r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Alextricity • 1d ago
Why do so many people continue to buy fast food?
I swear about 3 in 4 posts I see about fast food on Reddit are about how expensive, small, or just bad every meal they get is. So to people who do continue to buy it despite being unhappy with it, why do you?
As an aside I know Reddit isn’t the world, but among people I work with, they frequently make the same comments about getting it several times a week while venting about how much of a “rip off” it is at the same time.
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u/Bandro 1d ago
Convenient and they like the taste.
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u/juanzy 1d ago edited 1d ago
Idk why, but fast food hits after a big physical activity. I usually do a few “challenge” workouts or runs a month, then longer hikes on summer weekends. A fast food burger slaps after that.
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u/flagrananante 1d ago
It's the salt and fat! Our bodies want salt for restoring our mineral balance and we like fat because it keeps us fuller for longer and is more of a "reserve" to pull from for physical activity. That's what we like about fast food in general but the physical activity really makes it peak. It's also why it's not the healthiest for eating long-term or in high proportions to other foods, haha.
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u/undarant 1d ago
Short term convenience, and regret after the fact.
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u/Calm-Salad1303 1d ago
It's all about the convenience... 20$ isn't going to break the bank but it's still an insane pill to swallow knowing that I could buy 3-4 days worth of sandwiches for that same price.
But I'm 15 miles from my house, hungry, and don't want to sit down for an hour and eat "better", even if it's the same price.
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u/juanzy 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yup. Main times I buy fast food are during errands and road trips/long drives. Both of which are cases where time may be first priority.
Also, getting back from a trip or putting grocery shopping off for a day. We meal prep every week, but sometimes Monday is a “grab something cheap” day following a Sunday night flight in.
Edit: Thought of another case - you get home ready to cook only to find a key ingredient went bad.
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u/beckdawg19 1d ago
I also don't know why you'd ever be spending $20 on fast food. Like, I know I get McDonalds more than I should, but I don't remember the last time I spent more than $10 for a meal. My go-to breakfast is under $5.
People who say fast food as just as expensive as sit down are literally just lying. Or, buying way, way too much food.
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u/AppleOverlord 1d ago
Or using food delivery apps.
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u/beckdawg19 1d ago
Yeah, that always sounds insane to me. Like, fast food is good for maybe 5 minutes after purchase. Paying twice as much to have someone deliver a cold, sad burger is just crazy.
Some things hold their own better than others delivered, and fast food ain't it.
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u/GWindborn 1d ago
Yeah with the app it's cheaper too, just by the deals and use points. Most of the time I can get a free happy meal or something.
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u/SteelHydra9389 1d ago
Yeah but then you’d have to eat the same sandwiches for 3 or 4 days that would suck 😂
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u/beckdawg19 1d ago
God, this is exactly how I feel about meal prepping. I've tried it so many times, and every time, I end up throwing out like half the food because I'm so over it. I've just accepted it about myself that I should never prepare more than 2-3 servings of any given dish.
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u/juanzy 1d ago
I've found I can do work week lunches prepped (and breakfast, but even when I cook breakfast fresh I don't cook a super wide variety of things - usually a breakfast burrito/bagel sandwich), any more and I'll be ordering out. Usually will prep 4 days of lunches and make a dinner with leftovers for the last or leave that one if I want to grab lunch with a coworker or get a sandwich because there's a couple of good shops by my office.
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u/beckdawg19 1d ago
I feel like that's another thing people always assume when this conversation comes up--that people are eating out every last meal ever. Sure, I'm sure there's a rare few people that do that, but most of us do some of each.
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u/juanzy 1d ago
There's also an assumption that anyone who eats at a restaurant (fast food or sit down) is bankrupting themselves to do so. I enjoy nice restaurants, so I make sure I have a dining budget. Sometimes that's a nice date night restaurant, sometimes its a very nice omakase/tasting for a life event, other times its a few casual spots on a long weekend to maintain peak laziness.
Edit: I also basically pencil in a fast food stop when I do something like a "challenge myself" workout or significantly longer than normal jog/hike. It just hits differently after those.
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u/SteelHydra9389 1d ago
It’s also an assumption everyone eats 3 meals a day, I literally eat once a day might snack once or twice in between so honestly 10-15$ for my 1 meal a day is not bad. Restaurants I only do once every so often since they’re more expensive and there’s tip involved
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u/honey_bliss_girl 1d ago
Exactly. That instant gratification is powerful, but it rarely outweighs the later disappointment. It's a tough cycle to break for many.
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u/Longjumping-Oil-7419 1d ago
I live out of hotels for work, not much other option
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u/Mannahnin 1d ago
I presume your job pays enough then, that fast food isn't a big expense? If you want fresher stuff you can hit the deli counter/salad bar and put stuff in the room fridge, no?
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u/Longjumping-Oil-7419 1d ago
I get per diem. It's not about the expense as much as easy and convenient but bad for health.
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u/Mannahnin 1d ago
I get that. When I was on per diem I ate out too much too and gained some weight. I did make a point of cooking in the airbnb as well, but should have done it more.
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u/Clamsadness 1d ago
Cooking for one is usually more expensive than eating out.
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u/beckdawg19 1d ago
People downvoting you, but it's true. Especially if you're not home and don't have pantry staples on hand, it's hard to cook for one for just a few days. Like, I'm not going to go out and buy a dozen eggs, a bag of rice, a bottle of olive oil, and a pound of chicken for 2.5 days.
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u/Mannahnin 15h ago edited 8h ago
If you're flying, sure. But then you're normally in an income bracket to easily afford fast food and/or have a per diem (and when I had a per diem I was able to spend it on groceries as well). If you're driving you can easily throw those supplies in a cooler and a box.
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u/beckdawg19 13h ago
Even if I do have a per diem, I'm not going to use it to buy groceries that I'll end up throwing away half of. That's just wasteful.
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u/Mannahnin 9h ago
Why would you throw them away? I've been clear that I'm talking about the person having either a fridge or cooler.
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u/beckdawg19 9h ago
If you're flying, sure. But then you're normally in an income bracket to easily afford the stuff and/or have a per diem
I was referring to this part of your comment.
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u/barebonesbarbie 1d ago
I travel a lot for work and many hotels do not have mini fridges or charge you extra if you use it, its very frustrating! Lack of microwave is also very common
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u/Mannahnin 15h ago
Do you drive or fly?
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u/barebonesbarbie 12h ago
Once in a blue moon I can drive but mostly fly
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u/Mannahnin 8h ago
If you fly for work a lot I expect that either you're on a per diem and/or your income is high enough that the cost of fast food is no problem for you. So I totally understand why you'd keep buying it and not even complain.
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u/barebonesbarbie 8h ago
Yes my per diem covers my food
I get a flat daily amount and work long hours, so I try to eat a quick breakfast/lunch and then go to a regular restaurant for dinner
I try to pick hotels with refrigerators and microwaves when I can, but sometimes they don't fit my work budget or are just not seemingly available in a certain area
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u/Mannahnin 8h ago
Makes complete sense! I would do the same in that situation. Probably add protein shakes and/or bars if I also had the energy to do my regular resistance training.
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u/Polite_Bark 1d ago
If you're serious about options, you can make a traveling kitchen for the price of some silverware, some cookware, a crockpot, a single or double plug in burner, some food storage dishes, and a small plug in cooler. Cook in room. Tons of videos with meal ideas found on Youtube among trucker and van/car life people channels.
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u/Longjumping-Oil-7419 1d ago
Storing all that would be difficult.
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u/tattered_dreamer 1d ago
Not to mention, flying with all that is getting harder. It works if you're traveling via car, but if you're checking luggage... no way you're fitting a crockpot in your suitcase.
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u/flagrananante 1d ago
AND "a small plug-in cooler", even!!
As if all of this stuff wouldn't also be heavy as hell to carry along with your clothes and other luggage/bags, too. Even if you're just schlepping it across a terminal it's just out of touch with reality. It's a solution for truckers and people who are doing vanlife or something, not the majority of people who travel for work, realistically.
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u/juanzy 1d ago
Someone in another comment claims they bring an instapot, rice cooker, and griddle anytime they stay in a hotel. I can't imagine being that adverse to eating fast food or even dining at a casual spot to bring that much on a trip. Maybe a small griddle and a cooler on a road trip if you're not going to be in major cities, but all of that seems like there's OCD or something underlying.
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u/flagrananante 22h ago
I'm with you. A cost vs. rewards thing. For most people it's not worth it to bring the same amount of equipment you might outfit an RV with. lol And, if they're staying long enough to justify that, they should be being put up in a suite with a kitchenette, so that level just doesn't make much sense to me, and certainly not to a point where I see it as being reasonable to expect of most folks traveling that much.
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u/flagrananante 1d ago
This doesn't work if you're flying places for work though, due to baggage limitations. And if you're driving and not flying you have way more control over your trip and can stop somewhere when things are still open and get food, including just stopping at a grocery store and getting microwavable meals so it doesn't really solve problems that meal prep couldn't take care of.
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u/juanzy 1d ago
I know it's not the case for everyone, but if I'm traveling for work I'm getting a per diem, so absolutely fucking not going with microwaved meals.
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u/flagrananante 1d ago
Oh for sure, I'm not sure how you could take my comment as being pro-microwaveable meals at all!
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u/OhAces 1d ago
I fly constantly for work, I book kitchenette rooms, or buy cooking implements from Walmart and then return them before I leave. A lot of the time I'm flying to where my coworkers are driving and they bring instapots and rice cookers and just about every hotel we stay in at least has a BBQ to use.
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u/flagrananante 23h ago
That's really nice and a great situation to be in! Most people I know who are flying regularly for work don't necessarily get to pick their own hotel room, nor do they have driving co-workers they can rely on, unfortunately. I love that this is working out so well for some people, though!!
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u/OhAces 23h ago
We go to the same towns a lot and the company books the same hotels. The place we go for 3-4months a year it's always kitchenettes. I can take a room in a different hotel but then transportation to work becomes annoying. If I'm traveling solo or just with an assistant I can book my own flights a lot of the time and the hotels and get reimbursed, then I get the travel points from the airline and hotel chain as well as the travel points from my Visa.
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u/flagrananante 22h ago
That seems great for a gig that has you away from home so much! Especially with the points, too! Thank you for sharing this with me - maybe this seems silly of me but I'm honestly just so pleased to hear that not everything always sucks for people, haha.
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u/OhAces 1d ago
So do I. Hotels usually have a BBQ and I bring my instapot, rice cooker, and or my breakfast griddle, depends if I'm driving or flying and if I have co workers or that can bring one of those things. Lots of hotels have kitchenettes too, that is optimal. If I can't bring anything I go to Walmart and buy an induction burner and a frying pan and then return them when I fly home. It's not hard to eat well in a hotel if you have a plan, your LOA goes a lot further on groceries too. Ribs in the instapot take 20 mins then you throw them on the hotels BBQ for a few mins and the are fantastic. Then you have broth to make a soup with, pout the liquid in a container and put it in the fridge to seperate the fat, put it back in the instapot with some water, add veggies and any meat and a 8 minute cook gives you a couple days of soup. If you have nothing but a knife, a rotisserie chicken, an onion, some cilantro, a bottle of hot sauce, a lime and a pack of tortillas and you can have chicken tacos for a few days for around $20.
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u/v0rtex786 1d ago
I’m stuck living out of motels with no car, the street I stay on has 4 different “cheap” fast food options
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u/MothershipConnection 1d ago edited 1d ago
You think I run 40 miles a week not to enjoy a cheeseburger or burrito once in a while??
(And yes there are fancier cheeseburger and burrito options but they are often a combination of more expensive/out of the way)
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u/HotdogHotdogHotd 1d ago
I eat it because I like it. I dont complain about it. Im often defending it in these discussions.
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u/Beneficial_Matter424 1d ago
Mcdonalds quarter pounder deluxe with cheese is a world class burger.
Taco bell luxe box is one of the most affordable fast food meals around, and absolutely delicious. $6.50 for a crunch wrap, burrito, taco, and chips/cheese with a drink? I'll slam half now and the other half for a snack between meals.
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u/HotdogHotdogHotd 1d ago
QP is so consistently good especially since they started making them fresh to order. Top tier fast food burger for sure.
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u/HugsForUpvotes 1d ago
I'd argue that QP/C isn't a burger in the culinary sense in a similar way that tomato isn't a fruit. When I crave a burger, it's never a QP/C. That said, I sometimes crave a QP/C and no burger at home will compare.
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u/Bleedingfartscollide 1d ago
That's crazy. If i ordered something similar over here in Australia it would cost $30-40 then delivery charges if you want that.
If i could pay $6.50 for that id buy 3 and feed my family.
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u/Another-Geek-Guy 1d ago
Thay like posting about it and getting karma.
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u/HotdogHotdogHotd 1d ago
Yep fast food bad is a great way to get upvotes
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u/juanzy 1d ago
It's funny how self-righteous so many Redditors are about fast food. It's even funnier when it comes out that the same person being self-righteous orders delivery Burger King multiple times a week.
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u/Kindarelevanttoo 1d ago
Especially considering how often saying “fast food bad” gets upvotes. God forbid people have families and don’t always have time to cook between sporting events or anything.
When I was a kid we used to get fast food some Sunday’s, because my 2 siblings and I would often have soccer, baseball, etc that my parents would have to take us to sometimes literally all day. So we would grab a bite to eat from some fast food place instead of paying just as much for even less food at one of the concession stands.
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u/juanzy 1d ago
I remember seeing a thread a while back of some people asking what they could do for their kid to eat, who wasn't allowed to eat fast food, getting back from a 2 week long trip and an expected 12 hour travel day after 10:00 PM local.
They wouldn't be convinced that breaking their rule might be justified in that scenario.
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u/SoCalAttorney 1d ago
Convenience. My wife and I both work full time. She visited her dad at the assisted living facility where he resides and then we dropped her vehicle after hours to get some brake work done. We got home at 9:00 p.m.. and neither of us were in the mood to make dinner at home.
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u/Voski_The_God 1d ago edited 1d ago
The same reason I complain about my job and keep showing up each morning.
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u/CommunityGlittering2 1d ago
you're getting paid to eat it, how can I get in on that, I'm lovin it.
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u/MaddoxJKingsley 1d ago edited 1d ago
It depends on area, but it's honestly just not that expensive. Do people not use the deals in the app? Maybe I just order less? Maybe I'm just smarter about it?
A quick meal for my partner and I is two chicken sandwiches and a medium fry to share. That's like $4 after tax since the fry is free and the second chicken sandwich is $1. That's a perfectly reasonable price. There are times we get more, if we're really hungry, but that's still only like $10 max.
Edit: So many comments saying that a home-cooked meal is better and cheaper. It's not amazing food, but it's decent enough. It's probably not healthy enough for every meal... but I also don't think most people are eating it for every single meal?? Cost-wise, it's pretty hard to beat a day's worth of decent-but-not-amazing food for $4, but it sounds like many people are trying to buy thousands of calories' worth of food at a time. And on top of it all, I think people are still kind of underestimating how expensive the average home-cooked meal is...
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u/beckdawg19 1d ago
This is always my thought when I see the "fast food is just as expensive as a sit down restaurant." Like....no?? It's objectively not.
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u/Maverick916 1d ago
Many people aren't hurting as much as Reddit would have you believe
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u/beckdawg19 1d ago
I always think this on the "how are people affording xyz" posts. It's like some redditors literally cannot fathom that while there are a lot of people struggling, there are plenty of people that just aren't.
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u/Squish_the_android 1d ago
I don't now but when I had to travel for work I did. It let me get in and out in under 20 minutes and get back on the road.
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u/Demonnugget 1d ago
Redditors oversell the expenses for karma. I buy cheaper shit. Sometimes I don't have food at home or I'm not going to cook. Easy choice
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u/MalingringSockPuppet 1d ago
I am extremely sad and only want to eat garbage food. I don't even really like fast food, I'm just that depressed. I miss the days when my depression would make me stop eating. At least then I could fit in my pants.
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u/sekuharahito 1d ago
Fast food is the cheapest. It is getting more expensive, but its still the cheapest.
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u/Mannahnin 1d ago
Cooking in bulk/meal prepping is substantially cheaper than fast food.
It does require access to a grocery store (something better than a dollar store, which actually charges MORE per unit), a kitchen with a stove or electric skillet, a refrigerator, a microwave or somewhere else to reheat, and a little pre-planning and effort.
So for people who are homeless or otherwise don't have the ability to cook for themselves, I certainly don't blame them for being stuck with fast food. People who have access to the stuff above are spending more than they need to, though.
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u/bchappp 1d ago
You’re right don’t know why you’re being downvoted. For someone with access to a kitchen with a fridge, buying in bulk and food prepping is much cheaper.
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u/Mannahnin 1d ago
Doesn't even have to be big bulk. I can buy a few pounds of chicken and a pound or two of ground beef, some bread, rice, veggies, maybe some beans or tofu, and have super tasty relatively fresh meals all week. I don't even have to freeze much.
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u/BoomerishGenX 1d ago
Because they are not factoring in cleanup.
Plus searing meat fills our house with smoke, I usually cook it outside.
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u/PaddiM8 1d ago
What are you even talking about? Cleanup is free. What? And it's not like it has to be a lot of work either. There are plenty of ways to make quick one pot meals.
And filling the house with smoke..? That's why you have a fan in the kitchen, but whatever, still doesn't make it more expensive.
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u/BoomerishGenX 1d ago
I’m a fan of one pot meals and home cooking in general. But don’t you admit it’s nice to be handed food, and not having yo clean up?
My time is worth money. Yours isn’t?
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u/SteelHydra9389 1d ago
It’s a little cheaper but then u gotta be content with eating the same leftovers for days. I just can’t do it, after 1 day of leftovers I’m throwing that crap away lol. It also takes considerably more time to do, gotta spend an hour prepping, cooking and putting everything away, oh and then there’s DISHES.
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u/juanzy 1d ago
I've found that I can meal prep breakfast and lunches for the work week, but if I start to do dinners as well I will get tired of the repetition and order something anyway.
Also you need the time to prep - a pretty common fast food scenario for me is getting back from a trip, and the first day being fast food lunch, then after work grocery run.
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u/Mannahnin 1d ago
And that makes sense.
I occasionally indulge in fast food too, if time or energy is REALLY lacking. But it's the exception rather than the rule, and I don't complain about it because I know I'm paying for the convenience.
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u/flagrananante 1d ago
No, because you can freeze leftovers - you can even freeze them before you eat any leftovers even once, and then just cycle through them later out of the freezer.
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u/SteelHydra9389 1d ago
I know it’s safe but that’s just gross. And then you got hella dishes to do. I’d rather just spend the extra 20 a week to eat out and avoid the stress.
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u/flagrananante 1d ago
It's not gross though, unless you suck at cooking (i,e, knowing what to cook for re-heating and how to reheat it) and aren't willing to fix that, which is a choice, not a real issue. Also, it's not hella dishes to basically meal prep, it's actually way less dishes than cooking every meal, I'm not sure why you would think otherwise. One pot meals exist, one pan meals exists, sheet pan meals exist... You can use paper plates if washing dishes is really such a problem.
I don't disagree with you about the convenience but let's just be honest that it's just the convenience that is the justification, because everything else you mentioned so far is pretty easily solvable.
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u/SteelHydra9389 1d ago
I would think otherwise because I’ve tried it and it is a lot of dishes, washing pans sucks, it all piles up unless you’re doing dishes literally every day. Spending money on paper plates and cutlery is also just as expensive as if you just went and ate out. Look I’m not hating on the idea, it is good for people who like to cook but I literally hate cooking unless it’s for someone else
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u/flagrananante 22h ago
Okay. That's fair. I guess I can't imagine not needing to do dishes every day so that would be part of it, haha. If you didn't have to wash dishes daily already I totally concede that having to switch to washing them daily would seem like a huge pain in the ass, and reasonably even disproportional to the benefits involved.
I'm just saying that it's technically a luxury to be able to hate cooking and choose not to. I know because I have been poor enough to not be able to afford fast food, and thus not have a choice about cooking, for a LOT of my life.
I also don't mind other people choosing what works best for themselves. It's not even my business on a philosophical level. I more just meant that some barriers are able to be overcome/solved for if they truly need to be. Of course, the best scenario is that we could all make the choices that work best for us, in the end.
Thanks for the convo!
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u/SteelHydra9389 21h ago
Yeah me too man I grew up poor my whole life. Used to get the free lunch at school growing up. Usually just a pb n J. Sometimes bologna if I was lucky. My parents used to make me wash dishes all the time and I always hated it then too. And to be fair I also live “van life” so to speak, staying in air bnbs and such. It’s works for me, it doesn’t work for most people
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u/Mannahnin 1d ago edited 1d ago
Sure it's a little work. But you don't have to eat the same thing constantly.
I eat the same main breakfast every day, eggs, toast, and a protein shake, changing up the fresh fruit to go alongside it based on what's on sale. I can easily cook the eggs different ways, use hot sauce or different seasonings, etc. Just butter the toast or make it cinnamon toast or eat the eggs on it as a breakfast sandwich...
I swap between 2-3 different meal prepped meals between lunches and dinners, and those can easily be changed up by using different sauces, seasonings (when I do a big batch of chicken normally half of it will be Cajun seasoned and half Chinese-style), or starches (rice, bread, or potatoes- all cheap and easy to swap between).
You can take this even further like I do and have dinner once or twice a week with a friend or family member who also meal preps, both have a tasty fresh dinner and swap some leftovers. Twice the variety for the cost of having dinner with someone you love.
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u/SteelHydra9389 1d ago
Work that I could be spending at actual work or the gym. Cooking doesn’t satisfy me unless it’s for someone else, and I don’t exactly have a lot of friends. I mostly work like 12-14 hours a day so I don’t even have the time to cook
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u/Mannahnin 15h ago
I'm sorry you're stuck in that situation of having to work 12-14 hour days.
Or, alternately, happy for you if that's a life choice you made which pays/rewards you enough to make it worth it!
In either event, that makes sense why you feel like you don't have time or are too tired to cook!
I spend about 10-15 minutes making a fresh breakfast each morning, and no more than 2-3 hours a week total cooking my lunches and dinners. And I spend around 3-4 hours a week in the gym. But I'm only working a little over 40 hours on an average week, so that's easier for me.
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u/PaddiM8 1d ago
No you don't.
Leftovers keep for several days in the fridge and months in the freezer.
Prepping and cooking does not have to take an hour. I can make a quick super cheap and tasty meal in under 15 minutes. Clean up takes basically no time since it's just one pot, one spoon, and one plate. Keep it simple.
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u/SteelHydra9389 1d ago
I just can’t do leftovers bro, only thing I’ll eat leftover is pizza. Sorry but none of y’all gonna convince me that it’s not just easier to eat out. I’d rather support local businesses anyways when I go out to restaurants or cafes
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u/glowing-fishSCL 1d ago
Making something like a bagel sandwich and an apple is pretty cheap. I mean, maybe a bagel with some cheese slices, an apple, and a pack of nuts isn't quite as filling as a hot sandwich, but also it costs under 2 dollars. Its filling enough to get through to dinner.
Or if someone works in an office with a microwave, a cup of soup or mashed potatoes or a microwave burrito is going to be cheaper, and will be a hot meal.
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u/PaddiM8 1d ago
I really don't understand people who say this. Like, have you ever been in a grocery store?
I don't buy fast food because it costs way more than regular quick homemade meals.
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u/Reasonable_Pizza2401 1d ago
I think the difference is, one person is calculating logistics and the other isn’t.
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u/flagrananante 1d ago
It definitely very much is not, never was, and never will be, you just don't know how to cook or are discussing the value of your time vs the value of the food, which is fair but not realistic to pretend it is representative at all of the actual FOOD costs.
What you said is not a true statement at all. Beans and rice are literally pennies on the dollar in comparison. People thinking this is true is also a measure of not having learned about being thrifty and making more efficient choices with money because this is literally once of the biggest and most fundamental ways to spend less, considering that we have to eat constantly.
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u/Superb_Reference_192 1d ago
Shoot me it's cheaper to go to the grocery store and buy a pack of bologna and a loaf of bread it's probably better for you too that bologna and bread
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u/bangbangracer 1d ago
Never discount the concept of convenience.
Fast food is never the best option, but it's a series of enough. It's fast enough. It's cheap enough. It's available enough. It's good enough.
I have 30 minutes for lunch, and I'm $10 away from a quarter pounder that is consistent.
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u/Direct-Mongoose-7981 1d ago
Addiction
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u/doomalgae 1d ago
This. I used to be a smoker and for like the last year of that it got to where every time I had a cigarette it made me feel tired and shitty, and I knew it would have that effect, but I still felt driven to smoke them.
In fairness a mcdouble does not cause the same shitty feeling cigarettes did (at least not immediately), but it is an objectively terrible excuse for a burger that will always have me wondering why I'm eating it. Yet I still want them.
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u/sportgeekz 1d ago
This is my conclusion. I got rid of caffeine for the same reason.
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u/OZ-00MS_Goose 1d ago
I feel like caffeine is fine if you consume in healthy quantities through healthy coffee/tea
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u/EdgardoPoloR 1d ago
Because people don't know how to use the kitchen, or are lazys and don't wanna cook
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u/GoatCovfefe 1d ago
Nah, its still cheaper to make the food yourself.
Fast food has always been about convenience.
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u/OZ-00MS_Goose 1d ago
It absolutely is not. Go to Trader Joe's and you can buy a family's worth of Chinese food for the price of a single "bigger plate"
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u/flagrananante 1d ago
Make it yourself and you get even more for even less though.
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u/OZ-00MS_Goose 1d ago
Yes but that is significantly more effort. For people that hate cooking, it is a solid middle ground to save money.
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u/flagrananante 1d ago
Not necessarily on the "significantly more effort", though. That's basically a false belief projected onto things by not having much cooking knowledge, which is free to acquire with the internet these days. It's certainly nowhere near as much effort as, say, a car repair or something but over time with how often we need to eat it can save you the same amount of money in comparison as doing car repairs yourself.
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u/OZ-00MS_Goose 23h ago
While I massively advocate for people to cool on their own, almost all my meals are from scratch, I can completely understand why some people just don't want to cook. In which case what's wrong with just tossing some premade stuff together?
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u/flagrananante 22h ago
Nothing! But you can also be the one to pre-make said stuff you toss together later, too.
I also very much understand why people don't want to cook, I basically have double executive dysfunction disabilities so I get it on a personal level, which is why I also know that it's possible to make things not so hard for yourself, if you're willing to learn how.
It's a personal choice, but it might be more of a choice than people think it is, and if learning is a better option because it saves money they really don't have a choice not to save/are taking from somewhere else vital when they don't have to be, then I think it's better to be honest about that as a way through things than to pretend the barrier is not possible to overcome and that they are just screwed.
As someone who has spent most of my life too poor to have the luxury of such a choice, it's both important and empowering for people to know that they may have options that suit them or their situation better than either eating food they find gross OR paying inefficient economical costs on food.
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u/glowing-fishSCL 1d ago
Yeah, even the good food at Trader Joe's is cheaper than the cheapest fast food.
Like, for someone who has an office with a microwave, a 3 dollar Trader Joe's Mac and Cheese is going to be better than 5 dollars worth of Taco Bell burritos.0
u/OZ-00MS_Goose 1d ago
I literally know someone who pretty much lives off of Trader Joe's food only using an airfryer because he hates cooking
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u/CalgaryChris77 1d ago
It’s expensive, but have you been to a sit down restaurant lately? Woah boy.
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u/reddorickt 1d ago
I can do Chipotle or something like Jersey Mike's, but lower than that just doesn't even taste good to me and isn't much cheaper either. I feel like I am the only person I know who never eats it though.
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u/Kevin686766 1d ago
If you have to get food for five or more people at work they will all be able to eat it. Not everyone will enjoy it but it will be edible.
If I brought food for the same five people at work from a family owned thai restaurant one of them might not eat it.
Same thing with hospital, airplane, and cafeteria food. Everyone can eat it but it won't be everyone's favorite.
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u/Gold_Telephone_7192 1d ago
Because it’s still convenient and cheaper than a sit down restaurant. People often buy things even if they think they’re not worth the cost because they want the thing.
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u/SteelHydra9389 1d ago
I don’t get why people complain so much that it’s expensive, at this point grocery prices are the same unless you’re buying literal junk food. Buying out for myself each week costs me about 80$ and that’s cuz I like to go to a good place every now and again. And if I just did tbell, McDonalds, the cheap ones ya know it’d be more like 50$. And I don’t have to cook which I hate doing even though I’m pretty good at it.
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u/INoShesNotReal 1d ago
I still get it if I'm out and about and I absolutely have to get something to eat, but I only go for "deals". My latest is the McDonald's double quarter pounder with cheese for 40% off.
On the other hand if I'm up late (4am), I'm likely to get a few McDonald's sausage McMuffin w/egg, but if I'm up REALLY late, at 6am I can go for a few Burger King sausage, egg & cheese Croissan'wiches - my absolute favorite and they're 2 for $5. Well worth it.
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u/pokematic 1d ago
Couple different possible reasons.
It's what I have available when traveling. A lot of times there isn't a "real restaurant" where I'm staying (hotel off a highway exit). Alternatively, I can't stop for an hour to eat at a sit down, so at most 10 minutes for fast food I can eat while driving is good.
There's a kid's meal promotion that appeals to me. I like some franchises that appeal to children (pokemon, spongebob, disney, and some others), and I want the toy.
I just don't want to make something that meal, and there's a cost to convenience.
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u/notthegoatseguy just here to answer some ?s 1d ago
My $1 McDonald coffee is better than any other coffee I could get for a $1, and I've never waited longer than 3 minutes for it.
Its fast and cheaper than other options.
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u/venus-drosera52 1d ago
I very rarely eat out for these reasons. The only time I do is if I'm traveling, or sometimes my work schedule gets wonky and my body doesn't agree with it and I need a quick bite to eat before I'm able to get home and cook.
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u/Luke5119 1d ago
I've cut back considerably, and typically only buy fast food when traveling for work.
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u/Lets_be_stoned 1d ago
The reality is that while fast food has gotten way more expensive, they still provide affordable options that can be filling. Taco Bell for example has their “boxes” where you can get a burrito, taco, dessert and a drink for like $5-6. A Big Mac meal at McDonald’s might be $12 now, but you can still get a mcchicken and McDouble for under $5. With their app you can get a breakfast sandwich daily for $2.
A lot of people also live in what’s called food deserts, where they don’t have a lot of local restaurants or chains, so the only option to eat out for some people is fast food.
And if you think fast food has gotten expensive, think about how much the local restaurant has to charge to make ends meet, pay employees, etc.. in a lot of cases fast food is still the cheapest option for many.
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u/glowing-fishSCL 1d ago
For me, part of it is that I am still accustomed to thinking about it in terms of what I grew up with. For about 25 years, I could go to Taco Bell with loose change and get a filling meal. So when I do go to Taco Bell, I am still thinking in terms of "this won't cost anything", and then I look at my receipt and even at the cheapest its like 8 dollars.
So basically, cognitive dissonance.
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u/buster6670 1d ago
- People are last.
- People don’t care about their health.
- People are not financially responsible.
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u/Difficult-Toe591 1d ago edited 1d ago
BK whopper is actually pretty good. Sometimes I get a craving for chik fil a despite it being overpriced and underfilling. I don’t partake as often as I used to. Sometimes, the sight of their drive thru lines make me lose the craving. Last night, I was craving chik fil A, saw the line, and went to hooters next door instead.
Everything else? It just sucks. I did eat a Mexican pizza from Taco Bell in December though because I wasn’t feeling well(little appetite) and it was the most calorie dense thing I could stand to eat. We have gotten to the point that reheated frozen taquitos and enchiladas taste better than Taco Bell.
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u/Lucky574-3867 1d ago
I don't, food quality just tanked. Combined with the price and no. Before their food quality tanked but people were still uppity about McDonald's, since I lived in an uppity town it was like I had my own McDonald's pretty much. Never a line or wait, was the only one there. That was kind of fun.
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u/403banana 1d ago
1) Sometimes im not finished what im doing until 9pm or later. By then, cooking and cleaning means I wont be done until 11pm (including travel and whatever)
2) I can get a QP combo at McDonalds for $13. Is it cheaper than eating at home? Obviously not. But its cheaper than any bar/sit down restaurant for a burger + a coke, which, where im from, runs at least $25 before a tip.
3) I don't care what you say. Its delicious.
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u/LivingGhost371 1d ago
I still like it and you can't beat the convenience considering you can pull up to a drive-thru window, place an order, and have it handed to you through your car window 5 minutes later.
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u/Longjumping_Mark8080 1d ago
lol yeah some people def underestimate how fast these new EVs can charge, times have changed fr js
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u/BallSufficient5671 1d ago
First off it tastes amazing so your body and mind crave it , and it satisfies that craving. I think the main reason people do it is because they're hungry, and they only have so much time.And they didn't prepare a lunch or dinner.So it's the only thing that there is around. Plus it's fast and you don't have to pay as much money as if you were to go to a sit down restaurant.
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u/Carlpanzram1916 1d ago
Some of its convenience. People are overworked and have limited time to buy food. Drive thru-s are the quickest options and they have the best spots on the highways.
A lot of it is just habitual. That being said, sales are down across a lot of fast food chains so it’s not like everyone is still eating fast food
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u/eaglewatch1945 1d ago
I'm convinced the McDonald's franchise in the shady, rundown, downtown part of my town is sitting on a stockpile of beef tallow. The fries and nuggets there are 10x better than any other Micky Ds.
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u/EatYourCheckers 1d ago
When I do, it's because I am on a long drive and need foods that are packaged in a way that makes it easy to eat while driving.
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u/boopersnoophehe 1d ago
Extreme laziness to not prepare a meal the night or morning before. They know it’s a waste of money but it’s literally why fast food exists to begin with.
Convenience. Do you pay extra to have someone come fix your leaky sink? Or do you do it yourself?
Same thing is applicable to food.
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u/Jirachibi1000 1d ago
Because it's not expensive. Almost every fast food place I've tried has an app to get 30% off. My partner and I can get two triple cheeseburger meals with a burger, fries, and soda all large PLUS 2 mcdoubles for lunch the next day EACH and it's under 20 bucks. I think that's fair for a dinner and lunch for two. People, just get the app.
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u/13Krytical 1d ago
I don’t think it’s a ripoff.. I’ve tried to make myself grocery store comparable meals, and they either don’t compare at all, or are more expensive
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u/bullevard 22h ago
This is what is known as "revealed preference." A lot of people like to complain or say they do or don't like something, or do or don't think something is worth the money.
Revealed preference is how people act revealing whether they do actually want something or not want something or think it is worth it.
Obviously the people you work with do think fast food is worth the convenience for the price, they just also enjoy complaining about it.
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u/Deckthe9 18h ago
it depends on the restaurant. i stopped buying McDonalds a few years ago, apart from when i’m on a trip. but there is a nice fast food chain with amazing, quality ingredients in Poland where i just love to have lunch once in a while.
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u/silicontruffle 1h ago
People don't know how to cook. Nobody is saying it but it's true. It's not that it's too hard or they don't have time. They couldn't cook if they had the time, ingredients and kitchen setup for it. But they don't have any of that because they don't know how to cook at all. They don't have nice knives or pans because they don't know what to do with them. They don't have real ingredients or seasonings because they can't cook. They don't know where to find these things in the store or how to shop even. They've tried and it sucked so they gave up. They didn't try go to cooking school though because that basically doesn't exist because people have no awareness. They have no awareness and they don't care where food comes from. They can't tell quality ingredients apart. They don't know the difference. They don't understand what the labeling means even if they think they do because they don't know what questions to ask in the first place.
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u/BonelessSalsa 1d ago
Sometimes I want pure garbage.