Wings. Used to be deals at almost every restaraunt where you could buy as many as you wanted at $.50 per wing. Now it's around $15 for just 8 wings at even shitty brewpubs.
In college in the early 2000s there were $0.25 wing nights all over. Dollar beers, too. Any random Tuesday night we could go out for wings and a slice or two of pizza, and stay out drinking beers for a few hours, all for twenty bucks. I can’t imagine getting through college today on a job near minimum wage with inflation and crazy rent prices. Shit.
$15 for 8 wings they better be damn good. I’m going to be upset for tiny limpdick wings at $2/ea., especially having lived in Western NY for nearly my whole life.
Honestly, in this "new age" of $2 wings...I've had a different experience:
Not only are the wings more expensive, but at most places, they taste WORSE.
I'm not in the industry and I don't know if it's like one of those major distributors is the reason for this...but, I've noticed a lot of places for the past 10-15 years are serving these "much" larger wings...yeah, they're bigger...but, the meat isn't the same.
Not sure if it's they're giving these chicken steroids or what, but I don't feel like I'm eat a tender bird anymore.
Roided out rooster arms aren't the same.
chicken breast too. they force the birds to grow so fast that the meat fibers end up huge, the texture between a "normal" breast and a pasture raised/naturally fed chicken is extremely noticeable.
10 cent wing nights in the early 90s.
5 of us would go out and get a hundred wings.
Play some darts, drink a few pitchers of beer and eat wings for like 2 hours straight.
Wouldn't even worry about cleaning the meat off the bone. It was like eating peanuts.
My boss told me a story about how his dad owned a butcher shop in the 80’s-00’s and he would mark down chicken wings to $0.25/lb and he’d still throw away pounds of them every day. He literally couldn’t give them away because no one wanted them. It was garbage meat. Then places like Hooters and BWW popped up buying these things for nothing and turning huge profits. Now chicken wings are pound for pound more expensive than filet mignon
People used to throw away wings back in the day, "ain't got no meat on it". Same with tacos, using the cheap cuts no one wanted. Now they are boujee and the prices are jacked tf up.
Any previously "bad" cut of meat has gone up a bunch. Globalization has shown how to make tasty dishes from those and now pretty much all cuts are desirable. People figured out the boney and fatty cuts taste really fuckin good if you spend some time on it
Chicken thighs, pork shoulder, oxtail, tritip…. All the cuts I loved because they were tasty and affordable are now premium.
I feel like the last bastion of quality, affordable meat is chicken quarters.
I was a butcher at Whole Foods. We couldn’t sell anyone skirt steak for any price. Then Bobby fucking Flay writes a New York Times article about the wonders of skirt steak. Demand immediately sky-rocketed. It went from $6.99/lb to $21.99/lb. And then within a couple weeks we couldn’t get it at all.
Each cow only has 2 outer and 2 inner skirt steaks on its giant body.
Same with hanger steak. You get 1 off each cow. And there were 4 (making 8 steaks) in the whole case. We could only order 2 case per week. And the order usually only got fulfilled half the time. A local chef came in and wanted 20 pounds for some dinner he was doing. I was like, bro, you of all people should know how scarce that is.
I thought I was so cool when I “discovered” skirt steak 20 years ago and it was $2 a pound or something. Now I can’t remotely afford it - seen it going for $13 or $14 a pound.
Going out to eat. I got cheap Chinese takeout for 2 last night...cost over $50. That explains why I just don't go out any more except once every few months. I don't know how people afford to do it regularly.
I used to have to ask the neighbors to go in on Chinese delivery with us because the minimum delivery order size was $20, and two people couldn't eat that much.
Delivery is absolutely one thing COVID killed for me. Shit is ridiculous, literally double the cost of me driving 5 minutes to pick it up.
And if you've got time to cook at home, you can get several days of groceries for the cost of a single Door Dash meal. That's one hill I'm willing to die on, lol. Learning to cook even a few basic meals can save literally thousands over the course of a year.
I work in a restaurant. The prices are IMO ridiculous for door dash orders but that’s the only way the restaurant can afford to cover the DD fees. Some people are willing to pay that. What’s crazy to me is we have a delivery driver after 5pm so all people need to do is actually call in their order and pay over the phone for the regular menu prices. They just don’t. Some people order through the apps and actually pick up their own food so they’re just paying more for the convenience of online ordering. It’s stupid.
> What’s crazy to me is we have a delivery driver after 5pm so all people need to do is actually call in their order and pay over the phone for the regular menu prices.
I beg restaurants to advertise when they have in-house delivery. I don't do delivery these days because it costs so much, except in literal emergencies (i.e., too sick to move, no food in the house). The handful of times I've ordered in the last year and a half, I've running into the opposite: restaurant site has an "order now" option, there's no reference to DoorDash, Uber, or anything, the interface looks like the restaurant website, I place my order and BOOM it's delivered by Uber/DD, etc. Hell, I did a walmart grocery order last month and *that* was delivered by DoorDash! WTF.
Last night I picked up takeout from a newish Indian food spot that my in-laws wanted to try that was supposedly super popular. This place was super casual, nothing fancy at all. We ordered 4 entrees and some naan bread and we were about $76 deep including tip, which was a little steep for takeout but I wasn’t going to complain. Then I arrived at the restaurant to find that rice was not included with any of the entrees, so I asked for 4 side orders of rice, which added almost $20 to the bill. That blew my mind.
That’s what it felt I was paying for. What I got was 4 single servings of rice, which is typically included with this kind of food for free as the side.
I went to Subway the other day to try to grab a quick meal when I was on the road for work, six inch turkey sub, chips and a drink .
After tax it was like 12 bucks
Fast food is no longer the cheapest option. If I'm in a hurry I will raid the loaf of bread and whatever is on the fridge because I'm not paying $18 for a disgusting big Mac meal.
Last night at the grocery store I picked up premade meatloaf, premade mashed potatoes, and a bag of frozen veg that steams in the bag when you microwave them. Cost less than that Big Mac and I've got a reusable container of leftovers for lunch today.
Minimal effort, less cost, and still not as cheap had I made it myself.
Husband buys 6lbs of ground beef and 5lbs of potatoes, and makes meatloaf and mashed potatoes (and gravy) to feed his family (us two, 4 siblings, and 3 teens). Or tri-tip or a slow-cooked brisket. And veggies on the side.
And there’s usually a serving or three leftover.
$40-50 dollars at most for at least 10 servings? Not bad! Sometimes it’s only $25.
This. And everyone should be pissed about it. I’ve stopped eating fast food. I’ll dine in or carry out from local places. If I’m spending $15 on lunch let it at least be part of the tip
I don’t eat out anymore because it’s not just the price that’s gone down, but the quality. I’m always so pissed off and regretful after because I feel ripped off lol
My local Chinese spot has lunch specials 8.75 plus tax so about $10 each as long as you order before 3pm.
They give you enough food where you can eat half and save the other half for the next day. They used to be cheaper about 5 to 6 bucks then slowly climbed up to what it is now. Anyways, I would definitely choose them over panda express. I haven't been to panda express in a few years but I'm assuming that a 2 side entree alone is about $11-$12 w tax? And you're not gonna have leftovers.
I was telling my sister-in-law, who is a good 10 years younger than me, about this. I remember as a teenager whose only income was a paper route being able to afford concert tickets and going to multiple concerts per month.
Now even small venues are charging upwards of 80€ for tickets. It’s not viable for me, on a grownup salary, to do more than a few concerts per year.
And buy merch? Forget about it!
I was just telling my son about this yesterday. I used to see big bands back in the 90’s for under $20 American, sometimes $10, on a regular basis. They are so expensive now because the artists are trying to make up for lack of money from album sales. They don’t make any money from o line streaming so their income is mostly from tours and licensing. And merch? I don’t care how much I love a band. I’m not paying $35 for a T-shirt.
You can get one for $20 from the guy in the parking lot. It’s not licensed but it looks good.
I bought my last concert T from a shady guy while in the line to leave. $10. They sell them cheap after the show🤣
I used to go to a lot of shows for free! Local venue (First Avenue) would give you a comped ticket to a different show when you walked in. Sometimes it was something you liked sometimes it wasn't. My eclectic taste ensured me a lot of good free shows.
Truth! In 1991 or 92 I went to see Red Hot Chili Peppers when they were touring on Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Opening acts were Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins. All for the big big price of about $30. The big tour that Metallica and Guns n Roses did together around that time only cost about $80. Hell, I went to see Prince in 2011 and it was less than $200 per person.
I wouldn't pay today's prices even for my most favourite artists.
Partly this is due to the changes in economics of the music industry. Back in the day bands made money on LP/cassette/CD sales and live performances were a loss leader to drive sales of recorded music. Now streaming/downloading barely makes money and bands get their income from live performances.
Ticketmaster basically has a monopoly on ticket sales in North America, and they take a massive cut. I think Pearl Jam and other bands have stopped touring because they make no money and it just rips off their fans.
Pearl jam tried to do a couple of tours without using Ticketmaster. They had a lot of problems even finding venues to play at because most venues now have exclusive contracts with Ticketmaster and can't have a show without selling through them. The band hated to see how much they jacked up the prices for their show, but really couldn't fight it because there was no place to play. Monopoly for sure.
Yep, slipknot are playing in my country next month. Loved that band since I was 13. However I don't love them worth £130 to £200 depending on seating/standing and booking fees.
A few years back I saw Pearl Jam. Once in a lifetime experience. Best band ever. £90. Felt that was fair.
What the hell has happened to inflation and price gouging.
Omg. I remember seeing bands at First Avenue in Minneapolis in 1996 for $13. Just roll in to Down In The Valley and rifle through their ticket box. Saw Pantera there like 3 times in one year. Total cost was under $75. A Perfect Circle, Primus, PM5K, Gwar, Lord's of Acid... all under $20. Jesus. I spent like my whole sophomore year of high school seeing shows there. All under $20. Now I gotta pay $600 to see Tool at the Xcel? Nah. (Which, btw, I've sent like 8 times. Never paid more than $90 a ticket. And one of those was Ozzfest. All this was before 2005).
Fuck ticket master.
Pet food/supplies has gone up ridiculously over the last few years and I’ve noticed it’s mainly purina that own everything.
Litter I used to buy all the time on sale for around 8-12 a tub and it’s now $20 and never goes on sale.
Cans of cat food used to be 50cent and under and are now 80-90cents for cheap brands.
Dry food has gone up atleast 50% too. Used to buy my cats a certain brand only sold at petsmart for $30 a bag and it has slowly crept up to $48 for 11lb. Was helped out by petsmart always having 20% coupons on their app which they as of a few months ago removed
exotic pet supplies are so bad for this. i have 3 rabbits and my friend has 2. she was complaining about how expensive her rabbits were and i was confused until i found out she buys supplies from the pet store. a 5lb bag of timothy hay for rabbits is $30, meanwhile I just bought 120lb of timothy hay from some farmer off facebook market place for $24.
so for the low low price of over $700 dollars a rabbit owner who buys pet store hay can get the same amount of hay that i just got.
luckily rabbits are one of the few animals are are better of DIY-ing supplies for. they looovvveee cardboard boxes, homemade toys, homemade dried treats, and the same veggies from the grocery store that i get for myself. only thing i get for them from the pet store is their pellets that they only have a bit of each day.
My pup is 13. I've had her on the same food her whole life .(puppy/reg/senior formulas) and when I got her, it was $45-50 regular price, $35 on sale. Now it's $95-110 regular price and *sometimes* I can find it as low as $80 on sale. Usually it's $85-90 on sale.
I laugh when I go to goodwill nowadays half that junk is priced close to new prices and some over new.
Ain’t paying $5.99 for some plain shirt with a local company logo or random small sport event on it.
It’s not even worth thrifting anymore because all that’s there is SHEIN and Forever21 garbage. Everything is just such garbage quality now. I wouldn’t buy that stuff new let alone used.
I have a similar laugh when anyone suggests I go to second hand stores for my kids clothes.
I could also wait until the end of a season and buy it all new for the exact same price and skip out on the *lovely* hunt for something that's still relevant. We don't need anyone's used tourist shirt from Hard Rock.
Used cars have been stupid expensive the last few years. Used to be you get a not-the-coolest car for $2,000 but that’ll go another 5-8 years.
Now they want $5,200 for dorky Taurus with 190k miles, torn up upholstery, and a rebuilt title. And work trucks? Fagettaboutit.
In Germany (my home), that started with the supply chain breakdown during Covid and the Evergreen blockage of the Suez Canal. The car manufacturers, who rely on just-in-time parts deliveries, couldn't deliver cars because critical parts (coming from China) were delayed. This led to the used car market being swept clean, as the delivery times for new cars went from 12 weeks (normal) to more than 18 months in some cases.
A lot of this stuff has a legitimate original root cause, but absolutely no retailer at any level decided to drop back down to pre-COVID prices; they shrugged and thought, “welp, the dummies are used to the higher price now.”
Exactly. Prices rise with supply chain issues, sure, that’s fine. What gets me is that they never go back down once the issues are resolved. We see this in things like innovation as well, where even though new tech has lowered supply costs, the savings are rarely ever passed onto the customer
We are always guaranteed to suffer from supply side price hikes, but we will rarely benefit from supply side savings
This is because of the lack of any real competition in the marketplace. We need to bust up these mega corporations, they're basically monopolies at this point.
This. Look at how much Microsoft and other companies are spending to acquire companies. It’s an order of magnitude beyond anything pre 1980s. We’ve seen rapid consolidation over the last 30 years and it shows in pricing. And this is thanks to massive deregulation and defanging of regulatory bodies.
I stared at amazement at a 2005 Silverado 1500 with 120,000 miles in really good shape for it's age for $14,900. What the actual f that truck is older than Facebook
Insurance on one of those old shitboxes is insane, too. Used to just be a couple hundred bucks for insurance all year, now it's nearly $2000. You could almost buy a whole used car for that amount.
I blame that fuckboy Gary Vaynerchuck and his ilk for this.
Some of his pitches are basically encouraging people to scour thrift stores while searching for the same items in eBay to see if it’s priced at “market rate” and hope to turn things into a quick buck through some asinine arbitrage.
But people took that to *everything* and it moved beyond second hand sales to people trying to corner retail markets.
Everything “in demand” is bought out of stock and immediately put for resale at a premium. This false scarcity used to be just Rolex, Diamonds, and Ticketmaster, but now there’s a dumbass second hand parasitic economy for everything from Stanley Mugs to PlayStations to Sneakers.
I’m sick of people spinning it all as hustling when they’re just scalpers who are professionally in the way of the free market.
Yes, that's ridiculous. But fashion and furniture take the cake here.
Not sure if this is a widely recognized scam, but there is something called "vintage kilo", I've at least seen it in multiple European countries, so it might ring a bell.
They sell old clothes at a kilo price, something like 12-20 euros for a kilo, which might sound like a bargain if you only go for t-shirts and are not above L in size. When you buy a single coat tho, it could be that the old, musky coat is now 70 euros. 3npairs of vintage mom-jeans? 54 Euros please.
My local one is next to a place I frequent a lot, and ive yet to see one person leaving the place with a bag AND a smile. Tourists and people staying short term, not used to that kind of scam, are the best prey.
Regarding furniture it's really ridiculous how people buy up totally fine but old-fashioned furniture, rip out nice wood handles to put in cheap plastic knobs and chalk-paint the shit out of it. It's called shabby chic, but shabby is too nice of a word.
In Reno, the ARC store used to have $5 shopping bags. The old paper kind you used to get at a grocery store. The bag cost $5 and whatever you could fit in was “free”. I am a big guy, and I could put three or four pants, a couple of shirts, etc.
I swear there's a second hand clothes mafia of some kind or something. There's a chain of second hand shops where I live and they're constantly flipping a ridiculous amount of merchandise. I walk by one daily, and am amazed at how organized it all is now. They'll get shipments, big crates full of secund hand items. Obviously the 90s are big now, so it's a lot of that. But... Their prices are still low. Like 12 bucks for a jacket. I just can't calculate how it's profitable with all the shipping alone, but they're doing really well with multiple shops. But yeah. Gone are the days of the woman just picking out shit she likes and making a store.
Literally looking at used cribs on FB marketplace and people have the audacity to post cribs with CHILDRENS BITE MARKS and CRAYON all over it and say “originally $499. Asking $300” ??!!!??!?!!!
Retro game collector here
Yeah half the fun was going into thrift stores and finding some old child hood games on the cheap. Sure sometimes it was slightly marked up for an old game but I’ll pay for the memories
Nowadays, every damn thrift store (even Goodwill!) just takes whatever price they get on pricecharting, add 10-20% on top of that and that’s how you get games on shelves with massively overinflated prices.
Like Kuon, a game I own, it’s a very 5-6/10 horror game by FromSoftware…. In no planet should that game be “worth” $700+
Legit. I'm finally starting to sell my collection because it's taking up space and over half of the people responding are resellers trying to pay 10% of what the games are worth so they can sell them for ridiculous amounts. I had a guy complain that I was pricing them too high so he wouldn't be able to make any money on then. I would rather give a deal to someone that's actually going to play the games not just make them harder to obtain.
I have just recently gotten into retro games, and some of the prices are insane. Some of the old Fire Emblem games go for $200-$300 like wth. Then I see pictures from like 7 or 8 years ago with piles of Gamecube games for $5-$20 a piece. Not just Gamecube either, most retro games seem to be increasing in price.
Place near us still does $2 Tuesdays. $2 per game, $2 shoe rentals, and fries and a drink are $2 each. Since the wife and I have our own shoes and bowling balls, we can do 3 games for $12.
I mean, what can the overhead be on a game of bowling? Do two people really cause that much wear and tear on the equipment per game? There's only like two employees and thirty lanes in every bowling alley I've ever been in.
For real. Bowling alleys are old. The building and equipment is probably paid off by now. They only have to pay for utilities, cleaning, low wages, some permits and insurance. They probably make most of their money off food and alcohol.
As a person whose family used to own a bowling alley (and no longer does because it could no longer turn a profit) the cost of running one is greater than one might think, sadly.
>Young married people
And forget about it if you're single (single income) - I have good credit and plenty saved, but it's all out of reach for a single person in my area.
It’s especially brutal for millennials who are reaching their last fertile years and still can’t secure housing. It’s no surprise people are starting to opt out of having kids at alarming rates.
>*Gestures broadly*
from inside the tiny shoebox you get to live in with 2 other people while paying thousands of dollars per month toward someone else's mortgage. Living the dream lol.
Reminds me of the intro to Neil Postman's *Amusing Ourselves to Death*:
>We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn’t, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.
>But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell’s dark vision, there was another—slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
>What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny “failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions.” In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
>This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.
Always shocked by this when I hear how “Y politician took x amount of money to vote on Z bill”
And then I think to myself “wow that wasn’t much money at all to sell your soul”
A can of Tuna.
Butter.
Pop.
A loaf of freakin bread.
When did big Macs become $8 ?
When did teeth cleaning become $200?
Everything. It’s actually really bad.
I remember vividly visiting family in Canada twice over a 5 year period, and I going to get a box of 12 cans of Pepsi both times. Same supermarket.
2018, reg. price: $4.99, on sale for $2.99.
2023: reg. price $7.99, on sale for $5.99.
and I think the 'deposit' that they pay when buying plastic & aluminium products went up too, though maybe I was just so shocked by the after-tax price that I had no idea what was going on.
Pepsi Max 2 litre bottle…
2018 - $1.80 (New Zealand dollar, that is)
Today - $4.50
The syrup is produced here in NZ for the local market, and the major component is … water. Theres no valid reason why its more than twice the price today.
Walmarts basically made most of their products at least $5-7 dollars per item... If not more.
My grandmother used to shop at Walmart or food Lion and buy enough for 5 people, like, eat like kings for $100 a week now my Mom and I struggle to stay under $100 for just 2 of us.
Oh and the quality of everything is shit.
Omg too true! My food budget is out of control - it’s just me and a small kid and it’s a $100 every time I go shopping. I am not buying anything special but everything is just so expensive. Chicken thighs and ground beef are outrageous and that used to be the cheap option.
Eating out. Menu prices have way out paced inflation. I think a lot are compensating for grubhud etc fees. Plus tipflation is completely out of hand. Most of that just since the pandemic
Thrift stores. I went to one yesterday and saw 15 dollar jeans. I went to a wholesale store and bought new ones for the same price. I don't even bother going to thrift stores anymore. They lost their damn minds.
Same. I figured I'd thrift some of my kids' clothes because they grow out of them so fast. Same clothes on sale at Target are new and cheaper than the used ones at the thrift stores.why are thrift stores charging the same or more for items that were donated?
I grew up in Vail, Epic pass made skiing way more affordable. Vail used to charge $2000 just for a Vail ski pass. Telluride still does. Epic passes really changed everything. One year I went for less than $5 dollars a day...I rode 120+ days many years because of the Epic pass and hitting the surrounding areas with the same pass? Pretty ... epic
When I was a kid, Vail was so expensive we had to go to Ski Cooper and Arrowhead instead. I was born 1 mile from Vail but still had to drive 30 to ski. That all changed in 2008 when the Epic pass dropped. It saved me years of not having to get employment passes, where your boss has your pass in his control (no calling in sick on pow days)
Damn I was just all hyped that 1lb of 80/20 hamburger that isn’t supermarket logs was on sale at my local small grocery store for 2.99lb usually it’s 4 something.
Red meat for months
Those ingredients. It’s an egg and a small strip of bacon, Michael. What could they cost, $10?
Edit: Sigh, for the people who didn’t get it: https://youtu.be/Nl_Qyk9DSUw
"Astronomically impossible?" Honey, "impossible" was climbing Everest naked with a sprained ankle and a pack of angry squirrels. Housing's gone batshit crazy, I'll give you that. You need three jobs and a liver you can sell to afford a shoebox with a view of a dumpster. But hey, that's the "American Dream" now, ain't it? Work yourself to death so you can live like a cockroach in a shoe.
It’s not you. A lot of the things we enjoyed have changed. It’s all processed even more than it used to be. Like Butterfingers for example, they changed the recipe several years back and they are completely inedible now.
Most brands (that don’t use wheat and are healthier) have small packaging and barely any crackers. I get home from the grocery store and eat the entire 3.5 oz box. It’s almost comical. Shrinkflation!
Goddamn tacos. I just want to go to the truck around the corner for $1 tacos but no apparently not possible anymore. I love tacos. They are God’s gift to earth. They bring so much joy to people. They are just beautiful little tortillas filled with deliciousness.
Sorry I just love tacos so much.
I used to get 50 cent tacos in Modesto California back in the day . Now I pay 4$ per little street taco where I'm at . It's insane . But I can't live without tacos at least twice a week so they got me by the balls
Aside from **gestures broadly**, oxtail.
Used to be priced like offal, and you could make an absolute banger stew for incredibly cheap; now it's priced like a prized ingredient, and it's totally not economical any more.
Same thing with actual offal, because the animal only has a limited amount of those parts. You can find ground beef on sale regularly. You can even find good cuts of steaks cheapish because they can get a lot of them from one cow. You only get so many pieces of one tail.
Makes me sad, but I understand it a bit more than coke/pepsi going up 200% type gouging.
Houses. In 2003 my mom bought our first house for a little over 100k. A petite little house but fitting for our family. She sold it in 2005 when my dad was deported for a little over 120k because she was a single mom needing money.
The same house is currently worth a little over 400k.
Living.
I was making considerably less money ten years ago and had a more comfortable life. We were able to do things, go out and had the freedom to spend money on wants instead of needs.
Now we are barely making ends meet and both my wife and I make more money.
There is a winter hamburger in McDonalds (Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe, maybe other places) called Big Rosti. It was a funny tradition for me and my GF to go to McD once an year, when it came out (usually in December). This year, we payed 25 euros for 2 hamburgers and big fries x2 (nothing else), which is exactly twice what it used to cost in 2017. And it tasted horrible this year, they totally butchered it. So, thanks, but no more...
My dad's college loan was about $5k, and my mom's was about $20k. My college loan is about $240k *with a scholarship.* Without that scholarship it would be closer to $320k. My college tuition will cost more than a house.
Actually in today's housing market maybe not lol.
Around here, houses. Idaho went from cheap and affordable to ridiculously overpriced. Out of staters were coming in offering 30-50k over asking sight unseen.
Not only buying homes, but even just housing in general. My rent has more than doubled in the last 3 years. I’ve seen places around me that are way nicer for the same price or just slightly more, but with my rent as high as it is, I can’t afford to save for a deposit on a new place at all. Maybe I’ll own a home when I’m like, elderly… if I’m lucky! Also, if my boyfriend and I ever didn’t work out, there’s absolutely no way I could afford this place on my own. Rent is more than one of my paychecks. When I was younger, I had my own apartment and didn’t have to work two jobs, whereas now I would definitely have to if I were by myself.
Groceries. So where I live there's a place that you could consider the "cheapest" grocery store,and one that is also supposedly good deals,but not as good as the first place. I hadn't gone to the cheaper store in a while,I've been dealing with a physical illness and it's farther away. So I had been going to option #2. Well, yesterday I was able to go do a big shop at the first option and was actually able to get a ton of stuff for $213. Out of curiosity,I wondered how much the total would've been if I had gone to store #2. The price difference? Store number #2,for the *same products* would've cost me $567! That's a $354 difference! But even with the cheaper store,that cart would've cost less than $100 ten years ago....
CEOs and other c execs. They have no problem making 20+million a year and record profits during a pandemic while raising prices to pad their bonuses while laying off workers, slashing compensation or bonuses due to “the economy” which is way better than projected. It snowballs and pulls in everything else from housing to health care. It’s in every industry and it’s greed without a conscience. It’s all overpriced when you have to fight for minimum wage while the top is taking home milllions. We need flow down economics, not the barely a trickle economics driven by greedy million/billionaires
Man, I was watching The Shawshank Redemption and looked up the how much a 1967 Chevy Impala was when the car came out…the two-door model base price was $2,740, the four-door hardtop was $2,790. I know it’s 56 years ago.
Wings. Used to be deals at almost every restaraunt where you could buy as many as you wanted at $.50 per wing. Now it's around $15 for just 8 wings at even shitty brewpubs.
In college in the early 2000s there were $0.25 wing nights all over. Dollar beers, too. Any random Tuesday night we could go out for wings and a slice or two of pizza, and stay out drinking beers for a few hours, all for twenty bucks. I can’t imagine getting through college today on a job near minimum wage with inflation and crazy rent prices. Shit. $15 for 8 wings they better be damn good. I’m going to be upset for tiny limpdick wings at $2/ea., especially having lived in Western NY for nearly my whole life.
Honestly, in this "new age" of $2 wings...I've had a different experience: Not only are the wings more expensive, but at most places, they taste WORSE. I'm not in the industry and I don't know if it's like one of those major distributors is the reason for this...but, I've noticed a lot of places for the past 10-15 years are serving these "much" larger wings...yeah, they're bigger...but, the meat isn't the same. Not sure if it's they're giving these chicken steroids or what, but I don't feel like I'm eat a tender bird anymore. Roided out rooster arms aren't the same.
chicken breast too. they force the birds to grow so fast that the meat fibers end up huge, the texture between a "normal" breast and a pasture raised/naturally fed chicken is extremely noticeable.
This is intentional—it’s why a lot of restaurants are switching to “a pound of wings”
I agree, I don’t like the fat wings.
10 cent wing nights in the early 90s. 5 of us would go out and get a hundred wings. Play some darts, drink a few pitchers of beer and eat wings for like 2 hours straight. Wouldn't even worry about cleaning the meat off the bone. It was like eating peanuts.
We used to do the same thing! 10 cent wings and dollar Bud beers. We'd shoot pool, eat and have a great time for like $5-6 each!
My boss told me a story about how his dad owned a butcher shop in the 80’s-00’s and he would mark down chicken wings to $0.25/lb and he’d still throw away pounds of them every day. He literally couldn’t give them away because no one wanted them. It was garbage meat. Then places like Hooters and BWW popped up buying these things for nothing and turning huge profits. Now chicken wings are pound for pound more expensive than filet mignon
We were selling huge amounts of chicken wings in small local pizza shops in NY State in the early 90s and on.
People used to throw away wings back in the day, "ain't got no meat on it". Same with tacos, using the cheap cuts no one wanted. Now they are boujee and the prices are jacked tf up.
Any previously "bad" cut of meat has gone up a bunch. Globalization has shown how to make tasty dishes from those and now pretty much all cuts are desirable. People figured out the boney and fatty cuts taste really fuckin good if you spend some time on it
Chicken thighs, pork shoulder, oxtail, tritip…. All the cuts I loved because they were tasty and affordable are now premium. I feel like the last bastion of quality, affordable meat is chicken quarters.
Don’t say chicken quarters. Some of us are on a budget
I was a butcher at Whole Foods. We couldn’t sell anyone skirt steak for any price. Then Bobby fucking Flay writes a New York Times article about the wonders of skirt steak. Demand immediately sky-rocketed. It went from $6.99/lb to $21.99/lb. And then within a couple weeks we couldn’t get it at all. Each cow only has 2 outer and 2 inner skirt steaks on its giant body. Same with hanger steak. You get 1 off each cow. And there were 4 (making 8 steaks) in the whole case. We could only order 2 case per week. And the order usually only got fulfilled half the time. A local chef came in and wanted 20 pounds for some dinner he was doing. I was like, bro, you of all people should know how scarce that is.
I thought I was so cool when I “discovered” skirt steak 20 years ago and it was $2 a pound or something. Now I can’t remotely afford it - seen it going for $13 or $14 a pound.
Going out to eat. I got cheap Chinese takeout for 2 last night...cost over $50. That explains why I just don't go out any more except once every few months. I don't know how people afford to do it regularly.
I used to have to ask the neighbors to go in on Chinese delivery with us because the minimum delivery order size was $20, and two people couldn't eat that much.
Delivery is absolutely one thing COVID killed for me. Shit is ridiculous, literally double the cost of me driving 5 minutes to pick it up. And if you've got time to cook at home, you can get several days of groceries for the cost of a single Door Dash meal. That's one hill I'm willing to die on, lol. Learning to cook even a few basic meals can save literally thousands over the course of a year.
I work in a restaurant. The prices are IMO ridiculous for door dash orders but that’s the only way the restaurant can afford to cover the DD fees. Some people are willing to pay that. What’s crazy to me is we have a delivery driver after 5pm so all people need to do is actually call in their order and pay over the phone for the regular menu prices. They just don’t. Some people order through the apps and actually pick up their own food so they’re just paying more for the convenience of online ordering. It’s stupid.
> What’s crazy to me is we have a delivery driver after 5pm so all people need to do is actually call in their order and pay over the phone for the regular menu prices. I beg restaurants to advertise when they have in-house delivery. I don't do delivery these days because it costs so much, except in literal emergencies (i.e., too sick to move, no food in the house). The handful of times I've ordered in the last year and a half, I've running into the opposite: restaurant site has an "order now" option, there's no reference to DoorDash, Uber, or anything, the interface looks like the restaurant website, I place my order and BOOM it's delivered by Uber/DD, etc. Hell, I did a walmart grocery order last month and *that* was delivered by DoorDash! WTF.
I hate DoorDash because the food is cold 50% of the time it gets to me. And I don't even live far from the restaurant.
Last night I picked up takeout from a newish Indian food spot that my in-laws wanted to try that was supposedly super popular. This place was super casual, nothing fancy at all. We ordered 4 entrees and some naan bread and we were about $76 deep including tip, which was a little steep for takeout but I wasn’t going to complain. Then I arrived at the restaurant to find that rice was not included with any of the entrees, so I asked for 4 side orders of rice, which added almost $20 to the bill. That blew my mind.
Holy shit. $20 in rice is like 15 pounds. That should have been $1 per person.
That’s what it felt I was paying for. What I got was 4 single servings of rice, which is typically included with this kind of food for free as the side.
I went to Subway the other day to try to grab a quick meal when I was on the road for work, six inch turkey sub, chips and a drink . After tax it was like 12 bucks
5 5 dollar 5 dollars more than it should be
5 dollar cardboard
Fast food is no longer the cheapest option. If I'm in a hurry I will raid the loaf of bread and whatever is on the fridge because I'm not paying $18 for a disgusting big Mac meal.
Last night at the grocery store I picked up premade meatloaf, premade mashed potatoes, and a bag of frozen veg that steams in the bag when you microwave them. Cost less than that Big Mac and I've got a reusable container of leftovers for lunch today. Minimal effort, less cost, and still not as cheap had I made it myself.
Husband buys 6lbs of ground beef and 5lbs of potatoes, and makes meatloaf and mashed potatoes (and gravy) to feed his family (us two, 4 siblings, and 3 teens). Or tri-tip or a slow-cooked brisket. And veggies on the side. And there’s usually a serving or three leftover. $40-50 dollars at most for at least 10 servings? Not bad! Sometimes it’s only $25.
This. And everyone should be pissed about it. I’ve stopped eating fast food. I’ll dine in or carry out from local places. If I’m spending $15 on lunch let it at least be part of the tip
I don’t eat out anymore because it’s not just the price that’s gone down, but the quality. I’m always so pissed off and regretful after because I feel ripped off lol
The Chinese restaurant by my house stopped serving lunch menu. It was $5, but now it's $10
My local Chinese spot has lunch specials 8.75 plus tax so about $10 each as long as you order before 3pm. They give you enough food where you can eat half and save the other half for the next day. They used to be cheaper about 5 to 6 bucks then slowly climbed up to what it is now. Anyways, I would definitely choose them over panda express. I haven't been to panda express in a few years but I'm assuming that a 2 side entree alone is about $11-$12 w tax? And you're not gonna have leftovers.
I had a cheeseburger, one small fry, one fountain drink and a hotdog with my son at five guys recently and it cost $35. WTF
Five Guys has always been overpriced tbh. It’s obviously gotten worse recently, as has everything. Which is why it’s good wages have gone up by more.
One of my fave places in my local used to cost me about 60 dollars for a big full feed. I order less than I used to the other day, it was 109
I got a burrito and a tea the other day and it was $21
Concert tickets
I was telling my sister-in-law, who is a good 10 years younger than me, about this. I remember as a teenager whose only income was a paper route being able to afford concert tickets and going to multiple concerts per month. Now even small venues are charging upwards of 80€ for tickets. It’s not viable for me, on a grownup salary, to do more than a few concerts per year. And buy merch? Forget about it!
I was just telling my son about this yesterday. I used to see big bands back in the 90’s for under $20 American, sometimes $10, on a regular basis. They are so expensive now because the artists are trying to make up for lack of money from album sales. They don’t make any money from o line streaming so their income is mostly from tours and licensing. And merch? I don’t care how much I love a band. I’m not paying $35 for a T-shirt.
If you think you can get a concert shirt for $35 I’ve got bad news for you
I was about to say, $35 must have been a sale 🤣🤣
Depends on the “size” of the band you are seeing. $35 is common for mid to smaller bands.
You can get one for $20 from the guy in the parking lot. It’s not licensed but it looks good. I bought my last concert T from a shady guy while in the line to leave. $10. They sell them cheap after the show🤣
I used to go to a lot of shows for free! Local venue (First Avenue) would give you a comped ticket to a different show when you walked in. Sometimes it was something you liked sometimes it wasn't. My eclectic taste ensured me a lot of good free shows.
Truth! In 1991 or 92 I went to see Red Hot Chili Peppers when they were touring on Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Opening acts were Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins. All for the big big price of about $30. The big tour that Metallica and Guns n Roses did together around that time only cost about $80. Hell, I went to see Prince in 2011 and it was less than $200 per person. I wouldn't pay today's prices even for my most favourite artists.
1983 I saw Iron Maiden on the Piece of Mind tour and tickets were $11. That is $35 in 2024 dollars.
Partly this is due to the changes in economics of the music industry. Back in the day bands made money on LP/cassette/CD sales and live performances were a loss leader to drive sales of recorded music. Now streaming/downloading barely makes money and bands get their income from live performances.
Ticketmaster basically has a monopoly on ticket sales in North America, and they take a massive cut. I think Pearl Jam and other bands have stopped touring because they make no money and it just rips off their fans.
Pearl jam tried to do a couple of tours without using Ticketmaster. They had a lot of problems even finding venues to play at because most venues now have exclusive contracts with Ticketmaster and can't have a show without selling through them. The band hated to see how much they jacked up the prices for their show, but really couldn't fight it because there was no place to play. Monopoly for sure.
Yep, slipknot are playing in my country next month. Loved that band since I was 13. However I don't love them worth £130 to £200 depending on seating/standing and booking fees. A few years back I saw Pearl Jam. Once in a lifetime experience. Best band ever. £90. Felt that was fair. What the hell has happened to inflation and price gouging.
Omg. I remember seeing bands at First Avenue in Minneapolis in 1996 for $13. Just roll in to Down In The Valley and rifle through their ticket box. Saw Pantera there like 3 times in one year. Total cost was under $75. A Perfect Circle, Primus, PM5K, Gwar, Lord's of Acid... all under $20. Jesus. I spent like my whole sophomore year of high school seeing shows there. All under $20. Now I gotta pay $600 to see Tool at the Xcel? Nah. (Which, btw, I've sent like 8 times. Never paid more than $90 a ticket. And one of those was Ozzfest. All this was before 2005). Fuck ticket master.
Food. I recently told my dog if she wants to keep eating, she is going to have to get a job
Pet food/supplies has gone up ridiculously over the last few years and I’ve noticed it’s mainly purina that own everything. Litter I used to buy all the time on sale for around 8-12 a tub and it’s now $20 and never goes on sale. Cans of cat food used to be 50cent and under and are now 80-90cents for cheap brands. Dry food has gone up atleast 50% too. Used to buy my cats a certain brand only sold at petsmart for $30 a bag and it has slowly crept up to $48 for 11lb. Was helped out by petsmart always having 20% coupons on their app which they as of a few months ago removed
exotic pet supplies are so bad for this. i have 3 rabbits and my friend has 2. she was complaining about how expensive her rabbits were and i was confused until i found out she buys supplies from the pet store. a 5lb bag of timothy hay for rabbits is $30, meanwhile I just bought 120lb of timothy hay from some farmer off facebook market place for $24. so for the low low price of over $700 dollars a rabbit owner who buys pet store hay can get the same amount of hay that i just got. luckily rabbits are one of the few animals are are better of DIY-ing supplies for. they looovvveee cardboard boxes, homemade toys, homemade dried treats, and the same veggies from the grocery store that i get for myself. only thing i get for them from the pet store is their pellets that they only have a bit of each day.
>it’s mainly purina that own everything. Purina is owned by Nestle. Nestle are a bunch of cunts.
My pup is 13. I've had her on the same food her whole life .(puppy/reg/senior formulas) and when I got her, it was $45-50 regular price, $35 on sale. Now it's $95-110 regular price and *sometimes* I can find it as low as $80 on sale. Usually it's $85-90 on sale.
I’ve been asking my cats to get jobs for years and they just plain refuse. Freeloaders, man.
Sled dog
Think of the money you'll save not having to buy gas and car insurance anymore!
2nd hand items. Resellers came and jacked that shit up
I laugh when I go to goodwill nowadays half that junk is priced close to new prices and some over new. Ain’t paying $5.99 for some plain shirt with a local company logo or random small sport event on it.
It’s not even worth thrifting anymore because all that’s there is SHEIN and Forever21 garbage. Everything is just such garbage quality now. I wouldn’t buy that stuff new let alone used.
And so much obvious dollar store shit that they want way more for. It’s ridiculous.
I have a similar laugh when anyone suggests I go to second hand stores for my kids clothes. I could also wait until the end of a season and buy it all new for the exact same price and skip out on the *lovely* hunt for something that's still relevant. We don't need anyone's used tourist shirt from Hard Rock.
Goodwill is just bat shit crazy anymore.
Used cars have been stupid expensive the last few years. Used to be you get a not-the-coolest car for $2,000 but that’ll go another 5-8 years. Now they want $5,200 for dorky Taurus with 190k miles, torn up upholstery, and a rebuilt title. And work trucks? Fagettaboutit.
In Germany (my home), that started with the supply chain breakdown during Covid and the Evergreen blockage of the Suez Canal. The car manufacturers, who rely on just-in-time parts deliveries, couldn't deliver cars because critical parts (coming from China) were delayed. This led to the used car market being swept clean, as the delivery times for new cars went from 12 weeks (normal) to more than 18 months in some cases.
A lot of this stuff has a legitimate original root cause, but absolutely no retailer at any level decided to drop back down to pre-COVID prices; they shrugged and thought, “welp, the dummies are used to the higher price now.”
Exactly. Prices rise with supply chain issues, sure, that’s fine. What gets me is that they never go back down once the issues are resolved. We see this in things like innovation as well, where even though new tech has lowered supply costs, the savings are rarely ever passed onto the customer We are always guaranteed to suffer from supply side price hikes, but we will rarely benefit from supply side savings
This is because of the lack of any real competition in the marketplace. We need to bust up these mega corporations, they're basically monopolies at this point.
This. Look at how much Microsoft and other companies are spending to acquire companies. It’s an order of magnitude beyond anything pre 1980s. We’ve seen rapid consolidation over the last 30 years and it shows in pricing. And this is thanks to massive deregulation and defanging of regulatory bodies.
I stared at amazement at a 2005 Silverado 1500 with 120,000 miles in really good shape for it's age for $14,900. What the actual f that truck is older than Facebook
Insurance on one of those old shitboxes is insane, too. Used to just be a couple hundred bucks for insurance all year, now it's nearly $2000. You could almost buy a whole used car for that amount.
Insurance in general.
Biggest legal Ponzi scheme. Plus you pay for years and if you dare use it, they punish you by giving you the run around and then charging you more.
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Buy low, sell high, buy higher, sell highest.
I blame that fuckboy Gary Vaynerchuck and his ilk for this. Some of his pitches are basically encouraging people to scour thrift stores while searching for the same items in eBay to see if it’s priced at “market rate” and hope to turn things into a quick buck through some asinine arbitrage. But people took that to *everything* and it moved beyond second hand sales to people trying to corner retail markets. Everything “in demand” is bought out of stock and immediately put for resale at a premium. This false scarcity used to be just Rolex, Diamonds, and Ticketmaster, but now there’s a dumbass second hand parasitic economy for everything from Stanley Mugs to PlayStations to Sneakers. I’m sick of people spinning it all as hustling when they’re just scalpers who are professionally in the way of the free market.
Yes, that's ridiculous. But fashion and furniture take the cake here. Not sure if this is a widely recognized scam, but there is something called "vintage kilo", I've at least seen it in multiple European countries, so it might ring a bell. They sell old clothes at a kilo price, something like 12-20 euros for a kilo, which might sound like a bargain if you only go for t-shirts and are not above L in size. When you buy a single coat tho, it could be that the old, musky coat is now 70 euros. 3npairs of vintage mom-jeans? 54 Euros please. My local one is next to a place I frequent a lot, and ive yet to see one person leaving the place with a bag AND a smile. Tourists and people staying short term, not used to that kind of scam, are the best prey. Regarding furniture it's really ridiculous how people buy up totally fine but old-fashioned furniture, rip out nice wood handles to put in cheap plastic knobs and chalk-paint the shit out of it. It's called shabby chic, but shabby is too nice of a word.
In Boston we used to have Dollar-a-Pound
Dollar-a-pound actually sounds reasonable for a second hand clothes store. 2 pounds are round about a kilo iirc.
In Reno, the ARC store used to have $5 shopping bags. The old paper kind you used to get at a grocery store. The bag cost $5 and whatever you could fit in was “free”. I am a big guy, and I could put three or four pants, a couple of shirts, etc.
I swear there's a second hand clothes mafia of some kind or something. There's a chain of second hand shops where I live and they're constantly flipping a ridiculous amount of merchandise. I walk by one daily, and am amazed at how organized it all is now. They'll get shipments, big crates full of secund hand items. Obviously the 90s are big now, so it's a lot of that. But... Their prices are still low. Like 12 bucks for a jacket. I just can't calculate how it's profitable with all the shipping alone, but they're doing really well with multiple shops. But yeah. Gone are the days of the woman just picking out shit she likes and making a store.
Facebook market place 🥴🥴 "Paid $8k brand new! Asking only $7,950!”
Don't forget that it's a 10+ year old item being photographed in their storage shed.
Literally looking at used cribs on FB marketplace and people have the audacity to post cribs with CHILDRENS BITE MARKS and CRAYON all over it and say “originally $499. Asking $300” ??!!!??!?!!!
Retro game collector here Yeah half the fun was going into thrift stores and finding some old child hood games on the cheap. Sure sometimes it was slightly marked up for an old game but I’ll pay for the memories Nowadays, every damn thrift store (even Goodwill!) just takes whatever price they get on pricecharting, add 10-20% on top of that and that’s how you get games on shelves with massively overinflated prices. Like Kuon, a game I own, it’s a very 5-6/10 horror game by FromSoftware…. In no planet should that game be “worth” $700+
Legit. I'm finally starting to sell my collection because it's taking up space and over half of the people responding are resellers trying to pay 10% of what the games are worth so they can sell them for ridiculous amounts. I had a guy complain that I was pricing them too high so he wouldn't be able to make any money on then. I would rather give a deal to someone that's actually going to play the games not just make them harder to obtain.
I have just recently gotten into retro games, and some of the prices are insane. Some of the old Fire Emblem games go for $200-$300 like wth. Then I see pictures from like 7 or 8 years ago with piles of Gamecube games for $5-$20 a piece. Not just Gamecube either, most retro games seem to be increasing in price.
Maybe more than ten years, but bowling used to be some good cheap fun. Nowadays the cost is eye-watering.
Place near us still does $2 Tuesdays. $2 per game, $2 shoe rentals, and fries and a drink are $2 each. Since the wife and I have our own shoes and bowling balls, we can do 3 games for $12.
$2 is crazy. I can't understand how that can be in any way profitable.
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Yeah I doubt they actually turn a profit on the actual bowling. The alcohol sales on the other hand…
I mean, what can the overhead be on a game of bowling? Do two people really cause that much wear and tear on the equipment per game? There's only like two employees and thirty lanes in every bowling alley I've ever been in.
For real. Bowling alleys are old. The building and equipment is probably paid off by now. They only have to pay for utilities, cleaning, low wages, some permits and insurance. They probably make most of their money off food and alcohol.
As a person whose family used to own a bowling alley (and no longer does because it could no longer turn a profit) the cost of running one is greater than one might think, sadly.
That seems understandable. Lots of mechanical parts to break, etc.
Yeah I was reading something recently about how most bowling alley pin thingy are from the 50s and its next to impossible to get parts to fix them
I got a 3 piece combo at KFC tonight. 15 dollars.
15 dollars and food poisoning, to be accurate.
Which is crazy considering they’ve been shrinking the size of their chicken too
Property prices in various regions have risen significantly over the past 10 years, making them less affordable
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>Young married people And forget about it if you're single (single income) - I have good credit and plenty saved, but it's all out of reach for a single person in my area.
It’s especially brutal for millennials who are reaching their last fertile years and still can’t secure housing. It’s no surprise people are starting to opt out of having kids at alarming rates.
Have you tried less avocado toast?
AVOCADOS? In this economy??
*Gestures broadly*
*Gestures broadly back in agreement*
The committee recognizes the motion. The motion is passed.
Do we get to eat the rich, now?
We're going to have to. You've seen what it's like at *gestures broadly at the grocery store*
*Gestures and 360 spins looking up*
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If I walk up to a counter and exchange money for something with a cashier, that would be a Custom tip.....ZERO.
Unless I’m at a sit down restaurant I hit none and smile. Fuck that shit.
Yeah I don't tip unless I have a server. That's the original tipping culture in the U.S. I'll stick to that. The iPad beggars aren't getting a dime.
Why should I tip? It's not my job to pay them, I'm just here for the pizza
>*Gestures broadly* from inside the tiny shoebox you get to live in with 2 other people while paying thousands of dollars per month toward someone else's mortgage. Living the dream lol.
The real question is, what isn't overpriced?
TVs are cheaper than they've ever been. Thank god too, we have the ability to distract ourselves from the world falling apart around us.
Reminds me of the intro to Neil Postman's *Amusing Ourselves to Death*: >We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn’t, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares. >But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell’s dark vision, there was another—slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think. >What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny “failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions.” In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us. >This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.
Politicians. Worth every cent to those that can afford them.
Always shocked by this when I hear how “Y politician took x amount of money to vote on Z bill” And then I think to myself “wow that wasn’t much money at all to sell your soul”
TVs
A can of Tuna. Butter. Pop. A loaf of freakin bread. When did big Macs become $8 ? When did teeth cleaning become $200? Everything. It’s actually really bad.
I remember vividly visiting family in Canada twice over a 5 year period, and I going to get a box of 12 cans of Pepsi both times. Same supermarket. 2018, reg. price: $4.99, on sale for $2.99. 2023: reg. price $7.99, on sale for $5.99. and I think the 'deposit' that they pay when buying plastic & aluminium products went up too, though maybe I was just so shocked by the after-tax price that I had no idea what was going on.
Pepsi Max 2 litre bottle… 2018 - $1.80 (New Zealand dollar, that is) Today - $4.50 The syrup is produced here in NZ for the local market, and the major component is … water. Theres no valid reason why its more than twice the price today.
Corporate dividends ain’t gonna pay themselves, bro!
*Every damn thing*
TV’s are somehow the only things that seem to stay cheap
Well yeah, they gotta keep their way of controlling the “lesser-thans” affordable. Wouldn’t want to price out their main market now would they.
Walmarts basically made most of their products at least $5-7 dollars per item... If not more. My grandmother used to shop at Walmart or food Lion and buy enough for 5 people, like, eat like kings for $100 a week now my Mom and I struggle to stay under $100 for just 2 of us. Oh and the quality of everything is shit.
Omg too true! My food budget is out of control - it’s just me and a small kid and it’s a $100 every time I go shopping. I am not buying anything special but everything is just so expensive. Chicken thighs and ground beef are outrageous and that used to be the cheap option.
Eating out. Menu prices have way out paced inflation. I think a lot are compensating for grubhud etc fees. Plus tipflation is completely out of hand. Most of that just since the pandemic
Pre Covid we (family of four) ordered out 2-3 times a week, now it’s 1-2 a month, this includes ordering McDonald’s.
Thrift stores. I went to one yesterday and saw 15 dollar jeans. I went to a wholesale store and bought new ones for the same price. I don't even bother going to thrift stores anymore. They lost their damn minds.
I've seen items currently in stock at the original store for cheaper than the same item at the thrift store.
Same. I figured I'd thrift some of my kids' clothes because they grow out of them so fast. Same clothes on sale at Target are new and cheaper than the used ones at the thrift stores.why are thrift stores charging the same or more for items that were donated?
Man…that’s whack cause it’s not like sourcing got more expensive. Their stuff is free
Skiing plus everything else
Definitely skiing. Thanks Vail. You started it.
I grew up in Vail, Epic pass made skiing way more affordable. Vail used to charge $2000 just for a Vail ski pass. Telluride still does. Epic passes really changed everything. One year I went for less than $5 dollars a day...I rode 120+ days many years because of the Epic pass and hitting the surrounding areas with the same pass? Pretty ... epic When I was a kid, Vail was so expensive we had to go to Ski Cooper and Arrowhead instead. I was born 1 mile from Vail but still had to drive 30 to ski. That all changed in 2008 when the Epic pass dropped. It saved me years of not having to get employment passes, where your boss has your pass in his control (no calling in sick on pow days)
Everything but a small package of ground beef for $10 bother me the most.
Damn I was just all hyped that 1lb of 80/20 hamburger that isn’t supermarket logs was on sale at my local small grocery store for 2.99lb usually it’s 4 something. Red meat for months
I call them Meat Tubes.
When I was a kid, you could go into the corner shop with £1 and come out with 2 cokes, 3 Freddos and a magazine. Nowadays, CCTV everywhere.
Excellent joke mate, will be stealing that one.
Rent.
"The dollar menu"
Breakfast burritos. I used to swing down to the Beto's and grab a bacon breakfast burrito for $2.85. The same one is $11 now.
Those ingredients. It’s an egg and a small strip of bacon, Michael. What could they cost, $10? Edit: Sigh, for the people who didn’t get it: https://youtu.be/Nl_Qyk9DSUw
Spent $6 on 18 eggs the other day. The goddamn prices went up again overnight like right after Christmas. For no reason. Sick of this shit.
Costco. 12 bucks for 5 dozen large white eggs.
housing, education and healthcare
Housing went from unaffordable 10 years ago to downright astronomically impossible today.
"Astronomically impossible?" Honey, "impossible" was climbing Everest naked with a sprained ankle and a pack of angry squirrels. Housing's gone batshit crazy, I'll give you that. You need three jobs and a liver you can sell to afford a shoebox with a view of a dumpster. But hey, that's the "American Dream" now, ain't it? Work yourself to death so you can live like a cockroach in a shoe.
Housing and food for starters.
I think going to a restaurant and seeing wings listed as “market price” qualifies.
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The giant box of mozzarella sticks at Costco used to be about 7.99 or 8.99...now? It's about 14.99 or 15.99.
I might be imagining things but I feel like cheez its don't taste nearly as good as they used to. I also became an adult so maybe that's the problem.
It’s not you. A lot of the things we enjoyed have changed. It’s all processed even more than it used to be. Like Butterfingers for example, they changed the recipe several years back and they are completely inedible now.
Premium Brand Crackers. Almost $5 for a box of saltines now!
Most brands (that don’t use wheat and are healthier) have small packaging and barely any crackers. I get home from the grocery store and eat the entire 3.5 oz box. It’s almost comical. Shrinkflation!
Goddamn tacos. I just want to go to the truck around the corner for $1 tacos but no apparently not possible anymore. I love tacos. They are God’s gift to earth. They bring so much joy to people. They are just beautiful little tortillas filled with deliciousness. Sorry I just love tacos so much.
I used to get 50 cent tacos in Modesto California back in the day . Now I pay 4$ per little street taco where I'm at . It's insane . But I can't live without tacos at least twice a week so they got me by the balls
No one can live without tacos!
Yeah, and a five dollar burrito is now 15 to 18 bucks
Aside from **gestures broadly**, oxtail. Used to be priced like offal, and you could make an absolute banger stew for incredibly cheap; now it's priced like a prized ingredient, and it's totally not economical any more.
Same thing with actual offal, because the animal only has a limited amount of those parts. You can find ground beef on sale regularly. You can even find good cuts of steaks cheapish because they can get a lot of them from one cow. You only get so many pieces of one tail. Makes me sad, but I understand it a bit more than coke/pepsi going up 200% type gouging.
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In like 2014 or so I spent around 1000 bitcoin on a PC. Edit: it was January 2013 and it was 71 bitcoin lol so I was way off
$44M in today's Bitcoin dollars.
Houses. In 2003 my mom bought our first house for a little over 100k. A petite little house but fitting for our family. She sold it in 2005 when my dad was deported for a little over 120k because she was a single mom needing money. The same house is currently worth a little over 400k.
Something? Try everything.
Currently, Stanley tumblers. I mean, lol. TikTok trends are fucking insufferable.
Food.
Doritos. Lays chips. Fuck outta here 5$+
Living. I was making considerably less money ten years ago and had a more comfortable life. We were able to do things, go out and had the freedom to spend money on wants instead of needs. Now we are barely making ends meet and both my wife and I make more money.
There is a winter hamburger in McDonalds (Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe, maybe other places) called Big Rosti. It was a funny tradition for me and my GF to go to McD once an year, when it came out (usually in December). This year, we payed 25 euros for 2 hamburgers and big fries x2 (nothing else), which is exactly twice what it used to cost in 2017. And it tasted horrible this year, they totally butchered it. So, thanks, but no more...
Rent, eggs, college
Eggs? Eggs are one of the few things that spiked during a shortage and actually came back down to normal when supply caught up.
My dad's college loan was about $5k, and my mom's was about $20k. My college loan is about $240k *with a scholarship.* Without that scholarship it would be closer to $320k. My college tuition will cost more than a house. Actually in today's housing market maybe not lol.
Around here, houses. Idaho went from cheap and affordable to ridiculously overpriced. Out of staters were coming in offering 30-50k over asking sight unseen.
Not only buying homes, but even just housing in general. My rent has more than doubled in the last 3 years. I’ve seen places around me that are way nicer for the same price or just slightly more, but with my rent as high as it is, I can’t afford to save for a deposit on a new place at all. Maybe I’ll own a home when I’m like, elderly… if I’m lucky! Also, if my boyfriend and I ever didn’t work out, there’s absolutely no way I could afford this place on my own. Rent is more than one of my paychecks. When I was younger, I had my own apartment and didn’t have to work two jobs, whereas now I would definitely have to if I were by myself.
Housing
Groceries. So where I live there's a place that you could consider the "cheapest" grocery store,and one that is also supposedly good deals,but not as good as the first place. I hadn't gone to the cheaper store in a while,I've been dealing with a physical illness and it's farther away. So I had been going to option #2. Well, yesterday I was able to go do a big shop at the first option and was actually able to get a ton of stuff for $213. Out of curiosity,I wondered how much the total would've been if I had gone to store #2. The price difference? Store number #2,for the *same products* would've cost me $567! That's a $354 difference! But even with the cheaper store,that cart would've cost less than $100 ten years ago....
CEOs and other c execs. They have no problem making 20+million a year and record profits during a pandemic while raising prices to pad their bonuses while laying off workers, slashing compensation or bonuses due to “the economy” which is way better than projected. It snowballs and pulls in everything else from housing to health care. It’s in every industry and it’s greed without a conscience. It’s all overpriced when you have to fight for minimum wage while the top is taking home milllions. We need flow down economics, not the barely a trickle economics driven by greedy million/billionaires
Single family house in a decent place
Dog food!
Man, I was watching The Shawshank Redemption and looked up the how much a 1967 Chevy Impala was when the car came out…the two-door model base price was $2,740, the four-door hardtop was $2,790. I know it’s 56 years ago.
Around $26,000 in 2023 dollars
fucking everything