The price of a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal has more than doubled since 2014, data show.

Kevin Roberts remembers when he could get a bacon cheeseburger, fries and a drink from Five Guys for $10. But that was years ago. When the Virginia high school teacher recently visited the fast-food chain, the food alone without a beverage cost double that amount.

Roberts, 38, now only gets fast food “as a rare treat,” he told CBS MoneyWatch. “Nothing has made me cook at home more than fast-food prices.”

Roberts is hardly alone. Many consumers are expressing frustration at the surge in fast-food prices, which are starting to scare off budget-conscious customers.

A January poll by consulting firm Revenue Management Solutions found that about 25% of people who make under $50,000 were cutting back on fast food, pointing to cost as a concern.

  • Cosmic ClericEnglish
    -2•7 months ago

    People who have time to cook will. Many low income families are 24/7 parenting and working with little extra time. Cooking 3 squares is just not going to happen.

    Not saying you’re wrong in some cases, but I buy these pre-cooked meals at Costco, where all you have to do is heat them in a pan/oven and serve, then they’re quick to do (and I’m a horrible cook to boot).

    But I get it, it comes down to how much money you have, and how much time you have to spend to make how much money that you have.

    But the bottom line is, at the end of the day, for practically everyone, eating home cooked meals is going to be better for them, than just sustaining off of fast food meals from outside 24/7.

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      • Cosmic ClericEnglish
        -2•7 months ago

        People who have time to cook will. Many low income families are 24/7 parenting and working with little extra time. Cooking 3 squares is just not going to happen.

        But the bottom line is, at the end of the day, for practically everyone, eating home cooked meals is going to be better for them, than just sustaining off of fast food meals from outside 24/7.

        I never said anything remotely like it’s better to do fast food 24/7

        I never said you did. I was just saying that eating some Costco sold food that you have to prepare in your own home would be preferable than eating fast food 24/7.

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          • Cosmic ClericEnglish
            0•7 months ago

            I never said you did. I was just saying that eating some Costco sold food that you have to prepare in your own home would be preferable than eating fast food 24/7.

            You keep acting as it as if those are the only 2 options (3 home cooked or 3 fast food).

            I’m talking about overall which scenario is healthier/better to be eating, outside food versus home cooked food, specifically what ingredients each uses and how each one is prepared.

            So either you’re presenting a false dichotomy or you’re responding to something I didn’t say. Your framing is too binary and doesn’t reflect reality.

            You’re misinterpreting what I’m saying, and missing the overall point being made.

            It’s not a quantity issue in and of itself, it’s which of the two scenarios you choose whenever you want to eat.

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