A woman showed her hack for saving money on drinks at a restaurant: adding Crystal Light to her water. It backfired.
The price of just about anything someone can buy has gone up about 21% since 2020. But fast food and restaurant price hikes have made what may have been an affordable night out just a few years ago into a luxury-priced experience.
Struggle has bred ingenuity. The frustrations of higher prices have led customers to get creative. They have found the most affordable take-out options. They have used restaurant catering as a meal prepping substitute to lower grocery bills.
Another way folks are getting crafty is by bringing their own beverages—or at least, the means to flavor their free water.
Using Crystal Light to transform free water
One single mom’s hack to use Crystal Light packets to flavor her water at restaurants—a relatable reminder that this might be a better option for some folks who do not want to purchase a beverage or drink soda or tea—backfired.
In her video, TikTok user Day (@la.negra.con.tumba) shows herself mixing in a fruit punch flavored powder into her drink. The short and simple video drew 1.8 million views on the platform.
“When the plates start at $20,” a text overlay in the video reads, insinuating that Day is trying to save money by using water and Crystal Light.
“Yeah, gon ahead and gimmie a water,” she added in the captioned.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Day via email regarding the video.
Some viewers loved the video. They highlighted that they had not thought about doing this on their own and that they were likely to do it in the future.
“Not only are you saving money but crystal light has helped me stop drinking a lot of sugar,” one commenter wrote. You’re winning with your health too.”
“People hatin on this bc they didn’t think about doing this first,” another commenter wrote. “Girl I fw this.”
“That’s actually so smart,” a commenter wrote.
@la.negra.con.tumbao Yeah, gon ahead and gimmie a water 💃🏾 #bougieonabudget #singlemom #momhack ♬ original sound – pretty.babez
However, some found the video to be in poor taste.
“To each its own but if I went out with someone like this we wouldn’t be going out again, this too ghetto for me and shows me a person cheap, mine as well stay home,” one user said.
“If you cant afford a 3$ soft drink you shouldnt be eating out,” another commented.
“Why are u eating out if u cant afford a $4 drink?” a further user added.
Server charging for using restaurant’s water to make Crystal Light
Viewers who have done something similar, bringing their own flavoring to add to water, which is typically provided for free at sit-down restaurants, warned against the consequences. They said they ended up being charged by their servers and waiters for drinks.
“I had a waiter see that then charge for a drink even though it was water,” one commenter wrote.
“I did this and the waiter charged me for a drink,” another added.
“I did this with my Cirkul bottle and the waitress tried to charge me for a water I was like ‘I brought this from my house!’” a third said.
Another commenter warned that they charged customers for utilizing this hack when working at a restaurant. “Yeah, i charged people $1 for water when they did this. management supported it,” they said.
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