To ask, what's one item that you didn't realise was expensive until you became an adult?

[AvocadoHo]

Mine is toilet roll and cheese! 🙈

Utilities
Property maintenance
Tree Surgery
Anything that you spend a lot of money on just to maintain rather than improve your home.

I can remember when our grown up kids first moved into their own homes there was a steady stream of of photos of utility bills accompanied by OMG 🙀 on the family WhatsApp 😂😂

[quote IncorrigibleTitmouse]@elp30 Having the same property tax-related misery here. Ours was just assessed and went up again, our tax rate is about 3.5%. People we know are being priced out of homes they’ve owned for years because they just can’t afford the taxes. Don’t know where in the state you are, but the growth here is insane and about to price a lot of people out.[/quote]

I live in an area in Texas with an "affordable" rate of 2.8% with an HOA (homeowner's association fee) of $1200 a year. My husband and I are saving up to buy a home but the areas around us are 3.5-3.75% with $1200-1500 a year HOA. I've lived in my neighborhood a while but we would like to live in a different area now that's more suitable to us as empty-nesters.

The house prices are rising super fast here too. My next-door-neighbor moved to another state only two months ago and I know he purchased the home back in 2017 for $245K. It sold for $375K, with NO surveys and sight-unseen! It's madness.

I am holding tight and waiting until things slow down because realistically, I'm currently priced out of the market. It may be that it doesn't change and them I'm out of luck. In the meantime, I'll be complaining like the uncle and crying into my beer.

Living. Also dying.

So pretty much everything.

Another one for glasses. Both DCs & I have a sensory processing disorder and need to wear coloured tinted lenses at £300 a pop. Add the cost of specialist eye tests that is only available an hour's drive away and it's about £1500 per year to see to our eyes.

Of course I forgot to say that included the cost of frames.

@elp30 That’s all you can do. I’d like to move, but even if we sold our house we wouldn’t be able to buy anywhere. We’re in the ATX metro. Our HOA is $800 a year, I thought that was bad! We’re in a MUD too, because we bought a new build. The only thing we could do is go out of state or back to the UK.

Rent. How much to sleep somewhere?

Life Insurance
Buildings Insurance
Contents Insurance
Comprehensive Car insurance
Critical Illness Cover

Kitchen bins. It still shocks me how much they cost when we need a new one.

Mattresses

I remember my neighbour and I chatting about our kids getting their own places when they were older. Her son was under the impression that you bought a house for £100 and that was it, no bills or anything apart from decorating it and buying food.

Passports - costs £250 for a family of four to get renewed! Why so much????

Cheese!

Children braces - £177 a month for 2 years!! It's a piece of wire!

Oh my goodness ManyBooks - that’s scandalous!

Having kids full stop never knew the sacrifices my parents made for us growing up but I do now

My son has recently moved in to his first rented flat from university halls with his girls and thought council tax was included in his rent!

Life

Sofas

Life!!!

@SmokeyDevil Get a commercial printer where you can fill up the tanks. More expensive to start with but you save a fortune in ink and it pays for itself very quickly.

Quality ham, smoked salmon, fish in general

Yes, fish!
And picture frames

Printer ink, seriously costs a fortune! Sometimes more than the printer. Electricity. Pensions.

My Dad used to say always close the door when you leave a room. Still never do it.

Gas permeable contact lenses.
Glasses, esp if you are very short sighted.