Low prices at fast food restaurants may seem low at first glance, but soon the costs add up and exceed the cost of purchasing fresh ingredients. It also saves money spent on gas trips to a new restaurant or takeout place for every meal. The amount of money that can be saved by purchasing ingredients in bulk from department stores like Sam's Club or Costco is enormous. It's economical to buy frequently used products like cereals and pasta and store them at home, to use whenever it's meal time. Having these items available for everyday use will help you reduce your expenses when going out to eat and will save you from wasted time driving to the restaurant, looking for parking and waiting in line. There are many ways to save time and money by cooking at home. One way is to batch cook and prepare meals ahead of time 3 times. Trent Hamm in The Christian Science Monitor provides several tips on how to do this: “It might take an hour to prepare a pan of lasagna, but it only takes an hour and a half to assemble six pans because most of the work involved is in the setup and in removal. This cuts the time per pan down to fifteen minutes, which means