this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2025
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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

We got 2 kids meals at Culver's and ate for $15. We are in 60s and it was enough food for us, and on the plus side it included ice cream!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Small McDouble combo is like $5.80 in Canada right now. Shit's almost cheaper than groceries.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I don’t usually eat fast food, but one night I was starving, and there happened to be a drive-thru right next to me. I saw only two cars ahead in line and thought it would be quick. I pulled in and waited. Fifteen minutes passed. Then nearly twenty. By that point, a long line had formed behind me, trapping my car.

At the thirty-minute mark, I started asking the cars around me if they could maneuver to let me out. After almost forty minutes, I finally managed to escape.

Frustrated and still hungry, I drove a little further to a local gyro joint. I walked inside, placed my order, and within five minutes, I was enjoying a fresh, delicious lamb platter.

If this had been an isolated incident, I wouldn’t have thought much of it. But the reality is, experiences like this are all too common. Fast food isn’t fast, and to make matters worse, it’s often not even cheap anymore. Unless you’re scraping the bottom of the so-called “value menu”—which has become scarce and filled with low-quality options—you’re likely paying the same, if not more, than you would at a local spot.

When you stack up the cost, the wait, and the disappointing quality, it’s hard to justify why anyone bothers with fast food at all.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago

America has too many drive thru’s. Cars waiting all the time because understaffed fast food places are squeezing labour. I’ve started just walking inside to no line up, but even then, drive thru gets priority.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Yeeeess! Gyro is my go to "fast food" too! My favorite gyro place loads plates up enough that I can get a large lamb plate for $15 and split it into two meals. I order on my way there, and it's always ready within 10 minutes of ordering, without fail.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Same... And the food is so goddamn good.

It's a real bummer that half of Americans seem to want to get rid of all of the fucking people willing to make all of these delicious varieties of food. What a boring fucking place that would be.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Not cheap, not convenient, not fast, and, let's be real: It's barely food.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago

A while ago, I was charging at a highway stop, so I decided to quickly get something to drink at McDonald's. I just asked ordered a drink, nothing more. One lady started preparing the drink and put it somewhere behind the counter. I was right there, but she didn't hand it to me. I asked if she could give it, as it was the only thing I had ordered. She mentioned she was not allowed to hand over the order to customers, and she was waiting for someone else who was allowed to. It took roughly 10 minutes before I had my drink, it was very frustrating, especially for a "fast" food chain.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I'll have a double corporate slop with extra gruel please

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[–] [email protected] 86 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Dude it's insane. I don't understand how the hell these places stay in business anymore when the quality still sucks ass and it's all so expensive now. Like even taco bell, who used to be the king of cheap, costs a fuckton these days.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 4 days ago (1 children)

It's an addiction for a lot of people.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 days ago (2 children)

It’s become a habit for many people. Cooking is a really difficult habit to (re)learn. It’s possible though and good meal prep is very convenient on long days at work.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 days ago (9 children)

I just hate cooking. I cannot stand it. It takes so much effort and you have to clean all the mess you made (even cleaning as you go sucks). And then you end up with something that may or may not pan out. And if you're trying to meal prep then you have to eat the same meal for the whole week which I hate also.

If this was the only thing you'd ever have to do, fine. But the majority of the rest of our time is spent at work or sleeping. We have few precious hours where these things aren't the case. I hope this doesn't make me sound too much like an asshole, but I'm fortunate enough to purchase things like pre-prepared foods and get takeout a couple of times per week. So I take advantage of that because I don't want to spend my few moments of free time slaving away over a stove or cleaning the mess of pots and pans and cooking utensils.

Another this about cooking when you live alone...a lot of perishable foods can only be bought in somewhat larger quantities and then they go bad before you use them all up. I tried to make a recipe out of a cookbook several months ago and I was frustrated at how many things I had to buy a large thing of when I only needed a very small amount for the recipe. Ended up with a lot of food waste.

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 4 days ago (7 children)

Me, limping my ass into a McDonalds for the first time in forever: "I'll have 20 nuggets, no meal." (expecting 5$, or something close to it since it had legitimately been a while)

"Yeah, that'll be 12.47"

The fuck???

[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (4 children)

$17.99 for the 20 pc. In Canada. $10.79 for a 10 pc. I about shit when I immigrated here and realized nuggets were off the table. I can't imagine ordering that and picturing one dollar every time I pop one into my mouth. My wife buys me a ten piece for my birthday every year since I won't buy them myself out of protest. Also, my kid is old enough now to finish her 4 pc. Happy Meal, so I don't get to scavenge for uneaten morsels like I did before. It's tragic.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 days ago
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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

And yet people keep going. And why? Because those companies hire people with psychology and chemistry degrees to ensure they do. They play every psychological trick in the book to keep people coming back. And as much as anyone here (me included) think a burger from McDonald's is shit, there are people, a lot of people, who feel like they just can't live happily without their regular dose of Big Mac.

And, of course, McDonald's has used those psychological tricks to convince such people that McDonald's cares about them.

The whole thing is sick.

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 days ago (2 children)

It’s been a long time since fast food was any good. It’s addictive, maybe comfortable, but definitely not good. Break your addiction, especially now that you could save so much money

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago (1 children)

When I was in high school, we'd split a gram of weed four ways and go to Wendy's for the $4.20 meal. For less than ten bucks, you got stoned, a junior bacon cheese, four nuggets, small fry, and a small chocolate frosty. This was in the mid oughts so not that long ago!

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The mid oughts was a different world, hundreds of years ago.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago

Y'all oughtta know the mid oughts were a lit time to behold.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 4 days ago (10 children)

my bombass lunch today for ¥616 (~US$3.94)

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Japan is a cheat code for healthy cheap meals.

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 4 days ago (7 children)

Learn to cook. Honestly. When you know what you're doing you can make simple and nutritious meals for a fraction of what you'd pay for this junk food.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

The point is the same it ever was. You sacrifice money for time and convenience. What's so hard to understand about that? Some will be more or less expensive than others and no one forced you to choose either option

[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 days ago (1 children)

"What's the deal with fast food? It isn't fast, and it isn't food!"

[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Get this person a ten-year sitcom deal!

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 days ago (7 children)

Honestly, it's been a great help reducing take out. It's such a gamble, I'd rather spent nothing on a sure thing (even if it's boring) than nearly $40 for a meal I may not even finish.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (4 children)

I'm a spreadsheet nerd. Not a guru by any stretch, but I love to make spreadsheets. They help me plan and organize things in a way nothing else does. Despite all the websites and apps out there that make budgeting simple, I do ALL of my budgeting and spend tracking in an odt file. It's been a rolling development for the last five years and I think I've got it to its ultimate stage. I'm really proud of my work.

I think what's really helping me stay on top of it this year is the fact that in December, I spent about a week planning the year in painstaking detail. I built a whole paycheck estimation tool that automatically calculates tax withholding. I cross-referenced employee handbooks to determine pre-tax withholdings like retirement and insurance. I found the 2025 tax brackets and standard deduction. I understand now how our taxes are withheld for the state side. I actually determined my wife is taking out way too little for tax. January is an awesome time to make that catch. By the time I was done, I determined four paycheck numbers we might experience in the year based on various circumstances. I planned out how much I think each of our 26 paychecks will be, when they will occur, and how we will spend them with a high degree of confidence. I gave us a set amount of fun money each time. Most importantly, I found a way for us to make regular deposits into our savings account. I have a plan in place to save $2,000 and pay off a couple of credit cards this year. It ain't much, but it'll be a start. And if something goes wrong, having some money stashed away will be a huge help.

So far, I've squirrelled away 300 bucks. I feel really good about that.

I also track all of our spending in that file. I spend 5 minutes each night before bed reconciling it to the bank. That's been a major step forward, too.

More to your point, eating out is hella expensive. I opened a second checking account to give us that kind of money. We buy books and music and games and makeup and food from out on that. If that card runs out of money, it ends. Full stop. At least, it should. I got lazy the last few months of last year and we spent way too much on takeout. But I'm motivated to be better this year. I make myself go grocery shopping. And then I make myself cook even when I don't wanna. And I put the dishes away and clean the laundry, even when I don't wanna.

I know that's just regular adult shit, but I've been a hot mess for a while lol

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Hey now, those poor businesses need to make up for their profit situation! Even though they have all made record profits year after year... After year...
We will be in a recession once they decide it's time for one.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 days ago (13 children)

In my industry, there's a saying along the lines of "Good, fast, cheap. Pick two."

I think the fast food industry version is "Good, fast, cheap? No, no. And believe it or not, also no."

I don't eat fast food very often, so this is entirely anecdotal. Of the fast food chains I've eaten at in recent history, Taco Bell is by far the worst. Against my better judgment, I even broke down and gave them a second chance at a different location thinking maybe my first terrible experience was a fluke. Didn't work out. Makes me think it's bad everywhere. Wendy's has held up the best of the places I've eaten. It's definitely not cheap anymore, fast depends on the location as well as other factors, and good is relative, but overall it hasn't gone down hill as bad as the others.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I got a bacon double cheeseburger, large fry, large drink at a Hardee's this week and it cost damn near $18. It was "okay."

[–] [email protected] 34 points 4 days ago (1 children)

And half the time it's not even that fast anymore either.

Might as well order a burger from an actual restaurant, to go, for the same amount and pick it up on the way. Half the time they'll even bring it to you curbside.

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Now please tip 200% for the garbage

[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 days ago (10 children)

Fucking Applebee's is right now cheaper than all of them with $10 for a burger and fries.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I switched to mostly cooking for myself sometime last year, really just trying to save money, but I feel significantly less fatigued day to day and more focused and don't wake up with random stomach pain anymore.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I got a double cheeseburger platter from a BBQ place with 2 sides for $10. Better burger than fast food and I got fries and collards.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Penn Gillette wisely said eating is mostly habit, and I agree. There are people who actually like McDonalds, etc, but the ones who still buy it even though they think it sucks are just slaves to habit. I personally know somebody with $200 to their name who had Doordash deliver Wendy's to their apartment so they didn't have to go anywhere or figure out how to cook. Ingrained habits and cravings are powerful forces.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago (2 children)

In my days, you got a week's worth of calories for $3.50

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