"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?

Independent grocers, bookshops, hardware shops, haberdasheries, everything that Anazon has now.

Is it a problem for the economy really ?

a problem that businesses are expected to pay their own way rather than rely on being subsidised by my taxes ? Yes things need to shake out and that always leads to problems for some people - I remember the pits closing

what share of the economy should be services/ tourism? Is it healthy to have a huge eating out industry or is that a sign of unbalance ?

these are average income families and to me it’s a life of luxury they were expecting. What should we expect? Should we expect to be able to eat out often and pay for treats weekly whilst others are struggling to find enough money to feed their children ?

It managed before Amazon and when people didn’t fritter money on things they could acquire for a lot less.

The economy would collapse?

but the economy is badly structured anyway - focused on continuing growth on a finite planet

neoliberalism has failed but as yet the alternative is unclear

I think a household income of 55k is pretty low so I’m not surprised they can’t afford meals out

AlcoholicAntibiotic

And if you don’t have a garden or access to outside space? Or anyone who can afford to give you craft supplies - they have really increased in price recently.
Learning to cook is expensive - often specialist ingredients, wastage and of course the cost of fuel.
Hiking / running - again, you need decent shoes which cost money.

This is like the people who think they can only exercise if they join a gym and buy running gear. Most things here can be done on a shoestring budget. Plenty of us survive without buying ridiculously priced shoes and most recipes now cater towards being cost effective. Pound shops do craft supplies and people in estates can get to green areas if they walk/ get a bus.

Have you seen the waiting list for allotments in many places?

Indoor plants cost money.

Paints may not be expensive but what about the consumables - paper, brushes etc. Plus painting is boring as fuck unless you’re already interested.

Cooking isn’t cheap, either, if you’re using it as a hobby not as a budgeting tool.

You do actually need decent running shoes if you're serious about running and don't want your toenails to fall off, and they're not cheap.

Gardening isn't a cheap hobby unless you have all the stuff already. You can't do a decent job if you don't have quality seed, decent secateurs, mulch, good quality compost and of course lots of space. And sunlight.

Libraries aren't that great for authors who also need people to buy their books in order to make a living.

Or should everyone just stop needing to earn money because it inconveniences other people?

Yes, because local parks are set up for you to just go and do your own gardening.

And everyone can afford £3 each way to get to a green space cheaply.

Yes, also she doesn’t work full-time.

THIS!

When my DC were younger we were on quite a tight budget. I colour coded activities by cost, and put a list on the fridge.
Going to the park with friends was eg red (free, or minimal cost for ice cream etc) cheaper days out were another colour, theme parks etc were another. I would tell them what colour list they could choose from that day. We generally took pack lunch but they might get an ice cream or snack, and rarely bought anything from a gift shop. Sometimes we went with a friend and rheir child/ren and could get a family ticket between us.
But a lot of places were arranged that the exit was via the gift shop - so it was impossible to avoid- which made things more awkward!

The price of eating out has gone way up and the quality is not high.

It's one of the Brexit dividends - no staff - as well as rates/fuel costs going up.

You can have a nicer meal at home, but it's so boring!

Every time I see advice on making packed lunches and nutritious soups, I want to scream.

AlcoholicAntibiotic

sorry I didn’t realise it was for gardening! The rest still stands though imo, and two bus journeys for time away/ out is doable for most people (I know not daily)

When people across the whole economic spectrum are staying home rather than eating out, it's a problem for the whole country.

You are wilfully missing the point.

When there is no longer a market for Costa, Pizza Express, cinemas, bowling alleys, they will go under. Because yes, they are all luxuries. They are also employers and rent payers and business rate payers and corporation tax payers.

The families in the article weren't claiming hardship. They were simply saying there isn't any money spare for luxuries.

There are many people in this article that struggle with comprehension.

Well we’re talking about people think eating out and spending shed loads of money on crap experiences on a regular basis is the norm so I suspect all my suggestions are well within their budget.

But there never has been for many on decent incomes.

The basis of our economy though has changed.

We used to have manufacturing industries, now the economy has switched to service industries and the manufacturing jobs are all out sourced abroad.

If people can no longer afford to make use of the service industries, the jobs will go and we have nothing to replace them with. Hospitality and entertainment businesses are closing down all over.

Add the impact of AI and things look even grimmer. I am about to sack my accountant as the incoming tax reporting requirements mean that her bills will rise even faster than they have done and it is something I can actually do myself with the help of accounting packages. I won't be the only one.

Our economy is a ticking time bomb and I see no prospect of it improving.

I was trying to explain yesterday to my younger kid that the local soft play used to be 'normal' and is now 'expensive'. It's £15 for a session without food. If they bring a friend (and the parent has to stay, for £5), and have basic food, it's over £50.

Same. I am a good cook but cooking for myself is not a treat. A sweaty sandwich eaten on a park bench or a sandy beach is literally the opposite of a treat. I'd rather not eat at all.

I earn good money but it definitely doesn't go anywhere near as far as it used to.

The posts on here which seem to be nostalgic for the 1970s are just depressing rose-tinted glasses bullshit. "It was a simpler time." Yeah, also a lot shitter, and not just because spam sandwiches were a thing. Especially for us single mums.

It certainly was, especially as it won't change anything anyway, but I hadn't commented on their views once, until they decided to teach me how I can't have it all.
I have nothing, to start with, and it's incredibly annoying when people talking about houses and SUVs are lecturing people like me, with no house, no suv and no take aways either 😂 how we - WE - can't have it all 🤣🤣
Utterly ridiculous.

YANBU for the simple fact that nobody gave a fuck until middle earners couldn't afford it. The only unreasonableness is that it should be out of anybody's reach.

Strong agree. The majority of the posts here seem to be oblivious to the fact that our country has a services-based economy. A legacy of Thatcher. But it is what it is and destroying that will lead to economic ruin. To be fair, a lot of the posters will be happy as then people will be lucky if they can afford home-made cheese sandwiches.

Having just replied to this (also similar posts by @RedToothBrush and @Hallamule ) acknowledging that you are all absolutely right, I wasn’t thinking about Spain’s wine production, I’m going to backtrack on that a little as it was the mark up I was commenting on, rather than the price of wine per se. We had seen our €15 bottle on sale in a shop for €10. By that standard, the £30 bottle bought in a restaurant in the UK would be £20 in a shop- and you are most definitely not drinking a £20 bottle of wine for £30 in a restaurant, more likely a £7/8 bottle. I’m not sure the difference in wages etc totally accounts for this.

Choosing chains, especially those on the boycott list and those that don't pay taxes and contribute to the overall health of pur society will only add to the problem. No mention of supporting local and ethical firms.
These choices are part of wealth going to huge corporations and not ordinary people...meanwhile we subsidise crappy wages with growing in work benefits 🤦‍♀️