Um, will fast food become extinct in the near future?
It is not just fast food, you have to look to save wherever and whenever you can. I used to drop my McDonalds here because of the $5 meals and the deals on their app. They recently eliminated many of those things (although I hear they are coming back).
I found that Jack In The Box also has app specials and I get two hamburgers for $5! Keep in mind I live in Hawaii where it is not unusual to pay massibe increases for some items.
I just did a comparison for a loaf of Wonderbread at my local Walmart and one back in Marietta Georgia.
GA $2.92 14.6c/oz
HI $11.98 59.9c/oz
That is about 4 times the price!
It is too bad that Outback closed here. Although it was a bit pricy, we still saved money over restaurants.
Speaking about luxury, because of the way we generate electricity here (lots of solar) we get a 50% discount for power we consume 9am to 5pm compared with other times.
Every few weeks on a Friday, Safeway Supermarket offers a chicken special, 5 piece for $5. While not the same taste as KFC, the KCF price is 8 peices for $25.00! It may be because KFC has to get all their ingredients from KFC and ship them here. I dunno but unit pricing is quite popular here and also of taking advantage of every discount and sale we can.
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Upon retiring many years ago, we considered moving to HI. Your great posts are a reminder we made the right decision and stayed in CA, even with it’s own problems.
I do not eat at fast food restaurants often. Recently, the couple of times I have purchased food at a fast food restaurant, I have noticed the soaring prices. It is not unusual for a combo meal to cost around $20.00. Going to a sit-down restaurant and ordering from a menu can be cheaper, even after adding a tip for the server.
Another thing about fast food restaurants is the long lines at the drive through lanes. With the price of gas, sitting in line in a drive through lane does not make much sense. I am surprised the climate change folks are not trying to ban drive through lanes.
I wonder if we will start seeing fast food locations close down? If people are eating less fast food it seems inevitable. I haven’t seen this in my area. At least not yet.
At McDonalds, you can take advantage of the “buy one, get one of equal value” program. Follow the instructions on your McD receipt and take the survey. At the end of the survey, the website produces a rewards code. Write the code on your receipt and redeem at your next visit. They do not check the rewards code. We never buy anything at McD without one of these.
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California has the additional issue with the new labor cost. I suspect we will see a lot more of this from local chains there.
Fast food is now neither fast nor cheap.
Macdonald’s drinks and McChicken sandwiches are now $1.79 instead of the former $1.
A $5 lunch is now extinct everywhere I’ve been in the US.
The cheapest meal in my neck of the woods is the subway sub-of-the-day combo for $5.99. You can pile a lot of veggies on it for no increase in price.
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Can’t find it now, but saw a cartoon where a customer is ordering at a fast food place. The clerk hands him a form. “Care to complete a loan application?”
Walk in MacDonald’s or Wendy’s, try to order in person at the counter, and see how long you will be ignored. The urgency tends to be serving the customers in cars in the drive-through.
They want you to order via the mobile app or the kiosks which most McD’s have now.
Arby’s tends to have more deals now. We get coupons in the mail often and my friend and I use the “Get 2 for $x” deals which often brings the costs down to less than $5 per. Arby’s also has free drinks for seniors (which I don’t consider to be myself by I meet the age requirement 
)
During weeks when there are no Arby’s coupons, the place is pretty empty at lunch, whereas it’s crowded when coupons are out. We’ll also do the Wendy’s $5 menu and utilize deals on the McD’s app when available. It’s a game we enjoy playing to get the cheapest lunch. Not healthy, but it’s only every two weeks.
Well I take that back about the $5 meal being extinct. McDonald’s has a new $5 meal deal, at least in the Palmetto Georgia store.
A McDouble with or without cheese, 4 McNuggets, small fries, and small drink for $5. That is a lot of food for me. Guess they are trying to do Wendy’s one better.
But I really miss the $1 large drinks that are only available with the app now.
Taco Bell still offers some good values like the Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito for $1.19 at most locations. But if you’re trying to get ahead/save money, fast food shouldn’t be a regular thing anyway. Live smart folks.
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Well, butler, you might want to check out this relevant episode of The Clark Howard Show.
Its just basic economics…
Saw an elderly couple order breakfast at McDonalds in Coeur d’ Alene, ID earlier this week. Granted they ordered a LOT OF FOOD. The tab came to $39 and change. I was shocked.
I was in a McDonalds in CA yesterday and the McDouble and the Chicken sandwich were priced at $3.99. That’s a 400% increase over a few years ago. I don’t consider McD’s to be cheap eats anymore. I’m taking notes on some of these posts about where folks are finding better meal deals. I didn’t know about the Subway deal, but I’ll check it out. I’m sure it’s much healthier than McD’s anyway.
Two people should be able to go into a sit-down restaurant, get served by a server, get breakfast, and pay a tip for less than $39. The food would probably be better too.
There are many local Mom-and-Pop type restaurants which serve breakfast. I would recommend patronizing a restaurant of this type instead of a chain restaurant. If enough of us do that, maybe we will see the prices come down.
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The increase in labor costs at fast food restaurants has caused many to cut back on personnel. For the larger chains that can afford it, kiosks and mobile apps have been used to replace people taking orders. I am sure it will not be long before we see machines cooking and serving food. I have seen articles that this concept is being tested in some areas.
Not all subways offer the sub-of-the-day combo specials. It is up to the franchise owner. Prices vary a LOT between subways, even in the same city.