When did all the fun stuff go upscale? (Possible @)

[stemmie]

DS, DH and I went to Five Guys a few months ago. We got 3 sodas, 2 "little" burgers, a hotdog and a small fry-- it was in the neighborhood of $60. For that price, I want table service, a real plate and an IPA in lieu of Diet Coke.

[fortnightlily]

Jul 22, 2023 12:59:03 GMT -5 stemmie said:

DS, DH and I went to Five Guys a few months ago. We got 3 sodas, 2 "little" burgers, a hotdog and a small fry-- it was in the neighborhood of $60. For that price, I want table service, a real plate and an IPA in lieu of Diet Coke.

Right here with you on how expensive Five Guys feels these days.

[arehopsveggies]

Once a month or so we go to a mountain town where my parents have a cabin. DH wanted to try axe throwing this weekend. It’s $60! That is probably out of our budget. There’s also a new roller coaster thing but that would be $100. Sooo back to our normal plans of just sitting on the porch, hiking, or walking along the river.

We also pretty much never go out to eat anymore. We do go out and order just drinks sometimes so we only spend $20 but still get to feel like we went on a date

[al dente]

Jul 22, 2023 13:31:01 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

Jul 22, 2023 12:59:03 GMT -5 stemmie said:

DS, DH and I went to Five Guys a few months ago. We got 3 sodas, 2 "little" burgers, a hotdog and a small fry-- it was in the neighborhood of $60. For that price, I want table service, a real plate and an IPA in lieu of Diet Coke.

Right here with you on how expensive Five Guys feels these days.

The thing that kills me is their decoration is all these articles about how it's the best $5 meal or something super cheap, meanwhile you just spent $25 on a one person fast food meal 😭

I don't see things becoming upscale, but more that companies raised prices, cut service and are maintaining that now that we're "out" of COVID. Like so many restaurants are fast casual where you order at a counter, get your own drinks, and clear your own table at the end. Yet still tip and have meal prices of $25+.

[clairebear]

Jul 22, 2023 14:06:00 GMT -5 arehopsveggies said:

Once a month or so we go to a mountain town where my parents have a cabin. DH wanted to try axe throwing this weekend. It’s $60! That is probably out of our budget. There’s also a new roller coaster thing but that would be $100. Sooo back to our normal plans of just sitting on the porch, hiking, or walking along the river.

We also pretty much never go out to eat anymore. We do go out and order just drinks sometimes so we only spend $20 but still get to feel like we went on a date

Was it the Alpine Coaster in Banner Elk, NC?! We did the coaster with our two kids this summer. $90 for 3 consecutive rides that took all of maybe 10 mins. It was fun, but geez! Definitely not doing that again.

[arehopsveggies]

Jul 22, 2023 19:49:40 GMT -5 clairebear said:

Jul 22, 2023 14:06:00 GMT -5 arehopsveggies said:

Once a month or so we go to a mountain town where my parents have a cabin. DH wanted to try axe throwing this weekend. It’s $60! That is probably out of our budget. There’s also a new roller coaster thing but that would be $100. Sooo back to our normal plans of just sitting on the porch, hiking, or walking along the river.

We also pretty much never go out to eat anymore. We do go out and order just drinks sometimes so we only spend $20 but still get to feel like we went on a date

Was it the Alpine Coaster in Banner Elk, NC?! We did the coaster with our two kids this summer. $90 for 3 consecutive rides that took all of maybe 10 mins. It was fun, but geez! Definitely not doing that again.

@@
Not that one.
Ours is $25 a ride, but the kids can’t ride alone. So 4 people would be $100 for one ride

[icedcoffee]

Jul 22, 2023 18:52:48 GMT -5 al dente said:

Jul 22, 2023 13:31:01 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

Right here with you on how expensive Five Guys feels these days.

The thing that kills me is their decoration is all these articles about how it's the best $5 meal or something super cheap, meanwhile you just spent $25 on a one person fast food meal 😭

I don't see things becoming upscale, but more that companies raised prices, cut service and are maintaining that now that we're "out" of COVID. Like so many restaurants are fast casual where you order at a counter, get your own drinks, and clear your own table at the end. Yet still tip and have meal prices of $25+.

Most fast food now is $$$. I’d say McDonalds is still the cheapest but my kids and I now spend up to $15 for the 3 of us and we used to be able to eat for about $8 (we don’t do full meals).

But the one I’ve really noticed is Dunkin Donuts. I used to be able to almost always get a $2 iced coffee but the coupons have really decreased with their new rewards program so my new go to iced coffee is the McDonald’s 99 cent one. And that makes me sad.

[basilosaurus]

I think there's a differentiation with things that are fun but not necessary to live. Like movies or roller coasters vs electricity. Fast food has never been strictly necessary, but it is in function. But the further used to be a reasonable middle class family activity. The latter is still relatively cheap

Sure people can do better in cost and quality than fast food, but those on limited money probably don't have the time or resources to do so. And got entertainment? read a book. Oh, wait, not in certain states

[fancynewbeesly]

Jul 22, 2023 12:59:03 GMT -5 stemmie said:

DS, DH and I went to Five Guys a few months ago. We got 3 sodas, 2 "little" burgers, a hotdog and a small fry-- it was in the neighborhood of $60. For that price, I want table service, a real plate and an IPA in lieu of Diet Coke.

We have the same complaint about them. Last summer we took the girls to the movies and to kill some time we took them to 5 guys. We got 4 drinks. One fries and two little burgers for the girls. (DH and I didn’t eat due to cost) and it was 45 dollars. A complete rip-off for counter service.

[polarbearfans]

Look to your local colleges for sports. I am in a city with a large university and most Women’s sports are free. Some men’s. The smaller colleges are cheap to free usually.

Check out your local parks as well for programming.

[livinitup]

Jul 23, 2023 16:40:45 GMT -5 polarbearfans said:

Look to your local colleges for sports. I am in a city with a large university and most Women’s sports are free. Some men’s. The smaller colleges are cheap to free usually.

Check out your local parks as well for programming.

I love this tip ! Also, your local library may have FREE PASSES for parking and entrance to county/state activities like the zoo, parks, and other activities. You check them out with your library card just like books.

[arehopsveggies]

Jul 24, 2023 10:35:49 GMT -5 livinitup said:

Jul 23, 2023 16:40:45 GMT -5 polarbearfans said:

Look to your local colleges for sports. I am in a city with a large university and most Women’s sports are free. Some men’s. The smaller colleges are cheap to free usually.

Check out your local parks as well for programming.

I love this tip ! Also, your local library may have FREE PASSES for parking and entrance to county/state activities like the zoo, parks, and other activities. You check them out with your library card just like books.

I love checking out museum passes from our library! We have planned some day trips this summer just on where we could get museum passes to.

[meanie]

We live near the ocean and try to take advantage of that when we can because it is a cheap day out of you do it right. Gas prices have totally changed that though and we now have to build that into our budget.

That goes for a lot of things that may be affordable or free but now we have to consider if it is worth the drive and spending $20-$50 just to get there.