New luxury in NJ that's a sad reality for most

Not sure if this should be viewed as a good thing or a bad thing. A sign that's actually better for us all, or a sign that signals a troubling trend. It's one thing if this was just New Jersey, but it's not.

It's all part of a National trend that involves one of America's favorite quick meals - fast food. But make no mistake as this survey definitely points to trends that are happening here now in the Great Garden State. LOOK: World famous pork roll competition returns to Trenton, NJ But before we get into the official survey, let's do one of our own just to see how New Jersey compares (feel free to also share your reasoning in the comments).

Fast Food Becomes a Luxury According to a recent Lending Tree survey, 80% now consider fast food a luxury instead of a quick meal. Read that again. 80% of Americans now view having fast food as a luxury.

And the primary reason behind this? Cost. Most Americans now feel fast food has become so expensive that it's not worth buying regularly anymore. And yes, that includes us here in New Jersey (See Dino Flammia's story highlighting those costs in the Garden State here ).

But for as bad as this might seem, might there also be some good from it? Let's take a look at both the pros and cons of skyrocketing fast food prices. The Cons According to Lending Tree, "3 in 4 Americans typically eat fast food at least once a week, but the majority (62%) say they’re eating it less due to rising prices." That means fewer customers for our fast food bus.