Kevin Roberts remembers when he could get a bacon cheeseburger, fries and a drink from Five Guys for $10. But that was years ago. When the Virginia high school teacher recently visited the fast-food chain, the food alone without a beverage cost double that amount.
Roberts, 38, now only gets fast food “as a rare treat,” he told CBS MoneyWatch. “Nothing has made me cook at home more than fast-food prices.”
Roberts is hardly alone. Many consumers are expressing frustration at the surge in fast-food prices, which are starting to scare off budget-conscious customers.
A January poll by consulting firm Revenue Management Solutions found that about 25% of people who make under $50,000 were cutting back on fast food, pointing to cost as a concern.
My wife and I also don’t buy fast food. On road trips we’ll take a lot of bread, PB + J and make sandwiches as we need. Or potato salad and eat it with Tims salt and vinegar chips. We have a bevy of Adams peanut butter jars, so we will fill up as many as the trip calls for, some with crushed up ramen, some with oatmeal, flavored and with raisins, some with dry mashed potatoes or dry stuffing- I like to cook up some real crispy bacon and add that to the mashed or stuffing, to round it out towards a “meal”. When you stop at a gas station, besides fuel and coffee, use the coffee station for hot water for yr ramen or oatmeal or whatever. Let either sit for ~3-5 min and youre good to go. I’ve thought about using jerky instead of bacon but just haven’t tried it yet.
If anyone’s got other just-add-water ideas, please share, I’m always looking for more ideas.