23yo’s cost of living rant immediately hits a nerve

Saving hacks may have become the norm, but one Gen Zer’s “ick” has revealed the budget trend no one really likes.

Money-saving hacks may have become the norm in the cost-of-living crisis but not everyone is sold.

One young Aussie has revealed that one common practice just straight-up gives him the “ick” – revealing what many secretly hate.

If there’s one thing that has been rammed down our throats as interest rates rise, inflation keeps ballooning, and the rental crisis continues, it is that an easy way to save money is to limit buying food when out and meal-prep instead.

Online, there are plenty of creators showing you different meals you can make to last you through the week, and then if you’re in an office, there’s always some smug person showing off their homemade lunch.

Patrick Friedlander is 23 and lives in Melbourne. He has broken his silence on the food issue and admitted he just can’t get excited about meal prepping to save money.

Patrick's rant amassed 400,000 views. Picture: TikTok/pat.friedlander

Meal prepping gives him the ick. Picture: TikTok/pat.friedlander

In true Gen Z fashion, he posted a TikTok of himself eating his pre-made lunch in his car and explained that there’s just “something about meal prep” that depresses him.

“I could buy this from a cafe and be as happy as Larry, but just because I know that I’ve made it, I’m like doing it to save money. Something about it icks me,” he said.

Mr Friedlander didn’t try to make an argument about why it can also be cheap to eat out, instead, he went for straight-up raw honesty.

“I want to go spend $30 bucks on an overpriced meal. I hate the economic crisis. What the f**k. It sucks.”

Mr Friedlander’s rant hit a nerve with fellow Gen Zers who were fast to admit they also were sick of meal prepping.

“Nothing worse than going to lunch and having to eat something you’ve made from home,” one commented and a slew of similar comments followed.

“This is me. I literally gag, but it’s only because its meal prep? Like it’s not bad. It’s just because I know I made it.”

“Food that is more than one day old gives me the ick! I simply cannot do meal prep.”

“This is the most truthful thing I’ve ever seen on this app.”

“I just cannot do meal prep it disturbs me. I’ll eat the same thing every day but it needs to be fresh.”

Sure, meal prepping might be trendy, but that doesn’t mean Australians like it.

People in the comment's section agreed with him. Picture: TikTok/pat.friedlander

The 23yo lives at home. Picture: TikTok/pat.friedlander

Mr Friedlander works in retail while auditioning for theatre roles and told news.com.au that, as someone who loves “instant gratification,” meal-prepping isn’t the most rewarding experience.

“If I put in the effort into making a meal, I want to eat it then and there while it’s fresh and hot. It feels almost disappointing eating it over the next few days as it gets less and less tasty knowing I went and bought the ingredients for this and took the time to make it,” he said.

“Who really wants to be eating the same meal like four days in a row? It can get pretty monotonous. I also think sitting in my car during my lunch break and using wooden utensils probably doesn’t make for the most exciting dining experience – that’s 100 per cent making it feel a bit worse than it really is.”

The aspiring actor pointed out that while meal-prepping might suit everyone’s wallet, it doesn’t offer the experience of eating out.

“There’s also something exciting about going into a cafe or restaurant and not knowing what you’re going to have until you’re standing there looking at the menu,” he said.

He is trying to cut back on spending money on lunch. Picture: TikTok/pat.friedlander

He loves the experience of buying his lunch. Picture: TikTok/pat.friedlander

Despite his aversion to meal-prepping, he has accepted that, as someone in their twenties during the cost-of-living crisis, it is just normal.

“Your 20s are ideally about meeting people, having fun, making experiences and learning how to be an adult. You just learn quickly that one of those adult lessons is the need to budget in order to have those fun experiences.”

The young Aussie said that he can’t really “complain” too much about the cost of living crisis because he does have the privilege of living at home with his parents but his aware how different his situation would be if he didn’t have that option.

“If it weren’t for me having just moved back from interstate and therefore having the luxury of staying in my parent’s place and only having to pay board, my situation would be very different,” he explained.

“However, because I work casually to give me flexibility for auditions, I don’t get consistent work from one week to the next, which makes budgeting tricky. I do, however, have a lot of friends who are living out of home and I’m aware through them of how crazy the rental market is right now.”

While he might still benefit from living with his parents, he does his own grocery shopping.

“Groceries cost an arm and a leg right now. That, combined with the fact that I work in a fancy strip of shops surrounded by swish cafes – really resulted in me meal prepping.”

Originally published as 23yo’s cost of living rant immediately hits a nerve