23 Common Things That Felt Practically Free When People Were Kids But Are Actually Wildly Expensive
Remember the days of decorating your Sims house and thinking to yourself, I can't wait to do this in real life when I'm older!? Then you got older and realized that a mattress alone would set you back a couple grand? Well, I sure remember. So when redditor u/ForeignReviews asked the r/AskReddit community, "What item did you not realize was expensive until you became an adult?," other adults shared the common, everyday things that they were shocked to find out were so expensive. Here's some of what they had to say:
1."Food is both more expensive and goes bad quicker when you're an adult."
"I honestly love grocery shopping, but it's just so expensive. I often look for deals and will buy generic/store brand on most items. My biggest tip for 'goes bad quicker' is to always get from the back because usually that's where the longer-lasting stuff goes."
2."It's gotta be furniture."
"When I bought my house, I only had a bed in the master bedroom, and all my friends kept saying, 'You make good money, just buy furniture — you could have it furnished in a month.' Then they bought houses and now understand why it took me a year to furnish my house."
3."New tires — most unexciting $1,000 purchase I have ever made."
"Right? I remember buying new tires for my car for $20 each. Then I remember that was in 1999 and my car had tiny 12-inch rims."
4."Work done by tradespeople: plumbers, carpenters, masons, etc. If you have to pay someone to do it for you, it's going to be cost-prohibitive."
"I bought my house in the first days of the pandemic, and my Realtor gave me a recommendation for a guy to replace the water heater. The plumber came out and saw my busted-up AC condenser outside and said, 'I can put in a whole new furnace and AC for $4,000.'"I wanted to save up a bit, so I waited a year. I called him again, and he said it was $6,500. I had only saved up $4,000 and wanted to do some other things as well, so I waited another year. Called him again and he said $8,000. At this point, I didn't see the price ever going back down, so I pulled the trigger in June this year and gave the dude $8,500."
5."A good pair of shoes will set you back a bit, especially if you need more specialized ones, for whatever reason."
6."Bras."
"I went through breast cancer treatment, which includes a mastectomy and reconstruction. My old bras didn't work for my current chest, so I had to replace my entire bra drawer. It cost more than I paid for my surgeries after insurance."
7."Kids. I'm amazed how my parents could afford me."
"My grandfather never earned more than $35,000 a year, raised five kids, and died a millionaire. WTF."
8."Pets."
"They’ve gotten so expensive over the past few years. It used to be $50 for a yearly exam with shots for each of my pets. Then it went to ~$100. Now it’s over $200. That doesn’t include any flea treatments or medications for minor things they might find. Those also cost about double what I used to pay. I have four pets, and three are geriatric. I went from being able to afford their care for most of their lives to having to save up for their checkups."
9."Cars. Grown-ups all had them, maybe even multiple. I still think it's insane that some cars are more expensive than a two-bedroom apartment."
10."Legos. My god, how my parents ever got me any, I'll never know."
11."Rugs."
"I’ve never been able to get my head around why rugs are so expensive! And I’m not even talking a handmade, intricate one. Just a standard mass-produced thing."
12."Health insurance."
"My employer health insurance would cost me ~20% of my paycheck, so now I don't have health insurance."
13."Going out to restaurants. Of course, as a child I never paid for anything, so I was admittedly shocked when I became an adult and had to pay my restaurant bill for the first time. Had no idea it was so expensive."
"When I was a young man in 1999, I remember a date at Olive Garden cost me $32 on the high end. Now I can hardly go to dinner for less than $90."
14."Glasses. I have awful eyesight and astigmatism and got quite a shock when I had to pay for my own prescription glasses for the first time."
15."My teeth."
"Seriously! I have almost all filled-in teeth from not taking care of them as a kid, but now every time I go to the dentist, they want to charge me $10,000-plus after insurance to fix stuff that's been fixed before. Almost every year! I can't afford that!"
16."Gas."
"I recall one glorious summer in the mid- to late '90s when it was 79 cents a gallon. My friends and I would just drive around and hang out because it was cheaper than mini golf or the movies! My little Toyota at the time got 38–40 miles per gallon!"
17."Traveling."
"When I was a kid, I thought the expense was in the plane tickets and in the sightseeing. The cool stuff, right? Nope. Turns out it's pretty easy to find reasonably priced plane tickets, and sightseeing really isn't all that expensive at all. But lodging? The barrier to entry is stupidly high. There isn't a hostel culture in the US, so you're facing a barrier to entry of like $80/night for a total shithole, $120/night for a barebones economy room, or $150-plus a night for actual comfort. And that's before the high taxes and fees that hotel rooms incur."
18."Electricity. I thought it was as free as the air we breathe, so I would have my bedroom lit up like a Christmas tree 24/7. My poor parents!"
19."Toilet paper! Like, talk about actually flushing money down the toilet."
20."Property taxes. My property taxes were about $4,500 when I bought my house in 2019. Increased to over $9,200 this year."
21."Getting something framed. Holy cow!"
"I'm getting two 130-year-old maps framed. After I factor in nice frames, preservation glass, and other custom details, the total is over $500. And there was a sale going on during my purchase."
22."Saving for retirement. I’m in my mid-30s and still can’t believe there’s a minimum paycheck deduction for your company to be willing to add to your retirement plan."
23."Entertainment. I didn’t understand why we never went to the movies, Chuck E. Cheese, or out to dinner as a family of five. I get it now."
Is there anything else you didn't realize was expensive until you became an adult? Let us know in the comments, or fill out this anonymous form!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
