Money doesn’t grow on trees, and sadly for millions of Americans, quality doesn’t either. These are the products and services where people are suffering from the worst price increases and quality decreases.
Note: Some quotes in this piece have been lightly edited for grammar.
1: Cable TV
Cable television is trying to put itself out of business, according to some. Watching cable TV nowadays comes with “more commercials, channels upon channels of nonsense, [and a] ridiculous monthly bill.”
2: Fast Food
“You guys remember the dollar menu?” asks one online forum commenter. Many chimed in, with one saying, “McD’s used to be my lazy go-to breakfast. Used to be cheap and awesome. Now breakfast for me and my wife is like $20.”
3: Insurance
Insurance is through the roof and for less coverage than in the past. A former employee who was working 60+ hours a week said their last job didn’t offer insurance so they had to pay for it on their own. “The cheapest plan I could find in my area was $300 a month with an $8,000 deductible.”
4: American Candy Bars
American candy bars are “downright tiny now and cost 2 – 3 times as much as they did 10+ years ago,” says one disappointed consumer. “Also, you can tell the manufacturers are using inferior ingredients,” they say. “The chocolate is dry and chalky.” The solution for one commenter? “Shop at Aldi and get foreign candy.”
5: Streaming Services
Streaming doesn’t escape the wrath of upset consumers tired of paying loads of money to watch a show and getting less. “It used to be you had one maybe two services and could watch d*mn near anything anytime. Now there’s like 50 services and nearly everything they have is exclusive and when you want to watch a certain movie or show you have to first Google to find out what service it’s on and see if you even have access.”
6: Appliances
From washing machines to refrigerators, many people agree that appliances are way too expensive and losing quality. “But hey, if it doesn’t break, how can they sell you a new one?” asks one commenter. “I had 30-year-old hand-me-downs when I started out. Gave them away, and to my knowledge, they are still being used. New stuff is 30 times more expensive and fails in 5 years.”
7: Hot Pockets
Hot pockets “used to be pretty good,” says one person. “Now they’re made with worse quality bread, barely have half as much meat, don’t cook well, and they cost about 50% more.”
8: College Education
Gone are the days when it’s easy to pay your way through most colleges. One commenter says in the seven years since they graduated from their university, the tuition has increased four times. “Meanwhile faculty is still getting paid the same and it’s still the same content,” adds another.
9: Restaurant Food
The food at restaurants isn’t like it used to be, argues one forum user. They describe the food as “low quality” and “small portions,” all while “the prices are insane.”
10: Vegetables
Not only did vegetables used to be cheaper, but one person remembers when they’d “last 3 days or more.” They explain, “Now if you buy them, they look like crap, and have to be cooked/consumed almost immediately as they wilt or rot quickly.”
11: Rent
Rent is a never-ending upward climb nowadays, according to many. “I pay almost $900 a month for a roach and rat-infested duplex that is literally rotting and has the worst mold problem I’ve ever seen,” says one person. Another adds, “The quality of new construction homes is shockingly bad these days.”
12: Tipping
Tipping “for anything” is getting more expensive with less quality service, says one commenter. A “girl wanted a 20% tip to hand me a premade pizza at Pizza Hut.” A British traveler agreed, saying they were appalled when, at the Newark airport, the self-service checkout tip option “defaulted to 30%, rather than the 0 and 20% options it had. How can you justify that?” they ask.
13: Airbnbs
Airbnb has made headlines for its ever-increasing fees, and consumers are upset about it. “I paid a $150 cleaning fee for an air BNB [sic] and it was dirty when I got there,” one person says.
14: Don’t Wanna Choose
“Literally everything” is one person’s response to what things are getting more expensive and losing quality. Enough said.
15: Cars
“When monthly car payments are what mortgages used to be and people are getting 10-year loans, you know vehicles are way too expensive,” says one person. Another agrees, saying, “I saved up $10K for a car, and every dealership I went to was like, ‘That’s a great down payment.'”
16: Life Itself
Living longer is becoming more expensive, with the decline in quality being self-explanatory. “As age increases your health worsens and the need to take care of yourself increases.”
17: The US Government
The U.S. government is getting more expensive and losing quality, says one commenter. “I can only upvote this once,” says a regretful commenter, inserting a sad emoji. Another agrees, saying it’s possible for the U.S. government to “perform many vital and necessary things while also wasting an insane amount of money on things.”
Source: Reddit.
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