Because of this, people have had to make sacrifices both big and small when it comes to their spending. So, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to share what they've had to give up due to an increased cost of living. Here's what they said:
1. "I've had to give up living in my home state where all of my immediate family lives. It is so expensive here (especially housing in comparison to wages) that the only way for me to afford living on my own is to leave."
"It sucks because my sister is about to have her first kid, and I so badly want to be involved in my niece/nephew’s life, but I’m also not interested in living in my parent’s basement forever, so I accepted a job halfway across the country for almost double my current pay in one of the lowest cost of living states in the US. Here’s hoping I can move back someday when my career is more established, I guess."
—Anonymous
2. "For me, personally, I have had to give up receiving medical care because the cost is too high, even with insurance through my employer (and that's expensive, too)."
—Anonymous
3. "I know some people in my life have given up the idea of having children because of all things that they have to consider paying out toward and those raising costs like rent, food, and student loans."
"They knew they couldn't handle the mental and financial stress that children also add. I know it was a hard decision for them, but it's an adult decision."
4. "I had to give up my monthly sugar waxing and learn to do it myself. Kind of a blessing in disguise, though. The learning curve isn't too bad, and my $20 tub of wax has already saved me around $500 worth of appointments."
—Anonymous
5. "My time! I took on a second part-time job on top of my full-time job in hopes that the extra income could help pay down debt and help us save for a new home. Nope! The cost of living has steadily increased since then, to where we need that extra income just to pay bills on time."
"My contract ends at the end of this month, and I've been scrambling to find another one. (I need remote and flexible hours, since I'm already working and have a young kid). It would be a relief if I could just work only full-time again, but I can't make the numbers work."
—Anonymous
6. "I gave up breakfast, and sometimes lunch, to cut down on grocery costs for my family."
—Anonymous
7. "I'm a 28-year-old woman, and I make $55,000 a year. I was saving to finally move out of my parents' home and into a one-bedroom apartment, but I got rear-ended by a truck that totaled my car. I need to have a car in order to get to work...anywhere tbh. So that went to the top of the priority list. I honestly don’t know when or if I’ll ever move out."
—Anonymous
8. "I couldn't tell you the last time I went out to a bar on a Saturday night because two drinks started costing $40+ dollars."
—Anonymous
9. "Retired preschool teacher here. I made $17/hr before taxes with a degree — multi-state DHFS credentials as both staff and leadership with 25 years of experience — which equaled $13.40/hr take home. I used to stop at Starbucks every Friday as a way to treat myself, and I’d play scratch-off lottery every week, spending $20–$30/week, losing most of the time. Both set me back $135–$150/month. Now I go to Starbucks once a month and occasionally play scratch-off lottery."
—Anonymous
10. "Little day trips. Gas is crazy, then you get to said little town and they now charge for parking and what was once $30–$50 for food, some drinks, putzing around, whatever, is now $100+. Price hikes have hit everywhere. My favorite little small-town getaways in the same state have been no different, and now, we can't even afford to just get out of the house for some different scenery."
11. "We've had to put replacing our water heater on hold because the cost of everything else involving day-to-day living has gone up, and replacing it seems like a luxury at this point, even though it's over 20 years old. The cost of a new one went up as well, and I'm not about to finance one and pay even more because interest rates are out of control."
—Anonymous
12. "A big dream I had to let go of this year was buying a house. I worked so hard, saved, and even got approved for a mortgage. Then three days later, I was laid off. Now all my house savings goes to bills."
—Anonymous
13. "Dyeing my hair. My gray hairs have been growing out for a year and a half now. I saved on having to dye it every four weeks."
—Anonymous
14. "I recently lost my job. Prior to that I was making pretty decent money. I had about $20K saved up that I was going to put toward a new car. Since my unemployment ran out, I’ve had to use that money I worked so hard to save toward rent and bills instead, and I’m really worried about what happens when that’s all gone."
"I’m also just really disappointed because I felt like I was finally getting somewhere, and now it’s yet again a struggle. I can’t even find a job that pays what I used to make without demanding a master's degree, which wasn’t a demand when I was hired at my last job doing the same thing. Even 'entry level' isn’t truly entry level anymore. I don’t know who the job market is 'strong' for, but it isn’t anyone I know."
—Anonymous