The average American spends $232 per month eating meals prepared outside the home. Given that there are 18.2 meals eaten outside the home in an average month by the average American, the average meal outside the home costs a person $12.75.  Assume you’re averaging $4 per meal per person prepared in the home. If you were to simply prepare all meals at home, you’d move 4.2 meals from restaurants to your home. At an average cost of $12.75 per meal, you’d save yourself $8.75 for each of those meals. the average American would save $36.75 per person per week by moving all of their meals from restaurants to home-prepared meals. Take a family of two adults and two teenagers, for example, and let’s say that they simply chose to eat one less meal out per week. On average, that family would save $35 from just that one meal change.