Crazy Airfares!!

[DCLMP]

Sorry to hear your challenged. The unemployment situation is baffling to me. Record low unemployment, heck, I was at Wendy's yesterday, they are drive up only, they don't have enough staff to open the inside yet, and big banners advertising $25 a hour, more than I ever made in a "profession".
The Federal Reserve as I mentioned says people savings soaring during the pandemic.

Wonder what the ratio of savings to debt is now as compared to prior to the pandemic. Funny we have both record savings and record debt.

One big mistake is to ever believe anything the Fed says. If you believe the economy is good shape then you got nothing to worry about. It cost my family of four 63.00 dollars to eat a chick fila last week. We will not be eating out much anymore. Eventually these fast food places will be laying off not looking for help. Maybe minimum wage jobs salary’s are increasing, but those of us with professions aren’t getting raises to keep up with inflation.

 

[DCLMP]

It really depends on individual circumstances. I have been out of work for 14 months now, but I had saved up money for living expenses anticipating an arduous job search. Not everyone could. Even with a lot of jobs open, not everyone is getting hired. I am either over or under qualified everywhere I apply.

I think there are two groups. One, the people who remained employed or were lucky to be reemployed quickly, who couldn’t spend their discretionary income and it built up for spending now. Two, those of us who lost jobs and haven’t found new ones, so money keeps flowing out for bills with no money coming in. I know people who have put rent on credit cards because they had no rent assistance or put their food and utilities on credit cards because they are trying to stretch their savings to cover rent. There were some locations that were unable to take advantage of assistance as well, for various reasons that do not need to be covered here.

I am happy for you that you are doing well financially after the pandemic, but there are a lot of people who aren’t doing well also.

Just reading this thread has made me realize how out of touch people are. On the other hand this is a place where people will spend 20k on a theme park vacation without giving it a thought. Probably not a good sampling of the general population.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Rental cars are extremely expensive these days, and unless you're talking about flying out of your home state of Florida to some other destination, you'd have to rent a car to use one of those airports. That can negate the cost savings of flying into a cheaper airport, especially when you factor in gas and toll fees, plus the hassle of driving between cities.

That's only true if they weren't going to rent a car to begin with. With the demise of Magical Express, renting a car is a more common choice for people. Even staying onsite, you can go off-site for some meals, maybe buy groceries, even possibly visit other sights in the area.

 

[Cheburashka]

It cost my family of four 63.00 dollars to eat a chick fila last week.

Seriously? What exactly are you buying? We just had Chick-fil-a for 2 today, and it cost less than $15. $63 for a family of 4 certainly isn't typical.

 

[Cheburashka]

big banners advertising $25 a hour, more than I ever made in a "profession".

I'll wager you're not having to pay for housing at current market rates, either.

 

[tvguy]

I'll wager you're not having to pay for housing at current market rates, either.

No but my son just bought a house this week.

 

[tvguy]

One big mistake is to ever believe anything the Fed says. If you believe the economy is good shape then you got nothing to worry about. It cost my family of four 63.00 dollars to eat a chick fila last week. We will not be eating out much anymore. Eventually these fast food places will be laying off not looking for help. Maybe minimum wage jobs salary’s are increasing, but those of us with professions aren’t getting raises to keep up with inflation.

The Value Menu is your friend at Fast Food places.

 

[Cheburashka]

No but my son just bought a house this week.

Is he paying it off by working at one of those $25 per hour jobs?

 

[sam_gordon]

Seriously? What exactly are you buying? We just had Chick-fil-a for 2 today, and it cost less than $15. $63 for a family of 4 certainly isn't typical.

I'm not the poster who mentioned it, but I get a 12 piece grilled nuggets combo, side salad instead of the fries, a cup of water and a shake and that's $15 w/tax. So, $15x4 = $60.

 

[DCLMP]

The Value Menu is your friend at Fast Food places.

I'll take a hard pass. I can count on one hand the number of Fast food places I'll eat at and none of them value meals.

 

[DCLMP]

Is he paying it off by working at one of those $25 per hour jobs?

w

 

[DCLMP]

Seriously? What exactly are you buying? We just had Chick-fil-a for 2 today, and it cost less than $15. $63 for a family of 4 certainly isn't typical.

When you have 4 4 count strips 4 fries 2 shakes and 2 drinks. My kids are 17, 19, and 6 feet tall they ain't eating off the kiddy menu. No way can two people eat at chick fila for under 15. You're not eating complete meals.

 

[Cheburashka]

We don't buy off the kid menu, either. The adult combos are around $7-8 per person.

I still don't get it. Why not just buy the combo if you're worried about money? If you're going to spend $15 per meal, you can easily eat somewhere with better food than Chick Fil A.

 

[DCLMP]

I'm not the poster who mentioned it, but I get a 12 piece grilled nuggets combo, side salad instead of the fries, a cup of water and a shake and that's $15 w/tax. So, $15x4 = $60.

Exactly. The only place we can eat for under 40 anymore is In and Out. My other favs are Chipolte and Portillos those are both over 50/60 something. I love Five guys too, but they outpriced us years ago.

 

[Cheburashka]

No way can two people eat at chick fila for under 15. You're not eating complete meals.

Yes, we are. Nuggets (one 12 count, one 8 count), fries (one large, one medium) & water for 2 are under $15 including tax. Totally filling.

The shakes you're in the habit of buying are almost doubling the cost of your eating out.

 

[DCLMP]

We don't buy off the kid menu, either. The adult combos are around $7-8 per person.

I still don't get it. Why not just buy the combo if you're worried about money? If you're going to spend $15 per meal, you can easily eat somewhere with better food than Chick Fil A.

Not in my state, they are close to 13, but the minimum wage is high here. What you think going out to a sit restaurant is cheaper?

 

[Cheburashka]

Not in my state, they are close to 13, but the minimum wage is high here. What you think going out to a sit restaurant is cheaper?

You can get good food for $15 per person if you get take out, yes. Not if you're paying a big tip inside, or buying shakes or alcohol. You're drinking up a lot of money. If you just pay for food and not expensive drinks, things cost significantly less.

 

[DCLMP]

Yes, we are. Nuggets (one 12 count, one 8 count), fries (one large, one medium) & water for 2 are under $15 including tax. Totally filling.

The shakes you're in the habit of buying are almost doubling the cost of your eating out.

It's not like we go out every day. We go out once a week. It's a treat. If I just wanted nuggets and water I'd make my own.

 

[DCLMP]

You can get good food for $15 per person if you get take out, yes. Not if you're paying a big tip inside, or buying shakes or alcohol. You're drinking up a lot of money. If you just pay for food and not expensive drinks, things cost significantly less.

If I go out I'm getting alcohol appetizers and the works or I'm not going out. What's the point. I can eat boring at home.

 

[Cheburashka]

It's not like we go out every day. We go out once a week. It's a treat. If I just wanted nuggets and water I'd make my own.

You left out the fries, but whatever. And if you're happy with it, why post the complaint about how expensive it was? My point was that the price you quoted isn't the norm. I go to Chick Fil A pretty regularly for convenience on workdays, and most people aren't getting shakes with their meals. You can get soda as part of a meal and it doesn't cost much more than water.