There is a point in the evening when you become financially vulnerable.

Usually around 7.15pm.

You are hungry.

Nobody wants to cook.

Somebody has already asked:

“What do you fancy?”

And everybody has replied:

“I don't mind.”

Which, as we all know, is a lie.

Eventually you find something.

£14.

Perfect.

Your brain records:

Dinner = £14.

Then you reach checkout.

£22.

Hang on.

What?

Where did the other eight quid come from?

And this is where hunger becomes extremely useful to the takeaway industry, because instead of conducting a forensic investigation into the missing money, most of us stare at the screen for approximately three seconds and think:

“Oh, sod it.”

Order.

The £14 Was Never The Important Number that just reeled you in like a un-suspecting fish caught on a juicy bait.

The important number is the one sitting beside Pay Now.

Depending on how and where you order, there can be more to consider than the menu price: delivery charges, service fees, small-order charges and potentially a difference between the price you see through a platform and ordering directly.

None of those automatically makes delivery a bad deal.

Sometimes paying a few quid extra to have somebody bring dinner to your front door is one of civilisation's greatest achievements.

Especially when it is raining.

Or you have already put your pj's on.

Once the pyjamas are on, collection needs to offer a very compelling financial argument.

Do This With Your Regular Order Once

Not every Friday.

Life is too short.

Just once.

Choose the takeaway order you buy regularly and compare exactly the same food.

Write down:

Food: £____

Delivery: £____

Service charge: £____

Small-order charge: £____

Direct/collection price: £____

Then look at the difference.

That is the number that matters.

Would You Pay That Much Not To Put Your Shoes Back On?

This is where it becomes personal.

Imagine delivery makes the order three quid more.

But collection means getting dressed properly, finding the car keys, driving there, finding somewhere to park, collecting it and driving home.

Three quid?

You might consider that money extremely well spent.

Now imagine the difference is eleven quid.

Hmm.

The pyjamas suddenly don't seem quite so permanent.

That is why there is no universal answer.

Convenience has a value.

You just need to know what you're paying for it.

The Dangerous Order Is The One You Make All The Time

This is where the little differences can become surprisingly big.

Say your regular order works out nine quid cheaper when you collect it.

And you order it twice a month.

That is £216 over a year.

Not life-changing money.

But definitely enough money to make you say:

“Wait... HOW much?”

Particularly when you realise you spent it mainly because you couldn't be bothered to find your shoes.

We're Not Declaring War On Delivery

Absolutely not.

There are evenings when I would happily pay someone several pounds just so I don't have to leave the house.

That is what convenience is.

You pay to make something easier.

The trick is simply knowing the price of the convenience before deciding whether it is worth it.

Because the £14 main isn't necessarily the £14 takeaway.

And once you're hungry, that distinction becomes remarkably easy to ignore.

So here's tonight's little experiment.

Before you press order, look at the final total. Then check what exactly the same food would cost direct or collected.

And tell us the difference.

We particularly want to hear from the person who discovers they've been spending ten quid extra every Friday for the last three years.

We promise not to tell your other half.

Tell us your experience in the comments below.