Who can afford to eat out anymore?

It's interesting that so many here are not going out because of the cost yet restaurants are still busy. 

My wide and I continue to try amd figure out what is the right balance for us. With the smaller portion sizes we end up ordering 5-6 dishes where we used to be able to go with 4-5. So out 80$ bull is now 120. Our tip goes from 15% of 80 to 20% of 120. 92$  vs %144. I can tell you my income has not gone up by 50%.

I think we are going to be baking and cooking a lot more this year.

As for people riding expensive bikes complaining about high food prices, I can tell you I've been riding expensive bikes since I started working in a bike shop at age 18 - not because I was loaded (I was actually broke) but because I love bikes. Still do.

Posted by: heckler

Not quite a meme used to make a point, but more of an infographic.  Don't eat out if you want to save $.

https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/the-national-study-of-millionaires-research

To use millionaire shopping habits as a reference to me is a non starter. Simply they live in a world that most do not. Now if you used someone like my mother in law who was way less financially privileged who would use a list for her grocery shopping that is far more relatable.

I wander what % of families on the North Shore are millionaires on paper....   I bet it's high.

Posted by: RAHrider

Our tip goes from 15% of 80 to 20% of 120.

You are the only one deciding how much you want to tip.

15% of 120 is already 50% higher than 15% of 80 so there is no need to raise the tip any further IMHO.

Which came first, the shopping list or the millionaire?   

Studying to become a teacher, accountant or engineer is not privilege, it’s effort, at least in our country.   Then using a grocery shopping list instead of restaurants and Uber Eats all the time….

Read the linked survey.

Posted by: heckler

Studying to become a teacher, accountant or engineer is not privilege, it’s effort, at least in our country.   T

The ability to be able to study to become a teacher, accountant or engineer is most definitely a privilege. It does take effort, but it is a privilege to be able to do so. With the cost of post secondary education these days and the limited number of seats available in relation to demand (which includes a much higher percentage of foreign students these days compared to when we went) the number of people able to attend in down.

Smartest kids graduate “with honours”.  Not privilege.  

Granted, cost of admissions requires a level of financial astuteness, be it income, bursaries, sponsorship, loans or family.

Sorry, but the ability to go to post secondary is a privilege - not everyone has that opportunity. There are a lot of factors that will determine if someone can go to post secondary, it's not just about smarts.

scholarship/ bursary/ engineering coop is a huge leg up over the average student with a bunch of loans

Posted by: syncro

Sorry, but the ability to go to post secondary is a privilege - not everyone has that opportunity. There are a lot of factors that will determine if someone can go to post secondary, it's not just about smarts.

For sure.  Even back in the day it was a lot harder for kids like me that came from out of town so we needed to rent a place, and most of us small town kids didn't have any financial support other than student loans.  My friends and I would go work on fishboats or packers and with some crafty spending  and maybe a side gig during the school year we could make to spring exams without selling our kidneys.   Now I can't imagine a summer job that could possible cover tuition and rent, never mind food, clothes, and liquor.

The point being, even those with privilege don’t eat out anymore.

We have a line item in our annual budget for Restaurant/Entertainment (no kids and no mortgage left - so settle down goobers). I don't index this line item to inflation, so it doesn't get us as far as it used to - but that also has shifted our behavior. In years before Covid, I wouldn't think twice about hitting the Raven or some other mediocre pub for a couple of burgers and a beer/wine or two.  That might have been a weekly thing as we drove back from the office and just didn't want to cook at home. Now as that same bill can tip past the 100$ mark, I don't feel like the value prop is as good, so we tend to focus that budget on restaurants we actually want to try. Basically we eat out less often, but we've moved up in restaurant calibre.

Posted by: heckler

Smartest kids graduate “with honours”.  Not privilege.  

Pretty big assumption that all the kids you say are smartest meaning have a higher then "normal" student IQ graduated with honors from high school. Some would say that is ableist. Reality is far more goes into that then just being the "smartest".  And is dismissive of who don't fit that so called model. Could waste energy to explain further however what's the point when most who use that and the other examples only care what fits the narrative that is so called "normal".

Posted by: Couch_Surfer

Basically we eat out less often, but we've moved up in restaurant calibre.

This is the way.