I was grabbing coffee at the Starbucks inside my Kroger on Monday and noticed a guy loading up a cart with discounted steaks. He told me the butcher slashes prices on stuff that's about to hit its sell-by date right when the store opens. I came back Tuesday at 7:15 and snagged two pounds of ground beef for $3.50 total. Has anyone else found weird timing tricks at their local markets?
I always walked past it for the prepackaged stuff, but last week I grabbed a half-pound of their homemade pimento cheese for $3.50 and it beat anything from the grocery store. Has anyone else found a hidden cheap gem at a place you normally skip?
I've been going to El Fuego Móvil on 5th for three years. They bumped their al pastor tacos from $2.50 to $3.00. Saw someone in line yell at the owner about inflation. Like, it's fifty cents. Still the best deal in town. Has anyone else seen customers get angry over tiny price bumps?
Last night I had to pick between the 7-Eleven on Broadway and the Shell station over by the train tracks. Both had those little plastic sushi trays for like $4.50. I went with the Shell because I thought hey, fresher maybe. Big mistake. Woke up at 3am with my stomach doing backflips and now I'm calling off work today. Lost $4.50 plus whatever I'll lose in tips at the shop. Has anyone else gambled on gas station sushi and regretted it?
I was standing in line at the Publix off Memorial Drive last Tuesday, almost grabbed their pre-made sandwiches for $8 each. Then this older guy behind me mutters to his wife that the hot case rotisserie chicken is half the price of the cold cuts and you get two meals out of it. I kinda shrugged it off at first, but then I actually looked. A whole chicken was $6.99. I bought one, took it home, ate the legs and a thigh that night for dinner. Next day I shredded the rest and had enough meat for two big salads and a wrap. So for like $7 I got three meals, compared to the $12 I would have spent on just two sandwiches from the case. Has anyone else had a random stranger's offhand tip totally change your grocery routine like that?
Picked up a party platter marked down 50% from the cold case at Publix. Got home and half the rolls were falling apart, fish smelled a little off. Anyone else get burned by those clearance sushi deals?
I was super skeptical when my coworker told me to check out that new wood-fired spot on 3rd Street. It looks expensive from the outside with all the twinkly lights and exposed brick. But the lunch special is $9 for a whole 12 inch margherita pizza. I have gotten it three times now and it fills me up for the rest of the day. A fast food combo meal runs me $8 or $10 and I'm hungry again in two hours. So somehow the nice pizza place is the cheaper option plus the ingredients are way better. Has anyone else found a place that looks pricey but ends up being a better deal than the fast food joints?
I was just casually looking at my bank statements and realized I spent $512 on takeout and fast food in October alone. That's more than my electric bill and my phone bill combined. Has anyone else added up their monthly restaurant totals and gotten a number that made you rethink your budget?
I asked for a half pound of their honey turkey and the kid behind the counter gave me a full pound without asking. That's like $8.50 instead of $4.25 I was planning to spend. I had to turn around and ask him to repack it, felt bad but my wallet's too tight for that kind of slip up. Anybody else have a grocery store worker over portion your order on you?
Saw this older guy yesterday waiting for the 7am bus and we got to talking about food. He mentioned this place called Rosie's Diner on 3rd Street. Said if you ask for the "early bird special" you can get two eggs, toast, and coffee for $3.50 instead of the $7 breakfast plate. I went this morning and it worked. Cash only though. Anyone else got hidden menu tips around here?
He said the fish costs him way more but he keeps the price low because people come for the loss leader and then always grab a $2 horchata or an extra order of elotes, so now I'm wondering what other cheap menu items are secretly hooks to upsell you on the sides.
Everyone raves about Aldi for cheap groceries but I spent $30 less at Walmart for the same list of basics. Their store brand pasta is $0.68 a box vs Aldi's $0.95 and it tastes the same to me. Anyone else find Walmart better for staple items?
Went to my usual spot on Grand Ave last Thursday. The one with the red canopy. Always got 3 tacos for $6 there. Now it's $8. Same tacos, smaller tortillas. Talked to the owner while waiting. He said beef prices went up again. Had to raise it or close shop. I still bought them because nothing else hits like that salsa verde. But $2 feels like a lot when you go twice a week. Anyone else seeing their local spots hike prices lately?
I was at WinCo grabbing stuff for my weekly taco night and a coworker saw me grabbing the $1.49 store brand tortillas. He goes "dude, those fall apart after two minutes" and handed me a pack of the Guerrero ones for like 50 cents more. I shrugged him off but tried them anyway and yeah, they actually held together through a double-stacked carne asada and didn't turn into wet paper towels. Now I'm side-eyeing every cheap alternative I used to buy without question. Anyone else had a cheap staple get totally outclassed by spending just a buck or two more?
Last Tuesday I hit up that new taco truck on Elm Street near the gas station, saw their sign for $5 burritos and got excited. They charged me $8 and said the sign was old, but the burrito was tiny and barely had any meat in it. Anyone else run into food trucks changing prices after you order?
Met this guy named Pete at a Shell station in Waco last month, he told me his family runs a taco stand out of the store's back room every Friday night. He handed me two barbacoa tacos for $3.50 and they were legitimately better than anything I've had at a sit-down spot. Anybody else got a hidden gem like that?
I live near downtown Austin and kept seeing people complain online about how taco prices are out of control now. Last Tuesday I was grabbing lunch at the gas station on 6th street and noticed a small truck in the back lot I'd never tried. I ordered a bean and cheese burrito and the guy said $2.50, I almost didn't believe him lol. I asked why it was so cheap and he said he just buys bulk from the restaurant supply store and keeps it simple. It's been my go-to for three weeks now and it's honestly better than the $8 ones at food parks. Anyone else got a random cheap spot that sticks to old prices?
Got all excited about the $12 tonkotsu ramen special near Union Station, but after tax tip and a mandatory $6 side of chashu I was out $32. The bowl was tiny too, barely enough for a snack. Anyone else feel like these "cheap" places are just bait and switch with the add-ons?
I was cleaning out my dad's old desk and found a receipt from Burger King from August 1985. A Whopper was 89 cents. A whole meal with fries and a drink was $2.10. Adjusted for inflation that's like $6 today but I swear I paid almost $9 for one last week at the same BK on Main Street. Just crazy how much the margin on fast food has changed. Anybody else find old menus or receipts that made you do a double take?
I did a taste test last Saturday between two taco trucks parked just three blocks apart. Truck A had the $3.50 al pastor with this weird pineapple situation, and Truck B had the $4.00 carnitas that smelled amazing from down the street. Honestly Truck B won HANDS DOWN because their meat was actually crispy and they gave me a free side of salsa verde without asking. Has anyone else found a food truck that just destroys the competition on price and quality?
Three years ago I stumbled on this beat up taco truck parked behind a gas station in Fresno. The al pastor was so good I literally pulled over and ate three tacos standing in the rain. Then one day it just disappeared, no note, no nothing. Last week I spotted the same truck at a construction site near where my crew was working. I asked the guy and he said he moves around because permits change every few months. He remembered me and threw in an extra taco for being a loyal fan. The barbacoa still costs 2.50 each which is insane for how good it is. Has anyone else tracked down a vanished food truck and found it way more random than you expected?
I started using that Fetch app thing back in January mostly as a joke, but yesterday I checked my total and I've got $50 worth of gift cards just from scanning grocery receipts. I'm not gonna lie, I was shocked. I just scan my Aldi and WinCo receipts after I shop and sometimes snap a picture of a random receipt I find on the ground. The points add up way faster than I thought, especially when you grab the bonus offers for specific brands. I used points for a $10 Amazon card last week and it felt like free money cause I'd already bought the stuff anyway. Does anyone else do this or am I just becoming that coupon guy nobody wants at parties?
Tried that new taco spot on 5th street that everyone's been hyping because they had $3 tacos. Got three of them and walked away still hungry after spending $12 with tax, what a joke. Anyone else find those tiny 'deal' portions just make you spend more elsewhere?
I swear, every time I go in there on a Tuesday around 4pm, they have a stack of marked down rotisserie chickens from Monday. Like $3.99 instead of $7.99. But people just walk right past them and grab the fresh hot ones for double the price. I grabbed two last week, shredded one for tacos and froze the other. Three meals for under eight bucks. Why does nobody check the cold case section for these? Anyone else notice their store doing this on certain days?