To feel ripped off

[Bunny2607]

Nipped out to a local cafe at work today for some lunch to take back and eat at my desk. Very rarely buy lunch as either take it with me or nip home but circumstances today meant i ended up buying it.
small independent cafe, i got a mocha coffee, flapjack slice and a soup to take away. £12.60!!! I paid and didn’t say anything but i was so shocked at the price. Its been bugging me all day and tbh i don’t think i will go back due to the prices, it was only average at best as well.
when did you last feel ripped off?

I know! Always full of teenagers - well off ones I imagine.

Sadly, they are probably experiencing the cost of living same as everyone else.

Everyone saying it sounds about right are correct.
This is the issue!

I said nearly a full shop. We spend £100/110. Husband works in retail so gets 20% discount which helps although he works at m&s so we don’t get much from there as its expensive to start with. Youngest is at nursery 3 days so she has all meals there on those days. Aside from that we tend to “make do” and don’t eat meat every night etc - some nights we have soup and a toasted sandwich although thats because we’re shattered rather than a budget thing.

I think reading what others think its a sign of the times and agree its a stark reality of the cost of living. You wonder how long the small independents can keep on going, i do always make a point of supporting small businesses where i can rather than the chains etc.
perhaps i am out of touch as i don’t buy lunch often, i think as well because the coffee was half froth and the soup just “average” in one of those polystyrene cups it felt abit rubbish for £12. For anyone wondering also this was in a small West Yorkshire town so not london etc.

I paid £5.95 for a take-away toastie (cheese and beans filling). Nothing special. Bread bog standard packet loaf. Needless to say, I have not returned!

(Not London!)

Five Guys is effing extortionate. Nice but in no way worth it.

Non exhaustive list of stuff that is expensive:
takeaway coffee
Domino's pizza
small packet of crisps
a haircut
booster vaccination for a dog
pair of chainsaw boots
a tank of petrol
a pint in a pub
new tyres for a front end loader
big bale straw for bedding lambing sheds
Bar of good quality chocolate w/o palm oil
a night out
fish supper from the chippy (not cheap as chips)
15kg bag of chicken feed (not chicken feed)
Bag of peanuts for wild birds (not absolute peanuts)

Stuff that is cheap:
Shit off Temu, probably made by kids in sweatshops , that nobody wants or needs and will probably end up in landfill in about a week.

Yep standard astronomical prices. I wish someone would do something about business rates and overheads for small businesses so people have more incentive to spend money there. I rarely go out now because whilst I don’t mind paying good money for food, I begrudge paying good money for bog standard plain food I can make easily at home. Which is why I rarely bother anymore.

I understand the high prices based on high over head costs and wouldn't think that wasn't too bad. But what is putting us off spending money on food and drink is the savings being made on staff so you don't get good service, the lack of any quality of the product to save a bit and even not heating premises. It seems the excuse of everything has gone up in price has also lead to giving up on any value or service or even any pleasure in going out. It's not really the price that makes me feel ripped off but the rubbish product and service. You feel like a fool paying the prices for some of the rubbish we get.

Welcome to 2025. This is life, everything is expensive now.

Some teenagers have a load of money!

DS works every Sat & Sun and so doesn't get much chance to spend the money he's earning. He's not 18 yet so on a low wage but racks up the hours so gets a good amount every month - he has more in his sa ings than us! 😁

Yes totally agree. You don’t mind paying more money for something if service is good and also the food/item.

I hate it on the very odd day I end up buying lunch at work as it works out pretty expensive. I hate even spending £5 on a meal deal (never tastes good) so i’d have been so annoyed with myself. I never buy hot drinks as I only drink tea, and that tastes the same if I make it myself.

I paid £12 for a jacket potato with cheese and beans last weekend. I had stupidly not looked at the price list (my dad has Alzheimer's and was being Mr Awkward about eating anything, so I just wanted to order something basic quickly). It was a small potato and they were stingy with the cheese. I'm still pissed off.

I went to the hairdressers and nipped into the local SPAR. I got a roast pork and stuffing roll, just a normal roll, not a baguette, and went to pay. £6 it was, but I was starving. Next time I'll eat before I go.

A couple of years ago I bought 2 chocolate bars and 1x 500 ml Diet Coke in a gift shop in Orlando. I had $10 and was looking for change it was nearly $12 I was so shocked. I had to run outside to get more money from my daughter that would be roughly £10

We rarely eat out as its just so expenesive and it pains me!
I also dislike drinking out of a paper cup!
We take a flask in the car for walks!
I enjoy cooking and baking too so would rather buy quality ingredients and make something at home
However yesterday we met my cousin at a museum which he had free tickets for and a cafe discount as he volunteers there so I bought us lunch but DH and I shared a baguette! Otherwise I wiuld have taken packed lunch
If I'm out with my son we sometimes go to the "golden arches" (McDonalds) for wrap of the day for £1.99
As a half term treat we might go to IKEA for lunch as not too expensive and often friends and family deals on food on Fridays and a free hot drink.

I agree with a previous poster about having a wet cut that lasted 10 mins and cost £23. I had a dry cut in the cheapest hairdressers in my town and experienced similar. I said to the hairdresser I bet you were really busy over Christmas and she said no, not at all and that lots of people were doing their own hair now following you tube videos etc. Whilst I begrudge paying £25 for my cut (just a dry trim) there is no way I could do myself so I have to recognise that I’m paying for their expertise.

Doesn’t sound expensive to me tbh, but then I work in the hospitality industry and the costs incurred by the businesses are astronomical.

I think it's because they've priced themselves out of the market with these prices that so many people just do it themselves now. Including my own teenage daughter and most of her friends. £23-25 for a 'spray wet' cut that takes 10 minutes is silly money. They don't even get their hair washed and dried, so not even the slightest bit of pampering in that. No wonder a lot of stylists aren't busy any more.

No, she has been taking her lunch from home?

Quite simple really.

I am very interested in this. The suburb where I live has loads of newish eateries. I've been to one, once for lunch. I don't know how they thrive.

My adult daughters cut their own hair and are good at it now. Would cost them £40 plus otherwise.

I always check prices first and often won't buy if they're too expensive.

I don't live in the UK and when I visit I've really noticed how much things have gone up by.