I found a little underground music club about 20 minutes from my house that hosts both local and national touring acts for dirt cheap. For 30-40 bucks I can get three hours of live music in an intimate setting and enjoy the vibe. Been trying to go at least once a month. Doesn’t matter if I know the acts; I get to experience new music and support upcoming artists.

Yogurt.

And it pains me to say that because I like it, it’s good for me…it’s just…you know, the magic is fading.

How can I bring more excitement to my yogurt?

I mean I’m sure there is, but it ain’t this. 😏

Woody Guthrie’s guitar

They both got in through your weak hole.

Thing you should keep in mind is that, at least in my experience, there are next to no businesses that only offer the federally mandated minimum wage. States have their own mandated minimum wage, and yes, many of them are also 7.25/hr, but many are significantly higher. I live in a state where the minimum wage is 7.25 but I’ve never seen a job posting that started there. It’s always higher, because it’s not survivable and no one is accepting that as a starting offer. I know that’s adjacent to your question but I still wanted to clarify that.

Having said all that, your estimations on what an average American spends on dining out are off. I can take myself and my son to a fast food place and feed us both for around $15. I can take us to a mid-tier restaurant (think a place like Applebees) and feed us both for about $40-$50. Family of four? $80-$100 at such a place. Yeah it’s not great - I can remember a family of four doing that for around $50-$60 not that long ago, but that still falls short of your estimations. Can you spend $500 or more dining out? Of course. But your average household isn’t doing that.

To more directly answer your question, the disproportionate increases in median household income and inflation have caused Americans to eat out less and be more frugal with their grocery shopping. Still got other bills to pay as you rightly pointed out. I’m a single dad and my monthly grocery bill is around $200 and I consider that manageable. I only eat out maybe 2-3 times a month, more for health reasons, as restaurant food is a massive warhead of carbs, calories, and sodium.

Thing to remember overall, is that the US is its own economy, just like any other country. And this is where things stand here currently. There will always be a proportional relationship between what people earn in a given country and what food costs and what they spend. It’s neither good nor bad the way I see it. It just is.

Sorry for the long winded answer. I just wanted to try and give you my perspective.

Lol “ass tomatoes.”

“That’s Mister Freeze to you, bub!”

OP, can you please livestream this?

And after.

Any kind of algorithm that determines what I see. I get to cultivate my own experience by collecting what I like and muting/blocking what I don’t. I don’t need a script that says, “Oh, I see you stopped for a moment to check the comments on a single post on c/roombaswithfeet. Here’s a nonstop barrage of everything else in that community and all related communities.”

Username kinda checks out maybe…?

I rate it an 83

Well that’s my advice. Take it or don’t. 🤷🏻

🎵 Put it in, put it in, put it…. IIIIIIIIINNNN!!!

You left out an option.

People start talking shit about you/mocking you -> you call them out publicly, stand up for yourself, not with aggression but with assertiveness. “Dude, what the fuck is your problem? I’m not doing a damn thing and here you are disrespecting me for no reason. You that insecure? You gotta drag people down? How about you grow the fuck up. You wish you were more like me.”

Problem with this, is that it takes a certain level of self confidence that doesn’t come easy for a lot of people. And you have to be ready for pushback, which is okay, because now if you have to get aggressive, it’s because someone else got aggressive first.

Also, an ounce of prevention: Live your life in such a way that you’re true to yourself, exudes confidence, and doesn’t invite derision. Be proactively kind. Make friends and allies.

If you have to work at that, then do so.

Yup. That’s right on the money. I should buy you a beer.

I had a recent dream that I was at a rescue shelter for hot dogs. They took in stray/feral hot dogs and put them up for adoption. Each hot dog even had its own little info page on their website.

We should all be nicer to Hwil Hwheaton.