Dosh dilemma: Aisha’s Deliveroo dependency

Aisha works as a hospital nurse. After long shifts and late finishes, she’s exhausted by the time she gets home. The last thing she feels like doing is cooking.

So she orders a takeaway.

At first, it was just once or twice a week. But now, it’s become an almost nightly habit, and she’s realised she’s spending hundreds of pounds a month on Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats.

Aisha wants to know: how can she break her takeaway habit without making life even harder for herself?

The truth is, takeaway apps are designed to be convenient. And after a stressful day, few things feel easier than tapping a button and having dinner arrive at your door.

But if your takeaway spending is creeping up, there are simple ways to cut back without surviving on plain toast and instant noodles.

Batch cook on your days off

Use your days off to make meals in bulk. You don’t need expensive ingredients or chef-level skills either.

Cheap staples, like rice, lentils, pasta, root vegetables and chicken thighs can go a long way, especially in slow cooker recipes, curries, chilli or pasta bakes.

Cook a big batch, divide it into portions and freeze them. You’ll be grateful after a long shift.

Remember to label your meals before freezing them, as mystery containers at the back of the freezer rarely end well.

Keep ‘lazy day’ meals at home

Sometimes you’re simply too tired to cook properly and that’s okay.

Instead of ordering a takeaway, keep easy meals on hand for those low-energy evenings. Frozen pizzas, ready meals, soups, wraps, noodles and oven chips, can all work out far cheaper than delivery.

Make takeaways a planned treat

Cutting takeaways out completely can make you crave them even more.

Instead, choose one night a week as your official takeaway night. You still get something to look forward to, but without the constant spending.

You could even make it feel more special by watching a film or inviting friends round.

Remove your saved card details

Make ordering less convenient.

Removing saved payment details and disabling autofill means you’ll have to manually enter your card details every time. That extra minute is often enough to stop an impulse order.

Delete the apps

If temptation is always sitting on your screen, it’s much harder to resist.

Deleting apps like Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat creates a small barrier between you and impulse spending. Unsubscribing from marketing emails and notifications can help too.

Because nobody needs a notification offering 30% off burgers at 10pm.

Track how much you’re really spending

Many people underestimate how much they spend on takeaways each month.

Go through your bank statements and add it all up.

Seeing the total in black and white can be a real wake-up call.

Reward yourself with the savings

Instead of letting the money disappear unnoticed, put some of your takeaway savings aside each week.

Then use it for something you’ll genuinely enjoy, like a haircut, new clothes, a spa day or a weekend trip.

It feels much better when your money goes towards something memorable instead of another midweek kebab.

Don’t be too hard on yourself

When you’re exhausted, convenience wins. That’s normal.

The goal isn’t to cook a homemade meal from scratch every single night. It’s simply about making takeaway orders an occasional treat instead of an expensive routine.