🛵 Tradeoffs You Can Feel
Your DoorDash habit is quietly costing you years of freedom.
Delivery fee + service fee + tip + 'small order' upcharge — your $14 burrito just became $32. Multiply by 4 nights a week for 30 years. Move the sliders. Watch your FI Age change.
What is delivery actually costing you?
Typical price per order
How many deliveries per week?
Your age today
This habit is costing you
18.4 yrs
of financial freedom
$233.0K
35 yrs
$920.1K
by age 65
That habit costs you 18.4 yrs of freedom — or $920.1K of future net worth. 🛵
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My deliveries habit costs me
18.4 yrs
of freedom
Lifetime Spend
$233.0K
If Invested
$920.1K
4 deliveries/wk · $32.00 each · from age 30 to 65, invested at 7%
Most people get this wrong. Check yours →
PeakWorth — educational projections only. Not financial, tax, or legal advice. See peakworth.com/disclosures.
It's not the food — it's the fees
A $14 burrito on the menu becomes $32 by the time you add delivery fee, service fee, tip, and the 'small order' upcharge. That's a 130% markup on every meal.
Cooking the same meal at home runs $4–6 in groceries. That's a ~$26 delta per night. Four nights a week is ~$5,400/year — enough to fully fund a Roth IRA every single year.
We're not saying never order. We're saying know what 'just one quick order' actually costs over a 30-year career.
Frequently asked questions
Is delivery really 130% more expensive?
Yes, often more. Apps mark up menu prices 15–25%, then add a delivery fee, service fee, and expected tip. Industry research consistently shows the all-in cost is 1.5–2x the in-restaurant price.
What about meal kits or grocery delivery?
Meal kits run ~$10–12 per serving — better than DoorDash but worse than groceries. Grocery delivery adds ~10% to the bill, which is dramatically less than restaurant delivery's 50–100% premium.
Is it actually about the money, or the convenience?
Both. The calculator shows the money cost. Only you can value the convenience. Some weeks ordering 4x is genuinely worth it. Some weeks it's just inertia. Knowing the FI delay number lets you choose deliberately.
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