Someone Asked, “What Was Normal 20-30 Years Ago, But Is Considered A Luxury Now?” And Here Are 50 Of The Best Answers

Bored Panda got in touch with zombiem00se and they were kind enough to answer some of our questions. We wanted to know what prompted them to make the thread in the first place. "What inspired the question was at the gas pump, and I had gotten a small bonus from work of about $50 so I knew I'd be able to just let the pump go without having to watch the meter. Then it struck me that people used to be able to do that all the time, just fill their gas tank without worry, and nowadays the normal thing to do is watch it like a hawk so you could also afford groceries for the week and wondered what else could this same mentality be applied to."

We also wanted to hear their thoughts on what was ultimately causing so many things to become unaffordable. "I think the cause is due to the same thing that's been said many times over now, the cost of living has not kept up with the rate of inflation. The rich get richer by keeping the poor poor. We were told to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, but those saying that were given boots made of nice Italian leather that was custom fit for them, while the rest of us were given bricks of lead...and the straps are rattlesnakes....very angry rattlesnakes. I'm a millennial, and with millennials, there's of course the same tired participation trophy joke, but the ones complaining about it are the ones who gave the trophies out in the first place and then blamed us for them, all the while they have everything handed to them."

In general, when people stop and ask “Why are things so damned expensive now?” Current events tend to dominate the discussion. The global supply chain was hit by a jump in fuel costs, as a result of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. This pushed the price of most things up because most things are not made within walking distance of your home or nearest store. And thank goodness for that, living next to a factory or manufacturing plant seems more hassle than it would be worth. 

Regardless, the effect is that the cost of transportation went up. And since everything needs transportation, everything got more costly. And just to hit us when we are down, droughts and disease hit food supplies around the world, limiting supply. Since most of us still need to eat, a reduction in supply without a change in demand tends to mean an increase in cost. Hope this revisiting of econ 101 didn’t trigger any unhappy memories. 

That being said, inflation is starting to ease off in many places, so perhaps eggs won’t be a gourmet ingredient like truffles and lobster for long. But, as this article mentions, there are still some things that refuse to get cheaper and have gotten so expensive over the years that most people have given up ever buying them. Yes, we’re talking about housing. The simple answer is that supply hardly meets demand at all, as homeowners aren’t selling and interest rates are pretty brutal for the average worker. 

When it comes to finding a place to live, it’s really the worst of both worlds. Housing is expensive, and renters are feeling a similar pain as landlords and ladies raise rent to offset the cost of living increases. Which, you guessed it, increases the cost of living for tenets. On average, renters can expect a 15% jump in rent costs, though this will vary aggressively from building to building and area to area. 

And of course, if you are paying more for rent (and eggs) you probably have less to save to make a down payment on a home. This has not stopped prices from continuing to rise. In 2021, the median US house was $369,800, a pretty penny. In 2022? $423,600, which is an entire 53.8 thousand more, for those curious about the math. Of course, wages have generally not risen to match inflation, so the buying power is running in the opposite direction of prices, making it harder and harder for millennials and Gen Z to ever picture owning a home. 

And while we are on the topic of annoying expenses, many of the items here boil down to the incredibly annoying modern trend of “services and subscriptions.” Remember paying for things once? Unlike mortgages and inflation rates, in many ways, consumers only have themselves to blame for companies charging us monthly. Over the last ten years, subscription services have grown by roughly 300%, meaning that no matter how much we might dislike them, enough people will happily pay month to month.  

At the same time, people still hate it and what it stands for. Owning things, from houses to music, feels like a concept from the past. Enticed by a quick buck, or a high share price, to be accurate, many companies have dabbled with offering a subscription over a one-time fee. The result is that many actually fail and fall apart. Even the current giants, like Netflix, once a huge industry disruptor, are struggling. So maybe consider looking through your active subscriptions and cutting the ones you don’t need.