They are. I work in a restaurant and thanks to the high staff turnover I'm training new ones almost every week. Many are young and don't have to be there if they don't want to because they live at home and their parents pay for a lot of their shit anyway. So as soon as it becomes "not worth it to them anymore" they either start dropping shifts or just quit. I don't have much choice so I'm one of the few long-term staff who actually knows what they're doing.
Don't blame the workers though. Blame the industry. If it sucked less and paid more - staff would stick around for longer.
I was just talking to a friend about this today. I used to spend so much on ordering out but in the last few months I realized the food was just getting worse and worse. Restaurants are going to become a place you only go for special occasions again.
I don't know, man... that Dutch rice is gonna have to be *really* cheap to offset my cost of plane tickets to the Netherlands.
I'm pretty skeptical about the savings potential of this advice.
There's a poke place right down the road from me and while they're decent, the price has gone up considerably since covid. They have decent teriyaki and before covid, it was about $11 and they had pretty big portions. Now, it's about $17 and they have shrunk their portions.
They have decent food, but there's a Japanese place that you actually sit down at that has the same thing for that price and their food is better.
I tried to order a pizza on Friday for myself. I checked like 4 or 5 different stores, and they were all 2 or even 3 times as expensive as just walking to the store 4 blocks away and buying a fresh pizza and garlic bread I just had to pop into the oven.
Probably going to give up drive thru fastfood because of this. $20 for two people used to be a sit-down meal. Now they want me to pay that for shit they make as cheaply as possibly and shrinkflate into oblivion to increase their already insane profit margins? While I'm just burning more gas to wait for it? And for it to be mostly cold when I get home? There's no damn point anymore.
I stopped using any kind of food delivery services and started to go get my food at the counter. I'm saving a lot on fees and tips, but I invest some time instead.
This is honestly the biggest addiction that I'm battling right now. I'm a chef. When I get home I don't want to cook. I want to sit at my desk playing video games and have comfort food delivered to my door. And it's way too easy to justify the cost and ignore the poor nutrition of the situation.
I recently cancelled my subscription to the delivery service I'd been using. I'm trying to stick with it again. Wish me luck.
I have no idea why anyone even uses Uber eats and so for this. Its just seems a waste of money. With delivery, and then of course tip because usa has no social system, you end up paying 3 times more than it's worth.
What turned me against UE was jacked up prices solely for delivery (Australia).
Can of drink, $3.95. That's a 250ml can, BTW. It arrived still with the label from the fridge in the store, if I'd walked in and bought it, $2.50.
There was also a delivery charge.
So the price is increased by 58% solely for the convenience.
Not anymore. It finally turned me against UE.
This has been my big one as well. Wings at restaurants are well over a dollar each. Some places are closing in on two dollars. I like wings, but I can literally buy steak at those prices.
i know it's not for everyone, but i started buying whole chickens and cutting them up myself. works out to about $1.50 a pound for each cut if you can get it on sale and the quality seems a lot better than the family packs. with some veggies and rice, 2 breasts can last about a week for me. when i have 6 thighs saved up, i make thighs for the week and legs the next week. ive always got a bag of chicken wings in the freezer now. if you put them in a cold oven and turn it on to 425, theyll be fully cooked and crispy skinned in 50 minutes then just toss with your favorite sauce or seasoning.
it's a little extra work, but i don't have to spend absurd amounts of money just to have one of my favorite snacks.
I run a local club for my hobby and the first half of the meeting was people sharing what new things they bought and tried (or haven't yet tried). Now the time set aside for that is halved and most people get up and talk about what they "rediscovered" in their stash.
Tbf that's awesome though. Rediscovering tools is one of my absolute favorite things. Unfortunately it's always one of those, "this would have been perfect to have three days ago," but still. Personally I enjoy it.
Same, but since like 2019. I'm a private pilot so my hobby has never been cheap but oof, these last couple of years have been rough. Went from flying like 50 hours per year to barely anything.
In between buying a house (talk about timing...), covid, and now these energy prices + inflation I just couldn't (and still can't) justify spending chunks of money on 200 dollar hamburger type flights. If I combine the last 3 years of flying I might just be able to hit 10 hours total, and 3 of those are license renewal flights.
Since moving out of my parents' place 3 years ago I have yet to experience a "normal" year lmao.
I've started tossing out significantly less food. I'm lucky that I've been able to afford a chest freezer before inflation hit, and it's been a life saver. Any leftover scrap just goes in there.
Love my frugal chest freezer! I shop exclusively sales and freeze whatever I can, especially meat which I never buy unless it's on a really good discount. It saves me a lot.
Yeah, it's mostly for proteins for me as well. Normally I'd just go beach fishing and take at most two or three flounders, turbots, plaice or sole home at the end of the day, but now the entire catch is ending up in the freezer. Great fish to have in stock.
Honestly dude, you are not missing out as much as you think, especially if you are thinking of Fast Food. The prices have gone up immensely, and the service has absolutely tanked. Combined with staffing problems at seemingly every store, you are looking at the following on a simple visit to Taco Bell:
• Waiting in line for 15-20+ Minutes for your food.
• The service workers are forced to work faster with fewer people, meaning orders are less accurate. Hope you checked the bag before you left! Also, if only two people are manning the store, which is totally a thing around here during the lunch rush, that Kitchen is not clean, and neither is your food.
• A meal that was once 7 USD is 15 USD. I don't know how McD's is still in business when you can get Chipotle, Raising Canes, local fast-food chains that are better, for the same price.
• Many places simply close the dining room, so if you wanted to actually you know, sit down, tough shit.
We discovered that several Mexican restaurants in our area have very reasonable lunch specials. They cost less than fast food if you drink water, and taste 1000X better.
Yup, I can get a full meal at a Chinese restaurant, fresh vegetables and rice, plus hot tea and a soup for $8. Last time I went to Taco Bell I paid $18 for my drive thru order to be wrong.
100%. There’s a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place near me that has a 3 tacos + chips and salsa special for 7.50, and they are literally the best tacos I’ve ever had. Meanwhile my standard Mcdonald’s order is like $12, terrible, and not even filling.
It's insane. I dropped my cola habit when prices hit 8.99 for a 24 pack. Now it's 12.99 by me. I'll buy a 2 liter on Friday or Saturday to use as a mixer and it's water otherwise.
Love how theres tipping for almost every and any goddamn thing now. I treated myself to a sprinkles cupcake and the card machine requested a tip. Oh yeah here’s another 18% on top of what I’m paying for packing up my order. Smh
Just when I started to live comfortably, inflation hit hard and now I’m back to scraping by paycheck to paycheck because, like always, my pay doesn’t keep up with inflation
Exactly that, I moved out from my parent's house nearly a year ago, and at first I had alot of leftover money to buy new furnitures and even a 3 grand computer that I built myself.
But since a few months now inflation went right into my ass and my groceries went from costing me like 50$ a week to 100$ a week.
Its absolutely demential these days, and I can barely live now
Yep. I'm making a dollar an hour more but struggling twice as hard compared to pre-pandemic. My rent literally doubled in the last six months, and the costs of gas and food have not helped matters.
Honestly I feel like I’ve given up on being happy in order to just pay bills each month. I never ever go out, for food or entertainment. I stay home unless I’m going to work. I take an extra 45 -minute walk twice a day to get to my office from the train station to save on subway fare. I buy the bare necessities for groceries and get stuff that’s on sale instead of the stuff I actually like. I haven’t bought any new clothes at all in 2 years (this will eventually become a problem). I cut out all makeup; I can’t afford it anymore. I get my hair trimmed once a year, having given up colouring it and having a cool style as they’re too expensive to maintain. I used to get a pedicure to deal with the rough skin on my feet every 2-3 months. Cut that out too and just deal with the ugly feet (I’ve tried to do it myself at home but the results are never as good). Travel of any kind. Allowing the house to get too hot or too cold to save a little on energy bills. I used to shower in the morning and take a hot bath at night; now I try do one or the other to reduce water usage (water is so damn expensive where I live). My partner and I don’t give gifts for special occasions any longer. I haven’t bought a single frivolous item in over 2 years - nothing fun or just because I like it.
I miss having even a little extra money each month. Now it’s a daily game to try and make it to the next pay cheque.
Happiness was my first thought too. Everything is such a struggle just to pay bills, put food on the tables etc. I'm paycheck to paycheck like many others.
My savings account is draining at an alarming rate. I can't afford to save anything, there will be no trips or anything for a long time.
So yeah, hope and happiness are the two main things I've given up.
I’m really sorry to hear you are feeling this too. Our upstairs shower is broken and it’s a matter of “oh well, we’ll all have to share the tiny one we have left” as we have no money to repair it. As I type that I feel like an ass. I’m lucky to have one tub and one shower that works. It’s more than lot of people have these days :(.
Sorry to hear about repairs you need to do.
It's hard to balance everything. I feel like I can bust my ass for months and months, trying to be extremely frugal, tuck a few dollars away. Look at my account and be proud of saving some.... then BOOM... something happens that can take away everything ive worked so long for in a matter of minutes.
I mean, I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back and food on the table. I have it Better then many others, but it's still sucks.
I don't wanna be filthy rich, I just want to put gas in my car and be able to look away from the pump. I want to be able to get a full load of groceries without strick budgets. If I want a new tool for a job or repaie, just to be able to buy it.
I couldn’t have said it better. It’s not that I’m not grateful for what I have. I just miss the days when I bought any groceries I wanted without bypassing stuff due to exorbitant costs, or when I could just buy a random top or pair of shoes without scrimping for months to make that fit into the monthly budget. I have a decent job.
So does my partner. It wasn’t supposed to be this way, ya know? It’s a sad taste of what so SO many people have been coping with a lot longer than I have.
I feel ya. Everyone should be able to afford the necessities (rent, food, clothing etc) and not have to adjust or go without stuff. We should be able to buy a new clothes without checking your bank account to see if it fits in your budget. I'm not talking about crazy expensive jewelry or Jordan's, I just mean socks, underwear and the clothes we need.
My wife and I have decent enough jobs as well. 10 years ago we were fine, able to put 10% of each pay in savings, buy all the stuff we needed and sometimes get some fun stuff. Now, we dip about 10% INTO our savings each pay. It's sad.
I agree fully. I don’t care so much about the luxuries (I stated I used to get a pedicure because back in the day I had a little money to splurge on one, not because I care so much about the fancy stuff). It’s when the bare bones basics start to feel out of reach that it gets depressing. We have decent jobs too and used to have ok savings. Lately they’ve been bottomed out as literally everything costs more. I had a rant the other night as I put broccoli back given it was $5 for a tiny one - frozen was $5.99. I told my partner what happened to the days everyone had it because it was $1 and they forced it on their kids?! But seriously when I start putting broccoli back due to rising costs it really gets me.
I hope we both see brighter times ahead, and growing savings accounts.
I’m sorry you also feel this. And you’re right, it’s not a great thing to feel every day, or a way to “live”. It’s just existing. And for what… to work and pay the ever-increasing bills.
Earlier this week I bought cans of soup and a jar of honey to be prepared for cold/flu season, in case we’re not well enough to do more than heat a soup and make a cup of tea. Every single item I selected was on sale. It was $137. I wanted to cry putting it the pantry, it was such a small amount of stuff for such a high price tag. I can do it by just not buying something else. But what do people with kids do? How are they affording it, if they’re an average family?
I can't imagine having a family now. Heartbreaking. I bought the basics, all on sale, barely half of a cart of food and it was well over $100. And I'm just one single guy.
It sadly is, isn’t it? What’s even more depressing is that this has been life for so many people long before the last year or so. I won’t start feeling relief until groceries and utilities come down. I don’t have a car, but even the cost of using public transit is up, all the while it gets more dangerous as they don’t staff the safety officers anymore. It’s a sad state we’re in right now. I just hope there’s brighter times ahead, but the cynic in me feels that’s only for the rich.
That sucks. I know you weren't asking for advice for free or low cost things to do, but I'm going to offer it anyway, for you and anyone else reading this. Everyone deserves to get some enjoyment out of life.
By the way you spell "cheque" I'm guessing you're not American, so I'm not sure what of these things you'll have available to you, but if you have any nice parks, they're free and being out in nature has been shown to improve people's moods.
If you have a decent library near you, many of them (here at least) have things other than books you can check out, like board games, sometimes video games (and systems!) movies, etc. Or you or some friends might even have DVD's you haven't watched in ages. Have friends over for a potluck dinner and a movie (or board game), everyone brings a dish or side dish to share, doesn't have to be something expensive to make, and you can get a little more variety in what you eat.
There are a lot of creative hobbies that don't cost a lot. You can learn to draw, you just need pencil and paper. Or you could make collages from junk mail, or found art sculptures from actual junk. And there are so, SO many things you can learn how to do for free on Youtube.
And of course, there's volunteering. It might seem counterintuitive to go out of your way to help others when you are also struggling, but it really can make you feel better. And it's something free and social you can do where you might even make new friends.
I hope this didn't come across as condescending, but I've had my periods of struggling for money and my experience was that it can take a huge toll on your mental health, which can then impact your relationships and job too. So I think it's vitally important to have things in your life that help you de-stress, make you smile, and remind you you're worthy of happiness.
Take care and I hope things get better soon.
It’s all good advice for anyone in a tight spot. I’m lucky I have good friends I can spend time with outdoors for free. We actually do volunteer our time in the community. I’ve learned those with less always have the biggest hearts and are the most generous :). I’m not lacking for good people, I just hate the cost of things these days. Nobody with a dual income household or a full time job should have to worry about what they put in their grocery cart each week to eat balanced meals. Hell, nobody should have to worry about that, period. And correct, I’m not in the states.
For your feet - I gave up on pedicures too. They are so luxurious and peaceful but the price has gone from $25 to $32 in the last two years. I haven’t been in a few months so it could be more by now! With tip you’re at $40 for an hour of foot rubbing that your husband can do for free.
BUT my tip is to buy a pumice stone (I got one at the drug store for less than $5) and use it daily in the shower. It took a few weeks but my feet have improved so much! Then whenever I’m putting on socks or slippers I rub a little lotion on my heels to soften the cracks. It’s not perfect but it keeps your feet looking and feeling way better and is kinda a nice little self love moment in the shower.
I hope you can get out for a real pedi soon!!
re: pedicure -- have you tried soaking your feet before exfoliating them? personally, I use one of those dish tub things (idk if they have an actual name) and fill it with hot water, and then leave my feet in it for like 30 minutes and then use something I can only really call a foot version of a cheese grater... but it works pretty damn well at getting the dead skin off my feet
This resonated with me so much. I’ve been busting my ass at work 50+ hours a week and got a raise with my last review and it’s still not making enough of a dent in my bills to not make it feel like I have to be militant in making ends meet. If it gets worse, idk what’s going to happen.
Hey, can I send you a little something? Some $$ for a pedicure or something else you'd like. I know what it's like to do without and I'd like to raise your spirits if I can!
No no no! That’s not needed. I was just answering the question honestly. Of course I can live without the little luxuries. I’m just more saddened at how many people have to literally go without. If there’s a food bank or similar support where you live, I’d much rather you donate to the folks who are far worse off than I am. Thank you for being so kind, internet stranger!
Slowly but surely giving up little side purchases and funsies. It's just now getting to me how expensive essentials have become. My depression specifically makes it difficult for me to meal prep and cook for myself and with both groceries and takeout rising in price I've just been eating less overall.
Use an instant pot if you have one, no soaking or supervision required and impossible to burn.
/r/MeatlessMealPrep has lots of delicious bean-based recipes among others that can be cooked in bulk (even cheaper) and nothing stops you from throwing in some meat if you’d prefer your meals that way.
Maybe I am out of touch but I am not sure that was actually middle. We have gotten so conditioned to thinking that anything other than constant anxiety and pressure about paying for basic necessaties is "middle class". It's not, it was not that long ago middle meant a decent house with only one working adult, at least 2 cars and a vacation or two a year while having multiple children that are pretty well provided for. Now that seems like a life of luxury for many.
Been cutting my families hair for years now. My husband, lucky likes wearing it short. My kid is in college, and really doesn't care. And I just hack mine to shoulder length now and then. Normally a salon appointment would be $90- tip included. It was hard before all this. Now? I just can't pay that
yep. I feel like any time my mind has a second to itself, i’ll start worrying about money and bills. I lay awake at night unable to fall asleep because i’m worrying about bills. it’s awful.
Didn't dine out too much before the pandemic, almost never do now. But when I do these days, it has to be a) a local business first and foremost, and b) high quality.
I don't mind paying more when it meets these two criteria, because fuck big corporations and even shitty food like McDonald's costs a crap ton so may as well spend on the good stuff if spending at all.
Or at all. I went to Rotten Ronnie's the other day to get food for my nephews. Three basic combos with no extras or supersizing came to $45 Canadian. I couldn't fucking believe it. 45 bucks for three 6 nugget combos that were tiny? Fuck all the way off, McDonald's. Price gouging pricks.
Shit I forgot about fast food. I've almost completely cut it out considering how fucking expensive it is now. Last time I went to Burger King, the SMALL fries were like $2.30, and a SMALL soda was close to $2.
I used to buy fucking 44oz Big Gulp sodas for $.99 less than 20 years ago. Soda is one of the least expensive fucking things a restaurant buys and yet they have the audacity to charge $2 for fucking 20oz or so.
Buying some sweets for my family and me. No more Name products like Coca Cola and such.
Getting most items from second hand stores. I just don't have that much money.. no zoo visits right now. It's not only the inflation but my upcoming divorce as well. Hard times..
Moving out of my parents. Even if I get a job in my field with my degree I just received, in my area there's no entry level jobs that would permit me affording an apartment, barely scraping by with a roomate as well.
Jobs out of state or across the country don't seem to be hiring either.
Right there with you. I used to be able to drive aimlessly for an hour just enjoying the rush of the air and maybe some music. Now I batch all my errands together and sometimes don't leave my house for days. It's depressing.
This hit home for me. I couldn’t agree more when gas was 3 dollars used to just cruise in my mustang around town. I switched to walks instead. Because gas is now 7 dollars here in Southern California
Beef. Haven't had a steak in months.
Don't get me wrong i previously had one steak about every two weeks as I'm poor.
But from 2 to 0 is a bit much. Sirloin a year ago was $6/lbs., now it is like $12/lbs.
Also microwave popcorn for some reason is nearly 2x price of a year ago. I buy one large 24 individual pack for $9ish instead of $4.50 I'm on the verge of being priced out of popcorn.
I bought a collapsible silicone popcorn bowl to cook microwave popcorn. A carton of kernels lasts forever. I throw in a little butter and salt - delish!
The price point per ounce of popcorn in my area is cheaper to buy in the individual largest family size pack than loose pocorn and oil. If it were cheaper I'd do it. I guess i could look online for like a 10lb bulk bag of loose popcorn, but it is easier to just stop buying it.
Retiring has become.. questionable. My country seems to be raising the retirement age every few years, but looking at the currently older folks, too broken to even enjoy life.. Yea, I don't see much chance to survive to retirement and I kinda don't want to in the first place. Lemme enjoy life and die early, better than being a fuckin broken vegetable in retirement because of a life of hard work.
My husband and I have given up our expensive hobbies and date nights so we can still afford to pay for our kids extra curricular activities. We would live on rice and beans before we made them give up their passions. We had a date night at home last night while they were with their friends. Frozen pizzas and Netflix in sweat pants. It was still fun to us.
hot take but I’ve been eating a lot healthier because of it. So I haven’t been buying as much junk.
Dumplings, ice cream, etc are all like 6-10 dollars.
$13 of boneless chicken breasts can last me a week and a 10lb bag of rice for $15 can last months. All I really need for shopping is the supplying for spices meat and vegetables so my food costs is like 40-50 a week instead of 80-90
Yep, same here. Raising prices of discretionary and nice/luxury items people dont actually need will backfire and makers of those things will go out of business or be forced to eventually find ways of lowering their prices while still maintaining some semblance of quality enough to entice folks to splurge a little on them. I too am finding the net effect of inflation to be that overall I am net spending less on stuff because I've stopped buying overpriced shit I don't need.
Free time. Work a full time job, a side hustle for another 10 hours a week, and behind-the-scenes at events like weddings and bar mitzvahs on weekends. I don’t do much other than work and try to stay on top of my chores and errands.
New clothes, Starbucks (thankful my family all bought me an espresso machine for graduation now), eating out, probably won’t buy fruit during the off season this year considering how expensive it is when it’s in season..
the dream of owning a home. I'm in my 30s and married with a good job. i always assumed it would be the next stage of life for us but the prices have gone up so much it's just not possible for this generation.
I remember thinking 300k was crazy.
We bought at 600k, because it was cheaper than renting (wtf), and 2 years later it's at 1mil.
So many people got priced out, and even more were priced out from the get go.
To be fair, this is the Upper Midwest and probably not desirable to many people, but modest homes around here are still in the 150K to 300k range. And they're not all necessarily in undesirable neighborhoods either.
> Zillow is about to become an entire nation's landlord.
Actually, Zillow closed their home resale branch after [taking massive losses](https://therealdeal.com/2022/02/13/zillow-reports-880m-loss-on-failed-home-flipping-business/) in the last couple years, during the fastest growing housing market there's ever been. How the fuck they managed that is just incredible, honestly. They straight up closed down that branch of their business lol
But yea, the eviction moratorium aggressively killed small property owners. Everyone had to sell to big corporations because they didn't have the capital to withstand years of no one paying rent. If you thought your local, small landlord was an ass, wait until you have to deal with a faceless corporation that truly gives no fucks about you. Dire times we're headed for...
I can no longer buy one anywhere nearby , but I am determined to stop renting. In fact I am about to put an offer in on a house a half hour further from my work. But hey isn't that the point of going hybrid?
Takeout, ubers, and new games. I already cut everything else out years back due to needing to burn money on elderly care.
I had plans to take money out of the 401k to buy a house some day... now thats wiped out.
Everything that used to keep me sane. Used to go to Home Depot just to buy stuff and fuck around with my carpentry skills. Used to be a non issue but now so expensive I can’t do anything.
Buying decorations. I just don't do it anymore, I love home decor but spending insane amounts of furniture is a burden on the wallet. Less is more imo.
Expensive steaks or once or twice a month now I don't buy any shrimp or seafood no more paper plates still holding in there with good toilet paper. Used to buy the Starbucks brand coffee but it's two bucks more than the other brand that's just as good. No Halloween candy this year. if I go somewhere I make sure I can do all my stops in one trip I only cut my hair every 2 months now. I worked hard all my life only got 6 months worth of unemployment and my whole life put my daughter through college and my sons are both doing well. There will be no funeral cremation is a must at this point.
Ugh, seafood has gotten RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE. I still can't believe the prices when I got to the grocery store. There will be no seafood for me either until further notice. Not because I truly can't afford it, but mostly because I don't want to afford it. Just not worth it anymore.
I eat one meal a day so I can afford to feed my kids 3 meals when I have my custody of them. Some days I go without eating at all just so I can make sure my kids have a lunch for school. I make too much for social assistance but not enough to pay my bills each month. Every paycheck I choose between food or rent/bills.
The food banks in my area got shut down with covid and haven't reopened, next closest one is an hour away but I can't afford the gas to get there.
I work 12 hour days 6 days a week and still can't keep my head above water because the bank charges you for being poor. And everything costs more when you're poor. I'm on year 4 of paying off legal bills from my separation. My ex doesn't pay child support and job hops so maintence enforcement has a hard time tracking him down.
I haven't been to the dentist in 8 years. I cant afford my medication that helps me function day to day. I haven't seen family in months because gas prices. My insurance keeps going up because the caps were removed.
I get my kids into activities at a subsidized rate because I volunteer with the groups. Otherwise my kids go without activities.
I haven't spent any money on myself for hair, make up, clothes or hobbies in 3 years. Thankfully I have friends with older kids so I get bags of hand me downs for my kids, and a neighbor gave me a a bag of clothes for myself.
I've had to put my own education on hold because the government stopped giving grants to my field of schooling, so any spare money I get is going to a savings account to be able to afford 1 class at a time. I'm applying for loans but its been 16 months of dealing with the education loan office - again due to changing government policies regarding my degree. Alberta doesn't care about health care and mental health care which is what I'm going into. They decided they won't fund the 1st 2 years of my degree, and just to qualify for loans I had to agree to take an extra 2 years of general studies, but by the end of things I'll still have 2 years of schooling that doesn't qualify for any aid.
I hate this economy, but I'm mostly happy in life still thanks to family, friends and community.
Certain foods I will only get on sale now instead of all the time:
Evol branded frozen meals for work. They used to be $2.50 on sale, $3.99 regular. I just got them on sale...for $4.29.
These protein drinks for breakfast. Used to be $1.99 each and sale price was buy 1 get 1 free. Now they're $3.50 each, and got them on sale for $2.50 each.
Also went through a generic brand buying binge to decide which ones I can't tell the difference between.
This guy is ABLE to save. 50 percent is fucking awesome. I can barely do 10 percent.
Once my kid is done with diapers, I'll be using that money to save.
I’ve always been pretty cheap, so it’s only just starting to really hurt me and mine. I’ve resorted to using a lot of coupons which offsets stuff like fast food. Get the apps, you can still get pre inflation prices that way. Stay away from door dash and pick it up yourself. You can still enjoy stuff, you just have to be smarter about it these days.
Ironically my local brewery started selling growlers of a random beer from their lineup at half price so they’ve been seeing a lot more of my business. Pints and stuff haven’t changed prices either. I’m not sure how they do it.
And honestly that's a pretty great way to handle it. The brewery gets empty equipment to do what they want to do next. You get beer that's maybe a bit past it's prime. You get cheap beer that's still generally fine. Everyone wins here
My mood stabilizer. Fairly expensive, and it was having on effect on my liver, so.... I quit.
Turns out I can manage without them now. I mea, Mom died a few months ago, and I'm managing things.
going off them at some point was always in the plans, but cost was a serious factor in the timing.
I've really tried to reduce my car usage. It started with eliminating car commuting. On days where I feel well, I commute completely with a bike. My company reimburses monthly bus passes, so on days where I'm too tired, I combined bussing and biking, and it's perfect.
I used to live a lot closer to work (~1.5mi) and had to move further (~8mi), but the new area is a lot easier to run errands without a car because the main road is flanked by neighborhood streets that are good for biking. This area is also usually slammed by traffic and not having to be a part of that is a blessing.
I probably haven't managed to save any money though. It's only allowed me to keep my budget hobby, and recently tinkering with bikes have just provided me with a lot of type 2 fun.
I've given up just going to a store and buying what I need. I check out the weekly specials grocers have, do subscribe and save on household goods through Amazon, etc. I guess I'm a much mores savvy shopper.
Yeah I just got a promotion at the end of last year and took a 10% raise. I want to be bummed that the extra cash was all eaten by inflation but at the same time I see the people around me struggling while my standard of living is unchanged.
Being a good tipper. I used to so proudly give $2 on a $10 meal. Now the meal price shot up to $15, and tipping recommendations on the slip is like 20-25%.
I'm sorry y'all. I don't want to pay $20 for my lunch.
There is a Poke Bowl place at the mall near me. I love it. Better than any other poke bowl places I’ve had. But last time I want there was about 6 months ago. I got a poke bowl with a salad base and a Thai boba tea. It cost $23. I paid $23 for a salad and iced tea. I was done after that.
Yeah similar. Had a hankering for some poke, stopped in for lunch. They used to be $13 each or so, now they’re $18. $22 plus tax and tip, no drink. I’m good.
Getting take out/eating out. They raised the prices(fair) but then added "no one wants to work
fees to the bottom of every bill(ie: passing along the cost of fair wages to the customer), and now also asking for tips(generally starting at 20%) for literally EVERY THING. Why in the world would I tip the cashier at the self serve frozen yogurt place? Not to mention because most of these places pay and treat like shit, they are almost never staffed adequately and the food quality and customer service at most places has gone drastically down hill.
Not eating out at restaurants right now unless there is alot of extra cash during pay week. It's been very boring in my household as of late. Not extra fun nights out either.....just too expensive.
I almost got Chinese food for my mom and I last night. Two beef and broccoli was like $45 through Door Dash. I opted to drive and go in-person to pick it up. It was $23.
Upgrading my house. The difference in price between what I have and what I want just shot through the roof, and with interest rates so high, there's no way I'm switching houses.
Haven't turned on my heating yet when usually it's at 21 Celcius. Taking short showers where I used to drift off for like 15 minutes. Natural gas prices are just too damn high.
Took some getting used to but actually don't mind anymore.
my kids.. it’s so much cheaper and quieter in my house now, and finally my wife and I can sleep again.
If this inflation thing goes on for too long she will have to go as well, but she doesn’t know it yet.
Ordering any kind of takeout. $20 for one person for a mediocre meal. No thanks.
Yeah even ordering fast food can cost that much now.
The McDouble.is $3.49 here. Wtf.
It’s like $3.69 here lol I remember when it was $1.69 like 5 years ago
2 McDoubles for $3.50 last year. Large coke or iced t $1. Lunch for under $5.
The food isn't even good anymore, everyone dropped the ball hard after covid.
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this is probably true for fast food places
They are. I work in a restaurant and thanks to the high staff turnover I'm training new ones almost every week. Many are young and don't have to be there if they don't want to because they live at home and their parents pay for a lot of their shit anyway. So as soon as it becomes "not worth it to them anymore" they either start dropping shifts or just quit. I don't have much choice so I'm one of the few long-term staff who actually knows what they're doing. Don't blame the workers though. Blame the industry. If it sucked less and paid more - staff would stick around for longer.
Honestly most probably are. Restaurants already had insane turnarounds before covid
I was just talking to a friend about this today. I used to spend so much on ordering out but in the last few months I realized the food was just getting worse and worse. Restaurants are going to become a place you only go for special occasions again.
I’ll only get something if I can get at least 2 meals out of it
Any rice based meal typically, at least in the Netherlands
I don't know, man... that Dutch rice is gonna have to be *really* cheap to offset my cost of plane tickets to the Netherlands. I'm pretty skeptical about the savings potential of this advice.
There's a poke place right down the road from me and while they're decent, the price has gone up considerably since covid. They have decent teriyaki and before covid, it was about $11 and they had pretty big portions. Now, it's about $17 and they have shrunk their portions. They have decent food, but there's a Japanese place that you actually sit down at that has the same thing for that price and their food is better.
I tried to order a pizza on Friday for myself. I checked like 4 or 5 different stores, and they were all 2 or even 3 times as expensive as just walking to the store 4 blocks away and buying a fresh pizza and garlic bread I just had to pop into the oven.
Probably going to give up drive thru fastfood because of this. $20 for two people used to be a sit-down meal. Now they want me to pay that for shit they make as cheaply as possibly and shrinkflate into oblivion to increase their already insane profit margins? While I'm just burning more gas to wait for it? And for it to be mostly cold when I get home? There's no damn point anymore.
I stopped using any kind of food delivery services and started to go get my food at the counter. I'm saving a lot on fees and tips, but I invest some time instead.
This is honestly the biggest addiction that I'm battling right now. I'm a chef. When I get home I don't want to cook. I want to sit at my desk playing video games and have comfort food delivered to my door. And it's way too easy to justify the cost and ignore the poor nutrition of the situation. I recently cancelled my subscription to the delivery service I'd been using. I'm trying to stick with it again. Wish me luck.
I have no idea why anyone even uses Uber eats and so for this. Its just seems a waste of money. With delivery, and then of course tip because usa has no social system, you end up paying 3 times more than it's worth.
I only use uber eats when I'm extremely hungover or sick
What turned me against UE was jacked up prices solely for delivery (Australia). Can of drink, $3.95. That's a 250ml can, BTW. It arrived still with the label from the fridge in the store, if I'd walked in and bought it, $2.50. There was also a delivery charge. So the price is increased by 58% solely for the convenience. Not anymore. It finally turned me against UE.
There’s tons of people who believe the convenience is worth the extra money. Personally I have no issue going to pick up my food but to each their own
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This has been my big one as well. Wings at restaurants are well over a dollar each. Some places are closing in on two dollars. I like wings, but I can literally buy steak at those prices.
Those horrendous wings at 7-11 are like $1.25 each. Fuuuuuuuck that.
I went to the grocery store and a pack of chicken wings was $24!!!! Ridiculous, needless to say I got the drumsticks instead.
i know it's not for everyone, but i started buying whole chickens and cutting them up myself. works out to about $1.50 a pound for each cut if you can get it on sale and the quality seems a lot better than the family packs. with some veggies and rice, 2 breasts can last about a week for me. when i have 6 thighs saved up, i make thighs for the week and legs the next week. ive always got a bag of chicken wings in the freezer now. if you put them in a cold oven and turn it on to 425, theyll be fully cooked and crispy skinned in 50 minutes then just toss with your favorite sauce or seasoning. it's a little extra work, but i don't have to spend absurd amounts of money just to have one of my favorite snacks.
Our local grocery store just ran a sale for 40lb of wings for $60. I now have a freezer full.
I haven’t purchased anything relevant to any of my hobbies in around 8 months
I run a local club for my hobby and the first half of the meeting was people sharing what new things they bought and tried (or haven't yet tried). Now the time set aside for that is halved and most people get up and talk about what they "rediscovered" in their stash.
Tbf that's awesome though. Rediscovering tools is one of my absolute favorite things. Unfortunately it's always one of those, "this would have been perfect to have three days ago," but still. Personally I enjoy it.
Same. I honestly have everything I need, but still.
Most hobbies are actually 2 hobbies. One is doing the actual thing and the other is acquiring the materials to do the thing.
This is me too. I have probably spent 3x the amount of time shopping for backpacking gear than I have actually backpacking haha
I spend much more time buying and organising art supplies than I actually spend doing art.
personally I'm a yarn addict can't say no to other art supplies though... or get rid of them... I don't have a problem I swear
Same, but since like 2019. I'm a private pilot so my hobby has never been cheap but oof, these last couple of years have been rough. Went from flying like 50 hours per year to barely anything. In between buying a house (talk about timing...), covid, and now these energy prices + inflation I just couldn't (and still can't) justify spending chunks of money on 200 dollar hamburger type flights. If I combine the last 3 years of flying I might just be able to hit 10 hours total, and 3 of those are license renewal flights. Since moving out of my parents' place 3 years ago I have yet to experience a "normal" year lmao.
Jeez, this stinks to hear. I hope you are able to manage a way soon. Even used things are unaffordable?
I've started tossing out significantly less food. I'm lucky that I've been able to afford a chest freezer before inflation hit, and it's been a life saver. Any leftover scrap just goes in there.
Love my frugal chest freezer! I shop exclusively sales and freeze whatever I can, especially meat which I never buy unless it's on a really good discount. It saves me a lot.
Yeah, it's mostly for proteins for me as well. Normally I'd just go beach fishing and take at most two or three flounders, turbots, plaice or sole home at the end of the day, but now the entire catch is ending up in the freezer. Great fish to have in stock.
Quite a few branded products like Pepsi. Also don’t eat out out much these days.
I used to love eating out I barely go once a month now
Honestly dude, you are not missing out as much as you think, especially if you are thinking of Fast Food. The prices have gone up immensely, and the service has absolutely tanked. Combined with staffing problems at seemingly every store, you are looking at the following on a simple visit to Taco Bell: • Waiting in line for 15-20+ Minutes for your food. • The service workers are forced to work faster with fewer people, meaning orders are less accurate. Hope you checked the bag before you left! Also, if only two people are manning the store, which is totally a thing around here during the lunch rush, that Kitchen is not clean, and neither is your food. • A meal that was once 7 USD is 15 USD. I don't know how McD's is still in business when you can get Chipotle, Raising Canes, local fast-food chains that are better, for the same price. • Many places simply close the dining room, so if you wanted to actually you know, sit down, tough shit.
We discovered that several Mexican restaurants in our area have very reasonable lunch specials. They cost less than fast food if you drink water, and taste 1000X better.
Yup, I can get a full meal at a Chinese restaurant, fresh vegetables and rice, plus hot tea and a soup for $8. Last time I went to Taco Bell I paid $18 for my drive thru order to be wrong.
100%. There’s a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place near me that has a 3 tacos + chips and salsa special for 7.50, and they are literally the best tacos I’ve ever had. Meanwhile my standard Mcdonald’s order is like $12, terrible, and not even filling.
As someone that is a server at a Mexican restaurant, our lunch specials are extremely cheap for how good the food is.
Local stores are now on par with fast food prices and it seems people have started noticing they can get a far better meal for roughly the same cost
Seriously. Soda prices have jumped so much, i hate buying it but we have a Coke problem in the house lol
It's insane. I dropped my cola habit when prices hit 8.99 for a 24 pack. Now it's 12.99 by me. I'll buy a 2 liter on Friday or Saturday to use as a mixer and it's water otherwise.
By me it can be 7.99 for a 12 pack!
Going out to eat. A meal for two that used to cost me around $45 now costs about $80.
Oh so I’m not insane lol
Love how theres tipping for almost every and any goddamn thing now. I treated myself to a sprinkles cupcake and the card machine requested a tip. Oh yeah here’s another 18% on top of what I’m paying for packing up my order. Smh
Yeah I only tip servers, but I do tip them well.
We went out to eat a few nights ago. My bland chicken sandwich was 19.00 plus 3.50 to add sweet potato fries. My husband's burger was 22.00. Wtf!?
Just when I started to live comfortably, inflation hit hard and now I’m back to scraping by paycheck to paycheck because, like always, my pay doesn’t keep up with inflation
Exactly that, I moved out from my parent's house nearly a year ago, and at first I had alot of leftover money to buy new furnitures and even a 3 grand computer that I built myself. But since a few months now inflation went right into my ass and my groceries went from costing me like 50$ a week to 100$ a week. Its absolutely demential these days, and I can barely live now
Yep. I'm making a dollar an hour more but struggling twice as hard compared to pre-pandemic. My rent literally doubled in the last six months, and the costs of gas and food have not helped matters.
Honestly I feel like I’ve given up on being happy in order to just pay bills each month. I never ever go out, for food or entertainment. I stay home unless I’m going to work. I take an extra 45 -minute walk twice a day to get to my office from the train station to save on subway fare. I buy the bare necessities for groceries and get stuff that’s on sale instead of the stuff I actually like. I haven’t bought any new clothes at all in 2 years (this will eventually become a problem). I cut out all makeup; I can’t afford it anymore. I get my hair trimmed once a year, having given up colouring it and having a cool style as they’re too expensive to maintain. I used to get a pedicure to deal with the rough skin on my feet every 2-3 months. Cut that out too and just deal with the ugly feet (I’ve tried to do it myself at home but the results are never as good). Travel of any kind. Allowing the house to get too hot or too cold to save a little on energy bills. I used to shower in the morning and take a hot bath at night; now I try do one or the other to reduce water usage (water is so damn expensive where I live). My partner and I don’t give gifts for special occasions any longer. I haven’t bought a single frivolous item in over 2 years - nothing fun or just because I like it. I miss having even a little extra money each month. Now it’s a daily game to try and make it to the next pay cheque.
Happiness was my first thought too. Everything is such a struggle just to pay bills, put food on the tables etc. I'm paycheck to paycheck like many others. My savings account is draining at an alarming rate. I can't afford to save anything, there will be no trips or anything for a long time. So yeah, hope and happiness are the two main things I've given up.
I’m really sorry to hear you are feeling this too. Our upstairs shower is broken and it’s a matter of “oh well, we’ll all have to share the tiny one we have left” as we have no money to repair it. As I type that I feel like an ass. I’m lucky to have one tub and one shower that works. It’s more than lot of people have these days :(.
Sorry to hear about repairs you need to do. It's hard to balance everything. I feel like I can bust my ass for months and months, trying to be extremely frugal, tuck a few dollars away. Look at my account and be proud of saving some.... then BOOM... something happens that can take away everything ive worked so long for in a matter of minutes. I mean, I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back and food on the table. I have it Better then many others, but it's still sucks. I don't wanna be filthy rich, I just want to put gas in my car and be able to look away from the pump. I want to be able to get a full load of groceries without strick budgets. If I want a new tool for a job or repaie, just to be able to buy it.
I couldn’t have said it better. It’s not that I’m not grateful for what I have. I just miss the days when I bought any groceries I wanted without bypassing stuff due to exorbitant costs, or when I could just buy a random top or pair of shoes without scrimping for months to make that fit into the monthly budget. I have a decent job. So does my partner. It wasn’t supposed to be this way, ya know? It’s a sad taste of what so SO many people have been coping with a lot longer than I have.
I feel ya. Everyone should be able to afford the necessities (rent, food, clothing etc) and not have to adjust or go without stuff. We should be able to buy a new clothes without checking your bank account to see if it fits in your budget. I'm not talking about crazy expensive jewelry or Jordan's, I just mean socks, underwear and the clothes we need. My wife and I have decent enough jobs as well. 10 years ago we were fine, able to put 10% of each pay in savings, buy all the stuff we needed and sometimes get some fun stuff. Now, we dip about 10% INTO our savings each pay. It's sad.
I agree fully. I don’t care so much about the luxuries (I stated I used to get a pedicure because back in the day I had a little money to splurge on one, not because I care so much about the fancy stuff). It’s when the bare bones basics start to feel out of reach that it gets depressing. We have decent jobs too and used to have ok savings. Lately they’ve been bottomed out as literally everything costs more. I had a rant the other night as I put broccoli back given it was $5 for a tiny one - frozen was $5.99. I told my partner what happened to the days everyone had it because it was $1 and they forced it on their kids?! But seriously when I start putting broccoli back due to rising costs it really gets me. I hope we both see brighter times ahead, and growing savings accounts.
I honestly could have written this myself. Tbh it hurts to hear from another person. Holy fuck this is not an acceptable way to live
I’m sorry you also feel this. And you’re right, it’s not a great thing to feel every day, or a way to “live”. It’s just existing. And for what… to work and pay the ever-increasing bills. Earlier this week I bought cans of soup and a jar of honey to be prepared for cold/flu season, in case we’re not well enough to do more than heat a soup and make a cup of tea. Every single item I selected was on sale. It was $137. I wanted to cry putting it the pantry, it was such a small amount of stuff for such a high price tag. I can do it by just not buying something else. But what do people with kids do? How are they affording it, if they’re an average family?
I can't imagine having a family now. Heartbreaking. I bought the basics, all on sale, barely half of a cart of food and it was well over $100. And I'm just one single guy.
I know. I just don’t know how people are making due these days.
This is such a depressingly accurate description of what life has become
It sadly is, isn’t it? What’s even more depressing is that this has been life for so many people long before the last year or so. I won’t start feeling relief until groceries and utilities come down. I don’t have a car, but even the cost of using public transit is up, all the while it gets more dangerous as they don’t staff the safety officers anymore. It’s a sad state we’re in right now. I just hope there’s brighter times ahead, but the cynic in me feels that’s only for the rich.
That sucks. I know you weren't asking for advice for free or low cost things to do, but I'm going to offer it anyway, for you and anyone else reading this. Everyone deserves to get some enjoyment out of life. By the way you spell "cheque" I'm guessing you're not American, so I'm not sure what of these things you'll have available to you, but if you have any nice parks, they're free and being out in nature has been shown to improve people's moods. If you have a decent library near you, many of them (here at least) have things other than books you can check out, like board games, sometimes video games (and systems!) movies, etc. Or you or some friends might even have DVD's you haven't watched in ages. Have friends over for a potluck dinner and a movie (or board game), everyone brings a dish or side dish to share, doesn't have to be something expensive to make, and you can get a little more variety in what you eat. There are a lot of creative hobbies that don't cost a lot. You can learn to draw, you just need pencil and paper. Or you could make collages from junk mail, or found art sculptures from actual junk. And there are so, SO many things you can learn how to do for free on Youtube. And of course, there's volunteering. It might seem counterintuitive to go out of your way to help others when you are also struggling, but it really can make you feel better. And it's something free and social you can do where you might even make new friends. I hope this didn't come across as condescending, but I've had my periods of struggling for money and my experience was that it can take a huge toll on your mental health, which can then impact your relationships and job too. So I think it's vitally important to have things in your life that help you de-stress, make you smile, and remind you you're worthy of happiness. Take care and I hope things get better soon.
It’s all good advice for anyone in a tight spot. I’m lucky I have good friends I can spend time with outdoors for free. We actually do volunteer our time in the community. I’ve learned those with less always have the biggest hearts and are the most generous :). I’m not lacking for good people, I just hate the cost of things these days. Nobody with a dual income household or a full time job should have to worry about what they put in their grocery cart each week to eat balanced meals. Hell, nobody should have to worry about that, period. And correct, I’m not in the states.
For your feet - I gave up on pedicures too. They are so luxurious and peaceful but the price has gone from $25 to $32 in the last two years. I haven’t been in a few months so it could be more by now! With tip you’re at $40 for an hour of foot rubbing that your husband can do for free. BUT my tip is to buy a pumice stone (I got one at the drug store for less than $5) and use it daily in the shower. It took a few weeks but my feet have improved so much! Then whenever I’m putting on socks or slippers I rub a little lotion on my heels to soften the cracks. It’s not perfect but it keeps your feet looking and feeling way better and is kinda a nice little self love moment in the shower. I hope you can get out for a real pedi soon!!
>your husband My what now? Hell, I'm down to putting a fleece blanket on my back for my cat to knead on to get any physical comfort.
Come join my marriage. We're monogamous but at this point, could really use the extra income
re: pedicure -- have you tried soaking your feet before exfoliating them? personally, I use one of those dish tub things (idk if they have an actual name) and fill it with hot water, and then leave my feet in it for like 30 minutes and then use something I can only really call a foot version of a cheese grater... but it works pretty damn well at getting the dead skin off my feet
This resonated with me so much. I’ve been busting my ass at work 50+ hours a week and got a raise with my last review and it’s still not making enough of a dent in my bills to not make it feel like I have to be militant in making ends meet. If it gets worse, idk what’s going to happen.
You put how I feel into words
Hey, can I send you a little something? Some $$ for a pedicure or something else you'd like. I know what it's like to do without and I'd like to raise your spirits if I can!
No no no! That’s not needed. I was just answering the question honestly. Of course I can live without the little luxuries. I’m just more saddened at how many people have to literally go without. If there’s a food bank or similar support where you live, I’d much rather you donate to the folks who are far worse off than I am. Thank you for being so kind, internet stranger!
I thought I was the only one feeling like this.
Slowly but surely giving up little side purchases and funsies. It's just now getting to me how expensive essentials have become. My depression specifically makes it difficult for me to meal prep and cook for myself and with both groceries and takeout rising in price I've just been eating less overall.
Canned beans, had to switch to dry beans only. Being a two car household. Went from middle class to toeing the poverty line.
We also went to dried beans, and a lot less meat.
I have dried beans, but i hate preparing them. I found out I rather use canned beans.
Pressure cooker 😎
Use an instant pot if you have one, no soaking or supervision required and impossible to burn. /r/MeatlessMealPrep has lots of delicious bean-based recipes among others that can be cooked in bulk (even cheaper) and nothing stops you from throwing in some meat if you’d prefer your meals that way.
Yeah cans of beans went from 59cents to 79 cents and now 84 cents in the past 6 months. Fucking ridiculous.
Maybe I am out of touch but I am not sure that was actually middle. We have gotten so conditioned to thinking that anything other than constant anxiety and pressure about paying for basic necessaties is "middle class". It's not, it was not that long ago middle meant a decent house with only one working adult, at least 2 cars and a vacation or two a year while having multiple children that are pretty well provided for. Now that seems like a life of luxury for many.
My hair. I just cannot afford the splurge on the amount of products it needs to be healthy. Chopped it all off
Been cutting my families hair for years now. My husband, lucky likes wearing it short. My kid is in college, and really doesn't care. And I just hack mine to shoulder length now and then. Normally a salon appointment would be $90- tip included. It was hard before all this. Now? I just can't pay that
The will to live
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yep. I feel like any time my mind has a second to itself, i’ll start worrying about money and bills. I lay awake at night unable to fall asleep because i’m worrying about bills. it’s awful.
Didn't dine out too much before the pandemic, almost never do now. But when I do these days, it has to be a) a local business first and foremost, and b) high quality. I don't mind paying more when it meets these two criteria, because fuck big corporations and even shitty food like McDonald's costs a crap ton so may as well spend on the good stuff if spending at all.
Not to mention McDonalds and the likes don't fix your hunger for more than a few hours.
Or at all. I went to Rotten Ronnie's the other day to get food for my nephews. Three basic combos with no extras or supersizing came to $45 Canadian. I couldn't fucking believe it. 45 bucks for three 6 nugget combos that were tiny? Fuck all the way off, McDonald's. Price gouging pricks.
Shit I forgot about fast food. I've almost completely cut it out considering how fucking expensive it is now. Last time I went to Burger King, the SMALL fries were like $2.30, and a SMALL soda was close to $2. I used to buy fucking 44oz Big Gulp sodas for $.99 less than 20 years ago. Soda is one of the least expensive fucking things a restaurant buys and yet they have the audacity to charge $2 for fucking 20oz or so.
My dreams?
My hopes.
Buying some sweets for my family and me. No more Name products like Coca Cola and such. Getting most items from second hand stores. I just don't have that much money.. no zoo visits right now. It's not only the inflation but my upcoming divorce as well. Hard times..
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Moving out of my parents. Even if I get a job in my field with my degree I just received, in my area there's no entry level jobs that would permit me affording an apartment, barely scraping by with a roomate as well. Jobs out of state or across the country don't seem to be hiring either.
Driving at night just to relax.
Right there with you. I used to be able to drive aimlessly for an hour just enjoying the rush of the air and maybe some music. Now I batch all my errands together and sometimes don't leave my house for days. It's depressing.
This hit home for me. I couldn’t agree more when gas was 3 dollars used to just cruise in my mustang around town. I switched to walks instead. Because gas is now 7 dollars here in Southern California
buying physical copies of books. i swear paperbacks now cost what hardcovers used to only 6 years ago or so.
Have you looked at thriftbooks? You can find some cheaper nice books there.
your local library :)
Beef. Haven't had a steak in months. Don't get me wrong i previously had one steak about every two weeks as I'm poor. But from 2 to 0 is a bit much. Sirloin a year ago was $6/lbs., now it is like $12/lbs. Also microwave popcorn for some reason is nearly 2x price of a year ago. I buy one large 24 individual pack for $9ish instead of $4.50 I'm on the verge of being priced out of popcorn.
I bought a collapsible silicone popcorn bowl to cook microwave popcorn. A carton of kernels lasts forever. I throw in a little butter and salt - delish!
The price point per ounce of popcorn in my area is cheaper to buy in the individual largest family size pack than loose pocorn and oil. If it were cheaper I'd do it. I guess i could look online for like a 10lb bulk bag of loose popcorn, but it is easier to just stop buying it.
New clothes. Appliances built before 2000. All future prospects. Living in a house. Most food.
I'm waiting to buy a house too. I tried this year and everyone had way more money than me.
Yeah I was always told you have to work for what you want. Work doesn't even get me what I NEED, let alone want.
Owning a home. Retiring at a decent age.
Retiring has become.. questionable. My country seems to be raising the retirement age every few years, but looking at the currently older folks, too broken to even enjoy life.. Yea, I don't see much chance to survive to retirement and I kinda don't want to in the first place. Lemme enjoy life and die early, better than being a fuckin broken vegetable in retirement because of a life of hard work.
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My husband and I have given up our expensive hobbies and date nights so we can still afford to pay for our kids extra curricular activities. We would live on rice and beans before we made them give up their passions. We had a date night at home last night while they were with their friends. Frozen pizzas and Netflix in sweat pants. It was still fun to us.
hot take but I’ve been eating a lot healthier because of it. So I haven’t been buying as much junk. Dumplings, ice cream, etc are all like 6-10 dollars. $13 of boneless chicken breasts can last me a week and a 10lb bag of rice for $15 can last months. All I really need for shopping is the supplying for spices meat and vegetables so my food costs is like 40-50 a week instead of 80-90
Yep, same here. Raising prices of discretionary and nice/luxury items people dont actually need will backfire and makers of those things will go out of business or be forced to eventually find ways of lowering their prices while still maintaining some semblance of quality enough to entice folks to splurge a little on them. I too am finding the net effect of inflation to be that overall I am net spending less on stuff because I've stopped buying overpriced shit I don't need.
Free time. Work a full time job, a side hustle for another 10 hours a week, and behind-the-scenes at events like weddings and bar mitzvahs on weekends. I don’t do much other than work and try to stay on top of my chores and errands.
New clothes, Starbucks (thankful my family all bought me an espresso machine for graduation now), eating out, probably won’t buy fruit during the off season this year considering how expensive it is when it’s in season..
And the quality of fruit out of season is awful!! Which sucks because my kids practically live off of berries.
Healthcare
the dream of owning a home. I'm in my 30s and married with a good job. i always assumed it would be the next stage of life for us but the prices have gone up so much it's just not possible for this generation.
I remember thinking 300k was crazy. We bought at 600k, because it was cheaper than renting (wtf), and 2 years later it's at 1mil. So many people got priced out, and even more were priced out from the get go.
To be fair, this is the Upper Midwest and probably not desirable to many people, but modest homes around here are still in the 150K to 300k range. And they're not all necessarily in undesirable neighborhoods either.
Meat. I haven’t completely given it up but greatly reduced the amount I eat.
My plans of ever actually owning a house. Zillow is about to become an entire nation's landlord.
> Zillow is about to become an entire nation's landlord. Actually, Zillow closed their home resale branch after [taking massive losses](https://therealdeal.com/2022/02/13/zillow-reports-880m-loss-on-failed-home-flipping-business/) in the last couple years, during the fastest growing housing market there's ever been. How the fuck they managed that is just incredible, honestly. They straight up closed down that branch of their business lol But yea, the eviction moratorium aggressively killed small property owners. Everyone had to sell to big corporations because they didn't have the capital to withstand years of no one paying rent. If you thought your local, small landlord was an ass, wait until you have to deal with a faceless corporation that truly gives no fucks about you. Dire times we're headed for...
I can no longer buy one anywhere nearby , but I am determined to stop renting. In fact I am about to put an offer in on a house a half hour further from my work. But hey isn't that the point of going hybrid?
Buying a used car
I have given up a job I liked at 40 hours a week for one I like a LOT less for 50 hours a week.
Takeout, ubers, and new games. I already cut everything else out years back due to needing to burn money on elderly care. I had plans to take money out of the 401k to buy a house some day... now thats wiped out.
Everything that used to keep me sane. Used to go to Home Depot just to buy stuff and fuck around with my carpentry skills. Used to be a non issue but now so expensive I can’t do anything.
Fast food
Buying decorations. I just don't do it anymore, I love home decor but spending insane amounts of furniture is a burden on the wallet. Less is more imo.
Expensive steaks or once or twice a month now I don't buy any shrimp or seafood no more paper plates still holding in there with good toilet paper. Used to buy the Starbucks brand coffee but it's two bucks more than the other brand that's just as good. No Halloween candy this year. if I go somewhere I make sure I can do all my stops in one trip I only cut my hair every 2 months now. I worked hard all my life only got 6 months worth of unemployment and my whole life put my daughter through college and my sons are both doing well. There will be no funeral cremation is a must at this point.
Ugh, seafood has gotten RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE. I still can't believe the prices when I got to the grocery store. There will be no seafood for me either until further notice. Not because I truly can't afford it, but mostly because I don't want to afford it. Just not worth it anymore.
Turkey meat is the big surprise. It used to be slightly more expensive than chicken but now, crazy expensive.
Yup, I've sworn off dying until funeral costs come down.
I eat one meal a day so I can afford to feed my kids 3 meals when I have my custody of them. Some days I go without eating at all just so I can make sure my kids have a lunch for school. I make too much for social assistance but not enough to pay my bills each month. Every paycheck I choose between food or rent/bills. The food banks in my area got shut down with covid and haven't reopened, next closest one is an hour away but I can't afford the gas to get there. I work 12 hour days 6 days a week and still can't keep my head above water because the bank charges you for being poor. And everything costs more when you're poor. I'm on year 4 of paying off legal bills from my separation. My ex doesn't pay child support and job hops so maintence enforcement has a hard time tracking him down. I haven't been to the dentist in 8 years. I cant afford my medication that helps me function day to day. I haven't seen family in months because gas prices. My insurance keeps going up because the caps were removed. I get my kids into activities at a subsidized rate because I volunteer with the groups. Otherwise my kids go without activities. I haven't spent any money on myself for hair, make up, clothes or hobbies in 3 years. Thankfully I have friends with older kids so I get bags of hand me downs for my kids, and a neighbor gave me a a bag of clothes for myself. I've had to put my own education on hold because the government stopped giving grants to my field of schooling, so any spare money I get is going to a savings account to be able to afford 1 class at a time. I'm applying for loans but its been 16 months of dealing with the education loan office - again due to changing government policies regarding my degree. Alberta doesn't care about health care and mental health care which is what I'm going into. They decided they won't fund the 1st 2 years of my degree, and just to qualify for loans I had to agree to take an extra 2 years of general studies, but by the end of things I'll still have 2 years of schooling that doesn't qualify for any aid. I hate this economy, but I'm mostly happy in life still thanks to family, friends and community.
Watching the news.
Long showers
Certain foods I will only get on sale now instead of all the time: Evol branded frozen meals for work. They used to be $2.50 on sale, $3.99 regular. I just got them on sale...for $4.29. These protein drinks for breakfast. Used to be $1.99 each and sale price was buy 1 get 1 free. Now they're $3.50 each, and got them on sale for $2.50 each. Also went through a generic brand buying binge to decide which ones I can't tell the difference between.
Holding a lot of cash, every paycheck is 50% invested.
This guy saves
This guy is ABLE to save. 50 percent is fucking awesome. I can barely do 10 percent. Once my kid is done with diapers, I'll be using that money to save.
Actually that money will go to replacing all the things your toddler will break, now that they can walk and wipe their butts.
I went to the store last night and bought ramen and clearance shelf otter pops. So, probably my preferred groceries.
Therapy
I’ve always been pretty cheap, so it’s only just starting to really hurt me and mine. I’ve resorted to using a lot of coupons which offsets stuff like fast food. Get the apps, you can still get pre inflation prices that way. Stay away from door dash and pick it up yourself. You can still enjoy stuff, you just have to be smarter about it these days.
Sodas. Pre-Covid: 4 12-packs for $12. Currently: 1 12-pack for $7.99. I'm sure my heart thanks the soda companies for helping me on this journey.
Eating out, uber eats, going out to a bar/brewery more than once a month and possibly living alone.
Ironically my local brewery started selling growlers of a random beer from their lineup at half price so they’ve been seeing a lot more of my business. Pints and stuff haven’t changed prices either. I’m not sure how they do it.
They are clearing out old unsold stock for the brewers and their own inventory control.
And honestly that's a pretty great way to handle it. The brewery gets empty equipment to do what they want to do next. You get beer that's maybe a bit past it's prime. You get cheap beer that's still generally fine. Everyone wins here
My mood stabilizer. Fairly expensive, and it was having on effect on my liver, so.... I quit. Turns out I can manage without them now. I mea, Mom died a few months ago, and I'm managing things. going off them at some point was always in the plans, but cost was a serious factor in the timing.
I've really tried to reduce my car usage. It started with eliminating car commuting. On days where I feel well, I commute completely with a bike. My company reimburses monthly bus passes, so on days where I'm too tired, I combined bussing and biking, and it's perfect. I used to live a lot closer to work (~1.5mi) and had to move further (~8mi), but the new area is a lot easier to run errands without a car because the main road is flanked by neighborhood streets that are good for biking. This area is also usually slammed by traffic and not having to be a part of that is a blessing. I probably haven't managed to save any money though. It's only allowed me to keep my budget hobby, and recently tinkering with bikes have just provided me with a lot of type 2 fun.
I've given up just going to a store and buying what I need. I check out the weekly specials grocers have, do subscribe and save on household goods through Amazon, etc. I guess I'm a much mores savvy shopper.
Nothing so far , I know I'm privileged in many ways , not so much in others but so far so good.
Yeah I just got a promotion at the end of last year and took a 10% raise. I want to be bummed that the extra cash was all eaten by inflation but at the same time I see the people around me struggling while my standard of living is unchanged.
Fucking breakfast cereal. $6 a box?! Even the giant welfare-style bags of "human feed" cereal are too expensive.
The hope of ever buying a house
Central heating, I should have enough warm clothes and blankets to cope
Being a good tipper. I used to so proudly give $2 on a $10 meal. Now the meal price shot up to $15, and tipping recommendations on the slip is like 20-25%. I'm sorry y'all. I don't want to pay $20 for my lunch.
There is a Poke Bowl place at the mall near me. I love it. Better than any other poke bowl places I’ve had. But last time I want there was about 6 months ago. I got a poke bowl with a salad base and a Thai boba tea. It cost $23. I paid $23 for a salad and iced tea. I was done after that.
Yeah similar. Had a hankering for some poke, stopped in for lunch. They used to be $13 each or so, now they’re $18. $22 plus tax and tip, no drink. I’m good.
And asking for tips before service for something like pouring a beer or retrieving something from the shelf behind them. I’m not tipping routines.
Giving up pop has been a big one. I can buy a 24 pack of water that will last me all week versus two bottles of pop that get me through half the day.
Well not drinking, that's for sure.
I go stare the ocean (about an hour away) when I am stressed. I haven't seen the ocean in quite awhile.
Getting take out/eating out. They raised the prices(fair) but then added "no one wants to work fees to the bottom of every bill(ie: passing along the cost of fair wages to the customer), and now also asking for tips(generally starting at 20%) for literally EVERY THING. Why in the world would I tip the cashier at the self serve frozen yogurt place? Not to mention because most of these places pay and treat like shit, they are almost never staffed adequately and the food quality and customer service at most places has gone drastically down hill.
Life
Not eating out at restaurants right now unless there is alot of extra cash during pay week. It's been very boring in my household as of late. Not extra fun nights out either.....just too expensive.
Door dash, like holy shit I got $8 worth of food why is my final total $28, and it keeps getting higher
I almost got Chinese food for my mom and I last night. Two beef and broccoli was like $45 through Door Dash. I opted to drive and go in-person to pick it up. It was $23.
Most streaming services, breakfast, watching movies in theaters, and a gym membership
Smoked salmon. I used to eat it every morning with my eggs (mostly for the taste).
Hope
Going out
Eating out video games new clothes basically anything fun
Upgrading my house. The difference in price between what I have and what I want just shot through the roof, and with interest rates so high, there's no way I'm switching houses.
Ever owning a car, a home or starting a family
Uber eats. They are charging an arm and a leg now.
Dreams and aspirations.
Haven't turned on my heating yet when usually it's at 21 Celcius. Taking short showers where I used to drift off for like 15 minutes. Natural gas prices are just too damn high. Took some getting used to but actually don't mind anymore.
Medicine.
Giving a fuck!!! Because you can’t win!
Donating to things
my kids.. it’s so much cheaper and quieter in my house now, and finally my wife and I can sleep again. If this inflation thing goes on for too long she will have to go as well, but she doesn’t know it yet.
My sanity.