Dear corporations,
Your current higher profit margins were my former lunch money. You kept all my raises for yourself, and then gave yourself some nice bonuses for fucking me over.
Quit blaming ME for ruining the economy.
Sincerely, The (former) middle class
P.S. Also, groceries are already expensive enough. Eating out costs even more than that.
I love how corporate behavior is all “free market! competition creates better value for the customer!” Then they keep increasing their prices steadily and when that price becomes too much for the consumer they complain about not having any sales anymore and need to increase prices even more to cover lost profits… instead of doing the free market thing which is… ya know… lowering their prices to stay competitive.
Corporates: [watching the free market undervalue labor less than usual] nobody wants to work anymore!
How do they think these record profits will sustain if they keeps taking every last dime from workers? Oh ya, they don’t think, they are just mindless greedy leeches. They’ll just suck till they get crushed like any other parasite.
They only care about their own bottom line, and typically provide discounts for employees to entice them into return.
Tell me again how the economy is just “booming”.
Unions are still successfuly being suppressed. That’s how.
From my experience, eating out costs more, I try to make it worth it. Spending $20 on lunch causally ads up to quickly.
From my experience, eating out costs more
Hot take
I get a small salad from our work cafeteria everyday, that with a drink and some peanut butter protein balls runs about $6.50 a day. I’ve tried making salads myself for the week, but inevitably stuff goes bad and it ends up being more hassle than I feel like it’s worth. I could probably cheapen it a bit more if I went down the street and got the $1.50 hot dog at Costco, but I’m trying to cut meat out of my diet where I can.
I used to get fast food regularly, but because of skyrocketing prices (+$10 for most fast food meals it seems like), and unhealthy numbers for cholesterol, I’ve tried to scale back where I can. Plus, staying at work, instead of driving out for food, gives me extra time to go for a walk over lunch. So it all just makes more sense to skip eating out (so to speak).
Also, quitting drinking is probably saving me about $20–40 a week and it’s a healthier option anyways and not as bad as I had been afraid of. Since turning 21 decades ago, I drank regularly and never considered quitting or had issues with it, but the twin specters of money and health made me reconsider.
Hey I’m really happy for you quitting drinking ❤️ I’m a few weeks short of two years no alcohol. The cost was unreal it gets so expensive
My girlfriend asked me a couple weeks ago why I bought 5 games on Steam. I told her I quit drinking at home and/or alone at the pub two weeks ago and I had money burning a hole in my pocket. (We don’t live together so she was unaware of my change in behavior).
For meal prep at home maybe look into veggie dishes that can freeze well? Like I’d imagine a veggie lasagna holds up in the freezer pretty well. Other than that, maybe set time aside one night during the week like Wednesday to do a long cook session where you have fresh leftovers that don’t spoil in the fridge?
Restaurants are getting really expensive. Even “budget” fast food like McD’s has skyrocketed. If we go out to eat I have to cringe at the bill (and the ridiculous tip that we still can’t get rid of despite rising costs) at the end of the meal.
If I eat a big breakfast and work through lunch, I feel justified in leaving early. Also around my office the standard noon lunchtime does not exist, some people choose to come in early and eat lunch at 1030 or 11, and others are eating lunch closer to 2.
I just have lunch and leave early anyway.
I don’t give a shit if lunch is supposed to be on “my time,” companies should be paying for every minute you’re there. Lunches should be part of the 8 hour workday because dedicating 9 hours just to be paid for 8 is bullshit.
I’m salaried and don’t really have a set hours expectation, and I’m working in a public service field, so I’m showing up to help people and support my team rather than generate revenue for shareholders. If I were paid hourly by a for-profit company, yeah I’d be less invested.
In the Seattle area, pretty much nobody brought back lunch service after covid. Finding a place to say during lunch time is pretty much limited to what’s in the tourist areas.
Everybody’s working for the weekend.
