Re last paragraph: the services got dramatically cheaper, mainly because you only really need to pay for internet. Software (at least household one) is cheaper

Re last paragraph: the services got dramatically cheaper, mainly because you only really need to pay for internet. Software (at least household one) is cheaper -- you don't need to pay for many essential things like word processor, web browser, backup software, etc.. There are mostly usable open source solutions for all of them. The professional software might have gotten more expensive, but most people don't care. Cable TV is completely optional now, you can get the same level of entertainment (boring show with 10-minute ads every 20 minutes) from youtube. And Netflix is $10, which is cheaper that cable ever was. Internet is about the same (average), much cheaper per megabit -- for example cheap DSL was $40 in 2000.. that's $68 in today's dollars, which is in the range for modern broadband. Home phone plan is gone.. I am not even sure who has wired phones anymore. Even my grandparents use Skype and Facetime (which, incidentally, do not require any sort of cell phone plan). Cell phone plans are also growing less than inflation. Remember time when you had to pay per minute or per-megabyte data billing? You get so much more, but you are still paying about the same, maybe a bit less.