Ordered two $5 McD's value meals & it's only $10.79 for both

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Yesterday, 7-24-2024, McDonald's rolled out it's four week long nation-wide promotional $5 usd value meal deal in the USA. Here in the Golden state of California, on 4-01-2024, California based fast food employees started earning an unprecedented $20 usd an hour (thanks to Democrat Governor Gavin Newsome) -- so to remedy that wage increase, the fast food franchisee owners have had to jack the menu item prices to reflect this pressing issue at hand.

So for a 10-piece McNugget meal by itself and nothing else, it's a whopping $10.99 (not including the usual "take out" tax added on to whatever else is ordered/added on to the overall order). It's really up to the local McD's franchisee owner to set the overall fast food menu prices to remain profitable and still keep "the lights on" ensuring that said restaurant location can still remain open for business -- of course, profit margins within the fast food industry are quite "razor-thin" as it is. Coke-Cola has chipped in some $4.3 million of their own money to make sure this McD's $5 deal goes off without a hitch. Some California McD's franchisee owners have mentioned that the insurance rates per restaurant location have "gone through the roof" -- it is what it is, especially in California these days.

Today, I went through a local McD's drive through and sure enough, they were selling the much highly-hyped $5 dollar value meal at the advertised price which includes the following: a choice of either a McDouble burger or McChicken sandwich, a four piece McNuggets, a small order of french fries and a small-sized soda drink. I ordered two of the $5 McD's value meals and only ended up paying a mere $10.79 for everything (which is practically unheard of nowadays, especially in California) -- I was quite happy paying that low of an amount today. There's talk that McD's corporate might extend this $5 value meal promotional deal past it's initial four week run.

Ever since McD's made the formal announcement in May of 2024 of bringing back it's $5 value meal deal program, other fast food chains such as Burger King, Wendy's and even Starbucks have jumped in on offering their own $5 dollar meal deals as well. Of course with McD's and their $1 billion dollar advertising budget for the USA, they should've done this earlier -- it just might be what "wakes up" the American fast food industry into making this latest $5 food deal a permanent fixture to attract and retain it's customers for the long haul (amid rising inflation and fast food customers spending less nowadays).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Air Master Burst]

I love how desperate they are to keep people from eating real food. I feel so bad for all the yokels who are too far from a proper city to just go to a food truck.

Here in the Golden state of California, on 4-01-2024, California based fast food employees started earning an unprecedented $20 usd an hour

They deserve it, too! Health care is expensive in Burgerland. I would also bet real money that working a fast food joint during a meal rush is harder than most of the jobs anyone here has. I'd strongly consider combat again before subjecting myself to that.

[XtraSmiley]

I love how desperate they are to keep people from eating real food. I feel so bad for all the yokels who are too far from a proper city to just go to a food truck.

Here in the Golden state of California, on 4-01-2024, California based fast food employees started earning an unprecedented $20 usd an hour

They deserve it, too! Health care is expensive in Burgerland. I would also bet real money that working a fast food joint during a meal rush is harder than most of the jobs anyone here has. I'd strongly consider combat again before subjecting myself to that.

Where are you and how are the food trucks? After having tried food trucks in HI, CA, and DC/MD/VA, I find them very expensive, and not that great food flavor wise. Not bad per se, but not great. The best was the Korean/Mexican in Southern CA. Those were actually good, but not cheap.

[Dochartaigh]

All bullshit. Here's McDonalds profits for the past couple years:

"McDonald's gross profit for the twelve months ending March 31, 2024 was $14.688B, a 9.03% increase year-over-year. McDonald's annual gross profit for 2023 was $14.563B, a 10.26% increase from 2022. McDonald's annual gross profit for 2022 was $13.207B, a 4.98% increase from 2021."

They could charge WAY, WAY, WAY less, ALL the time, and STILL pay their employees a lot better - and still turn a massive profit. It's all greed. Period.

[Air Master Burst]

Where are you and how are the food trucks?

Twin cities, and the truck selection is absolutely insane. One of the burger trucks serves the best meal I maybe have ever had, and there's even multiple dedicated celiac trucks that are top tier.

[orange808]

You could... you know... cook.

[XtraSmiley]

Where are you and how are the food trucks?

Twin cities, and the truck selection is absolutely insane. One of the burger trucks serves the best meal I maybe have ever had, and there's even multiple dedicated celiac trucks that are top tier.

Man, I gotta get up there and check it out!

[Air Master Burst]

You could... you know... cook.

That would require learning how, and practice, and time, and effort. That's dope if that's your thing, but let's not pretend like there's something wrong with hiring professionals to do it for you.

I'm generally glad to pay a bit more for something that I don't have to prepare, tastes better than something I'd likely make myself, and I don't have to clean up after.

Don't eat fast food, though. At least not once you turn 20.

[Sima Tuna]

If you can cook rice, chicken and a random vegetable of your choosing then you've already surpassed anything fast food has to offer in terms of quality.

Fast food places make hilariously high profit margins on everything they sell. What they serve is of the absolute lowest quality and the drinks especially are pure profit. For the amount of money the industry makes, its food prep workers should be driving around in BMWs.

[orange808]

You could... you know... cook.

That would require learning how, and practice, and time, and effort. That's dope if that's your thing, but let's not pretend like there's something wrong with hiring professionals to do it for you.

All true. With that said, it's really not that hard to do. I admit it does require an investment. Motivation is hard to find after a long day. The shopping and meal planning adds another task, as well. I'm fortunate to live close to the market. I can pop out for a few things most every day if necessary.

I'm generally glad to pay a bit more for something that I don't have to prepare, tastes better than something I'd likely make myself, and I don't have to clean up after.

Yeah. Cleaning up is buzzkill. As far as the quality of your own cooking, I think you will surprise yourself someday. It's great to have for dating purposes as well. Cooking for that someone on a third date (and beyond) can really work in your favor.

Don't eat fast food, though. At least not once you turn 20.

Youth is wasted on the youth.

I do understand why people don't cook. The biggest obstacle for me was the kitchen in the places I lived in my twenties. There was no room to operate. No proper pantry, lousy undersized appliances, small sinks, and limited countertop real estate. All that and I was always dead tired from work.

I get it. The universe seemed to conspire against learning to cook when I should have had the most energy to do it.

All the same, I wish I could have picked it up a lot sooner.

[Sumez]

What's the remaining $.79?

[BulletMagnet]

Sales tax, I'd guess.

[Sumez]

Isn't advertising prices without included sales tax somewhat illegal?

[Steven]

In the US prices almost never include sales tax, so you end up paying more than what is actually on the price tag. It's stupid, but that is how it is. Fortunately, you can go to places that don't have sales tax and live there, like Anchorage, Alaska.

[Koa Zo]

Isn't advertising prices without included sales tax somewhat illegal?

In Washington state it was actually illegal to advertise pricing that did include the sales tax.
There are different tax rates for each state, so for multi-state businesses like a fast junk food dealer, it is more convenient to have uniform pricing, then add the tax.

[Vexorg]

I love how desperate they are to keep people from eating real food. I feel so bad for all the yokels who are too far from a proper city to just go to a food truck.

Have you seen the prices on food trucks lately? You'd probably spend $30 on that same $5 worth of food, and they'd still expect a tip.

[Air Master Burst]

I love how desperate they are to keep people from eating real food. I feel so bad for all the yokels who are too far from a proper city to just go to a food truck.

Have you seen the prices on food trucks lately? You'd probably spend $30 on that same $5 worth of food, and they'd still expect a tip.

I eat at food trucks multiple times a week and can't remember the last time I spent over $20 USD. I can get a corn dog for $7 and a double smashburger for $13. I guess I'm just lucky to live in a nice area for it.

I don't think "that same $5 worth of food" is a fair comparison, either, but I guess that also depends on the trucks you frequent.

Either way, nobody should be eating fast food at this point.

[orange808]

If I could choose a place to live and still hold gainful employment, I'd worry more about the general cost of living (especially real estate prices) versus sales tax. Renting instead of buying will eventually cost you a lot more. At this point, affordable housing is more important than anything else. Don't ask a boomer, though. They could buy homes almost anywhere in America they wanted. You "could" too. You're just "lazy".

[Air Master Burst]

If I could choose a place to live and still hold gainful employment, I'd worry more about the general cost of living (especially real estate prices) versus sales tax. Renting instead of buying will eventually cost you a lot more. At this point, affordable housing is more important than anything else.

Unless you're queer, or a woman, or basically anyone else whose survival depends on not getting trapped in the stupider 2/3ds of the country.

[GaijinPunch]

They deserve it, too! Health care is expensive in Burgerland. I would also bet real money that working a fast food joint during a meal rush is harder than most of the jobs anyone here has. I'd strongly consider combat again before subjecting myself to that.

To add to the enigma surrounding me, I'll have you all know that McDonald's was my first job, for two months, at the age of 16.

Having said all that, McDonald's should cost $100 per item to deter people from eating it. It's awful.

Renting instead of buying will eventually cost you a lot more.

This is a hot take, that makes a lot of assumptions. There are tons of markets where your house with all the upkeep and taxes will not yield even close to the same returns as compounding interest at an average of 7% (doubling every 10 years), much less the ones that have crushed that over the long term (FXAIX, for starters). Cheap housing is important, but so are things like food -- especially if you work your balls off and don't have the luxury to make your own meals.

[orange808]

This is a hot take, that makes a lot of assumptions. There are tons of markets where your house with all the upkeep and taxes will not yield even close to the same returns as compounding interest at an average of 7% (doubling every 10 years), much less the ones that have crushed that over the long term (FXAIX, for starters). Cheap housing is important, but so are things like food -- especially if you work your balls off and don't have the luxury to make your own meals.

Hot take indeed. Leave it you to intentionally take a narrow reading of my post to write a little lecture.

How are you earning interest on the money you paid to your landlord? (Asking for a friend.)

Obviously, we can throw out buying a home in the middle of a dry desert or wasteland. I automatically assumed we were discussing moving to an area that's liveable. Yes, there are places for sale that are awful investments. Have some common sense.

Where exactly is the expense of sales tax or food prices going to create enough of a burden to offset lower real estate prices? Not in very many decent places to live. Petrol can make a big difference, but I assume any intelligent person can do the math.

And, it's my experience that the ancillary cost of living expenses follow real estate prices very well.

There's also my specific wording about the ability to choose a place to live and remain employed. I already set aside the possibility that it's not possible for a lot of people. The words "If I could choose a place to live..." probably rules out moving somewhere awful, unaffordable, or unliveable. Although, what's actually liveable might include less nightlife and a less forgiving climate than the expensive places you might regularly prefer.

Finally, everyone works hard and everyone is tired. Get off the cross.

[Air Master Burst]

Finally, everyone works hard and everyone is tired. Get off the cross.

It's my experience that people who don't believe fast food workers deserve to be paid more always think they work hard but in fact have no idea what hard work actually entails.

This also applies to anyone who brags about bootstraps or complains about welfare cheats.

[Sima Tuna]

Finally, everyone works hard and everyone is tired. Get off the cross.

It's my experience that people who don't believe fast food workers deserve to be paid more always think they work hard but in fact have no idea what hard work actually entails.

This also applies to anyone who brags about bootstraps or complains about welfare cheats.

Ay, if you haven't worked digging ditches for a living or some such similar grunt job (where you're treated as less than dirt and disposable labor) then you've not experienced the Great Capitalist Grinder at its most grinding.

Mad respect to anyone who can hold it down at McDick's or any of those other nasty-ass places. Our society has a bad problem of devaluing people in general.

[Sumez]

I don't think "that same $5 worth of food" is a fair comparison, either, but I guess that also depends on the trucks you frequent.

I ate at a McDonald's about a month ago when we were on our way home at 5am+ and it was the only thing even open in all of Leipzig, and it's probably the worst facsimile of "food" I've ever tried.
It did satiate my craving, but holy shit it was so awful that I couldn't help laughing at it, it felt like someone was playing a joke on me.

I don't normally mind junkfood actually, but it was something else. I doubt you could ever find a food truck anywhere that would stoop this low.

[ryu]

Yeah I have no idea how people can go out of their way to eat from there. For reasons unknown to me most of my family still eats from McDonald's and KFC regularly. Whenever I join them (once every few years) I wish I hadn't and had spent my money on better food instead.

[Steven]

I haven't been to McDonald's for at least 7 years. There isn't one that is convenient to go to, but even if there was, I still wouldn't go because they removed a lot of items from the Japanese menu about 8 or 9 years ago and there wasn't much of a selection the last time I went. It's still probably better than the six trillion kebab restaurants in Tokyo that are all located right next to busy streets and have their meat outside, probably getting contaminated by pollution and shit from all of the cars that drive by only a few meters away.

[Austin]

Fast food "deals" aren't things that should ever be celebrated, and pity for these fast food companies is not an emotion that should ever be felt. Doing so is the most Gamer™ thing ever.

A buddy of mine comes up from out of town every now and again and the topic of food comes up often (as we typically like to grab something to eat). Sheetz always comes up as his first pick. He's a big, tall dude, and hardly healthy, but he always goes, "They have these deals! I can get so much food for so little." And I usually roll my eyes, because honestly, Sheetz's food is kind of disgusting. I really shouldn't judge others for eating at these places, as I've probably done it far more than most, but it's bit me in the ass and as a result I'm disappointed when friends tell me they do it regularly (I just don't want to see others make the same mistakes I have and have to deal with the consequences).

I've personally dealt with Type 2 Diabetes for the last six years, have already had a critical blockage in one of my main arteries that required a stent to be put in (the doctors were shocked I didn't have a heart attack or stroke when that was discovered), and I am on all sorts of medications to help. I'm 42. Not exactly young, but also not ancient either, and I really shouldn't be dealing with any of that stuff right now. I guess the point is, the health benefits from fast food places is nearly non-existent (with a few exceptions). If you consume the stuff frequently, it's not a matter if it will catch up to you, but when.

Learning to cook my own food has been a boon. It's helped my health conditions and has taken a slight burden off my wallet. And it's not hard either--cooking food doesn't have to be difficult or complex. Chicken is delicious and stupid-easy to make, for instance, as is rice and beans. Eat it separate or mix it all together with a fajita shell, and you've got an awesome, tasty meal that's way better than what you would get at Taco Bell. If you're lazy and need something fast-ish, you can get creative with pre-packaged things like ramen noodles. Cook up some eggs while the ramen is cooking, then mix/stir the two together, and you've got a fairly filling meal that only took a few minutes to make and barely cost anything.

The other thing about making your own food, even simple stuff, is you often have leftovers. Yesterday after work I had a social obligation that had me out until 11PM. In the past I would surely have hit McDonald's on the way home, dropping $10 - $15 for a single meal. But instead I stopped and thought for a moment, "Hm, Wegman's is open until Midnight, let me head there instead." So I did and picked up a hot rotisserie chicken. I pulled it apart when I got home and made rice/cheese/chicken burritos with it. The chicken was $10 (a little bit more than other grocery stores), but it provided so much meat that even after dinner late last night, I'm going to have enough meat for at least another three or four meals. You want to talk about saving money on food, that's it in action right there.

[GaijinPunch]

Hot take indeed. Leave it you to intentionally take a narrow reading of my post to write a little lecture.

Stay gold - as you ahve.

How are you earning interest on the money you paid to your landlord? (Asking for a friend.)

How are you earning interest on the 20% down you paid? (When did you get a friend?)

Obviously, we can throw out buying a home in the middle of a dry desert or wasteland. I automatically assumed we were discussing moving to an area that's liveable. Yes, there are places for sale that are awful investments. Have some common sense.

Chicago is the 3rd largest city in America, a great place to live by many metrics with tons of jobs, and it is awful to invest in real estate. The state itself (and even moreso the city) are hamstrung by their constitution and the labor unions. They have no way to pay off their massive fucking debts except one -- property tax. And it goes up invariably ever 3 years to make up for lack of a progressive state income ta and other failed taxes (sugar tax, for example), thereby keeping the price of homes low (but not the total cost). To quote an old colleague, "You can't make shit off of real estate here, while my shit for brains brother in law doubled his money in the suburbs of Arizona accidentally".

That doesn't even touch on loads of other factors out of ones control - neighborhoods are cyclical. Many have gone from the the best in the city to absolute shit holes. Some faster than others. Upkeep / appliances is most definitely not free -- a cost you are devoid of if renting. If you are hit on hard times, and you are house poor, you could very easily be forced to sell at a shitty price (or even foreclose). You can sell portions of liquid equity - not portions of a house.

I'm not saying buying a home is a bad idea or even a bad investment. But it is an investment and no investment is ever a silver bullet. It can easily take away from opportunity costs of other investments.

Where exactly is the expense of sales tax or food prices going to create enough of a burden to offset lower real estate prices? Not in very many decent places to live. Petrol can make a big difference, but I assume any intelligent person can do the math.

Everywhere if you a big enough chunk of your money goes to food (and as you pointed out, other costs of living).

[GaijinPunch]

I haven't been to McDonald's for at least 7 years. There isn't one that is convenient to go to, but even if there was, I still wouldn't go because they removed a lot of items from the Japanese menu about 8 or 9 years ago and there wasn't much of a selection the last time I went. It's still probably better than the six trillion kebab restaurants in Tokyo that are all located right next to busy streets and have their meat outside, probably getting contaminated by pollution and shit from all of the cars that drive by only a few meters away.

I actually should put my argument above with an asterisk. I went to a McDonald's twice on my last trip to Tokyo as I had to find a place to work at ridiculous hours since sleeping beauty (my gf) wakes up if a pin drops. I did wind up getting an Egg McMuffin WITHOUT fucking sausage which is not on the menu anymore. To make it an even more fun experience, the guy at the register was a southeast Asian with less than stellar Japanese. The manager had to get involved to leave the sausage off. That is the one extremely noticeable thing about Tokyo: 20 years ago a gaijin would never serve a gaijin outside of a gaijin bar. Welcome to the future!

[GaijinPunch]

I haven't been to McDonald's for at least 7 years. There isn't one that is convenient to go to, but even if there was, I still wouldn't go because they removed a lot of items from the Japanese menu about 8 or 9 years ago and there wasn't much of a selection the last time I went. It's still probably better than the six trillion kebab restaurants in Tokyo that are all located right next to busy streets and have their meat outside, probably getting contaminated by pollution and shit from all of the cars that drive by only a few meters away.

I actually should put my argument above with an asterisk. I went to a McDonald's twice on my last trip to Tokyo as I had to find a place to work at ridiculous hours since sleeping beauty (my gf) wakes up if a pin drops. I did wind up getting an Egg McMuffin WITHOUT fucking sausage which is not on the menu anymore. To make it an even more fun experience, the guy at the register was a southeast Asian with less than stellar Japanese. The manager had to get involved to leave the sausage off. That is the one extremely noticeable thing about Tokyo: 20 years ago a gaijin would never serve a gaijin outside of a gaijin bar. Welcome to the future! Anyway it's basically the same food but the experience is always better than a US McD's.