When economic times are tough, as they are now, most of us are looking at ways to save our pennies, to rein in the family or business budget, and to get value for money on what we do spend our hard earned money on – whether it be for essentials that we can’t do without like the bills and groceries, or for the occasional splurge.
So it was with a degree of shock that I was informed that paying $8.50 for a biscuit was not considered excessive. What?
I’d taken my daughter to an appointment in Sydney’s Inner West when on our way home we walked past a small local coffee shop.
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It was nothing fancy. Selling the usual lattes and flat whites to go, with a display of treats like banana bread and cookies.
Now, I’m one of those annoying pedants who refuse to call a biscuit a cookie. In Australia we eat biscuits.
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I’ll happily order a cookie when I visit the U.S, but it’s biscuits all the way here at home.
So no, I’ll admit I’m not up to speed on the latest and greatest in the cookie world.
I’ll also admit the biscuit this cafe was selling was a lot bigger than any bikkie I’d bake at home. It was about the size of my hand, with a delicious choice of choc chip, salted caramel or Nutella.
It was a perfect treat for my hungry daughter – but there was nothing tasty about the price.
To be honest, I didn’t take much notice of how much it cost while my daughter made her choice and the biscuit was handed to her.
I’d assumed it would be a few dollars. But just as she was about to take a bite, and as I was paying, I was stunned at the price. Who pays $8.50 for a biscuit?
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Both my daughter and the shop attendant rolled their eyes in unison, and informed me that’s what you pay. And we couldn’t hand it back – the choc chips were already melting on my daughters fingers.
So the biscuit/cookie was bought, and my daughter was told to enjoy every last bite. Not to leave a single crumb.
But it made me think about the things we buy that we often don’t really think about, that might seem excessive to some, but perfectly reasonable to others.
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The high price of treats like cookies, donuts and cronuts – yes they’re a thing – are to some degree fuelled not by the cost required to make them, but the premium that comes with their popularity on social media.
They’re highly Instagrammable, and popular, so people will willingly line up in sometimes long queues to pay what I consider a huge amount – $8.50 each – but a price my teenage daughter considers reasonable. Even more so if I’m the one paying.
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It’s interesting too that during tough economic times, sales of luxury items like lipsticks and cosmetics often go up.
You might not be able to afford an entire new outfit, but you can spruce up your look and your mood with a new lippie.
Admittedly the decline in cash sales makes it a lot easier to pay for something without really thinking about the price.
The bills just add up on the plastic fantastic, and if you struggle to pay the piper when the time comes, isn’t that when the other craze, Buy Now Pay Later, steps in?
I think I’ll stick with the days of Layby, when you only got what you wanted when you had the money to buy it.
So the expensive biscuits aren’t entirely off the menu. I’ll still fork out for the occasional treat, but I’ll be a lot more aware of how much I’m paying.
In the meantime, I might just crank up the oven! Homemade bikkies are guaranteed to never leave a sour taste.
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