The other day, I found myself staring at a $14 price tag for a toasted sandwich at my office building’s cafe. Sure, it was a beautiful creation with perfectly golden-brown sourdough, creamy avocado, and melted cheese, but fourteen dollars? For a toastie? The financial controller in me couldn’t help but cringe.

Don’t get me wrong - I understand cafes have overheads, and everyone deserves a fair wage. But there’s something about paying premium prices for what’s essentially bread and cheese that makes my wallet weep. Especially when you consider that a quality loaf of sourdough from that lovely bakery in Brunswick costs around $7, and it makes multiple sandwiches.

The cost of living crisis has become impossible to ignore. Walking through Coles or Woolies these days feels like participating in an unwanted financial extreme sport. Remember when $150 would fill your trolley? Now it barely covers the basics.

Reading through some local community discussions about budget meal planning really struck a chord with me. Someone was asking how to feed two people on $75 a week - one vegetarian, one not. The responses were fascinating and got me thinking about how we approach food budgeting in these challenging times.

The iconic pub lunch - it’s practically woven into the fabric of corporate culture here in Melbourne. Recently, a discussion caught my eye about someone wrestling with whether to order an expensive steak at a team lunch, and it sparked some interesting thoughts about workplace dynamics and social expectations.

Picture this: you’re sitting at a restaurant with your colleagues, scanning the menu, and there it is - that perfectly marbled, premium cut that’s calling your name. But it’s nearly triple the price of what others might order. The eternal question emerges: will you be “that person”?