As inflation lingers, prices on everything from staples to luxuries continue to rise. Although we expect price increases on healthcare and housing, we’re sometimes shocked to discover how expensive everyday items have become.
Discover 18 products and services with high price tags we didn’t expect.
Rugs
Small area rugs cost upwards of $200. Carpet is generally cheaper, but you must cover the whole room and pay for padding. How do people afford to decorate their homes?
Car Repairs
They say you should buy a used car and run it into the ground, but those folks don’t consider the high cost of car repairs.
$1,000 every three months for random repairs may wind up costing more than a monthly payment for a new car.
Dental Work
Who decided that your mouth is separate from the rest of your body and thus not covered under regular health insurance? Dental work costs a small fortune, dental insurance barely covers anything, and people wonder why so many don’t get their teeth cleaned.
Being an Adult
Kids get to enjoy life without worrying about money. Once you reach adulthood and have to pay for your own food, housing, transportation, and everything else, you realize how expensive it is just to exist.
Landscaping
Hiring a landscaper is out of the question for many people, but even DIY landscaping costs a small fortune. Most people keep their yards simple because making them pretty costs too much.
Doors
Storm doors, exterior doors, and doors slightly outside standard size cost a small fortune. And then you’ll have to pay even more for professional installation.
Lift Passes
More people would enjoy the skiing if they could afford to get up the mountain. In some places, lift tickets are more expensive than airfare and hotel stays.
Groceries
Inflation at the grocery store is forcing folks to make tough decisions. Do they skip meals or subsist on rice and beans? People are cutting back on staples like cereal and meats due to the high cost of groceries.
Healthy food shouldn’t cost so much.
PC Parts
Buying refurbished PC parts and making your own computer is supposed to be cheaper than buying an out-of-the-box PC. With rising prices on resale items, the nominal cost savings isn’t worth the extra effort.
Building a PC from refurbished parts costs what a brand-new PC would have cost two years ago.
Under Garments
Women’s undergarments are notoriously overpriced but shouldn’t be luxury items. One woman had to get her new bras at Walmart because all the other stores were too costly. Mid-range retailers like Kohls’s wanted to charge over $50 for just one!
Starting a Business
America calls itself the land of opportunity, but that’s only true if you already have some money. All the taxes, fees, and startup costs of entrepreneurship make it out of reach for many, who must resign themselves to working for someone else.
Fast Food
Fast food used to be the cheap way to feed yourself until payday. Now, prices at the drive-through are so hefty that it’s not worth it. As the price continues to rise, the quality remains the same, making people think twice before stopping.
Gardening
People want to grow their own food to mitigate the high costs at the store, but starting one is outrageously expensive. The soil, raised beds, and seeds cost more than buying food at the store in the long run. It’s far more work, too.
Refrigerator Filter
Homeowners used to purchase a twin pack of refrigerator filters for what it now costs for a single piece.
Being Sick
Even a common cold is costly when you must forgo a paycheck to recover. Chronic illness and disability are prohibitively expensive. Social Security’s disability insurance doesn’t pay enough to let people survive, and their conditions often prevent them from earning an income.
Too bad we can’t just decide not to get ill.
Being sick in America truly is a privelege most can’t afford.
Pet Food
Dog and cat food costs far more than it should. The “good” brands offering health benefits are often over $50 a bag, and even the cheap stuff costs too much for ordinary folks.
The outrageous cost of pet supplies will only lead to more homeless pets and increasingly crowded shelters.
Home Improvements
How are people still renovating their homes? The skyrocketing cost of labor and supplies means more people will live in dated houses.
Children
More and more people opt out of parenthood because they can’t afford it. Childcare costs more than a mortgage, and the rising cost of living means they can’t afford to feed themselves, much less a child.
Cost isn’t the Only Reason to Opt Out of Parenthood
Despite all the pressure to procreate, it’s perfectly valid not to want kids. Millennials and younger generations are opting out of parenthood at record rates.
Here are their top reasons for not wanting kids.
Source: Reddit