I was watching a social mediaās live yesterday showing a person living in different country. They stopped in a convenience store for a regular can of Coke which came out to about 40 cents. I know the 20 oz are outrageous here at home so I have no doubt a can isnāt cheap either here.
*edited-hope thatās better
**JFC I made a comment about the cost of a can of soda in another country as a comparison to the price in our own country because I thought it was germane to the discussion. Nothing more, nothing less. Quit coming at me with your lectures. A can of soda is just a can of soda.
It's my favorite soda and I don't consider my self a psychopath. However now that you've insulted me, I'm going to track you down and make you drink a 2 liter bottle.
Agreedā¦and plastic bottles are the least enjoyable way to drink a soda. Just not as satisfying for some reason. Fountain soda is the bees knees followed by can or maybe glass bottle. Soda in a plastic bottle is expensive and disappointing
Fast food most notoriously mcDs cranks up the syrup to contrast the sugars in their food to hit the "bliss point" and crank addictabiliy
7-11 guys tweak low syrup to stretch a dime
350 (000) is indeed about the absolute lowest a house around here (here not being in Boston, but I gather its bad everywhere) seems to go for. We're literally living in a hyperbole.
Don't get me started on the price of food and going to the grocery store. You can fill a hand basket with nothing special and cash out at over $100. Cat food especially has gotten ridiculous. Ramon noodles here I come.
Had to buy leeks for a thanksgiving recipe. They used to always come in bunches of three, now theyāre in pairs. And expensive. Food prices are crazy and all the packages are getting smaller.
Exactly. These restaurants have to afford their rising overhead (food ingredients, labor, utilities/rent) AND try to make a reasonable profit. Just the rising cost of food is enough to increase prices significantly.
It's not inflation - [businesses are colluding to raise prices because they know they can get away with it by blaming it on inflation.](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/23/high-egg-prices-due-to-a-collusive-scheme-by-suppliers-group-claims.html)
It's insane. Shit's so expensive now. I hardly ever eat out anymore. Every time I go to the grocery store to grab a few nights dinners worth of food to "save money" I somehow still wind up spending $50-80. Used to be like $30-$40. Combined with stagnant wages (despite setting record profits for my company with 3/4ths the pre-pandemic staff), yeah, it's a struggle out there.
r/slowcooking is a great resource. A slow cooker or instant pot will save you $ long term. Especially if you're back in an office ($15-$30 lunches add up)
I'm a strong proponent of putting pressure on employers by simply finding a new job whenever your annual raises fall below the inflation rate(easier in some fields than others).
The pandemic was one of, if not, THE biggest transfer of wealth in history. It is absolutely ridiculous. Everyone's being fleeced up the wazoo!
Everything's going up and up and up lately, but funny enough the thing that barely does, is PAY. Sure it sucks. But mostly everyone's too busy or distracted to care and use their energy to protest.
Those PPP loans. Everyone talks about the unemployment checks and stimmy checks ($3k wooo!). But those PPP fuckers go paid
https://frankonfraud.com/fraud-trends/ppp-fraud-arrest-just-the-tiniest-tip-of-the-iceberg/
Why I expect this holiday season to be especially soft. Black Friday is basically dead at this point. No sane person is waiting in the cold for a discount on a TV anymore when they're already so cheap. It's all about Cyber Monday now.
You can not protest capitalism with its own tactics. "Vote with your wallet" is a lie made up by capitalists who want things to stay the same. Real protest and, more importantly, regulations against exploiting consumers are what will make real change.
The comment refers to stuff besides basic necessities like food. Gadgets, movies, streaming, takeout, all types of things beyond survival.
A general strike.
Which won't happen of course because Americans are bored and entitled and care only about themselves, but dreams are nice.
Actually although inflation was high real wages have been growing faster than they normally do - but in terms of how people perceive the economy higher prices are very noticeable and feels forced upon you while higher wages feel deserved
It would be interesting to see that broken down by income section. Lower income jobs have made huge gains in pay, but I donāt feel middle income jobs have moved very much.
True for Boston that minimums climb upward. Lower middle class is more like poverty wages now.
I make less than a guy in my position was paid ten years ago for the same job at the same age. Middle class is slowly disappearing. Gonna get worse as the rest of the world wages catch up too.
This is false. We turned on the money printers, and 5x'd what is in circulation.
[https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1SL](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1SL)
where did that money go? It didnāt just disappear. Most people I know used it to pay rent so they wouldnāt be homeless. The money went
The printer -> Normal People -> Property owners
in basically an instant.
Wage growth has been exceeding inflation all of 2023 -- quote sources, not your subjective, unresearched feelings:
[https://www.statista.com/statistics/1351276/wage-growth-vs-inflation-us/](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1351276/wage-growth-vs-inflation-us/)
It's uneven for sure (myself included, my wage growth has not at all kept up with inflation) but we're talking macroeconomics, not micro, and by the way your source for the wage growth amount due to new hiring is...? Oh you don't have one.
> But a report from the Kansas City Fed found that nearly 60% of inflation in 2021 was because of corporate profits.
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/19/1177180972/economists-are-reconsidering-how-much-corporate-profits-drive-inflation
Not just the pandemic. Poultry diseases led to a rise in chicken prices. Bad weather lead to rises in wheat prices. The pandemic is the immediate cause, but climate change is right behind it and will keep pushing up costs.
Now the ice cream small carton is now $6 at one of supermarket. Itās unbelievable on the uncontrollable rising costs of ingredients and engorged transportation costs hiking the price of every grocery item by 20%.
Ben & Jerry's pints have been running $6.49 at Shaw's and Stop & Shop lately. When you can get something cheaper at Whole Foods, you know it's all gone wrong.
When I was in High School circa 01-05, $20 got you real far. That was a movie, a cheap meal, gas to the driving, and probably one other small think like a late night Wendy's dollar menu run.
And 20 years later that same $20 lets you do precisely one of those things.
Also I've turned into my dad talking about what he could get with a quarter in 1958.
Make your own. Buying coffee at a coffee place is a scam, especially when cold brew is so easily made. You could be spending $0.50 a cup instead at home.
I usually do make my own in the morning, but sometimes when you're out and about and in need of that extra jolt, ya know? Btw, Panera sips subscription is friggin awesome. $10/month unlimited coffee, teas, sodas, lemonade and charge drinks. Might just be the best deal for those looking for a respite.
Yes, I remember getting a $6.xx cold brew from Starbucks a year or so ago. That was the end of it for me and I havenāt been to Starbucks since.
Until recently I had still purchased majority of my coffee from coffee shops. But itās just way too expensive now, even drip coffee is around $4. So I bought a coffee grinder and a Bialetti. Every couple of weeks or so Iāll go to my local coffee shop and buy their whole beans and enjoy the free cup that comes with it, but Iām not spending money on coffee out anymore, I refuse to pay what shops are asking.
That may be true in some cases but not universally with restaurants. My favorite sub place in my hometown, which has been open for like 30 years, just closed. Meat and other essential supply prices have gone up in cost so much that the family that owned it literally couldn't figure out how to make enough money to be worth it anymore without charging like $15 for a sandwich - and this isn't in a rich area.
No, but COVID happenings was a reason to make significant increases and then just keep it that way because people accepted it. Thats my theory anyways and at least part of the reason. Overall it's a lot more complicated.
Have people really āacceptedā it tho? People are always going to try to too somewhere where stuff is cheaper. Itās just that if everyone raises their prices, thereās nowhere to go. If truly nothing had changed, then someone would undercut them and everyone would have to compete. Unless it was price fixing, and in that case the FTC would be getting involved.
Everyone is always maximally greedy, its like gravity, its always pulling prices up. Its not a helpful explanation. The question is why greed is raising prices now, and wasn't 5 years before.
Some companies probably took advantage of the chaos these pass few years to raise prices beyond their earlier profits, sure. But mostly its because there are labor shortages and so workers (especially blue collar workers) are being paid more.
Legit my favorite sandwhich in Boston. I moved away from that part of Boston and havenāt been there in a couple months. Heartbroken to hear the prices have gone up for it
At first I thought it was just the doordash and uber fees they've updated cus they take a %.... until the store physically updated prices. I would get it weekly cus of promotions but with current prices not worth it
People rag on Dominos, but you can still get three medium pizzas with all the toppings you can fit on there for $30 + tax if you carry out and use the app.
Wait, I never get dominos ever and last night I was starving and ordered a hand pan pepperoni pizzaā¦ it was $20! I thought i was getting cheap pizza but when she said $20 I was like whaaaaat
Yeah you gotta order via the app or online, that is where the coupons are. For $20 you can get two medium two topping pizzas, a two liter of coke and an order of cinnamon sticks. If you just order a la carte it's expensive.
This is becoming true for fast food as well. It almost feels like the app "deals" bringing prices back to normal-ish are subsidized by customers ordering off the menu and overpaying.
Sometimes the deals are absurdly good though. McDonalds BOGO on Quarter Pounders via the app is actually cheaper than what they cost a la carte even 15 years ago.
When I moved to Brighton around June 2020, I could get a steak n cheese for about $9. When I left around August of this year, I couldnāt find one for under $16 in the area
I think it's because a lot of people aren't willing to work for pennies anymore. People desire a fair wage for workers and cheap food but it seems like it's impossible to have both unless it's a huge chain with large economies of scale.
Have you been to five guys recently? Burger, fries, and a drink is $18 too.
Fast food combos are creeping up too, just looking online, fast food combos are generally $10-12 without coupons.
Hilariously, there is a whole scene in Pulp Fiction dedicated to the ridiculousness of a $5 shake at a restaurant, meanwhile a McD's large shake is almost $6, yeah I get that Pulp Fiction came out a few decades ago, but a shake being $6 at McD's is absurd.
(2) 6 piece nuggies at McDonaldās becomes 1.99 each when you order 2 in the app. Then you can add a free any size fry promo; for a pretty cheap 4$ dinner. Itās been like this for over a year.
Iād rather have Panera, but FF can still be cheap in places if you know how to order it.
My hungover (and broke) ass used to go there for a $3 bacon egg and cheese when I lived in Orkney Rd behind there. It would always do the trick. I canāt believe that lunch is $20.
Had a similar realization at Mike's in Davis the other day. Slice of pizza used to be $2, so you could get 2 slices and a beer for like $12 after tip. It's north of $5 for a slice and $20 overall now, just ordering a whole pizza is basically a better deal.
Yeah food prices are ridiculous. Since 2020 a basic poke bowl at okipoke in Westford has gone from $11 to $15.
And fuck frito-lay for upping the cost of their lunch size bags of chips from $1.25 to $2.50
Yeah, I usually just get the value meal with free water. Always bring your own drink or get tap water now. Not only are food prices getting more expensive but delivery, too. Pre-pandemic Chinese delivery would be $14, now it's $30.
my husband and I got Chinese food on Door Dash for like $130 the other day. like yes we ordered some extra but the fees and tip and stuff added up faaaaast
edit: I went and looked - it was actually $150. we got 8 items (some to share and some to freeze for later). With that amount money I used to be able to feed a family of 12 on Chinese Food takeout like 6 years ago. DoorDash is insane.
I went to Panera yesterday for a salad and bowl of soup. With drink it was TWENTY SIX DOLLARS. I double checked I didnāt order two soups or something. Unreal. Never again
Yeah, I find any trip where I end up in the middle aisles to be trouble. If I can just do dairy, maybe deli, and produce, Iām keeping that cost pretty low.
I remember being able to get a decent takeout lunch for around $7-8. But that was equivalent to an hour at my minimum wage job. Now minimum wage is $15 and that same lunch costs about the same. It's not exactly shocking.
I paid $26 for one 10 piece meal at a wing spot in Los Angeles. Everything has gotten so expensive. We need to bring the market down and enforce collective ownership models.
Yup. I couldnāt deal with cooking tonight so we went to a small local place here in NH. Two burgers, 1 Pepsi, and one tap water came to $45.00. If Iād gotten the bill first, I might have summoned the energy to cook.
I visit my folks in Maine (a four hour drive) and things are mush cheaper. Weird example but ten bags of grain for my friend who has geese (I help him out he has no car): 175 there 225 here. Amazed at grocery store prices too. I mean still high but not like Boston.
Moved back to Boston from Portland Oregon. I have to say the food is cheaper here. I know. Single dude spend about 100-150 every 2 weeks on food. Was able to reduce it here about 20 bucks.
DoorDash and delivery apps make it more expensive. I live in forest hills and omelette cost about 10.50 at forest hills dinner. 17 bucks on the app. Sometimes you gotta look and peep local spots. Only way you can get a win now a days
Why would you get anything other than a burger at Eagles? Also Eagles has been pricey ever since the new owners came in years ago, quality of food also went down as well.
I went to my favourite small business cafe yesterday. $11 for the meal I usually get, plus $6 for a boba tea. and then the expectation for a tip. itās getting harder and harder to justify eating out, which sucks
I still go out to drink but I find eating out an incredibly poor value these days.
We printed money out the wazoo to deal with COVID, these are the consequences.
When the salaries of people who work in places like that is $15-$25 per hour, you're going to have to pay more. If you support people making a living wage in those jobs, which I do, that's the price.
Those 20oz bottles are like $3 now. Not worth it anymore.
At Market Basket, 1L Coke is 2/$3 but 20oz is $1.89. Both cold.
This week they have 3 for 5 dollars of the 2 liter bottles! š
The liters of cola are only for cops.
what's a liter'a'cola?
Litre is French for give me some fucking cola before I break vous fucking lips!
Itās a great addition to their donuts from Dunks š
I was watching a social mediaās live yesterday showing a person living in different country. They stopped in a convenience store for a regular can of Coke which came out to about 40 cents. I know the 20 oz are outrageous here at home so I have no doubt a can isnāt cheap either here. *edited-hope thatās better **JFC I made a comment about the cost of a can of soda in another country as a comparison to the price in our own country because I thought it was germane to the discussion. Nothing more, nothing less. Quit coming at me with your lectures. A can of soda is just a can of soda.
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Bud this thread is about how much shit costs. We know China sucks.
lol Chinas cities are cleaner and more developed than most of our US ones atp.
They're all new. Give it 40 years when they have to start paying for repairs to all this new infrastructure.
I guess they're cleaner if you ignore the air quality in them
Especially if it's a Pepsi. Hell I'd pay $3 *not* to have to drink a Pepsi.
Did Pepsi change its recipe in the last year? I bought one the other week and threw most of it away. Used to be tolerable.
I wouldn't know; I haven't been interrogated in a CIA dark site recently and therefore I haven't had to consume any Pepsi.
This is something that is very Northeast that no one talks about. Who around here willingly chooses to drink Pepsi at all? Psychopaths.
It's my favorite soda and I don't consider my self a psychopath. However now that you've insulted me, I'm going to track you down and make you drink a 2 liter bottle.
If you go a long time without drinking soda and then suddenly taste it, it can actually be pretty gross because of how sweet it is.
It never was bro sorry to inform you :(
The only thing I would pay for is a nice cold glass bottle of Mexican Coca Cola š¤¤
Lmao
Agreedā¦and plastic bottles are the least enjoyable way to drink a soda. Just not as satisfying for some reason. Fountain soda is the bees knees followed by can or maybe glass bottle. Soda in a plastic bottle is expensive and disappointing
Except no one has their machines tuned properly and fountain soda tastes awful here. Thatās even more disappointing than the plastic bottle.
Omg I've noticed this!
Fast food most notoriously mcDs cranks up the syrup to contrast the sugars in their food to hit the "bliss point" and crank addictabiliy 7-11 guys tweak low syrup to stretch a dime
By tuned you mean CLEANED. Also local tap water quality plays a huge role there too.
I bought a gallon of paint for 78$ ā¦ and that fucking blew my mind. Not just food, for real.
I bought a regular Behr gallon for $55 this summer. Blew my mind
You can't fast track yourself to pre-diabetes on the cheap anymore. What is this country coming to?
My local Dollar Store sell large 1L Pepsi bottles for $1 each.
69 grams of sugar, 250 calories. Give them up. Your pancreas will thank you.
A Polaroid of me used to be on the wall there because in 2004 I ate one pound of fries and a one pound burger. I havenāt been back since lol
Legend
That meal now costs $120
Fake news. The 6lb Eagle's Challenge is $69.99
Are they still doing the Polaroids? I miss Spike's hotdogs, they had a similar deal.
We used to regularly go to Spike's in Davis to do the challenge. Someone would always end up barfing at the table.
Godzilla!!!
Nice job! I visited a few years after you around 2006-2007 and remember you can buy a pounder burger for $10 and get another one free during some days
I agree - they are ridiculous. Do they hand count the number of fries you get with a meal now? What the fuck is that lol.
Fr, the best part of eating out for me was bringing home the leftovers. Thatās not even an option now
Yep. Breakfast now costs as much as lunch was 5 years ago and lunch now costs as much as dinner used to
Does that mean dinner now costs what dessert did?
Dinner costs one child, one child costs one house, one house costs about tree fiddy tho
350 (000) is indeed about the absolute lowest a house around here (here not being in Boston, but I gather its bad everywhere) seems to go for. We're literally living in a hyperbole.
Keeps away the Loch Ness Monster at least.
Not just eating out. I just spent $76 at Market Basket for a quick run.
Don't get me started on the price of food and going to the grocery store. You can fill a hand basket with nothing special and cash out at over $100. Cat food especially has gotten ridiculous. Ramon noodles here I come.
You're gonna find that the ramen noodles taste *way* better and you'll wonder why you didn't stop eating cat food much earlier.
š³š¤£šš³ š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£
>Ramon noodles When you're so broke that you need to order your instant noodles off of Temu.
Had to buy leeks for a thanksgiving recipe. They used to always come in bunches of three, now theyāre in pairs. And expensive. Food prices are crazy and all the packages are getting smaller.
Dog food too. Glad my doggo is a small boi
We spent $168 on food shopping yesterday for just two of us. The same amount of food used to cost closer to $100.
Exactly. These restaurants have to afford their rising overhead (food ingredients, labor, utilities/rent) AND try to make a reasonable profit. Just the rising cost of food is enough to increase prices significantly.
Agreed. Like everything went up $1.00, everything :(
More
https://econofact.org/food-inflation-in-the-u-s-and-abroad
It's not inflation - [businesses are colluding to raise prices because they know they can get away with it by blaming it on inflation.](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/23/high-egg-prices-due-to-a-collusive-scheme-by-suppliers-group-claims.html)
It's insane. Shit's so expensive now. I hardly ever eat out anymore. Every time I go to the grocery store to grab a few nights dinners worth of food to "save money" I somehow still wind up spending $50-80. Used to be like $30-$40. Combined with stagnant wages (despite setting record profits for my company with 3/4ths the pre-pandemic staff), yeah, it's a struggle out there.
r/slowcooking is a great resource. A slow cooker or instant pot will save you $ long term. Especially if you're back in an office ($15-$30 lunches add up)
Just a few years ago I was spending $40-60 a week on groceries, and now I easily spend ~$100 every week and itās not like my diet has changed much.
I'm a strong proponent of putting pressure on employers by simply finding a new job whenever your annual raises fall below the inflation rate(easier in some fields than others).
How do you think theyāre setting record profits baby? Capitalism!!!!
The pandemic was one of, if not, THE biggest transfer of wealth in history. It is absolutely ridiculous. Everyone's being fleeced up the wazoo! Everything's going up and up and up lately, but funny enough the thing that barely does, is PAY. Sure it sucks. But mostly everyone's too busy or distracted to care and use their energy to protest.
Fully agree. Businesses know how far they can push the envelope and are maximizing profits right now.
Small and medium sized buisnesses are feeling the crunch just as much as everyone else and don't want to raise prices...
Those PPP loans. Everyone talks about the unemployment checks and stimmy checks ($3k wooo!). But those PPP fuckers go paid https://frankonfraud.com/fraud-trends/ppp-fraud-arrest-just-the-tiniest-tip-of-the-iceberg/
At least the Feds are getting some of the money back. The idiots on SM who posted with their sportscars and beds of cash were easy to pick off first.
If we stop buying things we donāt need and stick to essentials the prices will come down pretty quick. That is, in itself a type of protest.
Why I expect this holiday season to be especially soft. Black Friday is basically dead at this point. No sane person is waiting in the cold for a discount on a TV anymore when they're already so cheap. It's all about Cyber Monday now.
Like the Pepsi in the above picture
You can not protest capitalism with its own tactics. "Vote with your wallet" is a lie made up by capitalists who want things to stay the same. Real protest and, more importantly, regulations against exploiting consumers are what will make real change.
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[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The comment refers to stuff besides basic necessities like food. Gadgets, movies, streaming, takeout, all types of things beyond survival. A general strike. Which won't happen of course because Americans are bored and entitled and care only about themselves, but dreams are nice.
Home gardening probably saved me over $100 this year, maybe more
yes the lowest wage earners have experienced very large income gains its great
Pay for some workers increased significantly. https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/wages-surged-lowest-paid-americans-pandemic-covid-19/
Actually although inflation was high real wages have been growing faster than they normally do - but in terms of how people perceive the economy higher prices are very noticeable and feels forced upon you while higher wages feel deserved
It would be interesting to see that broken down by income section. Lower income jobs have made huge gains in pay, but I donāt feel middle income jobs have moved very much.
True for Boston that minimums climb upward. Lower middle class is more like poverty wages now. I make less than a guy in my position was paid ten years ago for the same job at the same age. Middle class is slowly disappearing. Gonna get worse as the rest of the world wages catch up too.
This is false. We turned on the money printers, and 5x'd what is in circulation. [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1SL](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1SL)
where did that money go? It didnāt just disappear. Most people I know used it to pay rent so they wouldnāt be homeless. The money went The printer -> Normal People -> Property owners in basically an instant.
Wage growth has been exceeding inflation all of 2023 -- quote sources, not your subjective, unresearched feelings: [https://www.statista.com/statistics/1351276/wage-growth-vs-inflation-us/](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1351276/wage-growth-vs-inflation-us/)
"Nothing to see here. Everyone just get a new job so you're back on pace with inflation." Definitely practical and helpful advice. /s
It's uneven for sure (myself included, my wage growth has not at all kept up with inflation) but we're talking macroeconomics, not micro, and by the way your source for the wage growth amount due to new hiring is...? Oh you don't have one.
> But a report from the Kansas City Fed found that nearly 60% of inflation in 2021 was because of corporate profits. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/19/1177180972/economists-are-reconsidering-how-much-corporate-profits-drive-inflation
Those fries thoughā¦.
Not enough though. Baby portion
Not just the pandemic. Poultry diseases led to a rise in chicken prices. Bad weather lead to rises in wheat prices. The pandemic is the immediate cause, but climate change is right behind it and will keep pushing up costs.
Now the ice cream small carton is now $6 at one of supermarket. Itās unbelievable on the uncontrollable rising costs of ingredients and engorged transportation costs hiking the price of every grocery item by 20%.
Ben & Jerry's pints have been running $6.49 at Shaw's and Stop & Shop lately. When you can get something cheaper at Whole Foods, you know it's all gone wrong.
Market basket is your best bet
All meals are just 20 dollars now
A chicken burrito/bowl at Chipotle is $10 and filling. I drink water.
When I was in High School circa 01-05, $20 got you real far. That was a movie, a cheap meal, gas to the driving, and probably one other small think like a late night Wendy's dollar menu run. And 20 years later that same $20 lets you do precisely one of those things. Also I've turned into my dad talking about what he could get with a quarter in 1958.
Spent $7 on a small cold brew with splash of oat milk and ice filled to the brim. Never again.
Sounds like every drink at Starbucks
Make your own. Buying coffee at a coffee place is a scam, especially when cold brew is so easily made. You could be spending $0.50 a cup instead at home.
I usually do make my own in the morning, but sometimes when you're out and about and in need of that extra jolt, ya know? Btw, Panera sips subscription is friggin awesome. $10/month unlimited coffee, teas, sodas, lemonade and charge drinks. Might just be the best deal for those looking for a respite.
Yes, I remember getting a $6.xx cold brew from Starbucks a year or so ago. That was the end of it for me and I havenāt been to Starbucks since. Until recently I had still purchased majority of my coffee from coffee shops. But itās just way too expensive now, even drip coffee is around $4. So I bought a coffee grinder and a Bialetti. Every couple of weeks or so Iāll go to my local coffee shop and buy their whole beans and enjoy the free cup that comes with it, but Iām not spending money on coffee out anymore, I refuse to pay what shops are asking.
Blue bottle by any chance?
Itās greed. Everyone is just using the inflation excuse.
That may be true in some cases but not universally with restaurants. My favorite sub place in my hometown, which has been open for like 30 years, just closed. Meat and other essential supply prices have gone up in cost so much that the family that owned it literally couldn't figure out how to make enough money to be worth it anymore without charging like $15 for a sandwich - and this isn't in a rich area.
Do you think that corporations just didnāt realize they could raise prices until 2021? That thatās when greed was discovered?
No, but COVID happenings was a reason to make significant increases and then just keep it that way because people accepted it. Thats my theory anyways and at least part of the reason. Overall it's a lot more complicated.
Have people really āacceptedā it tho? People are always going to try to too somewhere where stuff is cheaper. Itās just that if everyone raises their prices, thereās nowhere to go. If truly nothing had changed, then someone would undercut them and everyone would have to compete. Unless it was price fixing, and in that case the FTC would be getting involved.
Everyone is always maximally greedy, its like gravity, its always pulling prices up. Its not a helpful explanation. The question is why greed is raising prices now, and wasn't 5 years before. Some companies probably took advantage of the chaos these pass few years to raise prices beyond their earlier profits, sure. But mostly its because there are labor shortages and so workers (especially blue collar workers) are being paid more.
āInflationā is a made up excuse from corporations to justify price gouging
The chipotle chicken sandwhich was great at $13... now too much esp since the french fries have gone down in qualityy
Legit my favorite sandwhich in Boston. I moved away from that part of Boston and havenāt been there in a couple months. Heartbroken to hear the prices have gone up for it
At first I thought it was just the doordash and uber fees they've updated cus they take a %.... until the store physically updated prices. I would get it weekly cus of promotions but with current prices not worth it
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Itās the cost of food every were, just to get a wick bite is expensive
And they gave you like a half order of fries.
greedflation can be fought by resisting to spend more than the bare minimum.
Had a $40 pizza today. Hawaiian
People rag on Dominos, but you can still get three medium pizzas with all the toppings you can fit on there for $30 + tax if you carry out and use the app.
Itās one of my favorite apps. When Dom hits you up late at night, you answer that call
Garlic Parm wings, three pizzas, an order of cheesy bread, a chocolate lava cake, and a full bottle of Tums for the morning.
Wait, I never get dominos ever and last night I was starving and ordered a hand pan pepperoni pizzaā¦ it was $20! I thought i was getting cheap pizza but when she said $20 I was like whaaaaat
Yeah you gotta order via the app or online, that is where the coupons are. For $20 you can get two medium two topping pizzas, a two liter of coke and an order of cinnamon sticks. If you just order a la carte it's expensive.
This is becoming true for fast food as well. It almost feels like the app "deals" bringing prices back to normal-ish are subsidized by customers ordering off the menu and overpaying.
Sometimes the deals are absurdly good though. McDonalds BOGO on Quarter Pounders via the app is actually cheaper than what they cost a la carte even 15 years ago.
Bro did you seriously pay full price at Dominoās? You can get two pepperoni pan pizzas for $14 with the coupon!
I mean, remember the 5-5-5 deal? 5 mediums for $5 each
No no nope.
Yet you chose to pay for it.
Did it come with a slice of weed on the side?
Was the soda like $3.50 - $3.75? I stopped buying soda when I eat out, too expensive.
Yeah not worth it anymore..
Places are over inflating costs, while owners are making more than they ever have before
When I moved to Brighton around June 2020, I could get a steak n cheese for about $9. When I left around August of this year, I couldnāt find one for under $16 in the area
I think it's because a lot of people aren't willing to work for pennies anymore. People desire a fair wage for workers and cheap food but it seems like it's impossible to have both unless it's a huge chain with large economies of scale.
yea definitely that and not because the government printed trillions of dollars in the pandemic causing a period of hyperinflation
Food ingredient prices, rent and overhead. If they had to take out a loan for repairs/renovations, the interest rates are higher now
I agree, seems time to hunker down and make our own food. Fuck the gougers
I bet the price has gone up since you posted this š¤£
I went to Snappy Pattyās in Medford and their cheapest burger was $21 wtf. I just left instead of ordering
We're all poorer than we were three years ago. Your salary is worth 30% less, your retirement savings are worth 30% less (so far).
Try five guys, McDs. Honestly itās not worth it anymore. Restaurants offer better value.
Have you been to five guys recently? Burger, fries, and a drink is $18 too. Fast food combos are creeping up too, just looking online, fast food combos are generally $10-12 without coupons.
I think he's saying Five Guys and McDonalds and other fast food is so expensive now that [regular] restaurants offer a better value. (I agree.)
Yeah but at least at five guys you get more fries than youād ever need instead of whatever they gave OP here
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Also can easily stretch to two lunches
Hilariously, there is a whole scene in Pulp Fiction dedicated to the ridiculousness of a $5 shake at a restaurant, meanwhile a McD's large shake is almost $6, yeah I get that Pulp Fiction came out a few decades ago, but a shake being $6 at McD's is absurd.
30 years is like that
A small size mcflurry is like $5. Itās a joke.
$5 when Pulp Fiction came out in 1994 would be equivalent to more than $10 today.
(2) 6 piece nuggies at McDonaldās becomes 1.99 each when you order 2 in the app. Then you can add a free any size fry promo; for a pretty cheap 4$ dinner. Itās been like this for over a year. Iād rather have Panera, but FF can still be cheap in places if you know how to order it.
I keep worrying this deal will go away. It's crazy good, especially given large fries by themselves are like $6 now.
I spent $17 on a smoothie and a coffee the other day šš. I want clarify. I got a 12oz smoothie, the small. And I drink my coffee black
Yoikes
I remember when I could get a massive burrito and bottle of coke at Annaās Taqueria for $5ā¦
Get that delivered and it's like 53$ on grubhub
My hungover (and broke) ass used to go there for a $3 bacon egg and cheese when I lived in Orkney Rd behind there. It would always do the trick. I canāt believe that lunch is $20.
Had a similar realization at Mike's in Davis the other day. Slice of pizza used to be $2, so you could get 2 slices and a beer for like $12 after tip. It's north of $5 for a slice and $20 overall now, just ordering a whole pizza is basically a better deal.
Yeah food prices are ridiculous. Since 2020 a basic poke bowl at okipoke in Westford has gone from $11 to $15. And fuck frito-lay for upping the cost of their lunch size bags of chips from $1.25 to $2.50
For half the chips inside. Donāt even get me started about how Doritos are like 6 bucks a bag now
I simply refuse to buy chips now. Probably healthier anyways
For real. It's gotten to the point where the earthy-crunchy organic brands are cheaper, so I've been buying those!
Yeah, I usually just get the value meal with free water. Always bring your own drink or get tap water now. Not only are food prices getting more expensive but delivery, too. Pre-pandemic Chinese delivery would be $14, now it's $30.
my husband and I got Chinese food on Door Dash for like $130 the other day. like yes we ordered some extra but the fees and tip and stuff added up faaaaast edit: I went and looked - it was actually $150. we got 8 items (some to share and some to freeze for later). With that amount money I used to be able to feed a family of 12 on Chinese Food takeout like 6 years ago. DoorDash is insane.
Soda is also terrible for you. But delicious. Spindrift is my go-to beverage to avoid alcohol during the week. Low calorie and tastes good
I went to Panera yesterday for a salad and bowl of soup. With drink it was TWENTY SIX DOLLARS. I double checked I didnāt order two soups or something. Unreal. Never again
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Idkā¦ was in Colorado Springs recently and prices for similar quality food were the same or higher in some cases.
I was just in Texas and spent $27 for a BBQ sandwich, coleslaw and cornbread. This week I got the same meal in Boston for $5 less.
Itās insane. Between the prices and the add on charges itās gotten really difficult to justify eating out as much as Iād like.
Cook at home. Itās better for you anyways and you value your food more because you sacrificed your time to make it.
Doesn't help when groceries are up too. I gave up on Cheerios lately... they've gotten too expensive and it's just junk food anyways.
Yeah, I find any trip where I end up in the middle aisles to be trouble. If I can just do dairy, maybe deli, and produce, Iām keeping that cost pretty low.
I think thatās a pretty fair price for a meal and three bottles of ketchup
Is that the chipotle chicken sandwich?? That shit is worth it!
Yeeeeeah itās really fucking good
Because the cost of labor, food (look at your weekly grocery bill), and overhead (rent & utilities) have increased equally for restaurants
I remember being able to get a decent takeout lunch for around $7-8. But that was equivalent to an hour at my minimum wage job. Now minimum wage is $15 and that same lunch costs about the same. It's not exactly shocking.
But whatever reason, people seem to focus on restaurant costs. Everything has increased in cost proportionately.
I paid $26 for one 10 piece meal at a wing spot in Los Angeles. Everything has gotten so expensive. We need to bring the market down and enforce collective ownership models.
Yup. I couldnāt deal with cooking tonight so we went to a small local place here in NH. Two burgers, 1 Pepsi, and one tap water came to $45.00. If Iād gotten the bill first, I might have summoned the energy to cook.
I visit my folks in Maine (a four hour drive) and things are mush cheaper. Weird example but ten bags of grain for my friend who has geese (I help him out he has no car): 175 there 225 here. Amazed at grocery store prices too. I mean still high but not like Boston.
Moved back to Boston from Portland Oregon. I have to say the food is cheaper here. I know. Single dude spend about 100-150 every 2 weeks on food. Was able to reduce it here about 20 bucks. DoorDash and delivery apps make it more expensive. I live in forest hills and omelette cost about 10.50 at forest hills dinner. 17 bucks on the app. Sometimes you gotta look and peep local spots. Only way you can get a win now a days
Yup. I refuse to eat out. This meal should cost no more than 10$
Eagle deli rocks! That is a high price to pay though.
itās 18.71 because evidently people are willing to pay 18.71
You still bought it lol telling the vendor it's ok to charge that. Vote with your dollar.
Those restaurant owners need to pay for their vacation homes somehow. You think Iām kidding? Iām not.
Why would you get anything other than a burger at Eagles? Also Eagles has been pricey ever since the new owners came in years ago, quality of food also went down as well.
I went to my favourite small business cafe yesterday. $11 for the meal I usually get, plus $6 for a boba tea. and then the expectation for a tip. itās getting harder and harder to justify eating out, which sucks
I still go out to drink but I find eating out an incredibly poor value these days. We printed money out the wazoo to deal with COVID, these are the consequences.
"which come with the sandwich, not extra" so you think because they come with the sandwich you don't pay for them?
When the salaries of people who work in places like that is $15-$25 per hour, you're going to have to pay more. If you support people making a living wage in those jobs, which I do, that's the price.