Min opsparing bliver større, når jeg laver mad hjemme i stedet for at spise ude.

Opsparing means savings or money you have saved up. So min opsparing means my savings.

A useful contrast:

• opsparing = savings, saved-up money
• besparelse = a saving, cost reduction, budget cut

So in this sentence, opsparing is the natural word.

Bliver større means gets bigger or becomes larger. It shows a change over time.

• Min opsparing bliver større = my savings are increasing
• Min opsparing er større = my savings are bigger

So bliver is used because the sentence is about your savings growing as a result of cooking at home.

Because større is the comparative form of stor, meaning bigger / larger.

The forms are:

• stor = big
• større = bigger
• størst = biggest

So min opsparing bliver større means my savings get bigger, not just my savings get big.

Here når means when or whenever. It is used for something that happens regularly or as a general pattern.

In this sentence, the idea is:

Whenever I cook at home instead of eating out, my savings grow.

Compare:

• når = when / whenever
• hvis = if

So hvis would make it sound more like a possibility or condition, while når fits the idea of a repeated, expected situation.

Yes. At lave mad is a very common Danish expression meaning to cook.

Literally, it looks like make food, but idiomatically it just means cook.

Examples:

• Jeg laver mad. = I am cooking.
• Hun laver aftensmad. = She is cooking dinner.

So når jeg laver mad hjemme is a completely natural phrase.

Because hjemme means at home, while hjem usually means homeward / home as a destination.

Compare:

• Jeg er hjemme. = I am at home.
• Jeg går hjem. = I am going home.

In your sentence, the meaning is location, not movement, so hjemme is correct.

I stedet for means instead of.

When it is followed by a verb, Danish normally uses at + infinitive:

• i stedet for at spise ude = instead of eating out

So the structure is:

• i stedet for
  • at
    • verb

This is different from English, where we often use instead of eating with an -ing form. Danish keeps the infinitive: at spise.

Spise ude means eat out or dine out. It usually means eating at a restaurant, café, or somewhere that is not home.

It is not the same as spise udenfor.

• spise ude = eat out
• spise udenfor = eat outside, outdoors

So in this sentence, spise ude means going out to eat, not sitting in the garden.

Because når jeg laver mad hjemme i stedet for at spise ude is a subordinate clause.

In Danish, commas are often used to separate a main clause from a subordinate clause. So:

• main clause: Min opsparing bliver større
• subordinate clause: når jeg laver mad hjemme i stedet for at spise ude

A small note: Danish has two accepted comma systems, so learners may sometimes see variation. But the comma in your sentence is very normal.

Yes. You can also say:

Når jeg laver mad hjemme i stedet for at spise ude, bliver min opsparing større.

That is perfectly natural.

Notice the word order in the main clause after the fronted subordinate clause:

• bliver min opsparing større
• not min opsparing bliver større

This happens because Danish is a verb-second language in main clauses.

You could, but the meaning changes a little.

• laver mad hjemme = cook at home
• spiser hjemme = eat at home

The original sentence emphasizes that you save money by cooking at home rather than eating out. If you say spiser hjemme, it only says that you eat at home, not necessarily that you cook. You might still be eating takeaway.

So laver mad hjemme is more precise here.