15 Things That Prices Are Too Damn High For, Compared To What They Were 5 Years Ago
It's expensive to exist and there's no nice way to put it.
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Being an adult means that (in most cases) you're always at least a liiiittle stressed about money.
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It's the nature of the beast that is responsibility.
Lately, it probably feels like a little more than a little bit. Most people were left in a weird place financially from the events of the last few years.
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Take these life basics that have gone up in price in a dramatic way in the last five(ish) years.
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1.According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average gas price for 2018 (inexplicably five years ago) was $2.60 per gallon.
Adjusted for inflation, that's $3.24 per gallon, which is $0.14 per gallon lower than the current national average gas price per AAA, $3.437.
2.Not only is gas expensive, but so are the things it fuels. The average car price (per JD Power) in 2018 was $34,292, or $40,511.25 when adjusted for inflation.
The average in December 2022 was, in comparison, $46,382.
3.And speaking of things you buy off a lot, Christmas tree prices in 2018 averaged $66.43 ($79.54). This past Christmas, prices averaged $85.59.
Plenty of other plants have seen price hikes as well.
4.Let's talk rent. The national average apartment rent in 2018 was $1,419, which is $1,676.35 when adjusted for inflation.
By the end of 2022, that number was $1,978.
5.Buying is incredibly hard also. The average sales price of houses sold in 2018 was $325,275 ($389,485 today).
Going into 2023, that figure stands at $454,525.
6.You've heard groceries have gone up but, a look at a few key items will show you how much. There's been a lot of talk about eggs, which averaged at $1.74 a dozen in 2018, which is $2.06 when adjusted for inflation.
Based on 2022's average egg prices, we're currently paying $0.80 more for a dozen eggs, with the current average at $2.86.
7.Streaming is costing more, and not just because there are more streaming services than ever before. Take Netflix, for example, which cost $7.99/month for basic ($9.44 adjusted for inflation) in 2018.
Standard was $10.99/month ($12.98), and premium was $13.99/month ($16.53). They've since added a fourth option, basic with ads ($6.99/month). The basic plan is $9.99/month, the standard plan is $15.49/month, and the premium plan is $19.99/month.
8.Milk has also gone up from averaging $3.27 per gallon of whole milk in 2018 ($3.86 when adjusted for inflation). Today, a gallon of whole milk costs, on average, $4.21.
9.There's also beer, another great staple of the USA, which was going for $1.41 (today's $1.70) per 16 ounces as the national average in 2018.
At of the end of 2022, it was $1.74 per 16 ounces.
10.Everyone's favorite form of caffeine has also gotten pricier. A single pound of coffee cost $1.13 in 2018 ($1.35 today), while now, it's $2.14.
11.Movie ticket prices have gone up in a big way, too. In 2018, the average ticket price was $9.11 ($10.76). Though updated figures haven't been officially released since 2019, it's believed that number is around $11 today.
12.Everyone loves bacon, but not at these prices. The average price of bacon per pound in 2018 was $5.47 ($6.55 today). Now, it's $6.96.
13.A formula-feeding family (using an average of 25 ounces a day) would spend between $1,200 ($1,436.89) to $1,500 ($1,796.11) on average in 2018. In 2022, that range opened up to between $821.25 and $2,920.
14.Childcare prices have gone up, too. Babysitters were charging an average of $16.75 per hour ($20.06 with inflation considered) to watch one child in 2018/2019.
In 2022, that went up to $20.57 per hour to watch one child.
15.Education's been hit as well. In the 2017–2018 school year, the average price of four-year public colleges in-state was $20,770 ($24,870), and $46,950 ($56,218) for nonprofit private schools.
For 2022–2023, four-year public colleges are averaging $25,707 annually, and $54,501 for nonprofit private colleges.
