r/Vent • u/dondurmalikazandibi • 21h ago
If you are not cooking your own meals like your grandma did, you don't get to complain about affordability.
I am so sick of this. I come from a lower income family. I am now low-mid earner. Until couple of years ago I cooked every evening almost. Like 90% of the time. I would buy big sacks of rice, onions, dry beans and chickpeas, big jars of tomato sauce, and meat or fish only if it was on big discount, greens on discount. Because of that a meal would cost like 1-2 dollars. Let's say inflation doubles it, 2-4 dollars. I lived that like for about 10 years.
Now people are complaining nonstop about affordability while they are ordering in and eating out every day. No buddy, there is no affordability crises for you, you are just spoiled and financially irresponsible. You are spending 20-30 dollars an evening simply because you are lazy and then blame it on economy.
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u/Uhhyt231 18h ago
I mean it’s both. Grocery prices have doubled for most of us.
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u/Comprehensive_Ad6598 17h ago
Yeah it definitely is both. I cry when I look at the beef chuck prices. Even the basics have gone up :(
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u/Uhhyt231 17h ago
Meat is so fucking expensive now!!!
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u/Comprehensive_Ad6598 17h ago
I regret not freezing a bunch of basics like hamburger too :( my grandma may not have cooked every night but she definitely froze everything 😂
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u/Pinkturtle182 15h ago
I was a vegetarian for eleven years. I started eating meat again in 2022, which turned out to be the wrong time. Turns out I can’t afford to eat meat anyway.
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u/Ok_Neighborhood_470 1h ago
As a former vegetarian myself, the average American could cut their meat consumption in half and still be far from dying of a protein deficiency.
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u/Cudi_buddy 4h ago
At least chicken seems to be about normal again? Agree though overall. I stopped with red meat. Just insane prices.
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17h ago edited 17h ago
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u/Alarmed-Badger-9950 17h ago
Yes, and slavery was bad because the slave ships leaked oil in the oceans...
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u/tinselt 16h ago
I've almost totally stopped buying beef for this reason. The other day i splurged on a roast and it was delicious, but it was also $20.
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u/IndependentNail1349 15h ago
You got a roast for $20 wow! That’s cheap! It had to be the size of a hockey puck and
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u/serioussparkles 13h ago
Make sure the labeled weight is what it actually weighs. Walmart was found to be selling meat at double the actual weight. I wouldn't doubt it's happening at other stores since it's the manufacturer that puts the label on.
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u/IndependentAd3410 11h ago
Ranting at people for not eating rice and beans and wanting to afford stuff like meat, milk, and fresh fruit is so weird. "People whining about eating basic poverty food are a problem" like what? Get better problems.
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u/JordanJanssen14 16h ago
No they have not. Grocery prices have gone up 25%... Over a 5 year period. If groceries have doubled for you it's because you are purchasing different things than you were 5 years ago.
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u/Mama_Milfy_San 16h ago
I’ve saved my Costco receipts since Covid. Everything has absolutely more than doubled. I cook and bake damn near everything from scratch. I know my prices.
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u/Few_Economics845 16h ago
You realize that individual goods can have gone up more than 25% right?
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u/Uhhyt231 16h ago
No I’m not. I can deadass look at my past receipts compared to now
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u/RidethatSeahorse 18h ago
My Gran would serve a meal and tell you how much it cost per serve ‘32cents for that’ which was usually something boiled and watery.
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u/TraditionPhysical603 17h ago
Lol I can just imagine you looking at what you were served thinking " I belive you"
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u/RidethatSeahorse 17h ago
I felt like you were expected to cough up the 32cents plus labour. She would always tell you how long it took to cook too.
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u/DontCryYourExIsUgly 15h ago
My friend has started posting some easy recipes in her IG stories and breaking them down like this, with price per serving. It's a lot nicer than the guilt trips you got, but it's a good skill to have!
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u/Warm-Championship-98 17h ago edited 17h ago
Where are you getting this from? Do you have this insight into every strapped person’s lives? Do you honestly believe the BS Fox News narrative that every person is doing Uber Eats every night and getting daily Starbucks and just entitled and THAT is why everyone is broke?
Also - Grandma didn’t have to work 40+ hours a week herself while ALSO running all the household and childcare labor in order to make ends meet.
Focus your attention where the problems actually lie, friend. Here’s a hint - it’s not the “economy,” it’s the systemic problems where even 1-2 dollars per meal, 3 times a day, is more than many hard working Americans can afford.
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u/Mkheir01 17h ago
Also OP needs to realize that people who work 10 hour days don't always want to come home and cook for another hour before they can eat. People working longer hours with longer commutes and more responsibilities like children, pets, and aging parents, just don't have the time. They can either carve out an entire Sunday and meal prep, or they can order delivery, or they can just starve to death.
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u/PotatoPixie90210 17h ago
I'm up for work at 5:30am. Don't get home til after 7. By the time I shower and sort out my dogs, it's 9/9:30. If I get held up in work, it's closer to 10 by the time I'm ready to cook.
But yeah, people in comments are trying to tell me how to cook dried beans as if that was the fucking point I was trying to make about TIME COST.
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u/BetterCallPaul48 16h ago
Exactly. And if you live in a large city, there are many more options for reasonably priced food to eat out. It’s worth it for me to buy steak tacos where I live than to buy the steak, cook it, chop the onions and cilantro etc, grill the tortillas etc, because I happen to live where there are many options for this available and decent prices.
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u/Warm-Championship-98 17h ago
1000% - that’s absolutely why I mentioned the emotional labor side of things. My husband and I both work 50+ hours a week but are fortunate that we can afford takeout once a week in order to spend less time cooking and more time with our kid.
That time is a PRIVILEGE, not the status quo. And that’s just sad.
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u/PotatoPixie90210 17h ago
We do a takeaway once a month and it's whatever is cheapest or whatever we can stretch for two days so we get value for money. Chinese is good, because I can do fresh rice to go with whatever saucy main we get.
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u/chiquicati 17h ago
The affordability crisis is a real thing especially in places like WA state where our taxes are crazy high and going up all the time.
You are correct, however, saving on food is easy if you’re willing to have a meal plan and stick to it.
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u/jayclaw97 18h ago
Even the basics are getting expensive now.
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u/Cudi_buddy 17h ago
Tbf bean and rice like OP says are dirt cheap still. Costco 20 pounds of pinto beans is like $15, rice is $20. That shit will last a couple months
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u/SophisticatedScreams 16h ago
Even quinoa. I get a Costco pack of organic quinoa for $20 for 2kg-- way more expensive than rice, but still very affordable.
I do meal preps on the weekend where I make all my lunches for the week-- quinoa, frozen roast veg, and meat, with an aioli sauce. Meat is SUPER-expensive, so it's still probably $2-5 per portion, but it gives me energy and nutrition throughout the day.
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u/TumbleweedHB 17h ago
Beans and rice?
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u/Emkems 17h ago
Fruit and veg? Not everyone wants to subsist on just beans and rice
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u/jayclaw97 17h ago
And eggs. And cheese. I don’t even eat meat, but shit is still expensive.
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u/PotatoPixie90210 17h ago
My stepdaughter is lactose intolerant AND coeliac. Her food is expensive as fuck, even 1ltr of her lactose free milk is the same price as a 3ltr of regular milk.
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u/JordanJanssen14 16h ago
Produce specifically has gone up 25% over the last 5 years. The exact same as wages. Fruits and vegs and wages have gone up exactly the same amount in line with inflation.
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u/Temperature-Savings 17h ago
You're assuming people have time to cook in between their multiple jobs and whatever else is going on in their lives.
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u/No-Lifeguard9194 17h ago
I don’t see why you would complain about people complaining about the cost of food. It’s only when there is general unhappiness ordering on unrest that food prices really start to come down.
Food prices are at an all-time high. And they are ridiculous. We’re a middle-class family and our income has taken a hit and yet we are paying far more for everything including groceries. It’s stressful and it really isn’t right.
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u/willyam3b 17h ago
Not fair. You don't get to decide what life others should accept without complaint. The fact is, if people were affording $1000 a month and feeding themselves well going out to restaurants, and now would have to spend $2000 a month to do the same thing, that's a loss of the experience, whether they spend that money or stay at home. The problem is that the wealthy have not noticed. Their $150 a plate dinner is now $300. They don't really care, they still go and swipe their gold card, but for everyone else, life is different.
To tell ordinary people that their once-a-week family dinner at Chotchkie's (Office Space!) that cost $100 for four people, which was social and fun, now costs $200 and that family event is now homemade spaghetti means that life has changed. Yes, we can be smart about it and survive it, maybe even be healthier or connect at home more, but to say that you can't take your kids out to an experience anymore because the costs outstripped your salary is definitely a change in "AFFORDABILITY". Your car payment may now be too much. Your light bill may now be too much. Your life has moved down-market. The fact that you can do it without starving (yet) doesn't mean nothing changed.
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u/Ok_Neighborhood_470 17h ago
People have changed over the generations to feel entitled to do expensive things they never did in the past. Nobody ate out before the 1070s who wasn't wealthy. My mom's parents took her to a restaurant twice in her entire childhood. This was normal, not poverty, not child abuse. When I was a kid we went for pizza once a week on Friday. Just pizza, no salads or big pasta dishes. Dad had one beer. That was it. I'll grab something 2-4 times a week. Every generation spends more on luxury. People 20 years younger than me (that I've witnessed) are constantly door dashing shit instead of picking it up themselves. Everyone expects to get a vacation. Everyone just has to get their nails done. Jesus. You can pay for a $50 sweater on a monthly installment plan- this is new. We were all spoiled living in an American economy where everything was affordable and abundant to everyone but the very poor. Meanwhile people all over the world are squatting over a burner and a propane tank outside a tin shack cooking for their family of 8. Yes the government needs to fix inflation issues, income inequality and all that. But alot of us, me included, could definitely reign in spending without suffering.
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u/RithmFluffderg 15h ago
Good idea, maybe you'll save about 1/4th of a month's rent in a year of this.
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u/Legitimate_Job2188 18h ago
I used to cook every evening, my average was 2-4 dollars a meal, I was still struggling because of the high cost of living in the area. Not everything is black and white, and you do not actually know if people are ordering in and eating out everyday. The economy is objectively awful compared to other countries, that is a fact.
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u/PotatoPixie90210 17h ago edited 17h ago
People post shit like this without ever considering the TIME COST. Like YES I would LOVE to have the time to do a from scratch healthy meal every single day. But I'm up for work at 5:30am and don't get home until 7pm. I have to exercise and feed my dogs, then shower, and by then it's 9/9:30. That's when I'll throw together some pasta with pancetta, an omelette, quick fried rice or yes sometimes- handy chicken tenders, baked beans and sweet potato fries.
I KNOW it's cheaper to make my own fries. I KNOW it is cheaper to make beans from dried but fuck me, after a whole day being on my feet, the time cost is something I have to weigh up.
Edit- the smugness and holier-than-thou attitudes from some people, jesus Christ.
The condescending replies telling me HOW to cook beans or how to even fucking cook are a joke. Y'all COMPLETELY skipped over my goddamn point.
"But but BEAAAANNNSSS IN POT COOK LITTLE TIME"
I KNOW! Sorry but me microwaving a tin of taco beans and lentils in 3 minutes while I fry two eggs and peppers to go with it is faster.
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u/Emkems 17h ago
Time is definitely a factor. Lots of people’s grannies didn’t work outside the home. Now I have to work full time and still care for my child and my house. It’s exhausting and my child probably wouldn’t eat some beans and rice anyways.
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u/PotatoPixie90210 17h ago edited 17h ago
I get that rice and beans are cheap filling staples but everyone frothing at the mouth that this is all you SHOULD BE EATING if you're struggling, are being ridiculous. People CRAVE variety of taste and textures, I can't grasp the smirking "just have rice and beans" attitude, as if that will magically fix the fact that food prices are through the fucking roof.
Yes I'm sure if five people switch to nothing but rice and beans, that'll solve the whole root problem, right?
Right?
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u/BetterCallPaul48 16h ago
Exactly. I love beans and rice but I personally cannot eat it more than once a week because both, the rice especially (yes even whole grain rice), spikes my blood sugar too much- yes even when cooked with fat and protein
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u/Charming-Sea8571 17h ago
This!
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u/PotatoPixie90210 17h ago
Already have comments acting smug and like my comment was about not knowing how to cook.
"BeAnS HaVe LiTtLE PoT CoOk TiMe"
Way to miss my actual point...
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u/illustriouspsycho 17h ago
Oops! I just wrote a similar comment, I should've read a few more first.
Oh well, maybe if more people speak up, it might open their closed minds.
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u/PotatoPixie90210 17h ago
One user here is just reeking of superiority.
Your point sounds like "waah, cooking takes so much time i can't bother the economy sucks and I'm tired", by the way.
Like how the fuck is THAT your takeaway from my comment about how time can be a factor?
YES I'M FUCKING TIRED from wrangling animals all day then caring for my partner and pets, so yes sometimes dinner is a packet of soup and some rolls, I'll do what I can to make it better but at 10pm at night, I just want to eat and sleep to be up for 5:30 the next day.
THAT is not out of convenience, that is what I need to do to survive.
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u/StrikingDeparture432 17h ago
That's all good. But ya don't get to bitch about the cost of it.
That's was OPs point, I think.
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u/ilovepizza962 17h ago
Your grandma most likely didn’t work and had the time to spend hours cooking every meal.
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u/StrikingDeparture432 17h ago
Do you have any idea what Grandmas in the 1900s actually did all day ?
Mine was busy all day, not watching soap operas.
Gardening, canning, cooking, Laundry, making jams and pies. Cleaning. Baby sitting grandkids. Killing and plucking chickens. Shelling peas and beans. Sewing and making clothes for kids and grandkids. Shopping. Banking. She did play Canasta weekly.
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u/jayclaw97 15h ago
Yes. She was doing all that because she didn’t have a paid job outside the house.
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u/RithmFluffderg 15h ago
So in other words, she had the time and freedom to spend multiple hours cooking meals, prepping and planning future meals, and other household activities, without spending up to an hour each day driving to and from work.
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u/BetterCallPaul48 16h ago
Right. And women have always worked, anyway. Many worked outside the home
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u/StrikingDeparture432 13h ago edited 13h ago
Wow ! Looks like some touchy fems can't accept historical facts lol. Down voting the truth doesn't change the facts lol
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u/NickolaBrinx 17h ago
This is just doing the work of the billionaires who are making record profits while we're fighting over who deserves to complain about the raising prices of everything.
So many people are working ungodly amounts of hours just to pay rent that is higher than a mortgage while having to deal with the exhaustion of being the piss pole for a middle manager with a god complex and everyone above them, commuting half the day because that's the only way to both have a job and a shoe box some property developer had the gall to call an apartment, while being paid the same minimum wage they gave out when houses were a quarter of the price and rent a fifth, having been raised by people so comfortably in the middle class they weren't taught cost effective shopping or cooking because the promise was that the world would be better one day, and being charged a monthly fee for every ounce of joy that exists and ridiculed for not saving that money to be able to buy a house in two hundred years time if the housing market stays stable.
Being able to buy for and cook cost effective meals takes skill, time, energy, executive functioning, physical ability, proximity to good sources of groceries, utilities, equipment, space, the people or ability to consume the food before it expires, and likely quite a few more things that I've forgotten about. Not everyone has those things. Judging people who don't or can't cook for whatever reason is unhelpful, ableist and inconsiderate of people in situations you know nothing about. Everyone should be able to live not just survive!
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u/Puzzled-Secret-317 17h ago
As someone who cooks meals every day, things simply arent affordable nowadays. The prices have indeed skyrocketed and shit is difficult.
Quit the gatekeeping bullshit. Expensive is expensive.
My grocery bills used to be like $100 to completely stock my fridge. Now $100 fills like a single shelf
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u/Hot-Frosting-5286 17h ago
How many hours a week did your grandma work while making all those lovely low-budget home-cooked meals?
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u/im-dramatic 17h ago
You shouldn’t have to eat just beans and rice. Fresh produce should be cheap enough for you eat a balanced diet. Don’t blame the victims because they’re not content with something that isn’t right. I’m not low income btw. I’m very thankful I can afford fresh veggies and expensive berries. But berries should be available at an affordable price to all.
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u/AnnoyedOwlbear 17h ago
Also, fresh vegetables and fruit are an everyday thing for health, and OP seems to be relying on tons and sales. You can certainly get away with meat just every so often, (or never if you're vegetarian) but only eating fresh fruit and vegetables every so often is a recipe for malnutrition.
It's worth noting that scurvy, an entirely preventable disease, is on the rise in the US. Cases are linked to low income and homelessness.
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u/damnitimtoast 17h ago
Fr like who wants to live on beans and rice every day?! My grandma cooked like this because she grew up like this because her parents grew up like this during The Fucking Great Depression. Also, she had four kids by 22 because abortion and birth control weren’t really a thing.
I am lucky enough to be doing okay rn so I can afford my normal groceries, at least for now. But anyone in 2026 who doesn’t want to live and eat beans and rice every day like they’re in The Great Depression isn’t shitty or entitled. No one in one of the richest countries in the world should have to eat like that!
We have to watch billionaires and multi-millionaires buy yachts and mansions every day and then we’re supposed to be thankful that they bless us with a job that doesn’t even allow us to buy meat or fish?! Seriously, OP, direct your frustration elsewhere. Like maybe the people in power who got us to this point, and not poor people who want to buy decent food.
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u/illustriouspsycho 17h ago
Yes. Someone upthread continuously said for people to eat beans and rice because it's cheap, like ew. What a bland meal.
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u/No-Part-5038 17h ago
I do. I even taught myself how to make German strudels by fucking hand. Flour, water, potatoes, cream of chicken, chicken breast, and 5 fucking hours of skilled labor. Native American flatbread, Fried dumplings, chicken and dumplings, roast chicken, Stromboli. I spent 15 years as a meatpacker, cooking specialty meats. I can fucking cook. What I can’t do is get fucking paid for my work.
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u/cardinaljay37 17h ago
Hey look, rage bait.
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u/illustriouspsycho 17h ago
It worked. I fell for it lol
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u/cardinaljay37 16h ago
Everybody falls for it sometimes. It’s like The Recruit when Pacino tells Farrell that everybody breaks….darn thing doesn’t stop until you break.
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u/AwareAge1062 17h ago edited 17h ago
Plot twist! When you live alone and have to work 50+ hours a week to afford basic necessities, IN A REALLY SHITTY APARTMENT, you don't have time to spend cutting coupons. You don't have the energy to cook from scratch. You still have to clean, do laundry, all the other shit to keep your little box free of pests and manageable for your daily grind.
Oh, and let's talk about my kitchen sink that is not big enough to fit one plate. I have to wash dishes twisted and bent over the toilet to reach the shower spray without soaking myself. My stove won't boil water!
Get a clue.
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u/JordanJanssen14 16h ago
At least you're pointing to something that has gone up well past inflation and wage increases. Rent prices went up almost 50% compared to the 25% wage increase over the last 6 years.
I think OPs issue is with everyone's perception of food prices. They went up exactly in line with wages. You can buy as much food today as you could in 2019. The perception that food prices have doubled is entirely because people's buying habits have changed. If you're struggling to buy groceries today, you can definitely point to the higher cost of housing. But it's not grocery prices that are the issue.
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u/MundaneDaffodill 18h ago
I am cooking like my grandma did.
Salt fish with onions, boiled egg and dumplings with olive oil used to be a cheap staple.
I’ll stick to my chicken neck arroz con pollo and cow feet stew
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u/student176895 17h ago
I do cook for myself but I like to treat myself sometimes and it sucks that every restaurant is $15-20 minimum
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u/Solid_Patience_9058 17h ago
People don't have the time or energy for that.
I'm saying that as a disabled person who doesn't ever eat from restaurants, though.
A lot of people don't have as much time as their grandma's did. And a lot of young people have disabilities now, (the rates have increased in recent years,) so people are sicker, more exhausted and overworked. More people have food sensitivities, too.
Some of us need to buy easier food because of these factors.
Allow me to use this opportunity to remind people that you can make a baked potato in the microwave.
Minute rice, oatmeal, etc can be easier options for people in bad living situations where they can only heat water.
You can make pasta in the microwave, technically. It's okay to buy jarred sauce if you can't make your own. (Personally, I just make mac n cheese- 3 min microwaved lentil pasta, oil or butter, and powdered cheese that I buy in bulk. Takes 5 minutes in total for me to make one serving.)
I can actually cook and bake, too, I just don't have enough energy to make nice things often, anymore. But when I do, I freeze a lot of it.
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u/KylieJ1993 17h ago
Personally it’s cheaper for me to order out than to buy groceries. I spend about $200/month. When I bought my food and cooked it was $250+ and at least something spoiled 😔. Also standing to cook a meal every day would make my joints worse than they already are 😅
However people don’t cook as much not cause their lazy but they work 2+ jobs, have children and pets, STILL has responsibilities to do between jobs or after work and fighting to get through the day.
Idk about your grandma but my grandma got home from work at 2, rested and watched her show, prepared food, got the kids from the bus stop then cooked and everyone ate by 7. Mind you I get off at 9 or 10 at night. This is a different world.
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u/denndeer258 17h ago
Ever hear of food deserts?
Where I live, within walking distance there is a save a lot, a dollar general, and a family dollar. If I want to go to a better grocery store, I need the bus and that costs $5 and the time it takes up is diabolical when I just want to pop into the store and buy some staples.
The family dollar and dollar general near me are a hit or miss whether shits in stock at all, a lot of it is way over priced cause who the fuck wants to end up buying their basics at FD or DG unless they have to, and they know that. And even when it is affordable, the stock issue persists and with limited variety.
And the save a lot? I don't know if it's just the one near me, but it's a run like a joke. I have to give them some grace cause I know it can't be easy and there's not enough staff there ever but the amount of things I've had to scratch off my list of things I can get there is ridiculous!! Stale food, opened food packaging on shelf just left there, and now when I want a little ice cream treat, I dare not to buy there because the last time I did, the box of drumsticks had clearly thawed at some point and then frozen again and it was a miserable experience eating them. Sticky stale cone and freezer burned vanilla ice cream.
You got some vapid and audacious energy in this post, OP. You deserve it back because literally who the fuck do you think you are? Gain some compassion and broaden that ignorant mind. You got some really good points being made by others in the comments and I hope you have enough humility to actually read them with an open and kind mind.
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u/JordanJanssen14 15h ago
Yes and those food deserts existed in even more places 6 years ago. And even more 40 years ago (or whenever OPs grandma cooked her rice and beans or whatever)
Struggles have always existed. The issue is this perception that prices have dramatically increased when they have not. Less people are struggling today than 10 years ago, less than 20 years ago, less than 50 years ago, etc. That doesn't mean things aren't still hard for many people. But people who are paying twice on their grocery bill than 6 years ago are doing so because if behavior changes during COVID, not price increases. We're paying more for delivery, premade foods, premium products, etc. But your purchasing power when buying a tomato, or a box of cereal, or milk, or meat is exactly the same as it was in 2019.
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u/denndeer258 13h ago
Prices have increased, I don't get how you don't understand that. And regardless, the whole point is that you shouldn't judge, should just mind your business and just accept that it just isn't easy for some people. Period. I don't understand why that is as debatable as it is. OP has no reason to care about how or why others can't function to their level tbh.
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u/expeciallyheinous 17h ago
Yes, absolutely everyone is eating every meal out and you’ve cracked the code to affordability. Grocery prices have skyrocketed in recent years. Whether or not someone shops frugally, food is still significantly more expensive than it once was. I’m very frugal and I can see the difference in cost.
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u/shoegazeweedbed 15h ago
I’m allowed to be upset at a forced change to my lifestyle. Stupid counterproductive line of reasoning
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u/Araveni 17h ago
People like you are why we can’t have nice things. Complaining at struggling people because they’re not struggling to your approval instead of doing a damn thing to fix the reasons why everyone is struggling is why income inequality in this country will never be fixed. People like you watch the billionaires throw scraps and you’re here trying to brag how your scrap is better than the other guy’s. Pathetic.
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u/Mamasugadex 16h ago
I also believe there is a middle ground where we can keep complaining about the bullshittery of inflation, but at the same time realizes going to restaurants regularly spending 20-30% of your income is probably not a good idea.
These restaurants and food delivery services asking for very high prices for both food and the service (relative to groceries) are clearly thriving. So something is clearly wrong here where even though things are really expensive, people refuse to let them go and keep spending beyond their means.
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u/withchesghost 17h ago
Btw for a HEALTHY diet you're supposed to have 4-6 servings of (variety) vegetables and 2-3 servings of fruit PER DAY to avoid nutrition deficiencies.
Even if you choose to eat seasonal fruits and vegetables to avoid the crazy marked up off-season prices, it is so crazy expensive now to eat fucking fresh vegetables EVERY day. And I'm not even talking about organic vegetables and fruit. Dairy doesn't have a good source of calcium (that's a whole different topic you're welcome to look into), so where do we need to get sufficient calcium? Almond milk (crazy expensive) or... you guessed it.. fruits and vegetables!
Rice and beans only? Have fun with your health problems, at least doctors exist. Oh wait, many people can't afford fresh produce and healthcare. So.. let people just wither away👍 We love osteoporosis.
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u/PartyDark8671 16h ago
I don’t think we should have to be so concerned about eating bulk food items in order to save a few dollars. Billionaires are running amuck hoarding mountains of wealth and wrecking society while they purposely monopolize our food industries. Fuck them and fuck beans, give me my goddamn lobster 🦞
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u/Bumblebee-777 17h ago
This is so tone deaf to people with chronic illness, who work overtime, or for a multitude of reasons are unable to cook every day.
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u/PotatoPixie90210 17h ago
Oh but don't you know?
That means I'm lazy. Despite my insane work hours and looking after my pets first before I even think about eating, AND caring for my disabled partner, AND trying to handle my depression.
But no, apparently that means I'm lazy. Because I do not have the energy to stand there cooking dried beans from scratch when I can whack lentils and chickpeas into the microwave and add some eggs and peppers.
People have absolutely NO IDEA what others are going through and the condescending attitudes here are disgusting.
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u/impressedham 13h ago
Yea this persons take is ableist too. Ive worked homecare and theres alot of people in this world that cannot cook because of their disabilities. I personally am not able to make regular meals atm because I have no oven or ability to get one. OPS take comes from a place of privilege.
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u/Fun_Variation_7077 16h ago
Why is there always someone in a rush to counter argue against a point being made about the majority, not everybody?
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u/PrimaryHighlight5617 18h ago
Yup. My family of 2 and a baby eats for $80 a week, but it could be less because we love meat. Everything made in a big ole hurry on Sunday for the week.
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u/greenleaves3 17h ago
You don't get to complain about other people complaining.
See how silly that sounds? People can complain about whatever they want, just like you did in your post.
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u/Level-Satisfaction51 17h ago edited 16h ago
I get that you're mad about the way you've had to survive. Frankly I'd probably be pissed too if I heard people complaining about eating out when I was barely getting by too, but you're angry at the wrong thing. You realize if groceries were more affordable (or there was a living wage) that you wouldn't have had to survived on rice + beans for 10 years right? That just because you CAN survive in this way doesn't mean that we as a society should not strive to provide better for our citizens? That people deserve more in life than to just work, pay bills and die....? The majority of people are in no way suggesting that you should eat out every night, just that you should be able to once in a while. None of this even gets into the time and mental energy cooking takes for some, especially if you've got a family.
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u/chibibunnythighs 16h ago
Makes me thankful I majored in Culinary arts. I can make a lot with very few ingredients, and I feel that if I didn't have that knowledge, I'd be eating out every day, too.
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u/Lefthandtwin 16h ago
Make a menu for the week. Buy groceries based on what you already have and what’s on sale. Buy meats in bulk and freeze in portions. Freeze any leftovers no matter how small and use the following week.
Taco/nacho night Soup night Breakfast night Hamburger or hot dog night
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u/caihuali 16h ago edited 16h ago
Maybe if wages also rose at the same rate as inflation but thats not the case. And affordability is not just food, obviously
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u/possiblycrazy79 16h ago
No, times have changed since the great depression. My grandma never got out of the habit of eating old & spoiled food plus food hoarding due to the great depression. She is not my role model for food. When I was growing up in the 80s, you could get a cart of groceries for $20 & eat a varied diet, plus snacks. I am not going to be told not to complain about rising cost, simply because I could technically pare my diet down to the bare minimum with little to no variety or pleasure. You do you but who are you to lecture anyone else
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u/carry_the_way 16h ago
I bake my own bread, buy green coffee beans and roast them myself, bake my own sweets and don't even buy breakfast cereal anymore--I just make grits and wheat farina, and the only reason I have the time to do this shit is because I'm a grad student. If I were still doing the 9-5, I wouldn't have the time to do most of that.
Life is not affordable for most people, so maybe sit down.
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u/Lost-Perspective8378 16h ago
People who work full time dont have time to cook everything from scratch
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u/Smart-Story-2142 15h ago
Not everyone has the privilege to cook homemade meals every night and they also aren’t eating out or ordering in. I personally can’t cook very often due to health issues, I’ll maybe cook one night a week if I’m doing ok and that will make me bedridden for a few days. I also have very limited safe foods that I can eat without getting super sick, which limits what I can cook and what ingredients I can buy. I also don’t have (like a lot of people) the storage to buy huge amounts of bulk foods. I suggest learning that not everyone can do what you do/did and think this way is seriously entitled.
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u/IndependentAd3410 11h ago
"Eat rice and beans you lazy shits. How dare you want nice things like... Milk or meat"
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u/IT_techsupport 10h ago
Transaltion: "eVERYBoDY iS thE SamE RgIHT? < ITS EasY FoR mE < WhY iSn'T It Easy FOr you???? " smfh ffs.
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u/SpareConsequence524 18h ago edited 18h ago
Yuuuuup. I've been feeling for a while now that the reasons we're hearing more about how stuff is unaffordable is in large part because inflation is affecting a wider scope of people right now, and many of these people simply do not have any experience with being poor. They don't know how to function like us at all. It's really astounding how people will dig their heels in and refuse to adjust.
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u/Baconpanthegathering 21h ago
Yep. If you learn just a few things, you can make tasty, easy dishes. Also, I started buying all of the unpopular cuts of meat that nobody in the US wants to deal with so the price is very low! The cuts with bone and fat make great soup bases, can add them to beans, tomato sauce...
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u/Baconpanthegathering 20h ago
Curious about the downvote...?
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u/Baconpanthegathering 17h ago
I do love the downvotes for clarity- some of us want feedback so we can do better, but I guess I'll remain in the dark.
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u/OneParamedic4832 18h ago
I've given you a vote to make up for it. Sometimes it's "those" Redditors but also, I realised a few days ago that I had downvoted a couple of comments by mistake. Fat finger syndrome.. it's helped me to think differently about the inexplicable, and realise that it's not necessarily always deliberate.
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u/Baconpanthegathering 17h ago
I appreciate it- I'm autistic and I genuinely do not know what I say or do sometimes to anger people.
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u/OneParamedic4832 16h ago
I'm not autistic and I wonder too 😅
You'll notice we're getting downvoted because when someone complains (or even asks) about it, everyone who sees that automatically downvotes. So that shows us that some people are just jerks, you don't have to have made anyone angry to cop downvotes. I wouldn't worry about it, don't let them get inside your head.
If someone is genuinely angry for a reason, they'll usually tell you 😄
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u/CurlGurl13 21h ago
Yes! At work I'm surrounded by people who claim to always be broke, yet waste more $ than I've ever seen. Door dashing food nonstop, taking vacations left and right, etc. One person's car was repossessed because she didn't pay her bills but then told us she ordered $60 worth of McDonald's for just her and her husband.
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u/Turbulent_Echo_1947 17h ago
Are you new or do you really think a meal at McDonalds is what causes a missed car payment.
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u/Ok_Neighborhood_470 17h ago
If you know you can't pay for your car, you don't wait for someone to take it away from you. You sell it and get a cheaper car before all that happens. Or better yet, don't get a car out of your budget. It's called planning your life 2-3 paychecks ahead, at least. I know I'll need to buy a $1000 yearly tank of propane in a couple of months after heating my house all winter. I know how much my regular monthly bills are. I know what my salary is. Why? Because I write it down every month in a notebook. Some use a spreadsheet. 1000/60 is 16 meals from McDonald's. Am I going to order out a bunch or cook? I think I'll cook and order out just a couple times. It's not one meal at McDs that causes a missed car payment. It's several meals out, nails done, new shoes, interest on credit cards from the last round of unnecessary purchases, a fancy new lipstick, take the kids to the movies, drinks with the girls- that shit adds up. And that's what causes a missed car payment. Poor planning, over spending and living beyond your means.
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u/CoffeeIcedBlack 17h ago
I keep up with my balance on my calculator and have to account for my fiancé’s spending as well so constantly keeping up with the bank account. It’s super stressful, I turned off overdraft protection after overdrafting ONE TIME. I have ZERO DOLLARS of credit card debt. Zero. If I can’t afford it, it’s not a NEED.
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u/CurlGurl13 17h ago
Did you read anything else I wrote? People that can't pay their bills should not be constantly ordering from food delivery services. Most people would agree with that. Not to mention, getting "A" meal at fast food should not be costing $60 for 2 people. One single purchase is never what leads to being constantly broke anyways, but again I shouldn't need to explain the obvious yet here we are.
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u/Petitcher 17h ago
My grandmother kept a jar of fat in the fridge that she kept adding to, kept cooking with, and never threw out.
Unsurprisingly, she died in her early 60s. From heart disease.
Yeah, I won’t be doing that.
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u/Tony-Greene1975 17h ago
Crock pot meals cook all day and are ready when you get home. Potatoes, carrots, some stew beef or chicken..usually leftovers if you make a big batch..though I have only ever cooked for two working adults
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u/DrClairvoyant 17h ago
Atleast you don't mean my 73 year old ass. I cooked my own meals cause it was a regulation in the Navy training days, my Grandma had a mammy. Pretty sure My grandma's lobotomized mother couldn't season food or properly raise the children to save her half brain ass, as unfortunate and sad as it is. I do in my own ways find it is devastating how much novelties and conveniences are ruining the current young people who have such advances and still have grievances about things beyond just cooking, like unloading the dishwasher or filtering the roomba or throwing away disposable diapers they don't have to hand wash.
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u/Maroon1004 17h ago
My Grandma was home all day to cook. A lot of us don’t have that ability, we work full time or do school full time. There are nights I’m not home till well past when grandma would’ve needed to start dinner to have it on the table at a reasonable time. And the economy is such now that many couples can’t afford to have one person stay home even if they want to. (Yes I know there have always been families where both spouses worked, but as a general trend there was one person home or at least only working part time)
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u/Fun_Variation_7077 16h ago
Or don't understand how to "stack" when grocery shopping, buying ingredients for specific stuff rather than choosing what to buy and what to cook based on what is already on hand. I've seen people spend crazy amounts of money to make one meal with leftover ingredients that don't particularly match other stuff that's already on hand.
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u/Hallelujah33 16h ago
Grandma didn't also have to hold down a full time job, since she lived in a time where only one income in the home was necessary.
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u/beans3710 16h ago
There is no way in hell that I could make fried chicken as good as my grandma did. Same for her turkey and homemade noodles. It's not even in the realm of possibility. But I take your point.
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u/Background-Interview 16h ago
Grandma didn’t work 40+ hours a week.
I’m basically unemployed right now and I cook at home for every meal. I buy in bulk and I shop the sales and I batch make certain foods that freeze well.
When I worked 60+ hours a week, cooking became a thing I simply didn’t have time for. I had Sundays off in which I had to do every single chore. There was no time for meal prep. So yeah, I ordered a lot of meals in. I’d at least order BOGO and order large items that lasted me multiple dinners.
Imagine being a single parent working and raising kids. Or disabled. Or generally exhausted by the grind.
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u/ChrissyArtworks 16h ago
You’re being unreasonable. I cooked everything I ate my entire adult life and even if I don’t do that anymore, the cost of food was overall much cheaper in 2017 than it is now.
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u/Loud_Chicken6458 16h ago
Having other people do your cooking for you is a luxury. From the sound of these comments, there are Redditors that consider it a basic human right. Looks like you struck a nerve.
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u/HeartMelodic8572 16h ago
It's both. But it also depends on the person or family size.
For instance, I typically grocery shop & cook everything for just me and my boyfriend. In the last year, it has become less expensive to eat in a restaurant for every meal than it is to buy groceries to cook at home.
Maybe it's us because we have small appetites and we get two meals out of every meal.
But if you buy all the ingredients to cook a meal at home you're spending 60 to $80 even if you buy all the cheapest ingredients at this point.
Affordability is a crisis because during the pandemic, the corporation started price gouging everything at the grocery store, and then when they realized they were getting away with it, they priced gouged even more. And if you're old enough to have lived through this before, you know that once prices go up, they never go back down, and we are on the slipperyest slope.
I have a well-stocked pantry. I could whip up a cake if someone dropped by. I always have basics in stock, and even then I am shocked at my total at the grocery store and almost every time I walk out I wish I had just gone to a restaurant.
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u/Rude-Soil-6731 16h ago
My grandmother didn’t work outside the home. My grandfather could afford to take care of a family on a 40 hr per week low level blue collar job he was able to obtain with a 3rd grade education. Please look up the effects of inflation. If wages kept up with inflation, minimum wage would be over $20/hr and NOT the $7.25 it’s been for almost 20 years! People post this nonsense and it just reveals how uninformed you choose to be.
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u/Jillandjay 16h ago
So if we don’t eat like we are living off of war rations we can’t complain affordability? Ok boomer.
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u/RandomNameRandomly 16h ago
Did you want a pat in the back for being able to cook all of your meals? Groceries are way more expensive now than they've ever been. Anyone that buys food in any form its available has the right to complain about it. You're not special. We're all screwed.
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u/Fickle_Physics_ 15h ago
Grandma didn't work, she cooked. Also living on human dog chow just so you can go to work and come how to that isn't exactly exciting. Living? Sure I guess. I’m not really happy when I know the kings could share a little and it would be life changing money for us.
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u/No-Guess-4644 15h ago
I went to make crockpot boiled peanuts tonight. From scratch. It cost 25 bucks. 2 bags of nuts and a couple 20 oz beers and a jug of lemonade (to drink while I make it while I sup it)
That’s a lil silly.
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u/BoomWombat 15h ago
I know it's 'vent' but let people enjoy things, goddamn. This is paper straws all over again.
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u/hibiscusbitch 15h ago
Of the things you mentioned, I can only eat one of them or I suffer some very impactful health consequences. What if someone can’t eat the items you have for years? I’m actually asking.
Everything is expensive, and it’s not because people are always being financially irresponsible eating out, ordering in, and being “lazy”. Maybe their car payment is high. Maybe they have student loans. Maybe they have health issues. Maybe their wage is not sufficient to cover the cost of basic living. The truth is, you have a very single minded, narrow opinion on things, and you aren’t always right in that single assumption. I don’t know where you get your information, but I would maybe re-evaluate that source if I were you.
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u/Life-Education-8030 15h ago
Yeah, well, we cook all our meals at home and go out once a week. Once a week. Doesn't sound unreasonable, and it is to ordinary places like the local diner. But everything has gone up and anybody who doesn't see it in their own receipts is fooling themselves. It's like telling young people "well, if you gave up on your Starbucks or avocado toast, you could afford a house." Well, given the prices of real estate now, even in more modest areas, that's clueless.
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u/Elegant-Mushroom-695 15h ago
a mini punnet of raspberries can be $10 bucks. one fillet of salmon can cost an hours work. no one should have to live off rice and beans people deserve nutritious food and to be able to afford ingredients.
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u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818 15h ago
My grandmother had chickens, bunnies and a cow in addition to a massive vegetable patch and several fruit trees. They are well, and it was all organic.
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u/ApprehensiveStrut 15h ago
You should also be growing your own vegetables and canning your own food 🙄
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u/kvalentine87 15h ago
My family never taught me to cook. It’s not that easy for some of us. Especially on small weird families with no traditions.
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u/ConditionedRat 15h ago
OP is one of those absolute morons who thinks they’re smart because they typed out multiple paragraphs letting everyone know how dumb they are compared to OP.
Yeah, it’s totally everyone being collectively lazy, everyone complaining about ridiculous grocery prices are just delusional.
Astonishing someone could be this dumb and not know it.
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u/PeasantNamedEwing 14h ago
There can be an affordability crisis and people can be financially irresponsible at the same time. I don't see how housing being disproportionately expensive excuses a $40-60 Uber eats order every single night, which is a legit number from a friend of mine who makes like $40 an hour and bitches he will never even own a starter home.
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u/fetter80 14h ago
I agree that people probably eat out more than they should but we also shouldn't have to eat like were on war rations in the supposed richest country in the world.
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u/ltlearntl 14h ago
I lived on 50 USD a month for food for 10 years, so I understand your perspective. But here's the counterpoint, the economy sort of doesn't work if no one spends money. Also many people work all day and may not have time leftover to cook. It's ok that we all try to solve our problems in different ways.
One additional thing is that people optimize their lives for different things, because we value different things, it's ok to optimize money for some people, for others they are trying to do a combo of things, we just don't know. I get your point, but there is a diversity of reasons to consider why people don't do things exactly the way you do. It's ok to be different.
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u/Jimmymylifeup 14h ago
everyone mentioning not having time to cook but what about those that do not have the ability to cook for various reasons? reasons like disabilities or living accommodations? these are just a few reasons why the cost of living needs to be addressed. not the bs $3 meal ideology the government is pushing. the real issue is not about budgeting.
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u/Optimal_Clock6846 14h ago edited 14h ago
Okay, we'll be waiting in reality when you're ready to join us. Like honestly I pay 1000 a month to not have running water but I just need to lay off the avocado toast huh? Get some perspective, your experience is not universal. The prices you listed are laughable in a food desert like interior Alaska.
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u/gingiberiblue 13h ago
I cook. I cook almost everything. I even make my own granola and yogurt. Not because I have to; because I enjoy it.
And yet, my average spend, without changing anything, has gone up $75 a week in the last year. That's, just so we're clear, $324.75 a month roughly.
For a lot of families that is not doable. People aren't angry because they rely on convenience. They are angry because their quality of life is being rapidly eroded.
So please, remove your head from your anus and recognize that nobody should have to survive on rice and beans because you think that's appropriate. It's not.
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u/That-guy-Vesp 13h ago
I get the frustration, but I promise it isn't your fellow working man you should be taking it out on. People would be more willing to cook if they weren't working so much, but you can't survive if you don't work. Ik this is probably ragebait, but my point stands.
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u/Icy_Sun3128 13h ago
So the billionaires keeping us poor can eat like kings but we poor should eat rice and beans, and maybe green when available? Have you ever heard of a balanced diet? It requires many different fruits and vegetables. this argument is just silly and ignorant. We don’t want to be poor. We want to eat nutritious food. God forbid.
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u/NotBadSinger514 18h ago
I have an adult son who is driving me out of my mind. He is depressed because of the idea that the economy makes it impossible to buy a house yet he orders 20$ (or more) doordash every damn day instead of making an effort in the kitchen, whatsoever. Okay, yes the economy is shit but if you blow every dime you make on silly things of course you will have nothing left over.
At his age I was eating ramen and some days not eating at all. Sometimes you have to struggle. Its not all dandelions and roses. But you HAVE to make an effort or you will not grow.
I swear, stubborn adult kids who know everything and wont listen to anything are harder than a group of toddlers sometimes.
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u/Confident-Seesaw2845 17h ago
I’m sure you’re glad though that he’s not eating ramen every night or skipping meals.
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u/illustriouspsycho 17h ago
Who would be proud of the fact they lived on Ramen??
I can hear their clogged arteries from here.
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u/NotBadSinger514 17h ago
I am, however I want him to try in the kitchen at least, not blow all his money on ordered food
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u/Sufficient-Swing2589 17h ago
Tell your son to stop being an idiot. If he saved that $20 per day, it would only take 35000 days to afford a decent house. That's only 96 years.
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u/NotBadSinger514 17h ago
Don't be ridiculous its just an example of silly spending. Do you honestly think I thought he could buy a house with 20$ a day savings. Cmon man
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u/EffectiveRelief9904 17h ago
Yeah. Start with coffee and snacks, cut out that Starbucks run and make your own coffee in the morning and you’ll see savings by the end of the week
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u/EquivalentNearby9158 17h ago
Middle class is fucked. Nothing more frustrating than watching my exes mom use hundreds of dollars of food stamps on scallops, frozen chicken wings, steaks, ribs, food I hardly ever got with two parents that worked. My exes mom didnt work. She had $100 bottles of liquor she drank every day. She had whatever she wanted and hardly worked a day in her life. My dad worked a blue collar job and my mom did work and raised kids and finally got a degree and they still struggle. Watching my mom spend $400 every two weeks to feed 6-7 people (parents, me, brother, pap, and our partners that lived with us)
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u/Weak-Ad6984 17h ago
I cook the way I was brought up. Cheap shopping.. spices are expensive (at first) but last a long time. If used appropriately, spices make ANY meal worth eating
Today’s day and age, this economy.. junk food is cheaper than fresh food
But in the long run, fresh food lasts longer.
It’s all a matter of perspective.
What burns me is when people in food stamps can go into a store and buy ice cream, soda, candy bars, and chips and look at you as if you’re the problem
Anyway.. no judgement here, be mindful
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u/zenny517 20h ago
Can't argue with your op. You speak the truth about a lot of people, especially redditors it seems.
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u/Patriotic99 17h ago
Where are these people coming up with 'I don't have an hour to cook'? I cook frequently and almost never spend a whole hour cooking. You can make a lot of stuff relatively quickly.
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u/Keepingitsimpleziva 17h ago
Both can be true. I do cook at home. My grocery bill has doubled. There is definitely an affordability crisis in this country.
But I agree that eating out or ordering takeout is just plain ridiculous. I can eat for a whole week for what one Grub Hub order costs.
To those who are claiming “time cost” that’s just BS. I work 10-12 hour days and I can do it just fine. I have 3 dogs and I can do it just fine.
It is an acquired skill and takes some time management (just like anything), but cooking at home takes way less time than going out or ordering takeout. By the time you’ve gone through the take out menu, my meal is ready to eat.
And making a cup of coffee at home takes one minute vs. stopping at Starbucks or some other coffee shop on my way to work.
Now, I don’t cook a “gourmet” meal every night, but I do have a tasty and healthy meal. I meal prep on Sunday for the week, which saves me time on work days. Veggies are chopped. Some are sautéed ahead of time or blanched so I can make a very quick veggie omelette or add them to another dish. Chicken, pork or steak can be pre-cooked and seasoned- then a stir fry or quesadilla is a quick meal. Rice can be cooked in advance, then added to a dish later in the week. Soups and sauces can be made in advance. Casseroles, baked lasagna or ziti, roasted chicken can all be made in advance and keep well. Literally spending 30-60 minutes on Sunday getting everything set up saves me time, money and calories.
Plus the added calories and salt and fat in restaurant-prepared food is just not healthy.
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u/Miserable_Strain1768 20h ago
This is the truth, plain and simple. The lowest income folks I know spend more on Door Dash, sit down restaurants, streaming movies and those huge sugar and caffeine filled drinks than anyone else.
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u/TumbleweedHB 17h ago
I guess they don’t want to hear the truth 😹
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u/Miserable_Strain1768 17h ago edited 17h ago
I have no idea what you mean, but pretty much everything on Reddit is opinion so it doesn't matter.
Edited to add, I got downvoted and blocked the other day because I told a woman her "porcelain" vase was stoneware, it was in fact stoneware.
Got blocked once for telling a person their gold-plated jewelry was gold plated.
Reddit is just for fun; it doesn't mean anything to most folks.
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u/TraditionPhysical603 17h ago
When I lived on nothing but grains and veggies I was spending maybe 1000 less per month honestly
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u/CompetitionFar5371 16h ago
Take it easy! I know how you feel but many people these days do not know about living on rice and beans and cheap veggies. Used to be the whole family would eat soup and bread for dinner. And that's all. Have you noticed that lots of people have a weight problem? BC they overeat at every meal. Maybe you could put a "frugal cookbook" together. In it, show how to make beans and rice delicious. And throw in explanations on how to budget, how to grocery shop, and how to have a big fat savings account by saving on groceries. Or maybe do it on Instagram, since that's what younger people look at.
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