Finding that you’re even more broke than before is always a bummer. These days, it is becoming much more common amongst WS students.

The prices of food, clothes, and other essentials are rising big time this spring season. Food prices are predicted to jump approximately 15% higher than they have been, higher even than they jumped in 2008 at the beginning of the recession. These upcoming months are expected to be hard on people’s wallets.

New restaurants, such as the BGR Burger Joint, and even our favorite Starbucks Coffee are getting particularly pricey and us Spartans are fed up.

“I think as fun as [new restaurants] are, they’re too pricey,” said senior Jahanara Hoque.

No one wants to blow all their cash on one meal, which is what it takes nowadays, especially when the weekend is coming up and you have things to do and places to be.

“The Burger Joint may be new and exciting but it really burns a hole in your pocket,” said Hoque.

Some of the burgers at BGR joint are almost $20 and that is just too much for many teenagers to easily afford. With most students’ jobs providing only minimum wage, we need lower prices—and some students have no job at all.

“The only thing I think that’s worth it at the BGR joint is the sweet potato fries,” said senior Megan Iacocca.

At least there is something special BGR joint offers to us for their high prices. BGR joint also has a touch screen soda machine with many different flavors which is pretty exciting actually.

A cheaper alternative is Five Guys, which is a classic teenage favorite. Five Guys also serves burgers, and as the hype of BGR arriving dies down, many are returning to their old preference.

“Five Guys gives way more food for the money, and is a lot cheaper,” said Hoque.

A question teens must ask themselves when going out to eat is: Is this food worth as much money as I am about to pay for it? Many say that even though BGR’s food is good, it is just too expensive for it to become a regular habit.

Unfortunately the prices of food will still be rising into the future as the demand for crops increases and the economy continues to fluctuate. This frustrates those who are used to fast and cheap food being readily available for their eating pleasure.

 “Whatever happened to dollar menus?” said senior Megan Maiers.