Hmmm, let's see. It's a bit complicated.

One burger here is worth 3 cows.
3 cows are worth 6.6 chickens.
One cow is worth 3 Euros.
3 Euros equals 4,15 USD.
Thus 9.99 USD equals value of 2,4 cows.
But cows are divided only on quarters, meaning one 9.99 USD game costs 2.5 cows.
As one burger is 3 cows and one game 2,5, ganes are in fact cheaper than small lunch.

Don't get me started on drinks, you have to use not only some cows but chickens and goats as well to get them.

I must admire the size of your burgers.

From the posts here I see that apparently we fellow GOG members not only like good old games but also good fast food :-D

Fast food ceased to be a good deal some time ago. I mean there's still a dollar menu at some places and some people will only order off them, but most people seem to spend what they'd spend making a decent deli sandwich and get shitty food for it. Prices are inflating here way more than they let on, official inflation rates ignore a number of things that are a large portion of lower and middle class purchases. I wouldn't be surprised if we hit 20% or more inflation again soon.

Well, I once had the opportunity to see the details behing the official inflation figures. "Some" reference products are "smoothed" and "adjusted", making their evolution pretty much virtual. Be it in the US ( anyone remembers how in 2008 the price of fuel statistically dropped or staganed at levels that were nowhere to be found ? ) or here in Europe ( when three statistical offices tell you that

a) Prices in country A have stagnated or gone up a bit
b) Prices in country B have stagnated or gone down a bit
c) the cost of live in country B compared to country A has gone up by 5% over the same period

while at the same time people in both A & B notice that they both get less for the same price

you can't but feel puzzled )

By the way, a very interesting acid test is to compare the products over time rather than their price. Official statistics only reflect actual prices. But products change over time...

10 dollars? In Poland I can have 4 full dinners of vegetable soup, potatoes, frikadeller (meat) and salad. And that's when you are not cooking yourself.

Fast food is still a good deal if you don't get their ridiculous meals. Honestly, I don't think it's that unreasonable to pick stuff off of dollar menus, but at the same time nothing fast food is going to make a good lunch.

That said, I could get at least 3 filling lunches from fast food.

Maybe 2.5 delicious burritos from carts/Mexican places.

1.2 lunches at most places I'd want to eat if I want something other than a burrito.

2 Subway footlongs, mmmm.... if I was forced to commit a GOG's worth of money to lunches in advance, I'd probably do this. Not that it's good for me or anything.

One of the thing to remember with inflation is that it does not include quality increase. For instance - when the price of a given computer decreases - due to obsolescency - there is a new product of the former computer price range. For the consumer, prices have not decreased. For the inflation rate, this is a deflation that will lower the global inflation rate. Inflation only compares the SAME good - but you don't buy the same quality of goods over time.

Well, since at the moment 9$99 would be equivalent to 7€, I would say that would buy me, in some specific cheaper restaurants, one lunch, made of soup (soup of the day), main course (meal of the day), desert and some drink (water/soda).

In Mcdonalds, that would allow me to buy one menu, like Big Mac menu (Big Mac + fries + soda/water) and maybe a sundae (can't recall exactly the correct prices, now, but I know that 5$99 wouldn't buy the menu).

Of course, for this value, cooking meals at home, that would probably make 3-4 meals, depending of what you would be buying/cooking, of course.

(Old thread, but it was linked to me and I like this thread!)

I think $9.99 would get me 1 Subway lunch, and then perhaps 1 Tim Horton's lunch. I dunno I might need a little change extra. I remember last summer a Subway meal was cheaper, but now they tax it differently.

But the thing is i haven't bought a combo from there or anywhere in a real long time. I never buy drinks b/c I carry my water bottle w/me, and I'll drink my water w/whatever food I'm eating.

As many have said, depends on where I go.. I mean hell, here in Tucson, AZ we have a shitload of Sonoran Hotdog carts, if you don't mind buying food from a random cart they're... epic good.. (hotdog wrapped in bacon cooked up on a griddle, beans in the base of the bun, cooked up peppers and onions on top of it, and a few condiments that vary from cart to cart) for $10 I can get like 3 lunches from those.

My usual choices though 1.5-2.

$9.99 would get me a 12 inch sub of my choice with chips, a large drink, a small cup of fruit, and if I wanted to drop $5.99, cheesecake, my new weakness.

Roughly speaking, 9.99$ (7.2€) would get me

- a big kebab or 1.4 small ones
- 1 - 1½ fast food meals
- 2.88 lunches at a university eatery

- a Flying Dog Imperial Porter
- 1.2 pints of Guinness
- 2.4 pints of Karjala, possibly the worst beer I have ever drunk

Almost three lunches, then, if I go for the cheapest option, which I often don't have the time for.

E: Typoes.

Moscow, Russia: 1.5 passable lunches (local food) OR 2.5 fast food lunches (only kids and the desperate* eat those) OR 1 "luxury" lunch (generic coffee shop food / sushi / other "regional" cuisine).

* I'm beyond desperate, therefore I usually go hungry.

Fast food lunch, I could get two. Same with a cheap buffet place or a small-town restaurant.

When I travel I almost never eat lunch since it sucks up too much time to go clean up, forage for where to eat, have lunch, and then get back in the groove of things on the job. If it's really hot in the factory, I simply can't eat lunch else I'll be almost useless the rest of the day.

However... if I happen to be working at a place that gets a visit by a Mexican roach coach then I'll get a couple soft tacos or tamales for maybe $4 with a drink.

At home it's usually left-overs or a sandwich, so maybe 5-8 lunches for a $10 GOG.