Simultaneously Worse And More Expensive Things

It’s hard out here. The cost of living continues to surge, and outings like a trip to your local grocery store have become their own mentally and/or emotionally taxing events, in which you must be tapped in and ready to focus on an economically efficient strategy not to break your bank. With that being said, there are far too many products and/or services that have gotten more expensive while going down in quality at the same time. It’s not okay. Take fast food for instance. What’s all of that noise about? Back in my day, you could get a burger and some fries and not worry about spending close to $10 on the proverbial fast food meal from the Golden Arches. No more, is such the case.

1. Health Insurance

Image of an insurance claim form with a pen placed on top of it.
Andres Victorero/istockphoto

This one hurts. You can literally do most everything right when it comes to selecting your health insurance, and then you still end up having one or numerous claims outright denied. Some might say that the system could use a solid reworking.

2. Grocery Stores

Image of a grocery cart with various fruits placed in it.
Dan Dalton/istockphoto

Ah yes, sweet inflation. Thank you so much, inflation. We adore you. Grocery store receipts have become the stuff of waking nightmares, and it doesn’t look like things are set to slow down any time soon. Thus, why it’s more crucial than ever to have a steel-forged, well calculated game plan fully mapped out before you set foot in that grocery store.

3. Fast Food

Image of a fast food meal with fries and a cheeseburger placed on a table next to someone using their computer.
xijian/istockphoto

The infamous “Golden Arches” and most any other fast food establishment that you can think of just aren’t made like they used to be. What once might’ve been an obviously less healthy, though more economically feasible decision to settle for the cheeseburger and fries is now nothing of the sort. Not only will you pay the price with a highly likely perturbed digestive system, but you’ll also quite literally pay the unwanted price. Is nothing sacred anymore?

4. Movie Theatre

Image of an empty movie theater.
eoPatrizi/istockphoto

Not only has the movie theatre been implicated by the countless streaming services that we have available at our fingertips, but the sheer cost of trying to snag a bucket of popcorn along with a movie ticket has become quite the financially intense decision. You’ve really got to be excited about that movie to warrant the costs associated with seeing it in theaters.

5. Disneyland

Image of a Disneyland resort with a beautiful waterpark in front of it.
frederique wacquier/istockphoto

Why you got to go and crush the kids’ and adults’ dreams like that? Apparently the overall costs that it’ll run you to take a journey out to and through Disneyland have achieved mountainous heights. And on top of that you can pretty much only buy anything by using the app, which could prove difficult for anyone who isn’t up to speed with their smartphones.