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23 Situations That You Never Realised Were Expensive Until You Became An Adult

Could someone please explain why adulting is so damn expensive?

Clare Aston
by Clare Aston

BuzzFeed Staff

1. Shopping for toilet paper presents a difficult predicament for many adults — save a couple of bucks and wipe your ass with one-ply sandpaper, or splash out on the nice and soft stuff.

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It may not be the most expensive thing on your shopping list, but you go through it more quickly than a baby in nappies and that $3 each week adds up.

2. Study supplies are a source of tears when you're going to university on your own dime.

3. Coffee is air for new adults, except that it's not free and it will give you anxiety.

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Also, as you adjust to the bitter taste of coffee, you will resort to buying $5 mochas every chance you get.

4. Linen is something that everyone always says to invest in, but they don't tell you that good linen can cost you mega money.

American Zoetroppe / Via American Zoetrope

Hello cheap sheets that crackle when they're unfolded.

5. Plants are actually expensive AF and apparently you can't stop yourself from buying more than one.

6. Fresh produce is something that you haven't tasted since your first summer of adulthood.

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Frozen strawberries straight from ALDI's bargain freezer are your new summer staple.

7. Cheese is a forgotten luxury that you will only come close to tasting while salivating over Instagram pictures of grazing tables.

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Your dream of having your adult friends cackling sophisticatedly around your mahogany dining room table is nothing more than a childish fantasy. Cheese nights are only ever going to be made up of a thin slice of gouda and, like, three crackers.

8. Meat is a luxury you can rarely afford and you end up telling your friends that "you're going vegetarian" instead.

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Your friends will respond with "oh, yeah I'm trying to go pescatarian," and are close to succumbing to your level.

9. Nuts are a fancy snack that you will desperately want to chew on as you meander around your ~stylish~ apartment.

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But your apartment isn't stylish and you're crunching on celery sticks.

10. Rent is a pretty obvious expense that you always somehow manage to forget about when you're doing your weekly food shop.

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In your head you think "oh yes, I'll definitely have money for rent this week," and then you go shopping and you buy cheese, meat and nuts.

11. Furniture shopping is a black hole that drains your wallet and hurts your heart.

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Moving into a bare apartment means suddenly finding yourself three trolleys deep in Kmart, screaming at your housemate that you need the pink flamingo shower curtain, or you'll literally cut her.

12. Strata stuff is a charge that no one knows about except the strata treasurer.

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Just when you think you're done, strata comes knocking on the door with some welcome fee because you accidentally kicked a doormat on the way in.

13. Public transport will fail and you will still pay through the nose for it.

14. Car charges will leave you wondering if your shitbox was even worth it.

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Rego, maintenance, petrol and toll fees – they stack up so quickly that eventually, your sick ride ends up looking like a flaming shit-pile of money.

15. Holidays are a beautiful paradise that you will pray for every day.

16. Sports is an expense that you never noticed your mum paying for.

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As you rotated through footy, rugby and cricket as a youngster, you probably didn't see your mum throwing out $100+ each season per sport. Bet you notice it now that you're trying to join social mixed netball on a Thursday night.

17. Cleaning products are never ending — why is it so expensive to keep your house clean?!

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When you first move out, buying all the basics, from a vacuum to toilet cleaner, literally KILLS you. And then you have to figure out what all the different heads on the vacuum are for.

18. Haircuts mean weighing up spending all your money and having fabulous new bangs, or saving coin and resorting to DIY.

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Do you remember the first time you got highlights and your mum paid and life was great? Well now you're going grey, you desperately need a cut and a dye job and YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT!

19. Buying medication will bankrupt you, so you make do by simply avoiding the doctor.

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Even when you successfully avoid the doc and head straight for the Codral, you will be floored by the price tag.

20. Skincare is an expense you don't need right now but 50 year-old you will desperately want.

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On each shop you can either choose buying skincare products or alcohol — never both. You always choose alcohol because your in your 20's and you don't have crow's feet...yet.

21. Razors take up most of your shopping budget when you're buying those slick, cool, moisturising blades.

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You ever wonder why someone would ever buy those shitty disposable razors? And then you realise they're like, a quarter of the price?

22. Feminine hygiene products are also severely cutting into your money supply.

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You have to stand there in the aisle wondering why these 100% necessary items, that you actually can't live without, are SO DAMN EXPENSIVE!

23. And finally, Tupperware – the most mystical adult purchase that causes you to immediately understand the benefits of a Tupperware party.

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You know when you used to think to yourself "who the fuck would spend so much money on Tupperware?" The answer is you — and you get fucking livid when you lose the lids.

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It’s adulting week at BuzzFeed Oz! We’re celebrating everything it means to be an adult in 2019 — and discussing how to be a better one. Click here to check out more.