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I'd love to see an analysis of "incidental" expenditure increases over the past decade. For example the increase cost of a phone bill with the addition of a thr

I'd love to see an analysis of "incidental" expenditure increases over the past decade. For example the increase cost of a phone bill with the addition of a three year payment plan for a $1100 phone. The added cost of student load payments starting to eat at new graduates. Increasing number of subscription services like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Imperfect Produce. The addition of "Gig" and event economy expenditures such as Uber, UberEats, PrimeNow, AirBnB, StubHub, etc. If I break down my expenses over the past three years I can clearly identify the lifestyle creep of modern consumerism. Is this the new norm? Is this what's responsible for articles like this? Or is it just more traditional inflation?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
tracer4201 8y ago
I agree such a study could be interesting, although anecdotally I presume (ignoring inflation) there are more shifts in expenditures vs flat out increases. Ten years ago, someone paying for a landline, cable subscription, and iTunes song downloads is probably paying for a mobile plan, one or more video streaming services, and probably one music streaming service. Presumably the gig economy has also caused shifts. I track all my expenses. Last year, I paid ~$9,200 over the course of the year for my auto payment, auto insurance, and parking fees alone, not counting gasoline or maintenance. This year, I’ve spent < $600 on transportation because I now only walk or use Uber and Lyft. Remember though - at least in the US, outside of the large cities, there’s still that population that lives in small towns. I have family in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. For people in those specific towns, you don’t see Uber very much because everyone has a vehicle. There is no 1 hour Prime Now delivery. The gig economy is less impactful than a place such as Seattle or San Diego.
rogy 8y ago
Maybe an overthink from my part, but I swear I also replaced appliances (from small, kettle, to large, washing machine) all 1+ times in the 10 year period. Although maybe there were also cheaper
Spooky23 8y ago
For the lazy, they are significant. My family’s baseline expenditures are down except for food. Cord cutting reduced expenses significantly and buying phones and shopping plans cut that cost. If you’re using Uber and paying $10 for takeout delivery all of the time, you’re wasting money, full stop.
- patrickthebold 8y ago
  'Wasting money' or just 'paying a premium for the convenience'.
  - Spooky23 8y ago
    Depends. I know a lot of people who are hooked to convenience they don’t need and are having bigger problems elsewhere as a result. I helped a person that I mentor figure out that they could literally take 7 years off of student loan repayment by ditching Starbucks and picking up their own pizza (or god forbid picking up the phone and ordering that way).
- scarface74 8y ago
  Strangely enough, I’m budgeting $350 a month for my younger son’s “Uber allowance” to get from school to work or from school to home if he has to stay after and just times I don’t feel like being soccer dad. We would be spending an extra $200 a month for car insurance if he had his license - even if he didn’t have his own car. I know my parents were spending at least $500 a month for my car and insurance and that was over 20 years ago.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

tracer4201 8y ago

I agree such a study could be interesting, although anecdotally I presume (ignoring inflation) there are more shifts in expenditures vs flat out increases. Ten years ago, someone paying for a landline, cable subscription, and iTunes song downloads is probably paying for a mobile plan, one or more video streaming services, and probably one music streaming service. Presumably the gig economy has also caused shifts. I track all my expenses. Last year, I paid ~$9,200 over the course of the year for my auto payment, auto insurance, and parking fees alone, not counting gasoline or maintenance. This year, I’ve spent < $600 on transportation because I now only walk or use Uber and Lyft. Remember though - at least in the US, outside of the large cities, there’s still that population that lives in small towns. I have family in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. For people in those specific towns, you don’t see Uber very much because everyone has a vehicle. There is no 1 hour Prime Now delivery. The gig economy is less impactful than a place such as Seattle or San Diego.

rogy 8y ago

Maybe an overthink from my part, but I swear I also replaced appliances (from small, kettle, to large, washing machine) all 1+ times in the 10 year period. Although maybe there were also cheaper

Spooky23 8y ago

For the lazy, they are significant. My family’s baseline expenditures are down except for food. Cord cutting reduced expenses significantly and buying phones and shopping plans cut that cost. If you’re using Uber and paying $10 for takeout delivery all of the time, you’re wasting money, full stop.

patrickthebold 8y ago
'Wasting money' or just 'paying a premium for the convenience'.
- Spooky23 8y ago
  Depends. I know a lot of people who are hooked to convenience they don’t need and are having bigger problems elsewhere as a result. I helped a person that I mentor figure out that they could literally take 7 years off of student loan repayment by ditching Starbucks and picking up their own pizza (or god forbid picking up the phone and ordering that way).
scarface74 8y ago
Strangely enough, I’m budgeting $350 a month for my younger son’s “Uber allowance” to get from school to work or from school to home if he has to stay after and just times I don’t feel like being soccer dad. We would be spending an extra $200 a month for car insurance if he had his license - even if he didn’t have his own car. I know my parents were spending at least $500 a month for my car and insurance and that was over 20 years ago.