Gen Z is cooking more and shopping less as they struggle to
achieve financial successsurvive
FTFY
Gen Z is cooking more and shopping less as they struggle to achieve financial success
Submitted 1 year ago by return2ozma@lemmy.world to aboringdystopia@lemmy.world
https://fortune.com/2023/10/13/gen-z-cutting-spending-dining-out-inflation/
Comments
DessertStorms@kbin.social 1 year ago
Surp@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Fuck, what about millennials? Those guys been fucked even longer.
Zipitydew@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Edging up to that 4th “once in a lifetime” economic collapse.
mojo@lemm.ee 1 year ago
We are no longer the main protagonists :(
Couldbealeotard@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Captain Phillips meme,
Millennials: “Look at me. I am the boomer now.”
LifeOfChance@lemmy.world 1 year ago
That’s because we are starting to fill their spots so they are being careful now.
GreyDawn@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Calm down, there is plenty of fucking for everyone.
CrowAirbrush@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Our groceries cost as much as ordering in food did 5 years ago.
We barely did as it was too expensive, the future needs some drastic adjustment otherwise some bad shit is going to happen.
JonEFive@midwest.social 1 year ago
Bad shit is already happening. How many more wars need to flare up, how many more inches does the sea need to rise, how many more acres of forest need to burn, how many more mass shootings, how many more people need to reach a point where working a full time job isn’t enough to cover rent… I could easily go on. This isn’t a future thing anymore. This is all happening now.
Psythik@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I know, right? Millennial, here. I eat out more often than I cook. I should probably be doing what the Zoomers are.
hrimfaxi_work@midwest.social 1 year ago
Millennials are still struggling. It’s just that this article wasn’t about us.
Misconduct@startrek.website 1 year ago
I make my own bread now 😭
Kase@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Ay that’s pretty cool! Is it hard? Do you do it for fun, or cause it’s cheaper? The crying emoji has be leaning toward the latter, but I thought I’d ask
stewsters@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yeah, I’m doing better off than most of the people I knew growing up, but I too have been looking at buying the cheapest of everything.
Great Value brand is getting the majority of my purchases these day. Just looked at my cabinet shelf, 18 GV brand items, 2 others (maruchan, rice a roni).
Also cut back on any drinks that don’t come out of my faucet (excluding coffee grounds and milk for the coffee).
3TH4Li4@feddit.ch 1 year ago
Media being out of touch with reality while being bootlickers of the wealthy will never stop being funny.
moonwalker@lemmy.world 1 year ago
They are owned by the wealthy.
MonsiuerPatEBrown@reddthat.com 1 year ago
demand better kitchens and kitchen storage in rentals.
it is a fucking joke out here
Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 year ago
You guys got rentals?
oo1@kbin.social 1 year ago
wtf, financial success?
Not sure i know what that is, but it seems a pretty depressing goal to have.
Could be worse though.ProfessorProteus@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Should be “financial security” imo.
The prospect of not even being able to afford a “cheap” roof over my head scares me regularly.
tryptaminev@feddit.de 1 year ago
Now you know why the boomers raise the rent to the point where it makes everyone but themselves miserable. They consider it financial success, where normal people consider it ruthless exploitation.
BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social 1 year ago
Better to talk about how they shaped zoning laws and other procedural matters to block the development of new housing for decades and decades.
Sure, the market price of housing is disgustingly high and you can say that it's exploitative to actually charge it, but a much better question is to ask why the market price of housing got so high to begin with, because the answer to that is more complicated than landlords just asking for as much as they can get. They've always done that, so why as has that ceiling price exploded so much in recent decades? That's where you can start to find actual solutions.
orcrist@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Correction: “Gen Z is cooking more and shopping less as they get vastly underpaid”
Number1SummerJam@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Sometimes I have to go to the fucking food bank- I guess you could say I’m shopping less
M0oP0o@mander.xyz 1 year ago
I guess that is kinda like shopping but sad?
With all the food bank demand I wonder when companies will try and get in on it (like walmart and thrift stores)? Maybe they will make you watch ads while waiting in line? (For you to spend your non existent money on?)
vjprema@fosstodon.org 1 year ago
Or some just like cooking and don't give a damn about consumerism?
I'm not exactly struggling with finances. I cook all my food because I like to. I hardly buy stuff because I unbrainwashed myself from consumerism.
Half the reason I semi-retired in my 30s is because I need little to satisfy myself after de-bloating my mind.
I have a baby son and a wife and plenty of time to spend with them.
All of the people I know who have more money than me do not have any of this.
the_q@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Be careful! Humble bragging can cause serious injury due to the stick up your ass!
Moneo@lemmy.world 1 year ago
For fucks sake look at their profile pic. What a wanker.
streetfestival@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
I think Vijay is sharing some really important insights that are lost on many in this era of ubiquitous advertising, subscription services, and increasing groupthink: be more buy less, especially if you need to conserve spending and/or save money
vjprema@fosstodon.org 1 year ago
SpeedLimit55@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Aren’t we all? The price of everything has gone up the past few years.
colourlesspony@pawb.social 1 year ago
Cooking helps you save money, eat better, and can be entertaining. I’ve started to really get into recently.
RandomPancake@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yeah I feel like the headline is intentionally bait-y here.
Eating out adds up fast, and if you’re on a limited budget, of course you’re going to start cooking more. Even if we’re generous with the word “cooking” to include things like cereal and sandwiches. And of course you’re going to reevaluate your shopping when money is tight. Lock down to the essentials to stretch that paycheck.
The people who complain about their finances while simultaneously eating out 3x a day and buying shit they don’t need are digging their own holes. Spend the money on shit you DO need and save the rest.
Alenalda@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Peanut butter and banana sandwiches have become a staple for me over the last couple years. So long ordering out every day. I hate cooking.
marine_mustang@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
My boomer mother only knew how to heat up frozen foods or follow the directions on the box, so what really helped me learn to cook was Good Eats. Watch it and make the food. Many of the recipes were retooled by Alton Brown and are on his website for free (with no annoying monologues before each recipe). The rest are on Food Network’s site.
david@feddit.uk 1 year ago
It’s better for the planet too.
thefartographer@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Not the way I cook. Can I interest any of y’all in some exhaust pipe s’mores?
768@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Also: It’s smth to do during small parties, hanging out with friends, dates et cetera.
qwertyWarlord@lemmy.world 1 year ago
That’s not a bad thing, actually I’d call that a success minus the financial struggles.
Cranakis@lemmy.one 1 year ago
I dunno. I read it as “Gen Z is poor” and it pisses me off because its true. It seems like a trend where the rich get richer and the rest of us get just enough to scrape by so we’ll show up to work.
schnokobaer@feddit.de 1 year ago
That’s obviously what they are trying to get across but they affiliate it with something that isn’t bad at all and people should be doing either way, financially stable or not. It’s kind of a weird argument to say that Gen Z are poor, because it might also mean that they are just consuming more consciously by cooking themselves. There’s clearly ways of telling they are poor without this ambiguity.
superguy@lemm.ee 1 year ago
That’s the goal, and poor people are proud to support the wealthy in achieving it.
Iapar@feddit.de 1 year ago
Roses are red, Violets are blue, Our future ist burning, I am serious look at that shit.
bastion@feddit.nl 1 year ago
You’re learning the skills that none of the humans with the steering wheels can seem to muster - like sticking to a budget.
Now, the questions are:
- when a steering wheel falls into your lap, will you lose your sense of budgeting?
- will you manage to pass this sense to other humans?
letsgo@lemm.ee 1 year ago
GenX here, sounds like me a few decades ago, counting the pennies and balancing everything, and not completely succeeding.
PieMePlenty@lemmy.world 1 year ago
So… Just keep at it and it will work out? House, spouse, dog, picket fence and all that?
MoonMoon@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Sorry bud, looks like they ran put of internet.
myrrh@ttrpg.network 1 year ago
…i bought a house in my mid-fourties, so yeah, i guess that’s eventually a thing…
(won’t be able to retire beforei drop, though)
JasSmith@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
For many it will. Incomes are increase in real terms and unemployment remains at historic lows. We also just came through a decade of historically low rates which allowed generations of people to buy expensive homes.
Unfortunately those low rates, the neoliberal practise of high immigration, and NIMBY zoning laws have led to historically expensive housing and rent. Instead of war, that is this generation’s biggest challenge.
Furbag@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Millennial living that life right now. Assuming I stay on track, I might be able to buy a house when I’m in my 40’s and literally work until the day I die.
bastion@feddit.nl 1 year ago
Just save gold and silver, and wait for the market to collapse, then trade it for houses. So many houses. So much gold and silver.
Pixlbabble@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Same here. The struggle was real.
Scrof@sopuli.xyz 1 year ago
I always assumed cooking was the default.
spacecowboy@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
I grew up in a household that did not cook. It wasn’t always takeout or junk food but “cooking” was grilled cheese and Kraft dinner etc. I loathe cooking.
I often wish h in had a healthier upbringing that included cooking as a fun activity.
partial_accumen@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I don’t know of many doing day-to-day cooking for “fun”. Its a bother. However, if you’re okay without requiring gourmet meals, its not too bad. There are shortcuts.
- Learn a total of 5 or 6 meals total, thats it forever. Then repeat them. You’ll always know the ingredients, and you can buy in larger quantities so it doesn’t break the bank.
- Choose fairly simple preparation things. Sure fancy food is nice, but a PITA to prepare. Keep it simple.
- A meal is 3 things: a single serving of protein, a single serving of vegetables, a single serving of starch. A serving is a portion about the size of your closed fist. Example: pork, green beans, potatoes. Thats a meal.
- Choose ingredients that are fairly cheap or easy to substitute.
Pulled pork is one of the easiest, cheapest, and tastiest meals you can make.
Ingredients:
3lbs (or 1.3Kg) Pork - any of these cuts is fine, buy what’s cheap:
- shoulder/butt
- loin
- "country ribs"
- “cutlets” Buns Green beans (can is fine to begin/fast, frozen when you want to up your game) Bottle of BBQ sauce
Instructions:
- Plug in a crockpot (if you don’t own one, they’re cheap new and even cheaper second hand, expect $10 to $20 to buy one)
- Set it for “slow” or “long” or “6 hours” or “low” labels vary, its all the same setting
- Turn on your kitchen fauct. Put a cup under the water for 3 seconds. Pour that water in the crockpot.
- Put in your pork
- Put 1/2 of your bottle of BBQ sauce in the crock pot on top of the pork.
- Walk away for at least 4 hours. If its 6 or 8 hours, thats fine too.
- When you come back take two forks and pull the meal apart. It will be very soft. Us this time to remove any bones if your pork cuts had bones. Meat will fall off the bone easily. Use your two forks to pull the meat apart, shredding it. Do this until all the meat is shredded. If you came back at the 4 hour mark, leave again for another 2 hours or so. If you’re already at the 6 or 8 hour mark, You’re done!
Empty your can of green beans in a Microwave safe dish and put it on high for 2.5 minutes or until their hot. Green beans in the can are already cooked when canned, so they’re safe to eat at any temperature.
Get a bun, pull out some wonderful pulled pork on it, add some more of the BBQ sauce from your bottle. You’ve got a protein, a veg, and a starch.
That 3lbs will feed you for almost a week. You can freeze some on day two or three for meals for future weeks.
HubertManne@kbin.social 1 year ago
if it makes you feel better I was raised in a house where my mom cooked. But she was not real great about it. Actually she could make some great stuff on holidays so more limited budget combined with limited effort really. Im not sure she liked to cook really but she pretty much had to. Typical week was chili, spagehetti, chilimac, shakeNbake leg quarters, macNcheese. Anyway Im not a very good cook. I don't necessarily loathe it, but im not good. Particularly at seasoning. that is the tough part. I can bake decently. Usually that is just following the recipe exactly and can grill decently.
Jaysyn@kbin.social 1 year ago
All 3 of our kids that are still at home can cook well & we take turns doing it throughout the week. Been 6 months so far & it's working out great.
Cooking lets you off dish duty for the evening, too :D
dangblingus@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’m not sure who the article is referring to, but pretty much every Gen Z person I know lives at home with their parents. So not really a strong point being made here. Oh, it’s fortune. That explains it.
EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Gen Z is as old as like 26. There are plenty living on their own.
NecroParagon@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I’m 26 and I’ve been living on my own for 4 or 5 years now. I’m poor as shit and can’t get ahead on debt, I wish I had the opportunity to live at home because I’m going nowhere right now and I’m making what would be considered a decent amount of money for my age and position. Shit is miserable.
_g_be@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Almost all of my 26-and-under co-workers are living at home. Not everyone immediately moves out at 18, and with the sky high housing cost in this area I wouldn’t even say ‘most’. Even for university, some of these co-workers have degrees but still live at home.
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I like making homemade chicken bowls. They were originally meant to be cheaper alternatives, but KFC food quality is kinda shit sometimes, so at this point I outright prefer my own version. Mine also has shrimp since they take about the same time to cook as the chicken, so I mix throw that in.
Just frozen corn at the bottom (well, heat it up, just follow the instructions on the bag, I usually just stick frozen veggies on the microwave with a bit of water for 3 mins).
Then the breaded shrimp or some popcorn chicken pieces on the bottom with the corn.
Then mashed potatoes. Instant or ones made from actually smashing potatoes work (for real ones, just peel some potatoes and cut them up into smallish chunks and boil them for about 10 minutes, then drain the water, add some milk and butter (or dairy free alternatives). About 1 tbsp of butter, I like to do the milk by ear, starting with too little and adding more until the moisture is about right. Also add salt or it’ll taste like it’s missing something. Taste it for both milk (moisture level rather than flavour) and salt (flavour for this one) to get it right. You can add oregano or chives, or any green seasoning to enhance it without changing the flavour profile entirely. Or if you want to change it entirely, go with curry powder, Cajun, or some other spice blend (not sure that would work with chicken bowl, but it doesn’t hurt to experiment).
Then more chicken on the top, shredded cheese, and gravy (I use envelope gravy, pretty quick and easy to make, just follow the directions). Add paprika or cayenne for colour/heat.
tiredofsametab@kbin.social 1 year ago
I use envelope gravy
Maybe it's just me, but the envelopes on my desk don't look particularly tasty. (I assume this means something else, heh)
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 1 year ago
You’d be surprised at how well they turn out when combined with meat juices and water! Actually, I wonder if you could use ground up paper (like dust) to replace flour and make gravy.
But I meant the dried up gravy solids you mix with water and heat up that comes in envelopes at the grocery store.
force@lemmy.world 1 year ago
[deleted]SamVergeudetZeit@feddit.de 1 year ago
Beans, bread, rice and noodles are cheap af
CyanFen@lemmy.one [bot] 1 year ago
The reason for this is bad but the end result is good. Let’s hope these habits stick around once people are in a better spot.
Chev@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Where are they getting their ingridients from to cook if they shop less? Or do they just eat less? Is this about starvation?
some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 1 year ago
And they’re doing it cheerfully, I’m led to believe. Images don’t lie. Look how happy they are.
SpezBroughtMeHere@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Why is this a headline? It’s just called living within your means. Smart people have been doing this forever, it’s nothing news worthy.
superguy@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I never go out to eat anymore. Not worth the drive and everything is ridiculously overpriced.
Walmart+ has been a blessing because I can get groceries delivered to my house same-day.
I think restaurants are just taking more advantage of an ever-shrinking pool of idiots.
bigmclargehuge@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’m in a dual income houshold, in a single bed/single bath apartment that, 5 or 6 years ago, would have run for about $600/month. Now it costs us $1200 (this is in Canada where the housing market is in complete and utter shambles, only getting worse and heading for a complete fiery crash).
At this rate, I will never be able to afford a mortgage. Let alone a mortgage and car payments, let alone all that plus food, utilities, or any liesure activities to, y’know, give me and my girl any sort of quality of life. No wonder we eat Kraft mac n cheese and hot dogs instead of hitting the town on friday nights.
Blackmist@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Good. They’re finally learning that sending all your earnings to UberEats middlemen isn’t a sustainable way to live.
dojan@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I can’t wait for the “GenZ are killing the restaurant business!” headlines.
MacGuffin94@lemmy.world 1 year ago
To late us millennials already claimed that. Pretty sure we killed restaurants around the same time we killed movie theaters, trade schools, and domestic beer.
cheery_coffee@lemmy.ca 1 year ago
I barely eat at chain restaurants anymore, and the last time I did (at the Keg with a gift card) it was way better than it was 5-10 years ago, presumably because they’ve had to actually compete with good local restaurants nearby to win customers over.
RIP Chain Restaurants, killing them was the best thing that’s happened to them.
Socsa@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Domestic beer?! If there is one impressive thing millennials have accomplished so far, it’s putting a brewery in every neighborhood of every major city in the western world. Locally brewed beer has been having a really good couple of decades.
buzz86us@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Well we killed chain restaurants… Mainly because nobody can afford to waste our money on microwave crap when we can make better food at home
dojan@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Well yeah, but they’ll move on from millennials at some point! Soon everything will be gen z’s fault!
MrFlamey@lemmy.world 1 year ago
If you’d only bought fewer iPhones and avocados you could have bought a 5 bedroom house with 3 garages, a pool and a white picket fence and take a holiday abroad twice a year. You just need more discipline, pull yourself up by the bootstraps*!
*I am now going to research what bootstraps are.
Cryophilia@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Just wait, next time the economy is doing good, and gen z can afford to actually do things, there will be a lot of “gen Z discovers” articles. “Gen Z discovers you can pay for someone to make food for you”, “Gen z is discovering that vacations are fun”
Like it just took this long to realize lol
captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Gen Z discovers the joy of home ownership lol