Americans Share Things That Are Too Expensive Now
As we deal with inflation, tariffs, and the costs of everything going up, the price of simply being alive seems to have increased exponentially. Americans are making difficult decisions about what is and isn't worth their hard-earned cash, and when Drakey504 asked, "What's become so expensive that it's no longer worth buying?" they did not hold back. Here are 23 things they said:
"Some streaming services. I used to have them on even while not using them, but now, I only buy them when I have something I want to watch. I've actually gotten back into renting movies because it's cheaper than buying a month of something just to watch one or two movies."
—KyleCXVII"I just can't stand paying for a streaming service and then having ads like cable. The whole point was to avoid ads and watch what you want."—PenguinTheYeti
"I would say going to the state fair. When I was in high school and broke, my friends and I could go to the fair, get food, ride tickets, and play games for under $50. Now, it's $20 just to get in the door, $80 for a ride pass, and the food is $40 per person."
—Da1UHideFrom
"Fast food."
—Efficient_Advice_380"This is the best answer so far. Fast food's big attractions were that it was fast and cheap. It is neither nowadays."—Narrow_Tennis_2803"This is the most real answer. I could get a better burger and a beer at 15 different places for like $5 more, if that."—Tvelt17
"Coming from someone who works at a smoke shop... cigarettes. One pack of our best sellers is nearly $20 after tax. There are people who will come in every day and buy two. Such an expensive addiction."
—WeirdConnections"I'm saving about $400 a month by quitting smoking. The financial side of it really helped me quit. That's why I say if you want people not to smoke, keep on taxing the hell out of it. You won't get a ton of long-time smokers to quit, but you'll absolutely keep the next generation from smoking if it costs too much to start."—Bender_2024
"Concert tickets."
—SimonArgent"Compounding the price is how big of a pain in the ass it is to get your hands on tickets in the first place. Scalpers have absolutely ruined everything on this front, and then people have completely forgotten how to act and behave at concerts. For what we have to spend, the overall experience just isn't worth it anymore."—Chimpbot"Not to mention the wild 'convenience fees' all the ticket companies charge. Those add SO much to the cost."—raekle
"Doritos. I'm not paying $7 for a half-crushed bag of chips."
—HeadGuide4388"I volunteered to bring chips and soft drinks to a cookout last summer and instantly wished I'd picked anything else because of how expensive it was for something that used to be cheap."—No_Associate7384
"A family trip to Disney."
—NittanyOrange"It's wild how it can often cost an American family more to visit a Disney Park than it does to visit a bunch of places in Europe."—PacSan300"Some of my most cherished memories as a parent are taking my kids there. It would cost as much as three of our previous trips to go one time now."—OkConsideration7721
"Cable TV."
—Loquaciouslow
"For me, it is a truck. At one time, it was seen as a more efficient tool than a hybrid SUV."
—AUCE05"Trucks used to be cheaper than cars at one point in time, now they're more expensive than some SUVs, and they can't do as much truck stuff as they used to."—OperationThrax"This! It's absolutely absurd that new trucks cost $80k. Seriously. All ANYONE wants is a basic V6. Nothing fancy... I don't even care if it has power windows. Just give me a fucking 1995 Silverado but new and under $35k."—sknolii
"Coke. The kind that comes in bottles and cans."
—mrsredfast"Soda (Coke/Pepsi). I used to always be decently stocked with soda, but now, it's like one 12-pack is the price two 24-pack cases used to be, and I can't pull the trigger to buy more."—PowerfulFunny5"Can confirm. I worked for Coke for four years. So many times, 12-packs were 5/$10 on sale and 4/$10 when they weren't. Now, it's like $8 for a single 12-pack."—Urbanskiman88
"New clothes."
—Smart_Feature"Agreed. I get all my clothes at thrift stores now. Older clothes are usually higher quality and will last longer than the cheap mass produced shit you get at H&M or wherever nowadays. My best clothes were thrifted from the '70s-'80s — they're amazing and were obviously cheap."—attorniquetnyc"Used clothes, too. Been to a thrift store recently? It's all Target and Shein crap listed above sticker price with an occasional good vintage find that you've gotta fight someone else for."—HazelEBaumgartner
"Domestic flights, especially into mid-sized and smaller airports. I've seen flights to Europe as cheap."
—VanderDril"I had to explain this to my family in Europe when they tried to complain that Americans don't travel within their own country. An international flight within Europe is a fraction of the cost we pay for a domestic flight in the US."—TeaWithMilkPlease"Many flights to smaller airports are often monopolized by one or two airlines, and this lack of competition allows airlines to charge however much they want, since they know that customers may not have much choice."—PacSan300
"Healthcare for many, which is a crisis."
—Total_Coffee358"Especially dental."—srslytho1979
"Ski lift tickets! I used to go skiing about three times a week. I haven't been for two years now. The parking lots are full of 'XYZ Medical School' and 'XYZ Law School' license plate covers. It's out of my league at this point."
—soil_nerd"I'm in the Midwest, and this hits close to home. I used to be able to get $30-40 lift tickets for our dinky hills. It's pushing $100 now. I haven't been in years. $400ish bucks to take my family of four skiing? Fuck that."—degoba"Absolutely. When I started back in 2010, my local resort sold a 4-pack of lift passes for about $120, or $30 each. That same resort now charges $180 per day."—Elivagar_
"Houses."
—HurtsCauseItMatters"I came here to say this. I just looked at home prices in my town today, and the newest ones are ranging $400-700k for basic three-bed, two-bath houses on tiny 8000 sq ft lots. Even trailers around here are going for $150-250k unless they need a metric fuckton of work to make them livable."—Puzzled-Nobody"My house cost my parents $150k in '99, the house next door just sold for $700k, and ours is estimated at $600k."—Away_Analyst_3107
"Gonna do an obscure one here and say chocolate chips. A decent bag of real chocolate chips is around $6 where I'm at right now. Nicer brands are more like $9-12. They used to be a fairly cheap ingredient, but now, between that and rises in egg and butter costs, essentially any baked good is like 50-100% more expensive to bake at home than it was a few years ago. A batch of my homemade chocolate chip cookies used to run me about $12 for four dozen; today those same ingredients cost $25."
—Bloorajah"It's so funny you say this because I was reading this thread thinking I just went to the grocery store, and what was it that I saw that had literally doubled in price since the last time I was there... A bag of Ghirardelli's chocolate chips!! I usually pay around $3, and on Saturday, they were ON SALE for over SIX DOLLARS."—Alextheseal_42"I hadn't even thought about this, but you're right. I really appreciate you taking the time to make this comment. Unfortunately, I don't drink, so chocolate is my drug of choice... so I can't quit chocolate."—Aware_Interest4461
"Restaurant meals. I'll still get takeout if I don't feel like cooking, but I almost never eat at a sit-down restaurant anymore."
—molten_dragon"It feels like my wife and I can't go to our favorite place without spending $100ish. Food, a couple of overpriced beers or a margarita for my wife, and a tip, and boom, suddenly $100ish. Forget taking the kids. The last two times we've just said 'fuck it' and hit up Chilis for their '3 for me' deal. I get the burger, chips/salsa and a drink, and for $10.99 it's a damn fine meal."—PJ_lyrics
"Arguably, higher education."
—liamstrain"That's a fun one. In many programs, the cost of tuition has outpaced the value of said degree. From a mathematical standpoint, many career paths with a degree requirement are black holes. Furthermore, the actual education you are buying hasn't increased in quality at the same pace. In other words, our parents spent a fraction of what we did to learn the same calculus."—KyleCXVII
"Eggs. That's why I got three chickens and give the extra eggs away to neighbors and coworkers. Sharing the wealth!"
—Quadcrasher66"I was considering this, but I know my homeowner's association would have a field day about it. Just saw that a dozen large eggs are still $5 near me. Nope, not even worth buying anymore."—hitometootoo
"Cars. New cars are overrated. As long as a car still runs well with no problems, there's no point in trading it in. These car prices are ridiculous, and car loans are a nightmare."
—Dessert_Lover_1225"Believe it or not... used cars. There's absolutely no point in buying a used car anymore. The times of buying a $1,000 beater every two years are long gone, my friend. People want so much money for everything, it makes more sense to just buy a new one."—nemam111
"Going to the movie theater. Ridiculously expensive! I'll wait until I can stream whatever it is and save a whole lot of money."
—1radgirl"We used to have a theater nearby that was under $5 a ticket; I think Tuesdays were $1.50. Didn't survive COVID. I miss it all the time. They would play movies that had left the main theaters, so it was totally worth it to wait a little extra to go out to see movies."—ari_352"It sucks, but I'm ok eating the price for just the ticket. Snacks and stuff, I just smuggle in. It's still worth it to me to see movies on the big screen. It's a dying experience, but I'm holding their hand until they finally pass away, haha."—Buhos_En_Pantelones
"Broadway shows. I usually can't go unless I do standing room or win a lottery. Good Night and Good Luck is $500+ for the WORST seats."
—Interesting_Claim414
And finally, "Orange juice is $8 a gallon at my local store. I can get vitamin C somewhere else. I spend less on entire meals!"
—Kevo_1227"It's actually cheaper to buy actual oranges and juice them yourself."—Flyin_Bryan"It's genuinely a delicacy at this point. It's like caviar for the middle class."—illhaveafrench75
What do you think? Are there other items that you feel like are no longer worth spending your money on because they're just too expensive? Let us know in the comments. And if you'd like to remain anonymous, you can fill out the form below.
Comments have been edited for length and clarity.
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