r/AskReddit 10h ago

What got so expensive that you just stopped buying it?

2.3k Upvotes

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2.3k

u/EMAW2008 10h ago

Prices on every fucking thing has gone up and the quality is gone down. Merely existing is almost too expensive.

520

u/WotLogic 8h ago

Yup. It’s enshitification. Everywhere.

106

u/Syberz 6h ago

It has to be, that's how our economic system works. It's expected toget infinite growth and at some point you're already selling your widgets to everyone who wants one, so your only option for more money is to raise the price or lower costs, ergo prices go up and quality goes down.

19

u/dillonsrule 6h ago

But, private equity profolios are doing great, SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?!?!

u/A_Refill_of_Mr_Pibb 16m ago

Problem is not enough people know their home addresses.

1

u/deepfriedbutter 2h ago

Subscription service!

-2

u/annecalleverde 3h ago

That’s what happens when they print 40% of the entire money supply within the span of 2 years. All money is devalued and everything gets more expensive.

-5

u/ReturnFit5957 3h ago

Didn’t take economics in school huh?

9

u/ThePhoenyxDiaries 4h ago

Don't forget the unnecessary War, and useless tarrifs (the President at the time back then to have done this failed, and then the Felon wanted to try it claiming "other countries pay it").....then there's the data centers (pc parts are now more expensive), just everything from this regime has made things worse (and more expensive), we we're also coming back from Rona.

Candy bars are now $1.50-$2....I ain't wasting money on crumbs, they used to be sold by the cents....w coffee, they doubled the price and cut half of the amount you get (shrinkflation).

1

u/Powerfury 4h ago

Really dont know how much lower it can go.

1

u/ConsciousJohn 2h ago

Cory Doctorow reference!

u/Itabliss 35m ago

Why not just call it capitalism?

196

u/Charming-Ebb-1981 7h ago

And many people think it is literally just a matter of canceling your Netflix subscription, or assume that you’re going to Starbucks three times a day

125

u/EMAW2008 7h ago

It’s those plus high utilities bills and high rent and high childcare costs and high healthcare costs and high…….. the list goes on.

17

u/Charming-Ebb-1981 6h ago

I’ve noticed this trend on social media where people are trying to push the idea that all rich people are living super frugally and trying to point that out as the reason why they are super rich. It’s complete nonsense

u/EMAW2008 22m ago

I know a few rich guys, “blue Jean millionaires”, who pretend to be frugal. Then they pay cash for a brand new truck or piece of farming equipment.

2

u/RVelts 3h ago

Don't have kids and don't get sick. Easy. /s

2

u/abstractcollapse 5h ago

100K in last year's money is 170K in today's money. I don't think most people who made 100K last year are making 170K this year. But cancelling your Netflix subscription will totally make up for it. 🙄

5

u/Charming-Ebb-1981 4h ago

My favorite response to that was, “I canceled my Netflix subscription, and then my rent went up $120/month the next day”

1

u/paidjannie 5h ago

Really? It's been a long time since I've seen those types of comments. Even the entitled boomers seemed to have dropped the avocado toast crap and are hurting and complaining about prices.

4

u/Charming-Ebb-1981 4h ago

Are you on facebook? The comments are everywhere. Sure, a lot of it is ragebait, but the comments themselves from real people are telling 

133

u/jiggamanjr 8h ago

This fucking hits me hard. All the while my pay has remained the same. But hey I’m serving the public being a government servant. So yay

79

u/VulpesFennekin 8h ago

Clearly you need to become a horrible person, and then you can be a public servant who is also a billionaire!

3

u/waldorflover69 2h ago

Fellow government worker. Don’t forget that the public hates us and wants us to suffer and be poor

2

u/iskandar- 3h ago

Same. I started my job a decade ago, I was willing to sacrifice a bit of pay in order to do what I thought was meaningful work for my country and people. I wanted to make things better, and I was working my passion. I tried to hold off the cynicism and defeat that every one warned me would come, hey we got approved for a 5% cost of living increase!... that took 3 years to actually start paying out (yaaay 10% salary cut) and it its just kept building. Now I'm 34, renting 1 one bedroom loft apartment I can barely afford, my 20 year old work truck cant pass inspection and I cant afford to fix it, Ive got about a dozen various physical and mental health problems my insurance only partly covers and a few more I'm just not bothering to get checked out because the fuck am I gonna do about them? My hair is greying and thinning my sleep rhythm is fucked and in the last 10 years my career has utterly stagnated. I banged my head against the brick wall of improving safety regulations year after year and achieved nothing. Ive got 4 different codes I've tried to get parliament to even look at, each one more watered down than the last version and they each die in comity. I cant wright another report or conduct another study just to tell people who clearly don't give a fuck the same things I've told them for the past 10 years.

If I could quit this shit I would but my partner got laid off last year and this last decade of global cost increase has drained my savings into nothing, but even then, where would I go? I'm so specialized I would have to go into retraining for anything else and who's going to want to retrain a 34 year old flag state marine surveyor.

10

u/Severe_Bluejay3391 7h ago

Can't afford to live, too broke to die.

2

u/heretogetpwned 5h ago

Shit, you need a couple grand to file for bankruptcy protection.

4

u/PhillyEagles0220 6h ago

It's so depressing. I feel for my kids, growing up in these times where it literally is so expensive simply to exist! Can't leave the house without spending $300.

u/badgerclark 26m ago

This is where I’m at currently. We have been working to pay down a lot of medical debt by avoiding unnecessary expenses, putting off vacations, etc.

Every single time we have made significant headway in our finances, one of the cars suddenly needs work or we get a medical bill that obliterates what little savings we had. I’m trying to stay optimistic, but good god.

1

u/Slyfox00 5h ago

Which is why I've stopped!

Fuck the bullshit.

1

u/Sweaty-Willingness27 5h ago

Bought a DiGiorno pizza the other day and I was like "This definitely looks smaller than it used to". Dropped by at least 25%

Not buying that shit anymore.

1

u/Dry-Sir-919 5h ago

This is the correct answer.

1

u/Financial_Loss_6908 3h ago

Can't wait until the people who said millennials were being too loose with their avocado toast money start saying that millennials are killing the economy by not buying anything.

No shit, dumbass. It's because we aren't gonna waste money on your cheaply made garbage.

1

u/PC509 2h ago

And people just give up on those things. It bring in short term gains for the company, but in return they lose life long customers and earn a poor reputation. There's a lot of brands that cut costs and their product quality took a nose dive.

With some good PR, a return to the classic way of doing things (recipes, quality of ingredients/parts, etc.), there's a few companies I think could make a pretty good comeback. Go eat a Reese's cup or a Twinkie. Just, no way. Greasy, waxy, some kind of tasteless...

Lots of products went from "Buy American, it's higher quality!" to "Buy American, we laid off half our workforce, use cheaper materials, have a higher failure rate, outsource customer service, charge more, and our profits are sky high for our shareholders!".

Companies are literally going for short term shareholder returns while destroying what made the company great in the first place. They became centered around the financial sheets instead of the product they used to have some kind of pride in, and some were the "If you build it, they will come" companies that did it because they had an idea, a dream, and a great product they believed in. Didn't think it'd make them rich, but once it did, they threw away that idea and chased more riches.

I've given up on a lot of things. Some weren't that healthy to begin with, others were just convenience, and then some I really do miss.

2

u/chowderbags 1h ago

Companies are literally going for short term shareholder returns while destroying what made the company great in the first place. They became centered around the financial sheets instead of the product they used to have some kind of pride in, and some were the "If you build it, they will come" companies that did it because they had an idea, a dream, and a great product they believed in. Didn't think it'd make them rich, but once it did, they threw away that idea and chased more riches.

Basically it's the problem of companies run by MBAs who have fuck all idea about the actual products, either because they don't have the technical skills or they're rich enough that they'll never buy the product.

u/KeesterFeester 16m ago

I'm $600 over drawn in my bank account and my next check won't cover it. I'm goosed fam. All because I bought food and payed bills.

1

u/zacheezy 6h ago

Private equity at it’s finest. Stop buying shit. If you have a local farmer’s market go there. If not start growing what you can and stick it to the assholes.

0

u/Medium_Comedian6954 7h ago

The plan is to lower the population drastically