed 40 and 50  dollars per day of expenses on food alone! Making your own food is an easy way to save 1 or 2 thirds of this cost.