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Things that have become unaffordable

Monkey Business

Monkey Business

Member
Dec 17, 2017
234
TV's

My living room TV is still a Panasonic TV from 2008. It was their flagship TV that year and cost an "eye-watering" £900 at the time. Now decent mid-range TV's start at £1000 and go up from there. Lots of the upper range TV's cost the same or more than a reasonably decent 2nd hand car - TV's are really getting silly on the pricing front.

Oh, and PC components are quietly heading the same direction as TV's...
 
RedStep

RedStep

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
2,652
Disneyland is the big one for us. We used to go 3-4 times a year, and I was making less than half of what I make now. These days it's once every few years.
 
motherless

motherless

Banned
Nov 6, 2017
2,282
Monkey Business said:
TV's

My living room TV is still a Panasonic TV from 2008. It was their flagship TV that year and cost an "eye-watering" £900 at the time. Now decent mid-range TV's start at £1000 and go up from there. Lots of the upper range TV's cost the same or more than a reasonably decent 2nd hand car - TV's are really getting silly on the pricing front.

Oh, and PC components are quietly heading the same direction as TV's...
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In the U.S. televisions have done the opposite and are insanely less expensive for better displays than 10 years ago.
 
digita1alchemy

digita1alchemy

Member
Oct 27, 2017
887
take_marsh said:
Vacation.
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I think there are still some deals to be had if you're traveling by yourself or with a partner. But once you have kids? Forget about it. We have 2 young kids and I remember being really excited about the prospect of going on awesome family vacations. The reality is that trying to actually make it work financially is depressing. At least camping can still be pretty cheap, so I am trying to get them into that.

Snowybreak said:
Up here in Erie, you can get a three bedroom, 1500 sqft flat for 850 a month.
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There are lots of areas in the US with affordable housing and property, but it's a challenge for many people to find a well-paying job in those areas. I work in software development and I would love to move out to the middle of nowhere and live on the cheap, but even if I could find a job, what if that company lays me off or goes under? Can I count on being able to quickly find another job in the same area? Probably not.
 
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Thebeast!

Banned
Mar 18, 2018
1,487
maximumzero said:
Not quite yet, but it's getting there. Disney Parks increases their ticket, food, and accommodations practically every year now. The cost of a Disney Resort vacation will soon be out of reach of all but the highest lower class citizens, and will eventually be out of the price range of even middle class citizens, making it a upper-classer's paradise.
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I just go for one day with the family and it was 450 for 4 people
 

Coolverine

Member
May 7, 2018
1,069
motherless said:
In the U.S. televisions have done the opposite and are insanely less expensive for better displays than 10 years ago.
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yeah, i was gonna say, i find TVs to be insanely cheap. you can get like 55-60" 4K TVs for like $500. it's insane. In 2003 I bought a 34" sony wega for $1900.

Gibson Guitars have become stupid expensive. I bought my LP Custom in 2007 for $3399 (already expensive) and now the base price is $4300!
 
Monkey Business

Monkey Business

Member
Dec 17, 2017
234
motherless said:
In the U.S. televisions have done the opposite and are insanely less expensive for better displays than 10 years ago.
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Weird! I wonder what's screwing us over so much on TV's? I mean you can get a large screen TV in the UK for fairly cheap but you won't be buying anything of particular quality; decent makes and models cost an arm and a leg.
 
motherless

motherless

Banned
Nov 6, 2017
2,282
Monkey Business said:
Weird! I wonder what's screwing us over so much on TV's? I mean you can get a large screen TV in the UK for fairly cheap but you won't be buying anything of particular quality; decent makes and models cost an arm and a leg.
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That is a bummer. I've seen 65 inch 4k displays for like $600. My 65" 1080p Plasma was well over $2,000 about 8 years ago.
 
Ultima_5

Ultima_5

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,673
I feel like fruits and vegetables are getting more and more expensive. I make solid money and still feel gouged.
 
Malleymal

Malleymal

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,305
Housing is a joke if you want to be any where desirable. Education is ridiculous if you are not working for a school or landing a huge scholarship. Healthcare is outrageous even if you have benefits.

Oh and bacon.... fucking bacon! Such a ripoff.
 
Snowybreak

Snowybreak

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,329
digita1alchemy said:
There are lots of areas in the US with affordable housing and property, but it's a challenge for many people to find a well-paying job in those areas. I work in software development and I would love to move out to the middle of nowhere and live on the cheap, but even if I could find a job, what if that company lays me off or goes under? Can I count on being able to quickly find another job in the same area? Probably not.
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It's not exactly "in the middle of nowhere", and, funnily enough, tech jobs where I live are in need of people to fill them. Web development places, a new local fiber provider, and an insurance company that's branching out into software development, all of them are looking for people to employ. Plus it's an easy drive to Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.
 
SliceSabre

SliceSabre

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,556
Cable.

Cable + internet was pushing my bill toward $120 per month which was unacceptable for me so I had to let it go.
 

Wiped

Banned
Nov 2, 2017
2,096
Petrol ('gas').

Filling up my tank cost me £60 today and because I commute 80 miles a day that's only going to last me one week.

I know the US is used to cheap fuel but it's like £1.32 per litre right now which is insane. It was 99p when I bought my car two and a half years ago.

For reference that's close to $10 A gallon
 
bangai-o

bangai-o

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,527
My current university program is not that expensive. Some of you need to shop around a bit and be willing to move to a different state.
 
Razor Mom

Razor Mom

Member
Jan 2, 2018
2,549
United Kingdom
Housing, obviously.

On a more serious note: Kinder Buenos.

When I was 8, I would walk back from school and buy 4 Kinder Buenos for £1.
Now I've seen "deals" for Kinder Buenos at 2 for £1.
Kinder Buenos have doubled in price over 17 years...
 
Pancho

Pancho

Avenger
Nov 7, 2017
1,976
Education
It's insane how expensive it is. Paying thousands of dollars for a Bachelor's Degree and most Bachelor's are pretty useless these days.
 

Radd Redd

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,028
I buy thick cut bacon in bulk when they're on sale. Two weeks ago I bought 8 packs of thick cut 16 oz bacon for $1.99 each. They should keep for months so no biggie.
 

LOLDSFAN

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,037
xrnzaaas said:
Smartphones. They can cost you a fortune if you desperately need (want) a high end device (or maybe even some reasonably configured mid tier one).
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Yeah it's weird. High end phones were really expensive at first. Then got cheaper. Now they're going back up again the last couple years ($1200 now? and no end in sight). The only reason why they're getting away with it, is because people are willing to pay which sucks.
 

Deleted member 12790

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
24,537
Monkey Business said:
TV's

My living room TV is still a Panasonic TV from 2008. It was their flagship TV that year and cost an "eye-watering" £900 at the time. Now decent mid-range TV's start at £1000 and go up from there. Lots of the upper range TV's cost the same or more than a reasonably decent 2nd hand car - TV's are really getting silly on the pricing front.

Oh, and PC components are quietly heading the same direction as TV's...
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Click to shrink...

Big tip when buying TVs - don't buy the latest model. Stores typically only stock the latest models, but if you go to their websites and look deep into their inventory, you can find models that are a year+ old. For example, I was able to buy a Samsung TV that was about a year and a half old, that they wouldn't sell in store, from best buy's website for like $800. About a year ago, that same TV would have been $1400. I had to have it delivered because they didn't stock them in stores anymore, but it works just fine.
 
Ziltoidia 9

Ziltoidia 9

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,143
Additional one to add is the prospect of "retiring" with dignity.

With cost of living so high, wages not really doing shit....hard to believe we'd ever get to a point where we could retire living well.
 
Darknight

Darknight

"I'd buy that for a dollar!"
Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,846
Monkey Business said:
TV's

My living room TV is still a Panasonic TV from 2008. It was their flagship TV that year and cost an "eye-watering" £900 at the time. Now decent mid-range TV's start at £1000 and go up from there. Lots of the upper range TV's cost the same or more than a reasonably decent 2nd hand car - TV's are really getting silly on the pricing front.

Oh, and PC components are quietly heading the same direction as TV's...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Nah, TVs haven't really gone up like you think. My TV was from around the same price, and it also was a flagship TV. In fact it was considered the best TV you could buy and that was just under $3000 back then for the 50" model.
 
Landy828

Landy828

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,419
Clemson, SC
Snowybreak said:
Up here in Erie, you can get a three bedroom, 1500 sqft flat for 850 a month.
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We pay $848 a month on our 1500 sqft home (640 sqft garage too). That $848 includes Escrow (home insurance, car insurance, and taxes). Locked it in at 3.4%.

On topic, I didn't come in here expecting "Bacon" to be on the list, lol. I'm really tight on my grocery shopping too though. I keep my family of 4 on a $60 a week average at the grocery store. It can be done, but things are getting more expensive. Gas sucks too...as I drive nearly 2 hours a day to get to and from work/the kids.

H.Protagonist said:
Childcare. ;_;
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Yeah, this one has gotten ridiculous. We've managed to avoid it (family watching little ones)....not sure we could afford it if needed.

Doggg said:
children
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Eh...not really, unless you need the daycare mentioned above. I've never understood the "kids are expensive" line, if you're saying it while planning to have kids. At least not until they're in their teens. My soon to be 11 year old and 6 year old haven't really been that expensive to care for. They have tons of toys, clothes, electronics, etc...but they don't stress me heavily financially.

If they had/have major medical problems I could see that suddenly changing. I have a little guy baking in the oven, so I'm hoping he's a healthy little man too.
 
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Neece

Neece

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,201
Yeah TVs in the US are insanely cheap compared to 5-10 years ago.I still remember how psyched I was buying my first flat screen around 2008, a Sony 34 inch 720p for $499. Nowadays when I walk the electronics aisle in wal-mart I see 50-60 inch 4K TVs for around that price.
 
Joe Shlabotnik

Joe Shlabotnik

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,887
CrankyJay said:
Honestly, I'm thinking of cancelling my newspaper subscription. I currently pay $11.75 a month for Sunday only + digital access. I just got an email that they're raising it to $19 a month.

It's not that I can't afford it, but I don't think a price hike of that magnitude is called for.
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Most newspapers have a "fleecing" subscription rate that they only charge until you threaten to cancel. Then they'll usually offer at least 50% off for a couple of months, otherwise known as the rate most people are paying.
 

mrmoose

Member
Nov 13, 2017
21,201
Neece said:
Yeah TVs in the US are insanely cheap compared to 5-10 years ago.I still remember how psyched I was buying my first flat screen around 2008, a Sony 34 inch 720p for $499. Nowadays when I walk the electronics aisle in wal-mart I see 50-60 inch 4K TVs for around that price.
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They're way more disposable now too, though. I'm not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg, but people seem to buy TVs way more frequently than they ever did before, and consumer electronics in general seem to have a much more frequent rate of planned obsolescence than before. But people don't care as much because they're cheaper.
 
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