GEORGE TOWN, April 20 — Retirees who rely on outside food for lunch are changing their ways and eating home-cooked meals as they are cheaper. 

A good lunch consisting of rice, fish and vegetables and a drink, which used to cost between RM4 and RM5, now costs about RM7.

Abdul Rahman Beedin, 59, a retired storekeeper in Teluk Bahang, said he always ate out until he retired from his electrical supplier company in George Town in 2010.

“I always took my lunch at mamak stalls and restaurants and never took home-cooked food as it was equally cheap and tasty,” he said.

“But now I dare not go to the stalls or restaurants as food is expensive. Also, gone are the days when we can have breakfast for RM1.50 with roti canai and teh tarik. It is now RM2.50.”

Abdul Rahman said he would try to avoid outside food although he would take his family out occasionally.

“They prefer home-cooked food anyway,” he said. 

P. Sylvia, 59, a former administrative staff with a stationery company in Taman Mewah, Butterworth, said she preferred home-cooked food.

“Home-cooked food is healthier and if you plan your marketing, it saves cost,” she said.

Prince Williams, 62, a retired security officer with a private firm now operating a stationery shop, said he had depended on outside food throughout his working career but now he would run out of money if he continued to have lunch and dinner outside. 

“It is too expensive to eat in restaurants now, especially for middle-income earners. So for now, it’s home-cooked food,” he said.

Retired finance manager Mohd Salim Syed Ahmad, 58, said eating out had always been expensive. 

“This is my way of saving up for my family, although I cook because I enjoy doing it and it is not driven by pricier food,” he said.

However, retired banker Liew Ming Kwang, 67, is used to eating out since he has been doing it for years.

“Coming from a family who often eats out, it is hard to change this habit and it is definitely more convenient  as long as the food tastes good,” he said.