Hey Michael & Lisi 🙂 Y'all didn't get any damage from hurricanes Helene & Milton thank God 😳 I have dear friends I can't reach from IRB and Tampa area... Stay safe you two 🤗💜
You think that's bad I'm pretty sure bars are doing just as bad. People buying shooters before going in to pay $10 on a 12oz bottle of beer no thank you. You also need to look into hotels? I'm in Iowa West Des Moines they are no where close to full. No one's traveling
Never trust the meat in restaurants. Cheesecake Factory, though, seems like a great restaurant that consistently cares about the quality of their food. My 2 cents.
@@Javiiscool I completely agree with you. On the few occasions when I had to eat out while working far from home, I always chose Muslim restaurants, if available. I've long been convinced that their reputation for maintaining high standards in product quality and hygiene is well-deserved.
@@trockterry6I always loved the Cheesecake Factory but a couple wks ago the food was awful. We ate a few bites & left. Quality was poor & didn’t taste right. I was sick for a week with gastrointestinal problems, headaches, muscle aches. I refuse to eat out & only cook my own food.
@@princess2uprettyAnd it will stay that way until you realize that govt spending is still all time high. You want better quality food? Shrink govt first.
Restaurants are not enjoyable anymore. The service is mediocre, the food is overpriced, and the atmosphere is trash. Yes, restaurants are expensive, but dining experiences are not what they used to be.
It's not just the economy. People are a lot less friendlier than they used to be and expect to be tipped even when giving subpar service and I'm not just talking servers here but also jobs that don't warrant a tip. A lot of fast food places are now asking for a tip when it comes time to pay the bill and these aren't the type of places that tipping was established for. It's not just eating establishments either. Enough is enough. People are pushing back.
I'm German, frequently living and working in the US. My view on the situation of the restaurants: Prices nearly doubled, visitors forced to pay rediculously tips (saw tips being kind of mandatory, starting at 20%) und quality decreased. That will not work. These businesses are killing themselves. US is not on a good way currently.
I have a rule. If I'm standing while placing an order NO TIP. They flip the card reader over while hey stare at you and it's asking for a tip. Just click no tip and don't feel guilty. Now if you are bringing me my food, cleaning the table and keeping my drink filled I will tip. Prices have nearly doubled but that doesn't seem to slow down attendance here in Az. Prices doubled due to the demand over the past 5 years. Hopefully the demand will cool and drive down prices. That's the only thing that will do it.
Tips are not "mandatory" but servers work on tips only in a lot of states. In my state the workers are paid just $2.13 an hour. Also in my state the server is forced to pay a house fee (they call it tip share to try and confuse what it really doing on) of anywhere from 3%-7%. Thus if your bill is $100 the server has to pay the house $5 regardless of if you tip or how much.
@@redtiger7268 This is the problem. Why is it me as a customer's problem to pay the restaurant's staff above and beyond what is laid out on the menu? There's a wave of "living wage" fee in very small print at the bottom of menus. That is as dishonest as you can get. Just raise the price to pay your staff.
Increasing tax rates are the reason I rolled over my 401k to a Roth. I don’t want to be 59 paying taxes on current income on withdrawals made from my retirement account.
Pre-tax contributions may help reduce income taxes in your pre-retirement years while after-tax contributions may help reduce your income tax burden during retirement.
Both have their perks but you can also save for retirement outside of a retirement plan, such as in an individual investment account or employing the services of a retirement planner/investment advisor.
Monica Mary Strigle is the licensed advsr I use. Just research the name. You’d find necessary details to work with a correspondence to set up an appointment. I am close to retirement with 1.4 M to my name outside of retirement accounts.
@marksechter9377 ultra processed food, artificial ingredients, colors, flavors, gmo, bio ingredients eventually will caused some sort of cancer or other serious health problems
I’m tried of placing my order on a screen, eating garbage food and asking for ketchup packets from the only employee working that hates me. Two meals cost $40 at McDonald’s, I’m done with this nonsense.
Not completely true. McDs brought back the 5 dollar meal. Your fault for not getting the deals. I have the app and can get 50% off a McChicken for less than a buck fifty or a ten piece for like 2.50
@@UnseemlyGenie00 The base line problem is that is that the price on the menu is expensive, yea you can get a deal if you use the app, but how many app's and accounts you gonna get? 20... or more? it just doesn't make sense unless you go a lot.
Being made to feel like big tipping is necessary to support the poor underpaid servers or else you're the Devil has turned me against eating out. The attitude seems to be that tipping is mandatory whether the service was good or not. I tend to be one of those types that rebels at anything mandatory or forced on me. People that run these restaurants should allow enough in their budgets to be able to pay their workers a decent salary and not rely on the customers already being overcharged for food that is not all that outstanding to take up their slack.
Yep. It's not customary to tip for take out and it's good that people are pushing back and refusing to be pressured into it. The owners of these establishments don't get to change the culture without the people's compliance.
Restaurant owner here, sales have been going down slowly since summer of 22. Everyone is ordering the cheaper things on the menu and less ppl ever since the cash boom of covid 2021.... Also food didn't go up 10 or 20 % most is up 100 to 200 even 300 % since 2020 and now min wage has went up about 25 % or more. The least anyone will work for is around 15.00 and that's not enough to live on. The country is in bad bad shape and it's getting worse every month that passes. We even closed 1 location too.
Inflation has gone up far more than what some states have raised the minimum wage to. People just can't afford to do what they used to do. I predict that only a small percentage of restaurants will exist in this country by twenty thirty .... and they'll likely cater to rich people.
I heard, JD Vance say, he just heard. In Michigan, they have 85,000 children of Illegaal Immagrants, in their public schools. Not speaking English, holds up, all the other children learning. Jerry from Anaheim, California USA.❤
So sorry to hear that. The way we delt with a crisis (this go around covid) was a disaster.... Trump shut the whole economy down, gave out the largest tax cuts in history (which mainly made the rich richer) and gave out stimis.... This was all super inflationary. And just like we delt with the GFC of 2008 ...keeping interest rates at or near zero for 15 years.... we are gonna now pay for all of that.... I think we get a hyperinfationary depression. A situation where tech and ai is eating everyone's job but prices conintue to go up not down. There will be a point that the system falls on its own weight. My family has always been a huge supporter of restaurants but we can't afford it any more. We used to do it a few times a week. Now it is only 2 times a month max... sometime not at all and I am not just talking about sit down either... I am talking about all restaurants. One of our go to is is Costco pizza at 10 bucks a pie. Best of luck to you. I really do hope your buisness can hang on because once we get through all this it would be really nice to go out and eat again and not just at 2 or 3 restaurants.
I'd suggest enjoying your home cooking while you still can: I fear that by 2030, ALL of the "little people" will have been forced to move out of their nice, comfortable homes and into social housing buildings, whose apartments won't have any dining rooms or kitchens. The bottom floor of each of these social housing buildings will be occupied by a kitchen and a chow hall; and it will be in this chow hall that the residents will eat. The chow hall will operate exactly like the chow halls in prisons; and will even serve the same types of food as prison chow halls. Yes, I do believe that the Global Elite would LOVE to determine when, where, and what the "little people" eat. The reason this will be called social housing is that these places will be owned and subsidized by their host cities.
@@jeffzebert4982 Damn that sounded like some 1984 or Animal Farm $hit. I almost have my house paid off. I have cut my spending in half and am stacking massive amounts of cash in my stock trading account. I am also extremly short the stock market (probably early) in the even we crash hard. Which apparently is what I think is going to happen. I think the next crisis will be a 100 year event (opportunity) most folks will lose everything. Someone is going to get that. I did not take advantage of the GFC (which we still have not paid for by the way). I am not going to let this one go by. And while I may be rich ... I might have to move to another country, where the citizens still value eachothers opinions (even if they differ) and their rights are not being erroded.... you know a Facist state.
@@jeffzebert4982So ALL that in 6 years? Wow… I’m 3rd generation .1%…is that the “elite”? Frankly, I couldn’t care less where the poorly educated eat. Going on a yacht with friends starting Sunday up the northeast coast for a fall foliage trip. I’ll ask Canadians when I get there if they’ll be in “social housing” by 2030 since they’re closer to socialism than the US.
So agree on intermittent fasting!!! I am healthier now than I ever was. It’s helpful and you basically skip eating in the morning so saves on food. Plus, when I eat my first meal it is eggs from our own chickens, usually fruit, and a piece of Ezekiel bread toast.
I never eat out anymore! The prices are too high, the quality is too low, the portions are too small, and the BS of tipping is getting out of hand. Its home cooked meals for me from now on.
Eating out has been ruined along with automobiles, fuel, groceries, housing, health care, vacations, the middle class and everything that made America great.
My wife and I have gone out every Wednesday night to eat out for years as our "date night". We just decided because the prices are going up so much we are going to start eating at home and have our own date night at home. We will make our own drinks and we'll buy Costco pizza instead of going out. We figure we'll save at least 60%.
@@eliashernandez9879 you need to realize when a person speaks a message, sometimes the thing screws up. And we all can't be as perfect as you and check it. Stick to the conversation and motives and give us ask all a break.... Finger pointer.
It never ceases to amaze me how modern waitresses can't seem to notice that your drinking glass is empty, there is no ketchup for the fries, and you are missing something on your order. What am I tipping for again?
I make large portions, freeze them, have stopped all unnecessary consumption, it's so crazy how much you save. thanks for all your videos about what's going on with your finances in the usa. a big greeting from little Denmark.
Why would i want to go out and pay to eat overpriced food in restaurants full of dogs, weirdos and people filming themselves talk about their dinner. I'm good. I'll eat at home.😂
Spot on! Not just restaurants and bars. Everywhere you go, there is some ass hole recording themselves, or the others in the bar, or where ever, attention seeking. We have a few favorite restaurants that we used to frequent. I have told the owners of each...that we will not be back until they make a policy of "No Phones Allowed on these premisis". I know that we are not the only ones doing this. We will see.
I once held a delivery job and I was in the kitchens of some restaurants. Disgusting. I now never eat at one. Once in a blue moon I will buy Fries at my corner Burger King.
I live in an area affected by Helene, I definitely didn't trust food storage after that. How do I know if their cooler/freezer has a backup generator and if they properly disposed of everything that went past the safe temperature point?
People need to resist the shame and continue on the way they did years prior. If waiters and waitresses want a tip then accept it at ten percent which was the original custom.
Also loyalty cards (though restaurants don't do that). I used to randomly stop in so many places, now I keep thinking "ugh I Don't want to tip" or "ugh the cashier gave me attitude when I didn't want to give my email and phone number to make a ten dollar purchase last time"
Only for sit down restaurants where the wait staff only gets $2-3 an hour. At Subway or the like, just hit the no button, or use cash and then they don't even ask.
Its because 95% of restaurants are overpriced. Oh yeah, and the waitresses are so cold and dont even know how to properly service customers. Terrible industry
@@reasonablespeculation3893 well if I may remind you... there are lots of states that don't even give waiters minimum wage they work for mainly tips. This was just another way for buisnesses to pass the costs to the consumer. It used to not be that big of deal but since we lost 30 to 40 percent of the dollars purchasing power (mainly Trumps fault we still have Biden's sins to be felt) thing are just too expensive and add the tip on top of it makes it seem even that much more expensive. So here we are. Should Trump get back in and he does Tarrifs and more tax cuts (tha mostly helped the rich get richer) we go into a hyperinflationary depression that much faster. Harris will cause the same thing it will just take longer. Nothing and nobody alive stops what is coming next. Stay safe out there.
Why are we (customers) paying the wages for the restaurant servers? Because we have to tip cuz they barely make anything an hour. Restaurants are barely paying them any wages.
The only one that suffers when you do that is the worker. Owners will never increase wages for workers NEVER. They will work a skeleton crew of barely qualified people and pay them like shit. People who don’t get that have never worked in the industry and have no right to say anything
This time had to come. We have a saturation of restaurants, 80% shouldn’t exist in my opinion. We need to go back to eating well at home and leaving restaurants for special occasions only. We need restaurants that are open to actually excel in terms of the food and hospitality. People are starting to realize that eating out is simply overrated and often stressful and I’m here for it. It’s time we bring back the basic skill of cooking at home.
Four adults at a neighborhood (Cary, NC) Indian restaurant which we frequented before Covid. Ate Sunday lunch there twice in the last few months and both times the bill came to over $200 plus 20% tip! No alcohol, no wine, two people had water, two cokes, shared three appetizers, three deserts. The food was good, but we won't be returning.
My family used to eat out at a fancy steakhouse at least once a month. Prices were obviously never inexpensive, but they were affordable for special occasions. But now the prices at those upscale restaurants are simply out of control! My wife and I are retired, and we live very comfortably, but we refuse to pay exorbitant prices. We noticed that, although the prices have gone up, the service has definitely gone down, the quality of food seems to have decreased, the proportions seem to have decreased, And now at steak houses the servers expect a 30% tip. Add to that another fee if you use a credit card. The greed of these restaurants will be what leads to their demise.
You spoil us Mike! I've digested a plethora of macroeconomic/markets oriented channels here on UA-cam over the years and the only two that I can still stomach are you and Adam Taggart. You get the very best and spot on facts and ask thought provoking and unbiased questions that help listeners like myself better understand the complex forces driving our world today. More importantly, thank you for recommending Abby Joseph Cohen Services my investment portfolio with her has been quite sustaining
Thanks to Michael. Following his recommendation, I started researching into Abby Joseph Cohen Services. Thankfully it was a little over a year ago now, I started an lnvestment with Abby's Services and that allowed me to be on much MUCH more stable ground in the face of global financial upheaval. For what it's worth, it made a difference for me and my little family.
I know this FA, Abby Joseph Cohen Services but only by her reputation at Goldman Sachs; even though she's now involved in managing portfolios and providing investmnt guidance to clients. I have been trying to get in contact since I watched her interview on WSJ last month
The housing market is pretty much over. I gave up looking for a house this year. Sellers are still asking unrealistic prices, plus property tax and interest-no way right now.
We do our part to support restaurants 😂😂😂😂 It used to be 30-40 bucks for our family of 4 to eat cheapish but now it's a easy 100 bucks.I don't even know how low income people are staying above water these days😢 Hopefully things will improve sooner than later.❤
We stopped going years ago. The hassle of getting there, parking, waiting for a table, waiting for a waitor, ordering, waiting, then after eating the waiter takes forever to bring the bill, then driving home. There's times I feel like a prisoner waiting for the bill, often having to chase down a waiter.
@@mikkimikki5376 absolutely. Visit any public high school and you'll see the level you'll be dealing with next year. Sitting on their cells phones texting and on TikTok. No clue about the external real world and other human beings. (Signed, a former public school teacher).
I have owned a cafe/restaurant. I did not do it, but when revenues (and customers) are down, the knee-jerk reaction is to raise prices. "I have to raise prices because I'm not making a profit" That - of course - will reduce traffic, therefore revenue. That is the road to a downward spiral into closing the establishment. Yet, it never changes...
Restaurants have destroyed themselves , dirty tables, decreased food quantities and food quality, prices 4 x what they should be, dirty bathrooms, and piss poor service; no empathy here …
When it costs more to keep food in your pantry and kitchen anymore, it makes more sense to prepare food at home. If socializing is important, have a potluck party once a month or so and enjoy each others' company.
Yuuuup I made my own seafood crab feast last summer. Bought a bushel of No.1's ,white corn, supermarket shrimp, and red skin potatoes with some Alaskan crab legs. I FED 9 FOLKS for $200.00👍
A lot of times my friends and I just meet for a coffee, I drink tea. It’s cheaper. It’s easier. We still get out of the house and socialize a little bit, but we save a lot of money.
Half a day? More like an entire shift or even 2. Some places are insane in their prices. I saw just recently a Chinese restaurant selling pork lo mein for $28 for a single take out order, not including tax. Steak was an extra $4 and shrimp was an extra $8!!!!!
@@MrSteeDoo almost $95k a year but in a very expensive location. Rent is $3.5k for 2 bedroom place. Car payment is $800. Electric is often over $500. I also pay most of my sick elderly mothers bills and the retirement home for my grandmother. Every dollar counts and I'm not going to abandon my family to save money.
I'm a semi truck driver. My pay didn't go up. In fact, with the 'mile-piecework', my money went way down with the 'freight recession' layovers. I used to go in to restaurants where ever I landed and try out a local order, as one of the few niceties to offset the miserable grind. When they started offering me *half* a 'cup'[!] of soup at double the price, over a year ago, that finished it. Whatever your issues with supply chain costs, and oh, enjoy your new higher 'minimum' wages, whaddya' think (?), your *customer* was gonna' still be your market - and your job[!] - any more. Econ 101. # 🤷♂️🚛💨 #: "One person's spending is another person's income." - Ray Dalio.
I believe it. My city,Houston,is known for its food scene. Yet I have seen so many restaurant closures. Also have seen brick and mortars downsize to food trucks in order to survive. Its a tough business to be in. 😢
I am from NYC and (ironically) loved my trip to Houston because of the food. Everyone says we're the best, but food in Manhattan is blah these days, some ethnic food is good, but you'll need to travel 90 minutes on three trains to get to whatever ethnic area to eat at a place with no bathroom
In San Diego prices are up and by the time you add tax, 15-20% tip, and now 4% service charge, the check has balloned. The 4% service charge was the last straw. I had a 50 yrs career in restaurants and I enjoyed and grew with this industry. It was always challenging to succeed. I can't imagine how difficult it has become.
Yep, we stopped going to bars years ago, it cost us about 50 cents a beer or $1.50 a mixed drink at home. And I like the ambience at home better too, the bars always seem to be full of clicky, stuck up people that will purposely ignore you and not serve you if you're not part of the 'click'. Fuck em.
I do not support restaurants anymore because I cannot help but feel ripped off anytime I eat out. So, as far as I am concerned, they all can go out of biz and I hope they do.
Yup. Nothing worse than over paying for subpar food and underwhelming service . You leave disappointed in yourself because you knew better too. No thanks
@@stevenotero2627 Yep, my bf and I ordered takeout steak and shrimp a few months back, and the steak was tiny little 8 oz sirloins and it was literally just thrown in a box with a few medium shrimp only, and it was $75. Sirloin is the cheapest fucking cut!
@@twobitsandpepper8235 I was with my family this summer in Croatia and that is the amount we spent on average for a full dinner for 4 (deserts included) at any restaurant with real food and waitstaff dressed in white shirts with black bowties. The best part is there is no tip nor anyone expects it; of you want to leave few euros fine, if not, fine again. That is when I realized how we are getting literally ripped off at everything. So, as far as I am concerned, they all can go out of biz and we, consumers, should stop supporting this industry.
It's not a rip off. It's the cost of doing business in a communistic system. Hospitality staff are poverty line. Many restaurants are not making money. If the customer rips off the restaurant he tends to stay quiet about it, merely exclaiming about what good 'value' it is!
That’s because the price you pay at restaurants has become downright ridiculous! There’s a great restaurant we started going to nine years ago. We always order the same thing. Always! Two loaded steak burritos, rice and beans, four margaritas in total. Nine years ago it was about $50. Where I live this place is considered a little on the expensive side and rightfully so because it’s fantastic! We haven’t gone for about eight or nine months. We just went, This time, $115! Unfortunately, we will never be returning. 😐 oh, and the place is always packed, as soon as we walked in, we instantly realized it was only half full.
I quit Chili's when they had the point of sale devise on the table and prompted for a tip. I'm cash only at restaurants and damn sure don't want to waste my time learning how to use their electronic self checkout contraption jumping through hoops.
The other day My wife and I split a sub sandwich. Got the combo with a small bag of chips and a drink. It was super good. It cost $28. If you don't laugh you'll cry!
What else could they do? There labor and food prices went up because many people refused to work due to the free money given out so they had to offer higher pay to attract workers.
Well stated. Restaurants, their owners, and their servers, have all contributed to the current problem because of their agreed. They think they can shame the customer into paying them additional amounts, by doing things such as charging extra to use a credit card, expecting their servers to receive at least a 20% tip,and adding an additional charge for things which used to be free, such as refills on drinks, and plastic take home boxes. They nickel and dime you so much that you don’t want to return.
Spent years in the restaurant business years ago as an employee. It's terrible what has happened to them. In my area (Dallas) during the planned you-know-what a 100-year-old restaurant closed
Service at restaurants is horrible at 75% of them here in Phoenix Metro. Fast food, cafe, fancy tablecloth, steakhouse, pizza joint.... all of them. No one wants to work.
They want to work. They just don't care to do their best and make an effort . They're following the owners and managers example and doing as little as possible
AGM here at a fine dining restaurant and your video was pretty accurate. We have been noticing downward sales trends for the past few years and it really started about mid 2022. Im growing more weary about the overall health of the economy daily because I’m seeing the consumer pullback on spending more and more.
Wife and I went out yesterday. We both had a chicken fried chicken salad. She had a dr pepper I had a tea. Bill came to $22 and some change. It was still early, around 5pm, there was 4 other tables of couples. Small mom and pop type place.
Not sure where you live but here in NYC that honestly sounds pretty cheap for two people. Here a cup of grande caramel macchiato and grilled cheese at Starbucks cost $16 something . Good bye forever Starbucks. Never coming back.
Tip fatigue, is the main reason we're not going as often. We're fortunate to be doing fine and we're generous tippers when warranted by service and it was ok during the pandemic, but it has gotten out of control.
I did a little travel with my mom. We went to hole in the wall diners, my mom, me, and two boys, 5 and 7. Each meal costs 60$!!! I don't go out anymore because frankly, i can't afford it. Pancakes and bacon should not cost 60$
When you. shrink portions and increase the prices - along with a revolving door of horrible employees not providing any level of good customer service, what the hell do they expect? My dream is to see those disgusting fast food restaurants go under - it's toxic - sugar, salt, fat trifecta leading to metabolic diseases. Zero f's to give for McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. You're poisoning yourself and not consuming actual food - super ultra processed. Does that hamburger meat resemble the hamburger you use to make a burger at home? Not at all. Soda? Look at the sugar content - it should be illegal.
Unless you go to a super high-end restaurant, don’t fool yourself. You’re still eating highly processed food. There’s not a whole lot of real cooking going on anymore in restaurants. Still a lot of seed oils, sugar hidden in places he wouldn’t think it would be etc.cook at home.
Last time I went to chipotle and going to charge me 35 just a bowel and orange drink with just a small amount of food I’m don’t I’m not going to eat outside no more
I was done with restaurants a few years before Covid. I’m one hour north of Toronto, Canada, and it’s the same here. Extremely overpriced, we pay 13% tax plus at least 18% tip. It just got too ridiculous. I’m done.
The restaurants I've been to the past few months are mostly empty and the quality of service has been terrible. I used to take the family to Outback steak house at least once a month, but the past few times the food and service have been just plain bad. We'll be looking for alternatives next time.
Same but since the vid19! Buy quality ingredients and challenge the fam to prepare it at home. You'll make great memories, have better food, teach a skill and save money! We spent a small amount on some equipment (wok, grill, souvide). Honing these skills has been fun!
It's not inflation, it's greed. All the places around here doubled and tripled their prices but the quality is the same. Not spending $60 for a meal that used to cost $25.
Change of diet. Avoiding seed oils & fasting more. Smaller, higher quality meals, less carbs. Work from home allowed me to not rely on quick food anymore
My wife and I have two small children so we eat out pretty infrequently, but when we get the opportunity we choose local places that we want to stay in business
I worked in a NYC steakhouse on Wall Street. They closed permanently after 15 years. They closed other locations too. I know many other restaurants that have closed also. NYC is very different now than it was 5 years ago. Covid was part of the problem but the seams were bursting even before Covid. The problem has never been simply about inflation. Predatory landlords doubling your previous rent for 5 years are to blame. In the building I worked at a 1 bedroom apartment was renting for $6,000 a month 5 years ago. People would pay their rent (or not) and eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. Just imagine the rent for a restaurant jumping from $60K a month to $120K a month. Property taxes are to blame. Utilities are to blame. Wages are NOT to blame... but watch what will happen, Michael will interview a "restaurant owner" (who took millions in PPP loans and fired workers) to get the truth !!! Ask yourself, why do restaurant owners NOT work in the restaurants they own? When was the last time you saw a restaurant owner cooking in the kitchen? Restaurant owners, who don't know the first thing about owning a restaurant, are the first to bitch and complain about their restaurant losing money. Blame the workers! Not the fact that the owners themselves are lazy asses. They'd rather be summering in the Hamptons. Yes, there are a few restaurant owners who work in the restaurant but it is rare indeed. Btw, McDonald's is suing Tyson foods but somehow McDonald's problems... are the result of workers.
I took a job as a part time busser at Outback Steakhouse (NC) late summer (2024). Its $5 per hour Tipshare. I enjoyed the job and most of the people, but tips sucked and so did management. I quit.
@davidhunternyc - You made some excellent points and wage issues seem to be a double-edged sword depending on the context. We're told we need migrants to pick lettuce but also told on average maximum labor costs for produce is ~5%. That means a $3 head of lettuce includes around 15 cents for labor. If that minimum wage is too low and the source of other problems that include straining the public safety nets (e.g. food stamps/SNAP & foodbanks), then likely most Americans would support a 50% or 2X wage increase to pay $3.15. Yet, it also isn't sustainable to increase wages for one group 15% per year and all other workers and those on social security 2.5% to 3%. Seems like some type of major economic engineering is taking place.
@@ytfeverguy8367 ... and yet it's always the worker's fault. Workers are lazy. Restaurant owners but they won't work themselves and they expect the world. They don't give a shit that you can't afford to pay your rent. You can be homeless for all they care. Stay strong and good luck !!! Don't ever let anyone make you feel lesser than the greatest.
Those greedy and lazy owners have way more important things to attend to than working in a hot, dangerous, crowded and noisy kitchen. Everyone had their rent, costs of goods and labor go up. That's why eating out is expensive, it's not indiscriminate price increases. The competition in the industry keeps the prices down.
I went to a "Applebees" 2 days ago at 6pm for dinner. There was ONLY 4 customers in the whole restaraunt. . . & 2 of those 4 people were at the Bar. . . . People are BROKE. . . They clearly were operating at a LOSS that nite. ☹️
When the prices are outrageous, portions are skimpy, and quality is not what it used to be, I stopped having meals out. Topped off with slow or surly service, and then I did not tip. I only have meals out now when I have a gift card.
I'll tell you what happened to families. 80$ school pictures, per student 80$ for a yearbook It's fundraising season Homecoming expenses, dess,tickets ect Homecoming mums 400-600$
@@mohammedjeffali1076 True, we couldn't even afford to get the school pix this year, and they've sent home like 5 different fundraisers in the last 2 weeks, which we didn't buy any of that overpriced crap. I'd like to know since we parents already pay for everything the school uses on a daily basis, where the hell is all our property tax money going (which they raised too)?
At this point it is so expensive to eat out it is literally flushing your money down the toilet and tipping someone to pull the handle. The price takes out the enjoyment of the experience. Buy a bag of rice or potatoes and the protein at the butcher shop that is on sale and make your own delicious dinners and save thousands. With that extra money you can almost pay the increase in your property taxes.
And the waitstaff demanding too much for tips. More often than not they tend to give subpar service as well. The only tip I'll give them if they give me bad service is a complaint to their manager.
I'm favoured only God knows how much I praise Him, $230k every 4weeks! I now have a big mansion and can now afford anything and also support God’s work and the church.
Only God knows how much grateful i am. After so much struggles I now own a new house and my family is happy once again everything is finally falling into place!!
It is the digital market. That's been the secret to this wealth transfer. A lot of folks in the US and abroad are getting so much from it, God has been good to my household Thank you Jesus
I started pretty low, though, $5000 thereabouts. The return came massive. Joey is in school doing well, telling me of new friends he's meeting in school. Thank you Susan Christy, you're a miracle.
I have found that the small little Chinese mom and pop type restaurants are still serving at a reasonable, lower price than most others. Besides, Chinese food is the only food I have e never been able to cook perfectly myself, just never can get it quite "right" so I do get this once in a while because I love it. You get a lot of very delicious food, enough to box up. take home, and eat for lunch the next day, and the prices do not break your budget. I have never had a server at my local place be anything but sweet and friendly and wanting to do anything they can to make the meal pleasant.
I was in SF last Monday and went to my favorite restaurant, Tadich Grill. I lived in SF for 20 years and every time I went to Tadich's I had to wait at the front and sip a cocktail for at least 30 minutes. Last Monday the place was empty. No wait. Reduced hours. As I ate dinner some more diners came in. No wait. Only 30% full if that. Waiters all standing around. They can't continue like this forever.
Sounds great! America has way too many restaurants, and most of them are mediocre on a good day. Let the bad ones sink. Going out to eat should be a luxurious, enjoyable experience and not a routine, because you are too lazy to prepare your own food.
Just ordered pizza over the counter and register prompted 10-20% tip! What!? I pressed 0. Do you know how that employee looked at me? I had goosebumps. Its OK, I just forgot about that business.
The MOST IMPORTANT Decision You'll Make In 2024 ua-cam.com/video/6CPZT90bolQ/v-deo.html
Headline: 'French Fry Index 35% Drop Points to Possible Depression'.
Hey Michael & Lisi 🙂
Y'all didn't get any damage from hurricanes Helene & Milton thank God 😳
I have dear friends I can't reach from IRB and Tampa area...
Stay safe you two 🤗💜
Going out means you're going to be eating a lot of oil, salt, sugar and salt. Good or Bad economy rather eat my own food.
You think that's bad I'm pretty sure bars are doing just as bad. People buying shooters before going in to pay $10 on a 12oz bottle of beer no thank you. You also need to look into hotels? I'm in Iowa West Des Moines they are no where close to full. No one's traveling
I don't understand how these hotels can afford to stay open? Tourism is not popular now adays neither are casinos
I don't eat out because, first, I can't afford it, and second, I don't fully trust the quality or safety of food served in restaurants.
Never trust the meat in restaurants. Cheesecake Factory, though, seems like a great restaurant that consistently cares about the quality of their food. My 2 cents.
I find that halal meat is usually good quality. But everyone else is serving mutant meat
@@Javiiscool I completely agree with you. On the few occasions when I had to eat out while working far from home, I always chose Muslim restaurants, if available. I've long been convinced that their reputation for maintaining high standards in product quality and hygiene is well-deserved.
@@MaxWolf-s9ywEll stated !
@@trockterry6I always loved the Cheesecake Factory but a couple wks ago the food was awful. We ate a few bites & left. Quality was poor & didn’t taste right. I was sick for a week with gastrointestinal problems, headaches, muscle aches. I refuse to eat out & only cook my own food.
prices went up and the quality, taste and amounts went down
And that's why most of these places are gonna wind up going out of business.
Agree, I refuse to pay ridiculous prices for low quality yucky food. I am a good cook and cooking from scratch is healthy!
@@princess2uprettyAnd it will stay that way until you realize that govt spending is still all time high. You want better quality food? Shrink govt first.
facts
They aren't seasoning the food and for the prices they charge it is outrageous
Restaurants are not enjoyable anymore. The service is mediocre, the food is overpriced, and the atmosphere is trash. Yes, restaurants are expensive, but dining experiences are not what they used to be.
I agree. I can afford to eat out but it has changed for the worse and I no longer enjoy the overall experience. Its not worth the price anymore.
It's not just the economy. People are a lot less friendlier than they used to be and expect to be tipped even when giving subpar service and I'm not just talking servers here but also jobs that don't warrant a tip. A lot of fast food places are now asking for a tip when it comes time to pay the bill and these aren't the type of places that tipping was established for. It's not just eating establishments either. Enough is enough. People are pushing back.
Bad energy in the air. People can’t afford to live. Modern day slavery
Thats neo class...
Too true.
I'm German, frequently living and working in the US. My view on the situation of the restaurants: Prices nearly doubled, visitors forced to pay rediculously tips (saw tips being kind of mandatory, starting at 20%) und quality decreased. That will not work. These businesses are killing themselves. US is not on a good way currently.
I have a rule. If I'm standing while placing an order NO TIP. They flip the card reader over while hey stare at you and it's asking for a tip. Just click no tip and don't feel guilty. Now if you are bringing me my food, cleaning the table and keeping my drink filled I will tip. Prices have nearly doubled but that doesn't seem to slow down attendance here in Az. Prices doubled due to the demand over the past 5 years. Hopefully the demand will cool and drive down prices. That's the only thing that will do it.
@@ericheatmiser2099 They don't stare at you if you pay cash...like if you give exact amount. That's the solution. 😮
Tips are not "mandatory" but servers work on tips only in a lot of states. In my state the workers are paid just $2.13 an hour. Also in my state the server is forced to pay a house fee (they call it tip share to try and confuse what it really doing on) of anywhere from 3%-7%. Thus if your bill is $100 the server has to pay the house $5 regardless of if you tip or how much.
@@redtiger7268 That is a side effect of the tip culture. Tip culture is a culture of legalized corruption.
@@redtiger7268 This is the problem. Why is it me as a customer's problem to pay the restaurant's staff above and beyond what is laid out on the menu? There's a wave of "living wage" fee in very small print at the bottom of menus. That is as dishonest as you can get. Just raise the price to pay your staff.
Increasing tax rates are the reason I rolled over my 401k to a Roth. I don’t want to be 59 paying taxes on current income on withdrawals made from my retirement account.
Pre-tax contributions may help reduce income taxes in your pre-retirement years while after-tax contributions may help reduce your income tax burden during retirement.
Both have their perks but you can also save for retirement outside of a retirement plan, such as in an individual investment account or employing the services of a retirement planner/investment advisor.
I have thought about it, but haven't figured out how to get consultation, I don’t live in a big city.
Monica Mary Strigle is the licensed advsr I use. Just research the name. You’d find necessary details to work with a correspondence to set up an appointment. I am close to retirement with 1.4 M to my name outside of retirement accounts.
Are her services available to about anyone? Can you share more details
I can't help. I cook and eat at home. I no longer support restaurants.
😮
Tipping more on high food costs was the final straw for me.
Too expensive. I can eat cheap unhealthy food at home lol.
Not knowing what's in the food was my deciding point.....I don't mean ingredients
나도
Eating out is too expensive, even fast food.
McDonald's meal deal good value!
at least your prolonging your cancer diagnosis.
@marksechter9377 ultra processed food, artificial ingredients, colors, flavors, gmo, bio ingredients eventually will caused some sort of cancer or other serious health problems
Coupons.. must have coupons. I’ll order and they will say $17 is the total. After coupons it’s $8 or so. Still not great but much better than $17
Wendy's $5 Biggie Bag is the best value out there. Is that too expensive for you?
going "out" to eat anymore means firing up the grill out in the back yard
Going out(side) to eat!
😅 agree
and its a damn good one!
Thumbs 👍
Amen for my kamodo grill!
I’m tried of placing my order on a screen, eating garbage food and asking for ketchup packets from the only employee working that hates me. Two meals cost $40 at McDonald’s, I’m done with this nonsense.
Not completely true. McDs brought back the 5 dollar meal. Your fault for not getting the deals. I have the app and can get 50% off a McChicken for less than a buck fifty or a ten piece for like 2.50
I agree 100%
@@UnseemlyGenie00 The base line problem is that is that the price on the menu is expensive, yea you can get a deal if you use the app, but how many app's and accounts you gonna get? 20... or more? it just doesn't make sense unless you go a lot.
and the food tastes like crap now.
@@joechughtai3155 i live less than half a mile from mcdicks. You can use one deal every 15 minutes
$15 cheap burger and a few fries? NO THANK YOU! $15 Subway? NO THANK YOU! $20 for some nasty tacos? NO THANK YOU!
I can make a fine home cooked meal for ten dollars or less and have leftovers for later
My favorite thing about going out is tipping 20% for terrible service. Or being pressured to tip for takeout
I really dont know if I should tip on takeout, you still have people being paid less than min wage taking time to do it🤷♂️
Being made to feel like big tipping is necessary to support the poor underpaid servers or else you're the Devil has turned me against eating out. The attitude seems to be that tipping is mandatory whether the service was good or not. I tend to be one of those types that rebels at anything mandatory or forced on me. People that run these restaurants should allow enough in their budgets to be able to pay their workers a decent salary and not rely on the customers already being overcharged for food that is not all that outstanding to take up their slack.
Some restaurants incorporate YOUR TIP before you get served. NOPE,NOT ME.
@@BrianK-zz4fk I tip for takeout, just not as much as eating in, maybe 10%.
Yep. It's not customary to tip for take out and it's good that people are pushing back and refusing to be pressured into it. The owners of these establishments don't get to change the culture without the people's compliance.
Restaurant owner here, sales have been going down slowly since summer of 22. Everyone is ordering the cheaper things on the menu and less ppl ever since the cash boom of covid 2021.... Also food didn't go up 10 or 20 % most is up 100 to 200 even 300 % since 2020 and now min wage has went up about 25 % or more. The least anyone will work for is around 15.00 and that's not enough to live on. The country is in bad bad shape and it's getting worse every month that passes. We even closed 1 location too.
Inflation has gone up far more than what some states have raised the minimum wage to. People just can't afford to do what they used to do. I predict that only a small percentage of restaurants will exist in this country by twenty thirty .... and they'll likely cater to rich people.
The world is in bad shape
People need to open their eyes and stop pretending, because when that bottom falls out and it will, gonna be rough..
I heard, JD Vance say, he just heard. In Michigan, they have 85,000 children of Illegaal Immagrants, in their public schools. Not speaking English, holds up, all the other children learning. Jerry from Anaheim, California USA.❤
So sorry to hear that. The way we delt with a crisis (this go around covid) was a disaster.... Trump shut the whole economy down, gave out the largest tax cuts in history (which mainly made the rich richer) and gave out stimis.... This was all super inflationary. And just like we delt with the GFC of 2008 ...keeping interest rates at or near zero for 15 years.... we are gonna now pay for all of that.... I think we get a hyperinfationary depression. A situation where tech and ai is eating everyone's job but prices conintue to go up not down. There will be a point that the system falls on its own weight. My family has always been a huge supporter of restaurants but we can't afford it any more. We used to do it a few times a week. Now it is only 2 times a month max... sometime not at all and I am not just talking about sit down either... I am talking about all restaurants. One of our go to is is Costco pizza at 10 bucks a pie. Best of luck to you. I really do hope your buisness can hang on because once we get through all this it would be really nice to go out and eat again and not just at 2 or 3 restaurants.
You can make better quality food at home, using better ingredients. My wife and I rarely go out to eat.
You’re right. Red meat!
So glad I know how to cook. I eat well and for less.
I'd suggest enjoying your home cooking while you still can: I fear that by 2030, ALL of the "little people" will have been forced to move out of their nice, comfortable homes and into social housing buildings, whose apartments won't have any dining rooms or kitchens. The bottom floor of each of these social housing buildings will be occupied by a kitchen and a chow hall; and it will be in this chow hall that the residents will eat. The chow hall will operate exactly like the chow halls in prisons; and will even serve the same types of food as prison chow halls. Yes, I do believe that the Global Elite would LOVE to determine when, where, and what the "little people" eat. The reason this will be called social housing is that these places will be owned and subsidized by their host cities.
@@jeffzebert4982 Damn that sounded like some 1984 or Animal Farm $hit. I almost have my house paid off. I have cut my spending in half and am stacking massive amounts of cash in my stock trading account. I am also extremly short the stock market (probably early) in the even we crash hard. Which apparently is what I think is going to happen. I think the next crisis will be a 100 year event (opportunity) most folks will lose everything. Someone is going to get that. I did not take advantage of the GFC (which we still have not paid for by the way). I am not going to let this one go by. And while I may be rich ... I might have to move to another country, where the citizens still value eachothers opinions (even if they differ) and their rights are not being erroded.... you know a Facist state.
@@jeffzebert4982So ALL that in 6 years? Wow… I’m 3rd generation .1%…is that the “elite”? Frankly, I couldn’t care less where the poorly educated eat. Going on a yacht with friends starting Sunday up the northeast coast for a fall foliage trip. I’ll ask Canadians when I get there if they’ll be in “social housing” by 2030 since they’re closer to socialism than the US.
I cook my own food and started intermittent fasting years ago.Its a blessing for my health.
So agree on intermittent fasting!!! I am healthier now than I ever was. It’s helpful and you basically skip eating in the morning so saves on food. Plus, when I eat my first meal it is eggs from our own chickens, usually fruit, and a piece of Ezekiel bread toast.
I do ADF because it saves money. 😅 it keeps me and my pockets light
I never eat out anymore!
The prices are too high, the quality is too low, the portions are too small, and the BS of tipping is getting out of hand.
Its home cooked meals for me from now on.
Eating out has been ruined along with automobiles, fuel, groceries, housing, health care, vacations, the middle class and everything that made America great.
Exactly!
Football,coca-cola, disney, 70k cars,tv,Dei etc etc
Yeah good post and all brought to you by DEMOCRACTS. vote this year.
Made many countries great and also those same countries experiencing the same issues, almost like there's a global governance running things.
No. The world's capitalist economic system is slowly collapsing. Being poorer is the new normal.
My wife and I have gone out every Wednesday night to eat out for years as our "date night". We just decided because the prices are going up so much we are going to start eating at home and have our own date night at home. We will make our own drinks and we'll buy Costco pizza instead of going out. We figure we'll save at least 60%.
Touché touché 😂
@@eliashernandez9879 you need to realize when a person speaks a message, sometimes the thing screws up. And we all can't be as perfect as you and check it. Stick to the conversation and motives and give us ask all a break.... Finger pointer.
Isnt the point of date night to go out?
@@MM-wi5dn who said that?
@@MM-wi5dn when you hit that age… you will understand .lol until then it sounds funny
9 out of 10 restaurants fail on a good day. You can feed a family of 4 for 2 days for the cost of 1 meal at that restaurant. Why eat out?
That’s how I calculate the pros and cons of eating at a restaurant
Because it feels good to eat out. It’s about the experience.
@@antpoonot every week ! Only special occasions
It never ceases to amaze me how modern waitresses can't seem to notice that your drinking glass is empty, there is no ketchup for the fries, and you are missing something on your order. What am I tipping for again?
Propinia
Wages should be liveable without tips!!!!
Lets not forget that because prices have gone up so much everyone wants a $20 tip. That used to be the cost of the entire meal.
Mike9132 I dont get any "tips"
So naturally i wont giving out any "tips"
Don't trust restaurants food because of disgruntled labor.
Seriously. 😆 🤣 😂
Pissed off workers that don't want to be there then take it out on the customer's food
@@luckyrockmore2796 "pissed" is correct.... and you don't want any of that in food prep
😂@@reasonablespeculation3893
Yeah if you think they care about hygiene and doing a proper job, then you must also think earth is flat . 😎🎭✌️
I make large portions, freeze them, have stopped all unnecessary consumption, it's so crazy how much you save. thanks for all your videos about what's going on with your finances in the usa. a big greeting from little Denmark.
Why would i want to go out and pay to eat overpriced food in restaurants full of dogs, weirdos and people filming themselves talk about their dinner. I'm good. I'll eat at home.😂
😅😅😅
I agree! 🤣
Spot on!
Not just restaurants and bars.
Everywhere you go, there is some ass hole recording themselves, or the others in the bar, or where ever, attention seeking.
We have a few favorite restaurants that we used to frequent.
I have told the owners of each...that we will not be back until they make a policy of "No Phones Allowed on these premisis".
I know that we are not the only ones doing this.
We will see.
They’re eating the dogs
@@robertpeterson1497 Hot Dogs are OK if Vegetarian but Barking Type Dogs are NOT OK.
$25 Can for bacon and eggs at Denny’s. Total ripoff. I’m done.
Grocery is better
That how to keep us stable
Restaurant food has become absolutely disgusting and most have horrible service
Large fries is the same as smoking 100 cigarettes
100%
And don’t forget they expect 20% or more in tips for that lousy service!
I don't trust employee food handling and storage at restaurants.
If plane doors are falling off I can only imagine what's going on in the food industry
I once held a delivery job and I was in the kitchens of some restaurants. Disgusting. I now never eat at one. Once in a blue moon I will buy Fries at my corner Burger King.
I live in an area affected by Helene, I definitely didn't trust food storage after that. How do I know if their cooler/freezer has a backup generator and if they properly disposed of everything that went past the safe temperature point?
agree 100%
@@marblox9300 Everyone i have ever talked to that has worked at restaurants say the exact same thing.
There's no value in eating out anymore, it's insulting what they're charging for a plate.
Especially here in the US where almost all restaurants are all supplied by the same few restaurant supply companies with the same poor ingredients.
I went to one of my favorite local places a few weeks ago. My normal order, without tip, was up to $23. It just doesn't make sense anymore.
I had a place charge me 50c for a to go container. Lmao. Never goin back there
Keep on Shaming people into Tipping for everything, that is the straw that broke my back.
People need to resist the shame and continue on the way they did years prior. If waiters and waitresses want a tip then accept it at ten percent which was the original custom.
No law says you are obligated to tip....so if it was sh**&yy service, don't leave one and don't go back.
I don't feel any shame for not tipping when I don't have to. F that
Also loyalty cards (though restaurants don't do that). I used to randomly stop in so many places, now I keep thinking "ugh I Don't want to tip" or "ugh the cashier gave me attitude when I didn't want to give my email and phone number to make a ten dollar purchase last time"
Only for sit down restaurants where the wait staff only gets $2-3 an hour. At Subway or the like, just hit the no button, or use cash and then they don't even ask.
Its because 95% of restaurants are overpriced. Oh yeah, and the waitresses are so cold and dont even know how to properly service customers. Terrible industry
Went to IHOP a while back and it was $60 for 2 people. Food was mediocre.
NEVER going there again.
Did the same today myself and $43.00 for 2 people. Sausages weren`t the same! Ugh
Restaurant thrive and serve and repeat customers . They are only hurting themselves with these prices for food that isn't worth what they charge
@@dougm2250nothing worse then when they change to cheaper foods that taste terrible. That absolutely makes me never return again.
Same here
Lol i would not either
The restaurants' mandatory, exorbitant gratuity bills didn't help things either. It got ridiculous.
I agree but feel really bad for waiters and waitresses. I mean they have to survive too.
No one tips the checkout person at Walmart WHY?
Not the customer's job to pay employees. Tipping was always a bad idea. Now it's gotten unbearable
@@reasonablespeculation3893 well if I may remind you... there are lots of states that don't even give waiters minimum wage they work for mainly tips. This was just another way for buisnesses to pass the costs to the consumer. It used to not be that big of deal but since we lost 30 to 40 percent of the dollars purchasing power (mainly Trumps fault we still have Biden's sins to be felt) thing are just too expensive and add the tip on top of it makes it seem even that much more expensive. So here we are. Should Trump get back in and he does Tarrifs and more tax cuts (tha mostly helped the rich get richer) we go into a hyperinflationary depression that much faster. Harris will cause the same thing it will just take longer. Nothing and nobody alive stops what is coming next. Stay safe out there.
@@reasonablespeculation3893 Precisely!
@@bpb5541 They have to negotiate a better wage. Tipping is a con game and only suckers play.
Tip culture pisses me off so much I just opt out.
100%
I am done with it. Tipping needs to go away for good in the USA like almost every other Western country in the world.
Why are we (customers) paying the wages for the restaurant servers? Because we have to tip cuz they barely make anything an hour. Restaurants are barely paying them any wages.
Tips can be eliminated and the prices go up for wages .. pay the owner or tip and pay the server if you go to a resteraunt
The only one that suffers when you do that is the worker. Owners will never increase wages for workers NEVER. They will work a skeleton crew of barely qualified people and pay them like shit. People who don’t get that have never worked in the industry and have no right to say anything
Same here, unless the service is especially good. Why should we tip someone just for doing their job?
This time had to come. We have a saturation of restaurants, 80% shouldn’t exist in my opinion. We need to go back to eating well at home and leaving restaurants for special occasions only. We need restaurants that are open to actually excel in terms of the food and hospitality. People are starting to realize that eating out is simply overrated and often stressful and I’m here for it. It’s time we bring back the basic skill of cooking at home.
Four adults at a neighborhood (Cary, NC) Indian restaurant which we frequented before Covid. Ate Sunday lunch there twice in the last few months and both times the bill came to over $200 plus 20% tip! No alcohol, no wine, two people had water, two cokes, shared three appetizers, three deserts. The food was good, but we won't be returning.
Did they list prices on menu?
My family used to eat out at a fancy steakhouse at least once a month. Prices were obviously never inexpensive, but they were affordable for special occasions. But now the prices at those upscale restaurants are simply out of control! My wife and I are retired, and we live very comfortably, but we refuse to pay exorbitant prices. We noticed that, although the prices have gone up, the service has definitely gone down, the quality of food seems to have decreased, the proportions seem to have decreased, And now at steak houses the servers expect a 30% tip. Add to that another fee if you use a credit card. The greed of these restaurants will be what leads to their demise.
You spoil us Mike! I've digested a plethora of macroeconomic/markets oriented channels here on UA-cam over the years and the only two that I can still stomach are you and Adam Taggart. You get the very best and spot on facts and ask thought provoking and unbiased questions that help listeners like myself better understand the complex forces driving our world today. More importantly, thank you for recommending Abby Joseph Cohen Services my investment portfolio with her has been quite sustaining
Thanks to Michael. Following his recommendation, I started researching into Abby Joseph Cohen Services. Thankfully it was a little over a year ago now, I started an lnvestment with Abby's Services and that allowed me to be on much MUCH more stable ground in the face of global financial upheaval. For what it's worth, it made a difference for me and my little family.
I know this FA, Abby Joseph Cohen Services but only by her reputation at Goldman Sachs; even though she's now involved in managing portfolios and providing investmnt guidance to clients. I have been trying to get in contact since I watched her interview on WSJ last month
@LaillaBelgrade Well her name is 'ABBY JOSEPH COHEN SERVICES'. Just research the name. You'd find her details to set up an appointment.
Michael really is something special. Please think of supporting him (if you don't already, which maybe you do).
@@DelphineBarkleyThank you for this tip. I just looked the name up, wrote to her through her webpage and booked a session..
The housing market is pretty much over. I gave up looking for a house this year. Sellers are still asking unrealistic prices, plus property tax and interest-no way right now.
Always look at TOTAL cost per year.
Also look at insurance costs!
Same in Vegas. Prices still going up, close to $500,000 now. Too rich for my blood. I have no choice but to wait for lower prices
We do our part to support restaurants 😂😂😂😂 It used to be 30-40 bucks for our family of 4 to eat cheapish but now it's a easy 100 bucks.I don't even know how low income people are staying above water these days😢 Hopefully things will improve sooner than later.❤
True my wife and I just about $45. And she drinks water only never desert. So yeah family of 4. Easy $100 bucks
@@jjohnson8977 Yeah a Cnote for low quality for sure
You either live in Mississippi or are lying
low income person here. I rarely eat out. Dinner on some days is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a piece of fruit or will have a salad.
@@gardenstate732 well I don't live in Ca 😂😂😂😂
We stopped going years ago. The hassle of getting there, parking, waiting for a table, waiting for a waitor, ordering, waiting, then after eating the waiter takes forever to bring the bill, then driving home. There's times I feel like a prisoner waiting for the bill, often having to chase down a waiter.
Must consider that we are getting the worse employees in a decade. 😊
yup after covid the service has gone way downhill, at first not properly staffed now poor food quality and cutting staff to save money.
@@BrianK-zz4fk so right!
I don't like multiple people handling my food.
Been cooking at home too long and 99% of the time when not traveling.
@@mikkimikki5376 absolutely. Visit any public high school and you'll see the level you'll be dealing with next year. Sitting on their cells phones texting and on TikTok. No clue about the external real world and other human beings. (Signed, a former public school teacher).
I have owned a cafe/restaurant.
I did not do it, but when revenues (and customers) are down, the knee-jerk reaction is to raise prices. "I have to raise prices because I'm not making a profit"
That - of course - will reduce traffic, therefore revenue. That is the road to a downward spiral into closing the establishment.
Yet, it never changes...
Restaurants have destroyed themselves , dirty tables, decreased food quantities and food quality, prices 4 x what they should be, dirty bathrooms, and piss poor service; no empathy here …
When it costs more to keep food in your pantry and kitchen anymore, it makes more sense to prepare food at home. If socializing is important, have a potluck party once a month or so and enjoy each others' company.
Yuuuup I made my own seafood crab feast last summer. Bought a bushel of No.1's ,white corn, supermarket shrimp, and red skin potatoes with some Alaskan crab legs. I FED 9 FOLKS for $200.00👍
Or if you're more social than that do it once a week and rotate whose house it's gonna be at.
Potluck ? That's gambling aint it ?
A lot of times my friends and I just meet for a coffee, I drink tea. It’s cheaper. It’s easier. We still get out of the house and socialize a little bit, but we save a lot of money.
And coffee is now $3.50 - pure madness! I can make a a LOT of coffee at home for $3.50, plus tax and tip!
For the past few months, my wife and I save over $1500 monthly by not eating out.
Now drop the wife. What are you savig now? Another 99 percent i bet.
$1,500 a month is more than my entire income. Glad I don't live in the USA.
Age 52 never wanted to get married! Only son 21 now! I save $5,000 a month!
1 hour of wages for 1 meal. If you have a family of 4 or 5 there's no way your spending a half days wages going out to eat.
Half a day? More like an entire shift or even 2. Some places are insane in their prices. I saw just recently a Chinese restaurant selling pork lo mein for $28 for a single take out order, not including tax. Steak was an extra $4 and shrimp was an extra $8!!!!!
You clearly don't make much money.
$9 for 6oz of frozen food
@@MrSteeDoonot very nice 😮
@@MrSteeDoo almost $95k a year but in a very expensive location. Rent is $3.5k for 2 bedroom place. Car payment is $800. Electric is often over $500. I also pay most of my sick elderly mothers bills and the retirement home for my grandmother. Every dollar counts and I'm not going to abandon my family to save money.
I'm a semi truck driver. My pay didn't go up.
In fact, with the 'mile-piecework', my money went way down with the 'freight recession' layovers.
I used to go in to restaurants where ever I landed and try out a local order, as one of the few niceties to offset the miserable grind. When they started offering me *half* a 'cup'[!] of soup at double the price, over a year ago, that finished it. Whatever your issues with supply chain costs, and oh, enjoy your new higher 'minimum' wages, whaddya' think (?), your *customer* was gonna' still be your market - and your job[!] - any more. Econ 101. # 🤷♂️🚛💨
#: "One person's spending is another person's income." - Ray Dalio.
Greed
I’d like to go out more but property taxes are crushing my budget. I’m happy I’ve got enough money to eat something.
Exactly..and stealing your land..ditto hoas..
Illinois?
I always cook at home
I believe it. My city,Houston,is known for its food scene. Yet I have seen so many restaurant closures. Also have seen brick and mortars downsize to food trucks in order to survive. Its a tough business to be in. 😢
I am from NYC and (ironically) loved my trip to Houston because of the food. Everyone says we're the best, but food in Manhattan is blah these days, some ethnic food is good, but you'll need to travel 90 minutes on three trains to get to whatever ethnic area to eat at a place with no bathroom
In San Diego prices are up and by the time you add tax, 15-20% tip, and now 4% service charge, the check has balloned. The 4% service charge was the last straw. I had a 50 yrs career in restaurants and I enjoyed and grew with this industry. It was always challenging to succeed. I can't imagine how difficult it has become.
A vodka at home costs me $1....at a bar / restaurant usually $15 with tax and tip.
Yes. Bar prices are crazy.
@@sl123sl More frequently people have cocktails at home before eating out. BIG saving
I totally agree, as a prolific vodka and wine drinker, it's much much cheaper at home, plus you won't go to jail for drinking and driving.
Yep, we stopped going to bars years ago, it cost us about 50 cents a beer or $1.50 a mixed drink at home. And I like the ambience at home better too, the bars always seem to be full of clicky, stuck up people that will purposely ignore you and not serve you if you're not part of the 'click'. Fuck em.
Buy the Good stuff at Home on everything..Walmart comes 2x's a week and their selling Costco Now ????? $100 per year
I do not support restaurants anymore because I cannot help but feel ripped off anytime I eat out. So, as far as I am concerned, they all can go out of biz and I hope they do.
Yup. Nothing worse than over paying for subpar food and underwhelming service . You leave disappointed in yourself because you knew better too. No thanks
@@stevenotero2627 Yep, my bf and I ordered takeout steak and shrimp a few months back, and the steak was tiny little 8 oz sirloins and it was literally just thrown in a box with a few medium shrimp only, and it was $75. Sirloin is the cheapest fucking cut!
@@twobitsandpepper8235 I was with my family this summer in Croatia and that is the amount we spent on average for a full dinner for 4 (deserts included) at any restaurant with real food and waitstaff dressed in white shirts with black bowties. The best part is there is no tip nor anyone expects it; of you want to leave few euros fine, if not, fine again. That is when I realized how we are getting literally ripped off at everything. So, as far as I am concerned, they all can go out of biz and we, consumers, should stop supporting this industry.
It's not a rip off. It's the cost of doing business in a communistic system. Hospitality staff are poverty line. Many restaurants are not making money. If the customer rips off the restaurant he tends to stay quiet about it, merely exclaiming about what good 'value' it is!
$21.00 for fish and chips in Houston…. Nope
@@seanshay998 where?! What a rip off😧
Spent that much for a burrito bowl, guacamole with chips, and a small drink at Chipolte. Won't be back there anytime soon.
@@jfnuyen 💀 I need to leave Houston obviously
BJ’s restaurant…. Sugarland
@@jfnuyen Fried in seed oils or even repeatedly peanut oil?
You deserve so many more subs!
In Finland restaurants are still affordable. Pizza and kebab cost 10€ and buffet table 13€ and we don't have tips here.
If you don't have tips in Finland how do the employees survive. Are they making a big enough hourly wage to compensate for the lack of tips.
Yes they have proper salaries.
That’s because the price you pay at restaurants has become downright ridiculous! There’s a great restaurant we started going to nine years ago. We always order the same thing. Always! Two loaded steak burritos, rice and beans, four margaritas in total. Nine years ago it was about $50. Where I live this place is considered a little on the expensive side and rightfully so because it’s fantastic! We haven’t gone for about eight or nine months. We just went, This time, $115! Unfortunately, we will never be returning. 😐 oh, and the place is always packed, as soon as we walked in, we instantly realized it was only half full.
Only for the rich now. But the rich probably won't be going to those lower-end places either...
Most people are just trying to pay the day to day life. I know I cannot afford 20.00 a meal. Not including tip. It is a luxury.
Just about any meal costs 20$..... the value is not there.
@@adelmomontero3554 I know went to "Wafflehouse" the other day my bill for MYSELF was $22.oo . . . Crazy $22 for 1 meal 😡
wow. you must live on struggle blvd
@@BossItUp911you’re full of yourself if you think not having the money to spend 20-60 a day on food means you’re struggling.
@@hey_im_him "It is a luxury." that's what that poor said, is it not?
Alot of people like me can barely eat when we buy marked down items, and cook at home.
Going out is just not in budget anymore.
By twenty thirty, there will be hardly any restaurants left in this country and the few that are will be catering to the rich.
My husband does the same thing, buys marked down steaks, chops, whatever he finds early in the morning.
@@demicali-girl1217 Try to hit the sales too.
Tipflation 30-40% + service fees + fees , fees , fees . No Thank you.
I quit Chili's when they had the point of sale devise on the table and prompted for a tip. I'm cash only at restaurants and damn sure don't want to waste my time learning how to use their electronic self checkout contraption jumping through hoops.
Michael is dispensing a lot of wisdom! I hope you're paying attention! I certainly am, and I appreciate his channel SO MUCH!
No more Fastfood no more Restaurants no more Food Delivery Bad Taste Bad Service Bad Prices
The other day My wife and I split a sub sandwich. Got the combo with a small bag of chips and a drink. It was super good. It cost $28. If you don't laugh you'll cry!
If you earn 12 dollars an hour you had to work 2 hours for your fast food lunch.😢
@@emorales6988 so sad.
@@emorales6988No, working for 2 hrs @$12/hr, one gets less than $24 after tax. So can’t afford the lunch sandwich 😢
@emorales6988 great perspective!
Wow must've been a steak sandwich or lobster for that price. It's still not worth it for that price I don't care how good it was
Beautiful walk today. I hope you guys are doing well. ❤❤❤ Been getting great engagement lately I hope the channel is growing well. 😊
Must be best friends
@@joycedudzinski9415 Nope just enjoy the content. But we can be best friends if you want 😜
@@joycedudzinski9415 Nope just enjoy the content and wish everyone who works hard success. We can be friends if you want
Thank youuuu!!!🩷
And talking about engagement…my goodness 😅
You’re awesome!!!👏
Mike said hi, he is editing tomorrow’s video!🙏
Brilliant as always Michael love from across the pond 🇬🇧 🇺🇸😘
Glad you enjoyed it!👍
i am from the UK, I took the Mrs. out and it cost me almost 70 quid for a two meals. That was a pizza hut
In America it would be two squids and an octopi.😁
It's their own fault. They took advantage of the pandemic situation and started overcharging people. I'm not paying anybody $15 for a burger and fries
What else could they do? There labor and food prices went up because many people refused to work due to the free money given out so they had to offer higher pay to attract workers.
I would love to only pay $15 for that! Prices are out of control indeed
Well stated. Restaurants, their owners, and their servers, have all contributed to the current problem because of their agreed. They think they can shame the customer into paying them additional amounts, by doing things such as charging extra to use a credit card, expecting their servers to receive at least a 20% tip,and adding an additional charge for things which used to be free, such as refills on drinks, and plastic take home boxes. They nickel and dime you so much that you don’t want to return.
America First👍🏾
Spent years in the restaurant business years ago as an employee. It's terrible what has happened to them. In my area (Dallas) during the planned you-know-what a 100-year-old restaurant closed
Service at restaurants is horrible at 75% of them here in Phoenix Metro. Fast food, cafe, fancy tablecloth, steakhouse, pizza joint.... all of them. No one wants to work.
They want to work. They just don't care to do their best and make an effort . They're following the owners and managers example and doing as little as possible
@stevenotero2627 Yes, Apathy seems to be the uniform most twenty-somethings proudly wear today.
AGM here at a fine dining restaurant and your video was pretty accurate. We have been noticing downward sales trends for the past few years and it really started about mid 2022. Im growing more weary about the overall health of the economy daily because I’m seeing the consumer pullback on spending more and more.
Wife and I went out yesterday. We both had a chicken fried chicken salad. She had a dr pepper I had a tea. Bill came to $22 and some change. It was still early, around 5pm, there was 4 other tables of couples. Small mom and pop type place.
That's still too costly.
Cheaper than most places now.
Not sure where you live but here in NYC that honestly sounds pretty cheap for two people. Here a cup of grande caramel macchiato and grilled cheese at Starbucks cost $16 something . Good bye forever Starbucks. Never coming back.
Very nice 👌
That is a very good price actually.
Tip fatigue, is the main reason we're not going as often. We're fortunate to be doing fine and we're generous tippers when warranted by service and it was ok during the pandemic, but it has gotten out of control.
In San Jose, two Whopper meals at Burger King is $28.00!
That’s what they get for charging $25 for burger and fries
I did a little travel with my mom. We went to hole in the wall diners, my mom, me, and two boys, 5 and 7. Each meal costs 60$!!! I don't go out anymore because frankly, i can't afford it. Pancakes and bacon should not cost 60$
When you. shrink portions and increase the prices - along with a revolving door of horrible employees not providing any level of good customer service, what the hell do they expect?
My dream is to see those disgusting fast food restaurants go under - it's toxic - sugar, salt, fat trifecta leading to metabolic diseases. Zero f's to give for McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. You're poisoning yourself and not consuming actual food - super ultra processed. Does that hamburger meat resemble the hamburger you use to make a burger at home? Not at all. Soda? Look at the sugar content - it should be illegal.
Unless you go to a super high-end restaurant, don’t fool yourself. You’re still eating highly processed food. There’s not a whole lot of real cooking going on anymore in restaurants. Still a lot of seed oils, sugar hidden in places he wouldn’t think it would be etc.cook at home.
@@nogames8982 I don't go to any - I like my own cooking better. :)
Costco has increased in sales, shift in family spending. More groceries and less eating out.
Thank you to our host for this wonderful outdoor walk around tour. Good research and good content.
You’re welcome.
I don’t eat out anymore. Can’t afford it, don’t like the food and the noise level at some of these places is hellacious.
Last time I went to chipotle and going to charge me 35 just a bowel and orange drink with just a small amount of food I’m don’t I’m not going to eat outside no more
I was done with restaurants a few years before Covid. I’m one hour north of Toronto, Canada, and it’s the same here. Extremely overpriced, we pay 13% tax plus at least 18% tip. It just got too ridiculous. I’m done.
Are tips expected in Canada?
The restaurants I've been to the past few months are mostly empty and the quality of service has been terrible. I used to take the family to Outback steak house at least once a month, but the past few times the food and service have been just plain bad. We'll be looking for alternatives next time.
Same but since the vid19! Buy quality ingredients and challenge the fam to prepare it at home. You'll make great memories, have better food, teach a skill and save money! We spent a small amount on some equipment (wok, grill, souvide). Honing these skills has been fun!
It's not inflation, it's greed. All the places around here doubled and tripled their prices but the quality is the same. Not spending $60 for a meal that used to cost $25.
Yep, demand more and it’s not going to happen
I always eat at home unless I am traveling 😊
Change of diet. Avoiding seed oils & fasting more. Smaller, higher quality meals, less carbs. Work from home allowed me to not rely on quick food anymore
My wife and I have two small children so we eat out pretty infrequently, but when we get the opportunity we choose local places that we want to stay in business
I worked in a NYC steakhouse on Wall Street. They closed permanently after 15 years. They closed other locations too. I know many other restaurants that have closed also. NYC is very different now than it was 5 years ago. Covid was part of the problem but the seams were bursting even before Covid. The problem has never been simply about inflation. Predatory landlords doubling your previous rent for 5 years are to blame. In the building I worked at a 1 bedroom apartment was renting for $6,000 a month 5 years ago. People would pay their rent (or not) and eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. Just imagine the rent for a restaurant jumping from $60K a month to $120K a month. Property taxes are to blame. Utilities are to blame. Wages are NOT to blame... but watch what will happen, Michael will interview a "restaurant owner" (who took millions in PPP loans and fired workers) to get the truth !!! Ask yourself, why do restaurant owners NOT work in the restaurants they own? When was the last time you saw a restaurant owner cooking in the kitchen? Restaurant owners, who don't know the first thing about owning a restaurant, are the first to bitch and complain about their restaurant losing money. Blame the workers! Not the fact that the owners themselves are lazy asses. They'd rather be summering in the Hamptons. Yes, there are a few restaurant owners who work in the restaurant but it is rare indeed. Btw, McDonald's is suing Tyson foods but somehow McDonald's problems... are the result of workers.
I took a job as a part time busser at Outback Steakhouse (NC) late summer (2024). Its $5 per hour Tipshare. I enjoyed the job and most of the people, but tips sucked and so did management. I quit.
@davidhunternyc - You made some excellent points and wage issues seem to be a double-edged sword depending on the context. We're told we need migrants to pick lettuce but also told on average maximum labor costs for produce is ~5%. That means a $3 head of lettuce includes around 15 cents for labor. If that minimum wage is too low and the source of other problems that include straining the public safety nets (e.g. food stamps/SNAP & foodbanks), then likely most Americans would support a 50% or 2X wage increase to pay $3.15. Yet, it also isn't sustainable to increase wages for one group 15% per year and all other workers and those on social security 2.5% to 3%. Seems like some type of major economic engineering is taking place.
@@ytfeverguy8367 ... and yet it's always the worker's fault. Workers are lazy. Restaurant owners but they won't work themselves and they expect the world. They don't give a shit that you can't afford to pay your rent. You can be homeless for all they care. Stay strong and good luck !!! Don't ever let anyone make you feel lesser than the greatest.
Those greedy and lazy owners have way more important things to attend to than working in a hot, dangerous, crowded and noisy kitchen. Everyone had their rent, costs of goods and labor go up. That's why eating out is expensive, it's not indiscriminate price increases. The competition in the industry keeps the prices down.
Went to a popular restaurant here in Auckland a few weeks ago. More restaurant staff than customers!
Maybe your last visit. 👋🏻😛
Spot on Michael! We should always take care of our own Citizens first and foremost!
The government doesn't represent it's citizenry and the sooner people come to terms with that the better.
The reason is it's so expensive for shitty food in these restaurants, i rather go once a year to a nice restaurant and have one good expensive meal
I went to a "Applebees" 2 days ago at 6pm for dinner. There was ONLY 4 customers in the whole restaraunt. . . & 2 of those 4 people were at the Bar. . . . People are BROKE. . . They clearly were operating at a LOSS that nite. ☹️
Applebees is like heating up a TV dinner from the grocery frozen section. So gross.
@@maryl234 I know probably first time in 5 years I had been 😊
Where are the customers ?😢
No customers no income 😢
How am I going to pay my bill 😢
This worst than during covid 19 😢
When the prices are outrageous, portions are skimpy, and quality is not what it used to be, I stopped having meals out. Topped off with slow or surly service, and then I did not tip. I only have meals out now when I have a gift card.
I'll tell you what happened to families.
80$ school pictures, per student
80$ for a yearbook
It's fundraising season
Homecoming expenses, dess,tickets ect
Homecoming mums 400-600$
@@mohammedjeffali1076 you don't have to buy those photos - take your own with your phone for free!
It's still during covid 19. Just saying.
@@mohammedjeffali1076 True, we couldn't even afford to get the school pix this year, and they've sent home like 5 different fundraisers in the last 2 weeks, which we didn't buy any of that overpriced crap. I'd like to know since we parents already pay for everything the school uses on a daily basis, where the hell is all our property tax money going (which they raised too)?
There's a difference between eating and dining
At this point it is so expensive to eat out it is literally flushing your money down the toilet and tipping someone to pull the handle. The price takes out the enjoyment of the experience. Buy a bag of rice or potatoes and the protein at the butcher shop that is on sale and make your own delicious dinners and save thousands. With that extra money you can almost pay the increase in your property taxes.
I'm doing my best not to support any restaurants. Overpriced food and wait staff demanding tips.
And the waitstaff demanding too much for tips. More often than not they tend to give subpar service as well. The only tip I'll give them if they give me bad service is a complaint to their manager.
I'm favoured only God knows how much I praise Him, $230k every 4weeks! I now have a big mansion and can now afford anything and also support God’s work and the church.
Only God knows how much grateful i am. After so much struggles I now own a new house and my family is happy once again everything is finally falling into place!!
this is awesome 👏 I'm 37 and have been looking for ways to be successful, please how?
It is the digital market. That's been the secret to this wealth transfer. A lot of folks in the US and abroad are getting so much from it, God has been good to my household Thank you Jesus
I started pretty low, though, $5000 thereabouts.
The return came massive. Joey is in school doing well, telling me of new friends he's meeting in school. Thank you Susan Christy, you're a miracle.
This sounds good and I would like to be a party to this💯👌
Overpriced, low quality, poor service, hassle to get to or park, can't drink unless I'm dropping $100 to Uber both ways.
Gee i wonder why?
Besides the prices - the food sucks
I have found that the small little Chinese mom and pop type restaurants are still serving at a reasonable, lower price than most others. Besides, Chinese food is the only food I have e never been able to cook perfectly myself, just never can get it quite "right" so I do get this once in a while because I love it. You get a lot of very delicious food, enough to box up. take home, and eat for lunch the next day, and the prices do not break your budget. I have never had a server at my local place be anything but sweet and friendly and wanting to do anything they can to make the meal pleasant.
@@loisaustin6200 that makes sense, can’t argue with those facts lol
Unfortunately too expensive to eat out these days. A small regular coffee and bagel can cost around $ 9. 😮
Fools buy it..
It’s ridiculous. You can do that at home for a dollar fifty, if not less. Food places are completely gouging now.
I was in SF last Monday and went to my favorite restaurant, Tadich Grill. I lived in SF for 20 years and every time I went to Tadich's I had to wait at the front and sip a cocktail for at least 30 minutes. Last Monday the place was empty. No wait. Reduced hours. As I ate dinner some more diners came in. No wait. Only 30% full if that. Waiters all standing around. They can't continue like this forever.
Sounds great! America has way too many restaurants, and most of them are mediocre on a good day.
Let the bad ones sink. Going out to eat should be a luxurious, enjoyable experience and not a routine, because you are too lazy to prepare your own food.
Just ordered pizza over the counter and register prompted 10-20% tip! What!? I pressed 0. Do you know how that employee looked at me? I had goosebumps. Its OK, I just forgot about that business.