{"id":12686,"date":"2020-04-15T16:52:29","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T20:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/content-manager\/?p=12686"},"modified":"2020-04-15T16:53:36","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T20:53:36","slug":"is-office-space-a-big-waste-of-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/blog\/is-office-space-a-big-waste-of-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Office Space A Big Waste Of Money?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
Most New York City<\/a> Startups are now one month into the entire team working from home. It’s been an eye-opening experience from a cost perspective. First of all, dining out really is a big waste of money most times. Having lived on groceries<\/a> and cooking most days, it’s incredible to think one nice meal at a restaurant can easily surpass two weeks of groceries. This makes us wonder if not having an office space helps save money on other costs of eating out.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n I know because of my Chase Sapphire dining records. The last time I dined outside was Tue, March 10th, 2020. It was reasonably priced for a 3-course meal and glass of wine, at $85 a person. Prior to that, Tony’s Di Napoli for $30\/p, and Fogo de Chao at $61\/p on Feb 25th, 2020. For Fogo, we had a coupon, and as much as we all love filling up on mountains of beef, it’s in the category for “nice, but not budget breaker”.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n For past few weeks, we have been eating well AND losing weight<\/a> at home. A typical Amazon Fresh or Instacart order is $50, but it can last a week or two if we really stretch it. A slice of toast with peanut butter consists of my daily breakfast (once in a while I’ll mix in “special K with real berries”). The wife sticks to a fried egg on toast with a little spinach and dijon. Total cost, $1.25 a person? And that’s only because we splurge for the brown, organic grade A eggs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n For lunch, today I’m having 12 saltine crackers from Whole Foods<\/a>, dipped in a can of tuna (the Japanese type from Sunrise Mart is much more tasty than your Bumble Bee in water). Pair that with two squares of 85% Cacao Lindt dark chocolate, and you get a total cost of $3.00.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n I drink lots of tea, about three bags throughout the day each infused 2-3 times (it lowers caffeine intake while providing more essential water). Call that $1.50 in cost, because I go for Tazo instead of Twinnings \/ Lipton. However, this is an added cost, as I could get tea at our office space during regular times.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Dinner can be more tricky – drumsticks are always a bargain (makes me realize what a markup Bonchon charges). But if you want a non-chicken protein, it will get costly. Ribeye and salmon probably can’t be had for less than $12 a pound, and even split two ways, that eclipses the other meals. We will throw in pastas and veggies on the side, for a total cost of $5-10 a person.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Ok, even if you aren’t practicing extreme frugality, one Fogo can still counter multiple days of cooking at home. And in a moment of true cost savings, it’s possible to have breakfast all day every day, keeping it reasonably nutritious for $3 a meal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But dining out is supposed to be an experience. You are paying to rent the venue and expertise of the chef and staff. You are adding a memorable night to your life, so they say. I guess when I dine out in the future, I will ensure that it’s actually more enjoyable than my home concoctions. Too many times, I prefer the food I make at home!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Now we move to the next weird category. Delivery is not supposed to be much of a budget breaker, but these days I’ve seen Doordash bills approaching the same $70 mark for two people. And here the experience is almost always non-existent. The only experience comes from feeling I was ripped off when I eat the mediocre food.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n It all makes me wonder if the fast takeout category is the sweet spot. I’m not talking about 99 cent pizza or McDonalds (although they have merits). Expand your budget to $12 meals and you get plenty of variety – Sophie’s, Panera Bread, Bento Boxes at Zaiya. It’s not the cheapest, but you should never tire of the options. Why pay $35 for something just as enjoyable as $12?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Anyway, this was a long-winded way to get back to the office space topic. Now that we’ve all worked from home for a month, does it seem like having an office for everyone is a huge waste of money?<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most New York City Startups are now one month into the entire team working from home. It’s been an eye-opening experience from a cost perspective. First of all, dining out really is a big waste of money most times. Having lived on groceries and cooking most days, it’s incredible to think one nice meal at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12686","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-entrepreneurship"},"yoast_head":"\nDining on Groceries<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Why Dine Out?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Delivery In?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Fast Takeout<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Office Space?!?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n