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.
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
Fast food is insanely declasse. Stop eating it ffs.
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
- Bump up your employer’s withholding by 5%
- Get that overpayment back from the IRS
- Immediately dump that into a retirement thing that reduces taxable income; like, same-day
- Next year you have another 5% windfall and a little more back from the retirement contribution. Put both back into same deal
- Repeat forever
- Slow win
That’s an impressive level of financial responsibility, nice job
The dude that never went to in-n-out
Behold the superior hamburger, ye mighty, and despair:
In-n-out is mid and their fries are like cardboard.
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.deleted by creator
“What’s the deal with fast food? It isn’t fast, and it isn’t food!”
Get this person a ten-year sitcom deal!
Sorry, I’m more of a Michael Richards type myself
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
That’s not gonna work in the US.
Japan is a cheat code for healthy cheap meals.
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 $6, it is super fast and it runs through you super fast.
I have a Taco Bell addiction. Its my comfort food. I can’t even feel guilty about it anymore, its so cheap.
Me, limping my ass into a McDonalds for the first time in forever: “I’ll have 20 nuggets, no meal.” (expecting 5$, 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”.
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
$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
The fuck
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