It's madness.
It is, in fact, the price thanks to a burger promotion during the NCAA college basketball tournament, better known as March Madness. And it is definitely madness, but the madness has little to do with a basketball tournament, or any sports at all. What's mad is how much that burger costs without the promotion.
It's not just madness...it's criminal.
I haven't visited many fast food establishments as of late. That's not entirely true. I haven't visited fast food establishments for lunch or dinner. My wife and I have gotten breakfast on Fridays at McDonalds and we try to limit how much we spend. We've accepted the fact that our breakfast is going to cost around $10 for two people, a little more if we get extras.
I saw the March Madness promotion from Wendy's, so I downloaded the app and went to the restaurant for a cheap meal. I thought I'd get a combo meal, what they used to call a "value" meal. Those days are gone. The single costs me $1.07. Without the promotion it costs six bucks, and the combo meal was--if I remember correctly--$9.
Have we lost our minds?
My wife and I used to go out to eat for dinner at least once a week for date night. It was fun--a night we didn't have to prepare a meal or do the dishes. Sometime last fall, we just sort of...stopped. Our weekly tradition ended with little fanfare. I know we can't be alone in this. So, what happens when the food costs so much people just stop going?
Nothing good.
I know talking about this is subjective. People put different values on how far a dollar (or five or ten or twenty...) goes these days. I also understand we no longer live in the same world we did four years ago when food was much more affordable. I also know there are many factors that caused the price to rise so high. All I know is I may take advantage of the March Madness promotion until it's over, then I can't imagine I'll be going to Wendy's for a burger any time soon.
And that's too bad...the burger was pretty good.
