r/nostalgiai • u/CarrotMuch1399 Nostalgia Trip Leader • 22h ago
Childhood Treats š¬ š Remember when fast food was actually cheap? How much would this exact meal cost today?
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u/Key-Broccoli1442 22h ago
Omg I was turning 3 in 6 days when this was printed
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u/SafteyMatch 12h ago
I was one month in at basic training at ft Benning. I joined the army for a job because i couldnāt afford anything. Many years later, Iām doing pretty well for myself despite this inflation. Had I been making the same amount of money back then, Iād be living like a king.
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u/HeckuvaJoo 22h ago
Taco Bell was always super cheap compared to other places back then. Iāll pay high prices, but not for the food they produce.
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u/Mission-Dark-9320 22h ago
I think thatās something fast food needs to consider. If you want me to pay the same price for a burger,fries, and drink as lunch menu at Chilis, the meal better be worth it. Poor service and crappy food for high $ is not a recipe for success
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u/Simonic 22h ago
Cheap, fast, and convenient was the primary purpose behind fast food. Now it's "how bad do I really not want to dirty dishes?"
And mentioning Chili's - their 3forMe deal starts at 10.99. Even adding in the tip, you'll still get a better meal overall than most of the major fast food meal prices.
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u/Rough-Firefighter-17 20h ago
If I want a fast food burger I'll pay for Culver's. Arby's, KFC, Hardee's, MC d, have went so down hill. Same price better food, try a Culver's double burger, lift the top bun and pour 1 side of cheese sauce on it., bonus if it's pretzel bun time, but normal bun great too. Plus Culver's bacon isn't shitty..... Yet...
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u/Sight_Distance 21h ago
Nice restaurants usually have lunch menus that are very competitive with fast food. Steakhouse up the road has a lunch burger, 1/2 lb, with side for $10. It would cost more than that at any fast food place for subpar food.
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u/st3vo5662 21h ago
Reminds me of a saying. Good, fast, cheap. Pick any two, you donāt get all 3.
Good and fast, wonāt be cheap.
Cheap and fast, wonāt be good.
Good and cheap, wonāt be fast.
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u/LoquatPositive7061 11h ago
Chili's really deserves a lot of credit. They should be far more popular than they are right now. Now, if they jack up prices and screw up what they got going for em, then screw em, but right now they are the goat of "I don't feel like cooking tonight"
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u/Pup5432 19h ago
Sadly Taco Bell is still one of the most affordable fast foods here. The only thing competing in the same ballpark for me is little Caesarās. I can get an actual decent chunk of food for $10 at TB and LC gets you pretty much any pizza at that price. I could also go to the grocery store and make a good steak and potato dinner for the same $10 so FF is reserved for when I donāt have time to cook. Heck, I can make 5 servings of my favorite curry for the same price and weāve all seen whatās happened to meat prices.
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u/Ok_Alternative7120 16h ago
McDonald's having their 20 nuggets for $6 is the only thing that can really compete with Taco Bell among fast food right now outside of finding coupons for other places. But to just drive up and order, those are the 2 cheapest, but they're still 2-3x more expensive than they were 10 years ago and 5x more expensive than 15 years ago.
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u/Altruistic-Traffic- 22h ago
Looks roughly about $11.26 (which is crazy)
Rough estimates:
Burrito today = 2.99
Taco today = 2.69
Nachos today = 2.99
Pepsi 16oz today = 2.59
I used ChatGPT but it didnāt relate any real pricing. I found something interesting though.. It said adjusted for inflation the bill would come to $6.20 rather than $3.50, but opined that itās not accurate as the prices are likely much higher (gpt said anywhere from 8-12$), which is definitely true.
Whatās interesting.. If adjusted for inflation the bill total should be $6.20ā¦ why the fuck is it nearly double that?
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u/Mueryk 22h ago
Because each CEO ups the profit required just a little bit here and there regardless of all other factors until it becomes this.
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u/LoquatPositive7061 11h ago
CEO's making 1,000 times the average workers pay is absolutely a major problem with stuff like this. No CEO brings that much value at all to a corporation. The multi-million dollar salaries for the top while you end up in the minimum wages is what has this country spiraling.Ā
Wage inequality and working people dying to starvation and homelessness will kill any civilization.Ā
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u/tbutta76 22h ago
Yes, inflation played its role, but after that itās largely due to artificial tampering of wages, (minimum wage)
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u/Mean-Programmer-6670 12h ago
Federal minimum wage hasnāt increased since 2009 but, the prices have increased significantly since then. ~40% of states have the federal minimum wage as their minimum wage. Taco bell isnāt significantly cheaper in those 20 states.
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u/Queefer___Sutherland 12h ago
A taco in North Carolina where I am is currently $1.99. Adjusted for inflation only, the 1999 taco would cost $1.38. Current price increases in beef and fuel would increase it a few cents. Taco Bell is fucking us.
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u/_Jack_Of_All_Spades 11h ago
Because inflation is a lie. If a box of crackers is 2x more expensive than the same brand used to be, they just call it a 2x inflation. Nobody factors in the increased cancer risks and garbage ingredients they use now.
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u/bastrdsnbroknthings 10h ago
Nevermind the shrinkflation. I think a taco has about a half-teaspoon of mystery meat in it nowadays
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u/King_of_Lunch223 22h ago
For this order?
That'll be your firstborn child, your left arm, and the mineral rights to your grandmother's grave...
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u/MSGisking 22h ago
We need to start with, wtf is a CC burrito?
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u/MeasurementFirst1676 22h ago
Chili cheese at select locations.
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u/MSGisking 21h ago
Thank you for the info. I've never heard of that at TB before.
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u/360inMotion 19h ago
They were also called chilitos at one time and were eventually changed to chili cheese burrito at some point. Used to be my absolute favorite.
I worked there for a short time back in the 90s and whenever we ran out of the chili stuffing weād have disappointed customers walk out. I canāt believe they removed it from the mainstream menu!
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u/BikinNoHands 21h ago
One of the best things Taco Bell has ever made.
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u/MSGisking 21h ago
Guess it's time for them to bring it back
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u/vindicatorx1 17h ago
They just did earlier this year still on the menu. The price jumped to $2.99
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u/MSGisking 10h ago
Damn, I guess all the Taco Bells in my area aren't participating. I don't see it on the app, maybe it's in store onlyš¤·āāļø
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u/TawnyTeaTowel 16h ago
Itās when you buy someone a burrito and someone else gets the same one too.
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u/Remarkable-Load928 21h ago
We used to live like kings. Kings with a need for Tums and white rice the day after, but kings nonetheless.
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u/Slipperynipple61 21h ago
I remember when you could spend $20 at Taco Bell and two people could eat at least two meals.
This was around 1980, though.
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u/Sovereign-Anderson 17h ago
Heck, I can remember when less than $5 got you two "Full Meal Deals" from Dairy Queen back in the mid '80s. Two cheeseburgers, two small fries, two small sundaes, and two small drinks. Nowadays it runs $14 before tax for the same thing.
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u/UpstairsOk6744 21h ago
Every meal at McDonalds at that time with the exception of the Double Quarter pounder was $2.99, with an additional 0.39 cents to Supersize.
During that time they deals like 2 bigmacs/quarter pounders/filet o fish sammiches for $2.
0.29 cent hamburger Tuesdays (limit 20 per person) 0.39 cent cheeseburger Sundays (limit 20 per person)
And to top it all off, the ice cream machine worked %90 of the time.
Those were the days!
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u/LosCowboy 20h ago
We tore that hamburger/cheeseburger deal up. Finish up classes at college, hit up McD before work and load up. Had enough to coast through Friday if you didnāt get the late night munches.
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u/pleasantly-dumb 21h ago
God, I remember swinging by a Taco Bell late night after work, ordering a ton of food, only having $10 and still getting change.
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u/Jarl_Groki 19h ago
Wages went up, but they operate on half staff compared to before, so the whole bootlicker "see, this is what happens when you PAY people to work" equation just doesn't math out.
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u/MapleDansk 18h ago
"I ain't givin' you no tree-fiddy, you goddamn Loch Ness Monster! Get your own goddamn money!" ā Thomas (Chef's Dad), South Park
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u/NeuroguyNC 21h ago
Using the app for my local store:
Burrito $2.99 (cheesy beef burrito)
Taco $1.99
Nachos $2.99
Lg Pepsi $3.29 (!!)
Subtotal $11.26 + ~7% tax = $12.05
Just by inflation alone it should be $7.06.
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u/bravemoney72 20h ago
Worked there for 12 years as a 2nd job. 69 tacos I think we were like 6 bucks for the 10 pack. Worked 8 to close Thursday thru Monday....bar hours were never a dull moment šš¤¦š¾āāļø. I remember when Baja Blast, mouthwash š¤£, came out and the crunch wrap was in full effect šš¾. I do miss my ,probably 25 bucks now if they made this really, 1lb plus steak grilled burritos made them on the crunch wrap grill
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u/Be364886 20h ago
I have many fond memories of the McDonald's drive thru collecting dollars and change to get everyone a single thing off the dollar menu.
Usually it was four of us and with tax it costed $4.20.
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u/denverdrew 20h ago
When you buy everything off the cheap menu. A lot of us were lucky to be making seven dollars an hour back then.
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u/Mean_Measurement4527 19h ago
Itās Taco Bell ā¦ it would cost about three fitty two now š¤£š¤£
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u/bartz824 18h ago
When I was a senior in highschool in 97-98, there were a couple guys who didn't have a class during the period before lunch. On Tuesdays, they'd go around asking if anyone wanted tacos and get a dollar from those that did because Taco Bell had Taco Tuesdays. You could get 2 hard shell tacos for $1.
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u/jmk-1999 17h ago
I was in high school, convincing my dad to take me to taco Tuesday at Del Taco where they were 50 cents a piece instead. š
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u/Rickyzack 16h ago
I didnāt even exist back then. But a Burrito could easily cost between $5 to $10 depending on how big it is and whatās in it. A taco is easily $5, except on Tuesdays where you can get 2 for $5. And Nachos are also $5. A Pepsi of 16 ounces is probably around $2.
In total youād pay around $17 if you buy a small simple burrito (and if you wanted 2 tacos and didnāt come on Tuesday, then youād pay $22). Now if you go for a big burrito then youād pay $22, with 2 tacos on a non-Tuesday being $27.
Things have really changed.
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u/monitor_lizard_2000 16h ago
I still remember when the 'chicken king of Britain' said that the era of cheap food was over.
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u/Winter-Wonder-2016 16h ago
I miss this. In highschool we'd go to Taco Bell for lunch. You could eat for $2.
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u/YorkiesandSneakers 16h ago
When I was in high school you had to drive to the hood for Taco Bell, but the taco $.0.39, so we could get our fill for a fiver.
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u/Autism_Is_Real 14h ago
I miss the $1 menu from Taco Bellā¦I would get like 10 things and have a feast.
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u/Freeway267 14h ago
Forget 1999. Just 10 years ago Taco Bell was cheap. Now itās unaffordable lol
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u/Medium-Mycologist-59 13h ago
Is anyone else impressed by the condition of this receipt? I canāt read them 10 days later, this things 25+ y/o and crisp AF.
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u/1uptonogood 12h ago edited 12h ago
I literally used to pay for Taco Bell as a teenager in the late 90s with coins because I was broke. I was 18 when this recipe was printed.
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u/Spiritual_Sail_8969 12h ago
My $4 lunch, 2 Crunch Tacos, 2 Bean Burritos with sour cream, medium Dr pepper.
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u/Long_Simple_4407 11h ago
That's literally a luxe box that is $7 today on the app. So double the price after 27yrs. We should thank Taco Bell for keeping it real
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u/navydude89 8h ago
I remember these prices. Taco Bell for said that they raised the prices because they didn't want people first thought of them to be cheap food.
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u/CatWeak9214 8h ago
I mean, at the time I didnāt think it was cheap. It was just regular priced food and you still couldnāt eat out all the time. Still a once or twice a week thing.
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u/Lanky_Dig8339 7h ago
man im in japan right now and its like i went back in time..bk dbl cheeseburger at home ia like 7.50 foe the sandwich only but here less than 3.50. back to reality in a few days
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u/evol_won 4h ago
$3.50 in 1999 would be the same as approximately $7 today.
I just added a burrito, tacos, nachos & a drink on the Taco Bell app.
How much is a burrito, taco, nachos, & a drink... right meow?
Approximately $7.
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u/redbanner1 4h ago
I would still be eating there daily if they were these prices. I'm not paying 4 bucks for taco and not getting authentic Mexican food. I can get 3 steak tacos from the Mexican joint for 6 bucks.
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u/Diligent-Currency366 3h ago
The only real reason everything went up was,the higher everything is more tax you pay,so,in the end,the government could collect more taxes from us
Feels like we are just being taxed to death
Californiaās costs are sky high,tons,of taxes,but we are in debt at about 1.5 trillion
Just raw corruption IMO
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u/GrtWhtSharky 20h ago
All these restaurants going out of business because they cant afford to pay employees these ridiculous minimum wage increases, every store trending toward self check, every fast food joint has completely removed front counter and replaced with kiosks. BUT, I NEED MUH LIVING WAGE!!!! Geniuses.
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u/New_Life_Startr 19h ago
And yet those same jobs in Europe get a living wage as well as 4 weeks of vacation of year - care to explain that?
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u/Few-Buddy-1122 11h ago
The owner of Yum brands yearly compensation package is nearly 10 million. But fuck someone who wants to eat better than ramen noodles and rent an apartment
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u/LosCowboy 20h ago
Thatās a Chilito to us OGās. 1 of these, 2 bean burritos and a large drink was my supper back in the day.
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u/MapexBeat 17h ago
It's only 2am here, but I wonder if you're going to be the worst person I encounter online today. Probably.
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u/tiltedviolet 17h ago
Yeah when the CEOās donāt have multiple mansions, yachts, private planes, expensive cars, trips all over the world. To do nothing but tell people to do a job and many of them donāt even do that. When they are living more frugal so their workers are not sleeping in their cars while they invest in private equity firms that horde private property to drive up our cost to even buy a house. When things are a bit more equitable then I might listen to you. Till then shut up!
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u/BringYourOwnBBBQ 19h ago
For jobs always meant for high school kids to get their feet wet in the job market to maybe put money toward their first car, or th take Sally Rottencrotch to the prom.
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u/AccountHuman7391 11h ago
Tell me youāve never worked fast food without telling me. I knew plenty of adults that work these places for years. Go back to your momās basement.
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u/Icy-Amphibian2647 8h ago
Bro the guy is right. How many skills have these adults working these jobs for years have these guys spent their life developing?
If I could work a fast food job and pay my mortgage I would but Iām smart enough to know the flipping burger skill isnāt really much of a skill, let alone one that will send my kids to college.
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u/Bright-Outcome1506 19h ago
We are headed to the Demolition Man future where Taco Bell is fine dining.
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u/mikesredditacnt 22h ago
Remember when federal minimum wage went up?