“Chicken Wings, Nobody Should Be Paying $2 Per Wing”: 30 Things People Can No Longer Afford
Interview
Grandparents love to brag about how inexpensive a chocolate bar was “back in their day” or how little they paid for their first home. And in a perfect world, it wouldn’t really matter how much prices had increased because our salaries would inflate on the same scale. But as we all know, that’s just not the case today.
Costs of living are soaring all over the planet, and it seems like every year, things that were once basic necessities or little treats are turning into luxuries reserved only for the rich. Redditors have recently been discussing some of these things that have become unattainable for most of us, so we’ve gathered some of their thoughts below.
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Tickets for events.
I still wistfully look at my $3 ticket stub when I saw Jimi Hendrix on my 17th birthday in 1968. Saw Janis Joplin in 1969 and the ticket price had increased to $4.50.
To find out how this conversation started in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user Dash_Weh_Dat, who posed the question, "What was affordable 50 years ago that now only the rich can buy?” They were kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share what inspired them to start this thread.
"Well, I was having a discussion with some millennial and Gen Z friends at a housewarming party (it's a rental by the way)," the OP said. "A friend showed us pictures she took while she was on vacation in California with her parents at her grandparent's country home. We noticed that they were extremely well off."
"Someone asked her if her family had always been wealthy. She said her grandfather worked as a factory manager, and his grandmother was a housewife," Dash_Weh_Dat continued. "They managed to save up for a house and a vacation home 5 hours away. Eventually they moved to the country home and sold their first house for six figures."
"One income managed to get them all that. While we are struggling to make ends meet, we have to sometimes take out loans. 50 years ago, it seemed you only needed a regular job, save up for 2-5 years and pay for a house in cash. Try doing that today even on a manager's salary," they told Bored Panda.
Stay at home Mom with a family that has food security, social activities, and family vacations.
We were also curious what the OP has noticed has become unattainable today. "Owning a home or an apartment seems like something only wealthy people can purchase, unless it's an inheritance," they shared. "Buying a car is quite expensive nowadays, the maintenance, insurance, taxes that come with it as well."
"Food such as vegetables, meat, dairy and fruits that used to be cheap back in the day and abundant are now quite expensive. I see why people opt for junk food to save money," they added.
Disney has gotten crazy expensive.
Going to sports or concerts.
I despise Disney for their breathtaking greed. It totally ruins the experience.
A summer house. I know many families that have an old house on a lake that they go to in the summers. It’s been passed down for a couple generations. Nobody in the current generation could afford one but some how a family with a single income bought it 50 years ago and the man’s wife and wife and kids would spend the whole summer there and he would go up on weekends.
Very large families, as in having 4 or more kids
I grew up in 70s/80s Ireland and England surrounded by very large and very poor Irish families. I mean those families and kids had absolutely nothing. Saw exactly the same issue when I started travelling. People are still having large families but that's more down to religion, lack of access to contraception and education.
Sadly, Dash_Weh_Dat doesn't expect any of these things to become affordable again in the future. And as far as the responses to their post, they said the replies were "on the nose."
"I agree with most of them apart for the 'trolly' ones," they added. "None of them surprised me."
Healthcare that covers whatever you actually need done including surgery, imaging, childbirth, etc.
A middle income starter home.
No such thing anymore. I see plenty of "starter" homes in my neighborhood being snapped up by developers and bulldozed, so they can put up these monsters that take up the entire property footprint. Why would I move into a McMansion on a busy street without even a yard or a driveway? Who buys these things?
Everything... f*****g everything.
Housing, the younger generation are being forced to rent. sad to see
There several new subdivisions being built in my area where the homes are "luxury rentals" only. WTH??
Automobiles. My first car cost me $3255. My current one cost me nearly $40,000
If we take out of the equation the post-pandemic spike (that is now waning), car prices remained remarkably consistent since the very beginning, despite quality and technological content steadily improving. A 1920 Ford T today would cost about $25k, that is an average price for a small family car. A 1965 Mustang would have cost about the same, comparable to a 1980 Toyota Celica in a standard configuration.
Chicken wings, nobody should be paying $2 per wing
Privacy
Maybe referring to having 4 roommates just to be able to have a roof over your head
Housing, education, most high quality food, vehicles etc etc.. you can still get those things but you will die in debt
Books are so crazy expensive. I was book shopping the other day and a tiny paperback copy of I am legend was $20.
I've had a coworker telling me to read it, saying it's better than the movie by a lot but man. It's a small a*s book for that price.
Well, more than 50 years ago, but lobster. In New England It used to be used by prisons to feed inmates. Plentiful, cheap, and kinda gross, so no one else was going to eat it.
Reasonable living standards.
Edit: apparently people aren't able to put the original question and answer together. My point is that having reasonable living by today's standards is something fewer people can afford compared to 50 years ago. The difference between living standards of wealthy and poor was far narrower than it is today. Sure, we didn't have internet and fancy TVs and take away deliveries from our phones back then, but *nobody* had that, so that's irrelevant. 50 years ago you didn't have to be rich to own your home, to work reasonable hours, to have some leisure time. Now you simply cannot afford to even rent somewhere in some places unless you're earning well above minimum wage.
Cod in Sweden. When I grew up, it was the staple fish, the base for most traditional fish dishes and you’d eat it several times a week. With a dwindling cod population in Swedish waters, it has now gotten so expensive that I can’t remember when I last had cod.
In 1980, according to Statistics Sweden, one kilogram of cod was 15 SEK (US$1.42 with today’s FX rate). In 2024 money, that would be $5.60.
But in the stores today, one kilogram of cod will cost you $29.70 (cheapest cod at Hemköp).
(Apparently Statistics Sweden stopped tracking the price of cod in 2012, which I guess is just proof of its loss of importance as a staple food in Sweden)
Medical surgical care. Prescription medication.
The new eyedrops to treat dry eye syndrome are not covered by Medicare insurance and cost $630 for a two week dose. Pharmaceutical companies are the major greedy corporations in America. Why aren't Republicans complaining about them?
College education
Owning a dog!
Euthanasia costs 40% more than last year. A aquaintance was quoted 600 for spaying her dog. I paid about 250 18 years ago. Pets are expensive. Plan for it. edit: Germany
Organic or specialty foods that were once more affordable have become increasingly expensive compared to processed or unhealthy alternatives, making access to healthy food more difficult for lower-income individuals.
A ski trip. It was still expensive but now it’s just crazy thanks to large corporations decreasing competition by buying all the resorts.
Or because of less snow and additional cost due to snow cannons. In my opinion a lot ski areas should be shut down due to it and destroying the landscape . (Germany)
1960’s Gibson or Fender guitars. The dentists/surgeons and “collectors” have wrecked the market for the common musician.
Natural fiber clothing. Feels impossible to find anything affordable that has mostly cotton.
Edit: I’ve compiled a list of most of what was recommended. Sorry if I missed something.
T-shirts:
Michael’s craft stores,
Duluth trading,
Walmart,
Comfort colors on Amazon,
Carhartt,
Uniqlo,
Costco,
Go 2 clothing co on amazon
Secondhand:
eBay (Pendleton wool flannels),
Thrift/vintage stores,
ThredUp.com,
Poshmark
Materials to make your own clothing:
Foxfibre,
Joann’s,
Local fabric store,
Vintage/secondhand fabrics,
General clothing:
Uniqlo,
H&M for linen,
Target,
Old navy,
Quince,
Land’s End,
Svaha,
LL Bean,
Pact
Undies:
Haynes,
Intimissimi (lingerie),
Kirkland,
Jockey (100% cotton panties)
I shop at Next regularly. Not all,but a lot of the clothing I have bought my daughter is 100% cotton. I buy in the clearance then donate
Note: this post originally had 45 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
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A lot of these seem to come from buying into nostalgia. There are problems now, but 50 years ago was not some magical time where everyone could just have one worker in a household and live a great life. There were areas and industries where this was true, just like now, but there were also plenty of households where both parents worked and they still could not afford to own their own home, or lived in sub standard housing. There were also plenty of areas of severe poverty, and people who could not afford the basics. The percentage of people living below the poverty line in the US in 1975 was marginally higher than now, and in the UK in the early 70s the economy was in such a state there was the 3 day week and despite years of building projects, 12% of the population still lived in houses deemed unfit for human habitation. "Things were better in the past" is just a way for politicians to get votes without offering actual solutions to problems society currently faces.
Just some counterpoints. Computers were expensive and generally unavailable and difficult to use 50 years ago. TVs were quite a luxury item 50 years ago. And they came with lower resolution and had very few channels. Nowadays, 55" tvs are super cheap. Making a long distance phone calls were expensive. Now, it is almost free.
and the first mobile phones were super expensive.
Load More Replies... Yes, and no. Many of these things were never affordable for the majority of the people. It depends on the country, too. In Europe e.g. the "house at a lake" was usually a shack with outside toilet and running cold water inside was already luxury. Or a small caravan or a tent. A real house was only for the rich. People were happier with less. 50 years ago a lot of expensive stuff wasn't necessary to buy and seen as one time luxury. A stereo tower was a dream not many people could buy. People bought mostly items made and grown in own countries, which ensured that wages were okay, so people could buy stuff made in own country. People had to be smart with their money to afford nice things, and they kept them in shape instead of buying and binning, because "it is so cheap that I'll buy a new one when I need one". And a lot more things. Parents taught children about money management and included them in running a household. They taught them that some things need time, and a perfect solution can be reached by in-between steps of less perfect steps.
A lot of these seem to come from buying into nostalgia. There are problems now, but 50 years ago was not some magical time where everyone could just have one worker in a household and live a great life. There were areas and industries where this was true, just like now, but there were also plenty of households where both parents worked and they still could not afford to own their own home, or lived in sub standard housing. There were also plenty of areas of severe poverty, and people who could not afford the basics. The percentage of people living below the poverty line in the US in 1975 was marginally higher than now, and in the UK in the early 70s the economy was in such a state there was the 3 day week and despite years of building projects, 12% of the population still lived in houses deemed unfit for human habitation. "Things were better in the past" is just a way for politicians to get votes without offering actual solutions to problems society currently faces.
Just some counterpoints. Computers were expensive and generally unavailable and difficult to use 50 years ago. TVs were quite a luxury item 50 years ago. And they came with lower resolution and had very few channels. Nowadays, 55" tvs are super cheap. Making a long distance phone calls were expensive. Now, it is almost free.
and the first mobile phones were super expensive.
Load More Replies... Yes, and no. Many of these things were never affordable for the majority of the people. It depends on the country, too. In Europe e.g. the "house at a lake" was usually a shack with outside toilet and running cold water inside was already luxury. Or a small caravan or a tent. A real house was only for the rich. People were happier with less. 50 years ago a lot of expensive stuff wasn't necessary to buy and seen as one time luxury. A stereo tower was a dream not many people could buy. People bought mostly items made and grown in own countries, which ensured that wages were okay, so people could buy stuff made in own country. People had to be smart with their money to afford nice things, and they kept them in shape instead of buying and binning, because "it is so cheap that I'll buy a new one when I need one". And a lot more things. Parents taught children about money management and included them in running a household. They taught them that some things need time, and a perfect solution can be reached by in-between steps of less perfect steps.
