Hey, everyone. J.D. here with four more stories about personal finance, including one that answers a question that’s been bugging me for a year now: Why are restaurant prices so high right now? The article I’ve linked is possibly behind a paywall for you, so I’ll spill the beans: The answer is complicated. All restaurant costs have been skyrocketing (and for a variety of reasons), which means prices have been soaring too. As a guy who eats out a lot, this has caused some pain in my budget. Time to cook more from home, I guess. (And that’s essentially what our first article is about.)
Eating healthy on a budget. [Less Debt, More Wine] — “You probably already know that eating well costs money. But did you know that it also takes time and effort? And even though it may seem like a luxury, eating healthily can be more affordable than you think. If you want to eat healthier without spending too much money, try these tips.”
Why restaurant prices have soared. [The New York Times, so possible paywall] — “At restaurants around the country, staff shortages, supply-chain logjams, the Ukraine war and other forces have driven up the price of nearly everything…We designed a check that reflects the complicated reality of running a single restaurant in 2022, and the sometimes-hidden costs and causes that have led it to charge more.”
Is geo-arbitrage a financial fairy tale? [Mr. Tako Escapes] — “The Tako family recently moved from the Seattle area to a small town not far from Tucson, Arizona. This was a move of about 1500 miles (2414 kilometers). Generally speaking, Arizona is considered a ‘lower cost’ state, but the numerous issues we’ve run into during our move have actually made it very costly.”
“Our 90-day cruise experience.” [FI Heroes] — “We spent the last three months living on a cruise ship. That’s right, we finally made our Value Cruising dreams come true! We booked eight back-to-back cruise itineraries on one ship that started its journey in Florida and ended in London. Since leaving the U.S. back in April we have visited 43 different cities across 15 different countries.”
That last story amazes me. I wish it had more actual numbers. I want to know how much it costs to live on a cruise ship for three months! I’ve subscribed to FI Heroes now, though, so that I can catch follow-up articles as they appear. That was a fun read.
Okay, that’s all for this week. Jim will be back on Monday with more great stuff. See you then.