In a city where the cost of living crisis is growing, I’ve noticed that some of my friends are resorting to more unconventional tactics to save money.
Recently, when I was having brunch with my friend Sofia* at a cafe on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, she quickly pulled out her prepared overnight oats and started munching on them like it was perfectly normal.
She was even considerate enough to bring her own spoon.
The torture of overnight oats
“Um… what are you doing?” I asked, embarrassed, but also slightly jealous of her money-saving trick.
In the meantime, I had just casually ordered a breakfast that cost over $30, somehow forgetting about the economic crisis we are in.
“Oh, I do it all the time now,” she replied matter-of-factly, “nobody ever has a problem with it.”
But as she continued chatting, I noticed the barista casting dirty looks at our table as if we had just taken money from the cash register.
And in a way, that’s exactly what my buddy did, right?
Finally, a waiter came over and politely asked her to clear it away, and she complied with his request… although it a lot of panting and gasping.
Intrigued to find out more about her bizarre habit, I spoke to her later that week.
“I just didn’t want to spend more than $20 on breakfast, I wanted a coffee from a cafe and that was it,” she said Children’s spot.
“I thought it was a non-service restaurant and I could get away with it because the atmosphere is so casual, but there’s no way I’m going back.”
Instead, she will use her skills elsewhere, as she has no plans to give up her cost-saving trick anytime soon.
“I will continue to bring my breakfast to cafes,” she said. “Absolutely.”
“Everyone does it. I was at a cafe the other day and my friend had brought his own opaque water bottle and was drinking an iced coffee he made at home.”
It may seem unethical, but Sofia says it’s clear why some people, including herself, do such things.
“Nowadays, people are more careful about what they eat and drink, but they still want to go out and socialize. So bringing your own food allows you to do both but still know exactly what’s in the things you’re consuming because you prepared it yourself. It’s just cleaner,” she said.
“Plus, the food at the cafe is just so incredibly expensive,” she added. “A Bircher pot cost about $15, but it takes me $2 to make my own oatmeal at home.”
For anyone who wants to try this budgeting strategy for themselves, Sofia advises: “Order your coffee in a to-go cup.”
“Then, when you are asked to stop eating, you can simply take your coffee and leave or go to a nearby outdoor seating area.”
The DoorDash dilemma
That same week, I witnessed another friend trying to avoid expensive menu items.
My partner and I attended our local brewery’s quiz night with one of our couple friends, and since I was expecting a lackluster menu, I ate before I arrived.
But our friend Oliver* came up with a more… creative solution.
Halfway through the second round of questions, he discreetly pulled out his phone to make sure the quizmaster didn’t think he was Googling the answers and ordered DoorDash.
“I’m a vegetarian and they only had one vegetarian dish on the menu, which was a tiny mushroom burger, which I didn’t want. It probably would have been super greasy, so I wanted something that fit my diet and health goals,” he told me a few days later.
“I knew I was being sneaky, but it was worth the risk to get a dinner that I actually enjoyed and that didn’t cost the earth,” he explained. “The Subway burger I ended up getting was only $5 for a foot long because I took advantage of a special offer. The burger was about $25 and didn’t even come with fries.”
He says the bar staff’s verdict didn’t bother him because “the venue wasn’t formal enough to warrant a scene.” But if one of them had approached him, he said, he “might have been a little embarrassed at first” but “would have told them they need a better menu.”
“Of course it is their right to set their own rules for their business, but ultimately the prices on their menu are an indictment of the increasingly unbearable cost of living in Sydney.”
And like Sofia, this isn’t the first time he’s pulled this stunt, and it won’t be the last.
“Sometimes I’ll take a fishbowl poke bowl to go to a cafe if I don’t like the food there but my boyfriend really wants to eat at a certain place,” she said.
“If you do, just make sure someone from your table buys something, don’t use obvious takeaway packaging, and make sure you sit in a conspicuous place!”
Hospitality workers speak out
To get a different perspective, I asked a waiter I knew if he had noticed an increase in this behavior.
“I’ve definitely noticed it’s happening a little more often now,” they said. “While my manager would immediately go up to them and scold them, I try to be a little more understanding.”
“Times are tough and people are doing what they can to get by, so who am I to embarrass them?”
But another cafe employee said Children’s spot She had a zero-tolerance policy towards such things.
“That’s rude,” they said. “You wouldn’t do that in a fine dining restaurant, so what makes you think it’s OK in a coffee shop? We’re still a business trying to make money, and in this economy, that’s difficult for us too.”
“When that happens, I tell people, ‘I see you’re eating something that’s not from our restaurant. We have a wide variety of dishes on the menu and are happy to accommodate any dietary needs if needed.’
“To be clear, we never have a problem with parents bringing food for their babies and toddlers. They bring their own plates or use ours, which we accept. If that means the adults can enjoy their meals, then so be it. But for everyone else, that’s not the case.”
