The worst excuse I have seen for broke people not conserving their budget by not cooking for themselves is "It's too expensive!"
Bullshit. You need to learn how to shop and plan for cheaper ingredients. And you clearly do not know how to do math if you cannot see that ordering takeout is more expensive than making it yourself.
Yes, it takes practice. But if you are broke, you cannot afford not learn this skill.
Another complaint about it "being too expensive" to cook for yourself is people refusing to eat the same thing for days in a row. It also prevents the "it takes too much time" excuse, because if you only cook a couple times a week, you get more bang for your buck.
"But I don't want to eat the same thing every day!" If you are broke, too bad. You can't afford variety, so learn to eat leftovers. Also, leftovers "tasting bad" is just a skill issue.
There were only five types of restaurants I could afford
All you can Eat
McDonalds
Taco Bell
Wendy's
Burger King
Everything else was too expensive for the protein cost per dollar for weightlifting diet requirements for me