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
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.
This sums up my experience as well. It's never been healthy, but at least it used to be cheap and tasty. But nowadays mcdonalds is so expensive I almost consider it a luxury, and the plastic-looking sauces and mystery meat are in no way appetizing (tho that might just be me getting older and changing preferences as opposed to the actual food getting worse)
taco bell definitely has one of the widest ranges in quality. one near my house is fucking awful and never gets the substitutions right, but the one 20 minutes away is great
To me it’s McDonalds, how something using the exact same ingredients and prep can taste so different and have vastly different delivery times in everyone you go to boggles the mind
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.
Oh yeah.
It's become prohibitively expensive, so I only have it occasionally. My parents made the unfortunate choice to raise me on McDonald's, so unfortunately, I happen to like it a fair bit. For me it's just a treat, or if I mess up cooking my dinner I might order some to replace that, but it's pretty rare as I can cook up some delicious chicken and veggies, or if I really want fries/tots, pop some in the air fryer, and it's infinitely cheaper and just as good as ordering fast food. (And healthier.)
Then there's the calories. That alone is enough reason for me to only have it occasionally.
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.
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
That's an impressive level of financial responsibility, nice job
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.
That's a great find!
BBQ places in my area have gotten really expensive. Sides are like $5 each now for a small container.
Is there a country that uses the dollar sign that puts it after the number?
So many lol. There's lots of ways numbers are formatted across locales https://cldr.unicode.org/translation/number-currency-formats/number-and-currency-patterns
I'm well aware that there are many different ways to format numbers and currencies - that's why I asked specifically about those that use the dollar sign.
Not a country, but Quebec does place the dollar sign after the amount.
Hah, that makes sense.
That's so stereotypically French.
my bombass lunch today for ¥616 (~US$3.94)
3.94? lies /s, at least $30 USD here
Japan is a cheat code for healthy cheap meals.
That's not gonna work in the US.
Looks very soupy.
Fucking Applebee's is right now cheaper than all of them with $10 for a burger and fries.
Around these parts we have a couple of more affordable options but most of the big fast food chains have become $10+ meal bullshits. If the meal is over $10 I might as well go pay the same in a non-fast-food restaurant with a pick up order. But Jack's (burger/chicken store) and Taco Bell still have meal deals for $7 or less.
Fountain drinks are a big ripoff, so you can save a bit by not ordering a drink if you have your own already.
Instead of a burger meal for $11 from bullshit fast food places I can buy a large entree of Mexican food for $8 to $9 before tax from a real restaurant. Chinese restaurants locally are similarly priced. I can get Mexican or Chinese takeout to feed the whole family for under $50
Panda Express is actually awesome for this. $10 for huge plates of food with 2 entrees.
Sure, but then the wait staff expects you to tip at least 20% for simply being given one, and if you don't you're an asshole.
Sure, but then the wait staff expects you to tip at least 20% for simply being given one, and if you don’t you’re an asshole.
That's the neat part about affordable food, 20% on $10 only means you tip $2.
They bring you the food, refill your water, and serve you on ceramic plates with metal silverware then take your dirty dishes away, no trash. The burger and the fries are way better than McD.
IMO The only FF place you still can't touch is a $6 Taco Bell with the cravings box. It's a huge amount of shitty food for a total of $6, it is super fast and it runs through you super fast.
Me, limping my ass into a McDonalds for the first time in forever: "I'll have 20 nuggets, no meal." (expecting 5$, or something close to it since it had legitimately been a while)
"Yeah, that'll be 12.47"
The fuck???
And the lines show it. I remember the single drive-throughs being backed up around the building and them putting in the dual-ordering drive-throughs to handle the traffic. There are never more than 2-3 people in line these days and there's almost no one inside. I get it, they're property banks these days.
Don't forget about the "meat" wafers on the "burger".
$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.
RIP Stalinwolf
I don't go to fast food often, I walked into a McDonalds for the first time in maybe 1yr +? They had the kiosks for self ordering, I looked at the prices and "deals" and decided that the cost/experience ratio was just not worth and just left. I can go to a restaurant or cook myself for those prices (and I did, cooked enchiladas).
It doesn't seem affordable/worth it even for a one-off now
The fuck
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.
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.
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.
I don’t mind cooking, I just hate coming up with a dinner plan for the whole week. I’ve begun watching cooking videos on instagram to help motivate me. I do wish there was an alternative to instagram, but so far it’s the best.
Now please tip 200% for the garbage
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."
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.
The Burger King closest to me once had a 20 minute line to wait another 15 minutes for the food.
“Fast food” is still relatively cheap in Japan, and me and my son like the taste of Burger King, but that was ridiculous.
And it wasn’t even a staff issue, there were eight people back there running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
double 1/3rd pound burger? off the regular price menu, upsized with curls. ya. that'll be pricey for what you get.
next time do the 'little' double cheese in the 'bag' special. 2 burgers, fries, drink for like six and change.
I have a 2 year old who falls asleep when driving, and we have had troubles with sleeping so I drive the motorway for perhaps two hours. In Norway the only places that do drive through is BK and McD, and yeah I have been one black coffe guy. Or just fries and coke. And nuggets and fries are car friendly. Can be eaten with one hand, and makes little mess
What's up with the price of Chinese food too?
A no frills takeout for my family of 6 with the 4 kids splitting two entrees, and it was still $100
Everybody being mean to you, but I ate at the same Chinese joint all my life. Chicken lo mein special was 6 bucks for most of my life.
I ordered the same special a few weeks ago and it was nearly 20 bucks.
After covid the restaurant went downhill as far as cleanliness goes too. For a couple years you’d call in your order and grab your food from a table blocking the door. They only take cash and they trusted the public to pay and then reach into a basket to collect their change. That meant a lot to me so I ate there pretty often.
Once they opened back up though, I went in and the floors didn’t look like they’d been mopped the whole time. I thought, “maybe people were excited to come back and that’s why it’s so dirty.”
Nope. Still hasn’t been mopped.
Maybe don't buy seventeen egg rolls
Price of eggs smdh
When I went to Cancun (recently) I decided to eat at Ruben's Hamburgers. Their burgers are VERY GOOD, and that's from someone that normally does not like meat burgers (I like mostly chicken burgers)
