When you think of fast food, you probably think of McDonald’s 99cent cheeseburgers and those greasy fries. But you would be wrong. McDonald’s, like so many other ‘fast food’ joints, use a 99cent trickery as a cover to many more $6.90 meals. There are truly very few restaurants that offer a variety menu that actually equals 99cents.
I know when I was growing up, you could get so much for so cheap, and it made fast food a quick, easy, and inexpensive meal for someone on the go. Not so much today. But its weird how my mindset has not gone from those old prices and how I continue to fall into a trap of a meal that costs often 3 times more then cooking at home. I think oh, its quick, its cheap………I’m wrong on BOTH accounts.
Tonight, while on yet another Home Depot trip this week, I wanted to stop in and get some fast food Chinese, while my DH wanted Whataburger. First, we stopped at the local Chinese and my DH went in and ordered 1 pint of sweet and sour chicken and white rice. No drink, no side dishes, no service. No one to ask me if I had a nice day or offer me dessert. A mini cardboard box, with cardboard tasting food inside. That’s all I wanted.
When he came back to the car, I was shocked to find out that the “meal” was almost $8. (let me remind you again, no drink) In comparison, I can buy a bag of boneless, skinless chicken breasts from walmart for $7.98 and feed my entire family for more than a week for the cost of this:
Maybe Whataburger would be a better experience. I think I actually have a better chance of fitting into those size 4th grade Seven7 jeans. DH ordered a “#1″and upsized it to get a larger drink. First things first, you don’t need to upsize..not even for a penny. The drink they served us was enough soda for a family of four- for a week. It was just shy of what I would consider a liter. Second, the meal, with tax, was over $9.
Let me let that sink in.
NINE DOLLARS.
That’s more then most people make per HOUR at work. Maybe they should call it WhataRipOff or WhatAboutJustLightingYourMoneyonFire or WhatAboutBendingOverandTakingItUpTheButt?
Chris got cheese added and they charged him extra. When did cheese on a hamburger become something that is an extra dollar? When did it cost that much for cheese at all? This wasn’t gouda, swiss, brie, or blue cheese, it was plain old government American square cheesefood.
Its very annoying to think that people leave work and go get a meal for their 
lunch hour that costs more then they are making, and this aint steak and salad from Outback. Hell, even Outback has a $9.99 Steak meal now!! (and in that picture over there…did they put chocolate syrup on the salad, or is it just me?)
Do you know that fast food for 2 people tonight, cost me $17. WTF!!
So that was it for me. I’m swearing off fast food for our family. I’m going to pick 2 restaurant nights a month for us and circle in the calendar and we are going to go somewhere like TGI Fridays that serves us three courses for $10, instead of some crap in a bag for $17…which incidentally, wasn’t even that good.
Now I’m off to figure out how I can afford groceries after that meal.
Ramon Noodle Christmas Dinner it is!
~Trisha
My daughter loves Kentucky fried after piano each Saturday. It’s just her and it costs $7.00. I can’t afford to eat.
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We eat out for lunch once a week and I think the rest of the week costs us the same as that one day. It is outrageous.
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Last week I went to a mom & pop fast food place in our neighborhood. Lunch for me and my two year old was $14. I about flipped out. Fourteen dollars for lunch, for one and a half people!
The last couple times we’ve gone to Chick-Fil-A or Grandy’s, it’s been over $20 for the four of us. At Grandy’s, we order TWO meals and split them. It’s still almost $25. We can eat at Olive Garden for that!
Papa John’s pizza dropped off coupons for free pizzas at hubs’ work… he grabbed about six of them! So we’ll be filling up on pizza in the next few weeks!
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You are so right about the cost of fast food. The best deal I have found is little caesars hot and ready pizza for $5 plus tax. Feeds the four of us…now.
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@ Brittany:
$48??????? For TWO MEALS WITHOUT DRINKS???
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I agree, fast food sucks, and is not worth the price at all! But, we do get one of those $6 large Little Caesars pizzas once in awhile. To feed our family of 5 for $6 in worth not cooking on occasion.
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LOL my kids love Top Ramen and we actually had it last night as our poor family meal…Cost us like .85!
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I’ve finally learned that it’s just not worth it. I might as well just cook for myself and skip the disappointment. Although every time we go see my parents we always order Chinese to go from the local Chinese place. $3.25 for Cashew Chicken w/ Rice a drink and 2 crab rangoons!
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We stopped doing fast food except for the occasional 5 Arby’s sandwiches for $5 (nothing else) or a $10.99 KFC meal when I have a coupon and a craving for that very reason. We went to McD’s one winter day last year for lunch as a treat for the kids and to let them blow of steam in the play place. It cost us, a family of four, $22. For roughly $26 we can eat at Applebee’s, or now that we live near one, Chili’s. So we do. I’d rather spend the extra money and get more food, better food (not necessarily lower in calories though), and get served at a nice table for roughly the same amount of money as McD’s. And to further our eating out dollars we’d hit kid’s night at Applebee’s where the kids ate for $1.99, and I think Denny’s had the same promotion on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I was the queen of knowing when kid’s night was and where. Now we’re just spoiled and we eat at Red Robin or Chili’s because they’re good and right by the new house.
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Fast food prices are crazy! I hate McDonalds, you can’t spend just a little there. The only fast food place that I really like as far as prices go is Wendy’s. They have a decent selection on their Super Value Menu.
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I’m glad I only get the dollar stuff and if I do it’s only the sandwich and drink nothing else. If I’m hungry for more I’ll wait til I get home and make something, growing up we had dinner at home. I mean yeah there were those nights we did McDonald’s because both my brother and I had games that night and at the time this town had only McDonald’s and a few other restaurants.
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We went to the mall the other weekend and grabbed popcorn chicken at KFC for my nephew, $7 for the tiniest box ever, and it was inedible. Nothing like serving food that sat burning under a heat lamp for the last 6 hours. I’m so glad we don’t do fast food too often.
Yikes, that does sound expensive. We have a great chinese place to get general tso’s. For $10 we get a tray of the meat and veggies, plus a whole carton of rice. That feeds 3 of us. (except our son, he won’t eat meat) I’m thinking maybe the prices are jacked where you live.
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After a painting of the boys room marathon, we decided to treat ourselves and our overworked parents to some fast food. We went with KFC and ordered 2 orders of the 12 piece chicken strip meal. It came with 2 sides per meal. No drink. $48.
$48.
For what was probably low quality chicken mill chicken.
Never. Again.
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wow, I’m glad you posted this. I was thinking something similar (swearing off fast food) when I pulled through the BK drive thru with my son last week after a morning of shopping. I got a jr whopper with cheese, no value meal, just the jr whopper, him the mac n cheese kids meal w/ apple fries and choc. milk and it cost us $10. Total rip off for something that pretty much just fills a void and that I could make for a lot less.
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Over the weekend Colby picked up burgers, cheddar wedges, and drinks from Jack in the Box and spent $16, the kids were in bed already so it was just food for 2 of us… holy crap!!! I guess it’s a good thing we don’t have fast food places in the town we live in to be tempting!
Now, for our anniversary last week I sent him to pick up lunch from my favorite Mexican restaurant and it was only $14. Granted he brought it home so there were no drinks or appetizers, but still it was GOOD food and filling. After the kids came home from school they actually snacked on our leftovers. I find it especially frustrating that greasy crap from a fast food place is more expensive!