Locator: 48903MCDs.
Without question, and without qualification, my favorite and for the most part, my only go-to fast-food restaurant is McDonald's. Full stop.
I have a love-hate relationship with Starbucks and until recently would only order a coffee at Starbucks when traveling by air. But recently, my last two trips, I balked at paying $8 for a cup of black coffee and a plain butter croissant.
When traveling, I now buy my coffee at McDonald's and get one or two hash browns (one is usually enough; two is simply one too many) for about $5. From the linked article:
McDoald's is lowering the cost of its combo meals, after consumers were left sticker-shocked by Big Mac meals that climbed to $18 in some places.
The burger giant’s move follows weeks of discussions between McDonald’s and restaurant operators, including the company offering financial support if franchisees agreed to drop prices, according to people involved in the discussions.
After pitching operators on the plan, McDonald’s and its U.S. franchisees agreed to keep the cost of eight popular combo meals 15% below the sum of the individual items’ prices. The chain also will run $5 breakfast and $8 Big Mac and McNugget combo-meal specials later this year, marketing them as Extra Value Meals.
The move is part of the chain’s push to restore its reputation for affordability, which has taken a hit with cash-strapped consumers. McDonald’s has said that its new McValue deal menu is helping, but many consumers still feel the chain’s menu prices overall are too high.
Restaurants, particularly fast-food chains, are struggling to attract customers worn down by inflation and unsure about the U.S. economy. Traffic to U.S. restaurants has fallen 1.7% so far this year, and is down 2.7% for fast-food eateries.
According to ChatGPT the average lunch for one person at a Chili's restaurant in NYC runs $25 to $35 before tip; not sure if that includes tax. That price does not include a "specialty" drink.
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Amazon Prime: Regularly, About $120 / Year
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Pet Peeve
My pet peeve is all those ads for "investing for retirement."
Some folks don't want to retire.
Some folks don't want to "cash in" at 65 years of age; they want to "cash in" decades earlier.
A lot of folks can't even define "retirement" or provide a dollar figure for what they consider "enough" for retirement.
Me? It's easy. This is what I recommend for our children and our grandchildren: link here. This is what I tell our grandchildren:
Nothing about retirement. Their goal should be to follow their passion. And, often, to do that, one needs to be financially independent. And that should be one's goal:
- follow one's passion, no matter how outrageous; and,
- to do that, become financially independent.
Other pieces of advice:
- never quit reading;
- never quit listening to music. Music is energy. Start with Patsy Cline.
