Americans Share More Things That Are Too Expensive Now
Recently, we shared a selection of items that Americans feel are getting too expensive in the US as we deal with inflation, tariffs, and the costs of basically everything going up. But the BuzzFeed audience had a lot more to say on the topic. Here are 28 more items Americans think have gotten so pricey, they're just not worth buying anymore:
"Airbnbs. They used to be such a deal, but now, after all the fees that get tacked on (including the super annoying cleaning fee), it's the same as a hotel room. And guess what, hotels tend to include amenities like pools, room service, and late check-outs. The best part is you don't have to take the trash out when you leave!"
—Anonymous, 43, Bend Oregon
"Baseball game tickets for the LA Dodgers. Can't afford to spend $300+ a ticket each for the four of us, plus parking and snacks. The worst seats are just under $200. A fun day at the ball park is hard, and it's over $1000 for us. Cheaper to watch at home, paying for a streaming service for the season."
—purplechair804"Went to a minor single-A game in our city's new stadium. Bought two 11-year-olds a little helmet with two small burgers and fries. Each was $30! So, to feed them both, with sodas, the total price tag was $80! "—Anonymous, 82, South Carolina"Sporting events. A decent seat at Madison Square Garden is minimally $400. EACH. For a basketball game."—Anonymous, 60s, Boston
"I was designated the task of buying fruit and soda for a party. Two trays, two boxes of soda, and $80 later, I wished I had just stayed home."
—jamieatsworld
"Candy bars. I went to my local convenience store, and a candy bar was $3.20! I found that to be absurd."
—magicalsmoothie67
"I work from home and don't get fast food basically ever, but today we stopped at a Taco Bell for a 12-pack during a trip. The first time we got one was maybe 2012, and it was $9.99. Price crept up dollar by dollar every few years, and the last time we got one was maybe 3-4 years ago, and it was like $15. Today it was $22.99 for the same number of skinny little wet-ass tacos, and I almost passed out. Nope, that's ridiculous."
—amelia1979"Stuff jumped up during 2020 and stayed up. I used to love Wendy's spicy chicken. It was maybe $4 and some change, so I didn't get it often. Traveling in early 2021, we pulled into Wendy's drive-thru and I ordered one, just the sandwich, and they said $7.99. I pulled up thinking they got my order wrong, so at the window, I said that I just ordered the sandwich, not the meal. Yep, just the sandwich was $7.99! I said forget it and we pulled away."—ginnyjensen
"Spend $25.00 on a movie and some concessions? For one? No way."
—jmworacle"Popcorn and drinks in the theater for three people were nearly $80!"—Anonymous"I hadn't seen a movie in a movie theater in ages because it was so expensive. It's like 20 for a ticket? And then I need to smuggle in some snacks because they're charging like $10 for popcorn.Then we moved to Puerto Rico, and we can catch a movie on a Friday or Saturday evening, and I pay $10 for adult tickets and $5 for my kid. A large popcorn and two drinks run about $8. We enjoy watching movies now."—francesjoys
"Among the things I no longer buy because of inflated pricing are flavored coffee creamer and Coca-Cola products. Basically, my routine shopping list has completely changed from products I preferred to products I can afford."
—Anonymous, 60, Florida"For 12-packs of soda, I wait until it's buy two, get two free. On occasion, it's even been buy two, get three free."—angrylatte176
"In 1976, my husband and I bought a little tract house: brick, three bedrooms, bath, living room, and kitchen, unattached two-car garage, fenced in yard. The price was $24,000. In 2006, my husband bought me a brand new Miata for $24,000. It just blows me away."
—Anonymous"The house we bought in 1970 was $89,000 and is valued at $750,000. The house my ex and I bought for $240,000 in 1999 is valued at $680,000 today. I need to spend another $40,000 to get it back to peak form. It's cheaper to keep it than to try to sell and buy something smaller because the monthly mortgage would be twice what I pay for the bigger house. That's just sad!"—sparklytooth49"Buying a house is no longer the American dream. It's a dream due to the pricing. I bought my 3-bedroom, 1 1/2 bath house in the city of Cleveland 30 years ago for $76,000. The house three doors down from me, same size house & lot, just sold for $350,000! Insane. Property taxes are going up again."—Anonymous, 67, Cleveland
"Period products. I didn't ask for a period, so why is it so expensive to have one?!"
—bestturkey75
"New tech! Decent name-brand technology will always set you back a small fortune, and within a year or two, it's already outdated and obsolete."
—Anonymous, 41, Florida
"Beer. Even craft beer was affordable about five years ago. Now it's laughable: $15.00 or up for a six-pack of cans. You can't even get common crap beer like Bud or Miller for less than $12.00. Screw that. I'm fine with iced tea."
—charmingmatcha256
"Just got an invitation today; $20 for a ticket and $13 for parking. For my niece's grade school graduation! What the hell?"
—cheesyshark52"Same thing for my daughter's graduation in Portland, Maine, and the only place to park was the city garage with four entrances and exits. When it came time to leave, it took over two hours to exit the garage as they closed down three exits and charged by the hour to park! Parking was over $40."—sharpchicken988
"Greeting Cards. A $12 Hallmark card?! At this point, I'll say the same things to you via text."
—Anonymous, 30, Chicago
"Gaming. Between the cost of consoles steadily rising and Nintendo introducing $80 games, it's kinda ruined it for me. No one wants to pay $80, or at this rate, may not even be able to afford to pay for a remake game. Xbox also raising the costs of their consoles back to launch day pricing although the consoles are so old are a crappy move too. Time to start going through my backlog!"
—Anonymous, 33, Denver
"The dentist. The dental office is now a sales organization. Selling implants is a big part of their promotions, and it's not needed in most cases. And complications are typical and even more expensive to fix. Caps can cost up to $2400 when saving the tooth. Do your homework and shop around. And start taking better care of your teeth."
—Anonymous
"Tequila has gotten completely unreasonable. It used to be like $15 a bottle for 100% agave, and now it's like $40."
—Anonymous, 33, Austin, TX
"A basic car wash is now $10.00! It was $3.00 a year or two ago. I have noticed independent car washes being bought up by groups and jacking up the price. So now I go to the car wash once a month instead of weekly."
—Anonymous
"Uber Eats. When the service first appeared, the prices were relatively reasonable — $10 for a quick bite. But for these last few years, there have been price hikes and delivery fees. My total comes out to $30 for six nuggets at McDonald's."
—Anonymous, 29, Miami, FL
"Campsites. A place we currently visit has nearly tripled in price for the same weekend annually since we started visiting 7 years ago. More people camping post-COVID has led to dynamic pricing and major rate hikes."
—Anonymous, 45, New Jersey
"Pets. Lost my rescue cat several months ago and seriously wonder if I can afford to get another. The cost of food and kitty litter alone is high, and the vets aren't getting any cheaper."
—Anonymous, 77, Kentucky"Owning a pet. I spend more on my dog's vet visits than my own. Every visit is between $200 and $500, and they are frequent due to allergies. I will never be able to afford to own a pet again after my faithful companion dies. NEVER!! That just makes me cry!"—Anonymous"Pet supplies and veterinarian services. The price of dog food, heartworm, flea, and tick medications has skyrocketed. Recently, my dog got sick and had to have blood work done. The blood panel was more than double what I would have paid for myself. I called several labs to see how much it would cost for me to have the same panel done without insurance. No wonder the shelters are overrun with heartworm-positive dogs! Sadly, they know I won't get rid of my dog, but when he passes, I might not be able to afford one for the first time in my life!"—Anonymous, 57, North Carolina
"Golf. It's absurd. Miniature golf is all I can afford now."
—Anonymous, 68, Heartland, Missouri
"New books. I've been rebuilding my book collection after selling it to move, and it's been really expensive as a student with tons of student loan debt. I have bought some new books, but they're usually $20-$30 each. I buy used as often as I can because you can get some great deals, but as someone who studies politics and current affairs, finding a used copy of a book published two months ago isn't going to happen very often. I check stuff out of the library too, but sometimes it's nice to own it. "
—Anonymous, 22, Albany, NY
"Breakfast cereal. $7.00 for Cheerios?"
—Anonymous, 74, Illinois"Breakfast cereal. I saw a box of kids' cereal for 10 bucks at my local grocery store today."—Anonymous"Cereal. A box of cereal is so expensive. Used to get two or three, so we had a choice. Now it's one."—Anonymous, 67, Pennsylvania
"Red meat! And chicken, a family staple, has reached prices that used to be reserved for red meat. It feels like we're in a really interesting time where it's becoming more important to grow our own food, recycle, and cut down on energy use. I've always believed in these ideas, but now it seems even more necessary."
—Anonymous, 49, Kentucky
"Milk, it's around ten bucks per gallon! I used to get whole organic and loved drinking milk, but this is too much. Absurd."
—Anonymous, Boxcar Sierra Foothills
"Touring Broadway shows! Always something I want to see, but they've priced me out. It's $180-350 for seats, depending on the show. I think WICKED is now over $500. I HATE that it's become such a luxury, and 'regular folks' miss out on some truly incredible theatre."
—Anonymous, 58, Salt Lake City
"Soap, for laundry and personal cleanliness."
—Anonymous, 82, North Central Texas"Why is soap so expensive that it has to be kept locked up? I refuse to spend $10-$15 dollars for liquid soap, while the bar works just fine. What's in it? Liquid gold?"—Anonymous
And finally, simply: "Bacon."
—Anonymous
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 these days? 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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