"We can't justify a £52 lunch" - AIBU to think you didn't need to?

[PropitiousJump]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg3g11z6d8o

I found this article irritating. Middle earning families complaining they can't afford a day out, in part because of the expense of eating lunch and dinner out. A family of four in both cases.

I completely agree it's got expensive to eat out, but have they never heard of taking your own sandwiches?

And if you look at what they've eaten, they've ordered a lot of extras that have bumped up the bill.

Costa family - £52 lunch for four. If they could have done without an overpriced bag of crisps on top of their mains, and not had puddings (this was lunch, not dinner) they could have got the bill down to a more reasonable £40ish - a tenner each.

Pizza Express family - £174 dinner for four. If they cut out the starter and side orders and the adults had soft drinks instead of alcohol, they could have got the bill down to approx £109 for soft drinks, mains and a dessert each.

This isn't saying they are eating too much - it's not a diet-bashing thread - but common sense says that if you are eating in a chain place on a day out and trying to keep costs down, you don't order loads of extras and alcohol. Have a drink and a snack at home if you're still hungry. Save all the extras for an 'occasion' where eating out is the focus of the event and you're going somewhere special, not fuelling up in a chain restaurant.

AIBU?

We live aboard but are back in the UK this summer for a holiday

I'm sticking to picnics, fish and chips and Indian food

Ooh! I rather like the sound of a hat museum! A bit niche and quirky.

Not sure how much it would appeal to children though. Could be fun if there are interactive and hands-on displays, maybe.

On here?

I take it you've never been to Italy, Spain, Germany, countless other countries then?

When I was little we were taking to all different types of museum, the big famous typical ones and little small unusual niche ones

Its hugely beneficial.

However the hat musueum was not one of them so Im going to take this up with my parents!

There is nothing extravagant about either sets of receipts, and the fact PE offer vouchers is irrelevant. It's perfectly representative of the prices out there and the inaffordability. Here is an equivalent bill from a mid-range local independent pizzeria local to me:

Garlic pizza bread x2 - £9.90
Truffle pizza bread - £5.95
Children's mini pizza bread - £3.95
Children's main & dessert set menu x2 - £18
Adult pizzas x2 - £33.50
Mixed salads x2 - £12.50
Fries x2 - £11.90
Adult dessert x2 - £12
Lemonade - £4
Fruit juice - £2
175ml white wine - £7
Large beer - £5.50
Small beer - £4

• 10% tip = £133.20

And a independent cafe local to me:

Halloumi fries - £5.95
Sausage toasty - £9.80
Crisps (comes with above)
Tuna panini x2 - £20
Juice x2 - £5
Brownies - £4.50
Cookies x2 - £7
Latte x2 - £6.80
= £59.05

Yes, I didn’t think my example through in terms of the wine production. And you are right about the difficulty around exports/imports now too. Have had this conversation with European wine producers who can no longer afford to export to UK. I guess it’s not often I drink wine out in the UK, so my expectations are probably unrealistic.

Are we talking about what costs the NHS billions or are we talking about what specifically is putting the NHS into debt? Which is complex co-morbidities of advanced age.

Usual middle class bollocks.

You haven’t read my comment correctly. I’m saying most families I know would have done activity OR meal. Don’t know how much clearer I can make that.

My parents are boomers and were even poorer than us when raising kids. They’ve deserved their retirement. They’re onlypaying for two
now too.

Why are you ignoring what people are saying about the impact of all this on jobs and the economy?

It's a fact – they struggle to afford to go out to eat whereas they didn't used to. That you see it as 'whinging' is neither here nor there – it's simply true.

This stuff has always been expensive. I grew up middle class, but not with lots of spare cash sloshing around. We went to Alton Towers for a treat, but we took a picnic because the food you buy there was expensive. We went to our local pizza restaurant on 2 for 1 night to make the treat cheaper.

As a childless adult I have more spare cash to spend on stuff like this, but I'm still conscious it's a treat that I appreciate all the more, even if it happens rather more often.

Well, yeah, taking a picnic is definitely an option... but if everyone does this it's rubbish for the economy.

And yes, you could go out to eat more cheaply if you made smarter choices. But to be honest, if I'm eating out I don't want to order super carefully. I'd rather not bother going at all- also not great for the economy 🤷‍♀️

Cafe Nero prices are higher than Costa – you can look them up in 2 minutes.

Not the point of the thread but a few weeks ago I had a “Treat Drop” on my Costa app for 25% off food. So I thought I’d see what all the fuss was about and ordered a cheese and ham toastie.

Christ it was depressing. Limp nasty white bread, processed ham and cheese and it had barely been in the toaster long enough to take on any colour. And if I’d paid full price it was almost a fiver.

A local indie place does one for about a quid more with lovely thick cut bread, oozing with gorgeous filling and buttered outside so the Breville thing makes catch. And filling enough to share so actually, pretty cost effective by comparison.

Yes - badly thought out example. Sorry.

That you don't like Costa is irrelevant. Independent cafe prices are equivalent. Something being 'better' yet still costing the same doesn't mean someone can afford it when they used to be able to.

These things are nothing to do with the child, they're to promote the mother's instagram profile, Wow, what a wonderful mother I am!! So many children these days are an accessory, like an expensive new bag. If she'd had to work for the £1000 she might have been more careful about her spending.

I think that was a bit unnecessary tbh.

Exactly!
We are on a 6 figure income and still would not buy a drink in a train station if we can avoid it as the prices are just ridiculous. And we often drink tap water when eating out.

Re the point about standard of living, it could also be argued that in the 90s/00s when we started to all be able to afford going out regularly, we were not at the same time paying for phones that cost 1k+, 3 sets of tv subscriptions, hen-dos abroad and insta-worthy kids parties.
Not a criticism, I pay for some of these things myself, but just saying that most people are actually spending quite a lot on ‘luxuries’ already.

I think the article was more to illustrate the point of everything becoming more and more unaffordable, but YANBU.

I was a single parent and DD always went to loads of activities, we just had to adjust how we were doing them. Cinema? Sneak our own snacks in. Look up free museums and free activities. Walk everywhere if possible. Her weekends were always full, also partly because we lived in a city that always had something going on.

It’s a habit you build, though. DD and I still tend to operate like that, both together and apart, but I notice my boyfriend (who is child free) tends to buy as he goes.

God this is my in laws. Two of them and then 4 kids (7, 9, 12 and 15). We meet for a coffee and their kids have the luxury hot chocolate thing. Leave half of it. A massive slab of cake each. Eat a few mouthfuls. The waste of food and lack of value of money it teaches the kids makes the mind boggle.

There’s us boxing up our left overs to finish later!

The NHS also spends £6m on IT systems a year. What's your point? You can't pluck an expense out of the air and have it mean anything

The five biggest drivers of NHS debt are, in order: 1) staff pay, 2) rising demand of ageing population, 3) social care gap, 4) cancer care and rare diseases and 5) energy/updates to buildings.

That's an actual fact.

Abso - bloody - lutely

I'd like to know where all these Enid Blyton kids are that mumsnetters have that enjoy bland sandwiches and a ' piece of fruit'.

Nothing says special day out more than reaching into a rucksack to pull out the warm squished sandwiches that you've had to lug round with you all morning.

But the whole point of the article isn't about scrimping and budgeting, it's about what you could do on your decent income, that you can't do now, and that is concerning for the economy and peoples wellbeing.

However it hasn't stopped pious people rushing top comment on how Henry and Cressida are happy to play Pooh sticks at the river and eat apples and plain yoghurts for a day out, as opposed to a trip to the seaside or a fun park.