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! 🙈

Viennetta has got cheaper over the years. It's been a pound all my living memory. A pound in 1993 got you a hell of a lot more than a pound does today

I keep my gas and electricity meters so I'm never stuck with a big bill, but the gas in winter, ouch

@Rabbitheadlights

Houses!

Houses weren't as expensive when I was a kid, to be fair! (turned 18 in the late 90s)

Pistachios!

I'm poor so the cost of them has not only made my wallet sting but the association has put me right off.

@dementedma

Curtains. And all the shit to do with curtains.

Oh God yes! Curtains, nets, rails......costs more than the twatting window.

Decent saucepans.

A decent steak. They just showed up on the plate when I was a kid, I had NO CLUE that a really good steak would cover about 2 days normal groceries!!!

Houses, cherries, raspberries, holidays.

Water, it blew my mind when I found out I had to pay for it. It falls from the sky, how does it cost me £47 a month

I thought water was free until I brought my first house

@StormyLovesOdd

Water, it blew my mind when I found out I had to pay for it. It falls from the sky, how does it cost me £47 a month

If you want it for free just leave saucepans in the garden. But if you want clean drinkable water delivered to multiple rooms on your house and the dirty water taken away then £47 a month seems a bargain

My uncle used to complain bitterly about his taxes, mainly the property tax on his house. He owned his house outright as he built it himself. It was always brought up in every single conversation and I remember being bored to death when he would go on and on.

The property tax (includes school taxes) for the house I'm renting right now here in Texas is an eye-watering, $8,368/year or approximately $697 a month. At today's exchange rate, is £5914 or £493 and we have low rates in this neighborhood. The taxes are on a $265,000/£187K house. It goes up every year, too.

I'm going to start channeling my uncle at every function from now on and freak out about the property taxes.

Fruit!!!

Kids!

Pets :))

Ouch, those property taxes in Texas are eye watering.

Speaking of council tax, I never imagined I would be handing over a large sum every month with no visible reward.

I'm always shocked at the cost of a joint or beef or lamb. We had a roast every week and ate things like chops during the week. I can't imagine spending that much on meat.

I remember that chicken was the expensive meat when I was a child and now I can buy a chicken for about £3 in Aldi which does several meals.

@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.

Dentistry ... having to get a loan off the bank because the cost of getting two knocked out by some drunken shite is far more than what he’s paying me in court ordered compensation.

costs of owning a pet, especially vets but also groomers etc.

Raspberries, Lamb chops, children's shoes and food shopping in Marks and Spencer

Mum did all our food shopping M and S and we would regularly have lamb chops for dinner- 3 or 4 each they are so expensive it's insane.

We would also always have Clarks and startrite shoes and these were just bought several pairs at a time with no mentiion of the cost.

Probably restaurant meals with children. My parents frequently took us to some lovely places for Sunday lunch. It must have cost a fortune. And holidays. And houses. They cost a lot, as it turns out

meat and general luxury extras like phone bill, nowtv, amazon ect just for subscriptions alone including prepayment prescriptions I'm paying like 100 a month as for meat, it is crazy how expensive it can get I often eat fully veggie or vegan meals because of it

Also as people have said above, clothes cost a bloody fortune, I went on a well known site to browse the other day and only one full outfit would've been about 150 and restaurants as well, I eat out at least once a week but try to stick to pubs, cafes and street vendors as I live in London

@BagORats

Gas and electric

This

Washing Powder by far, my first time buying it I was like HOW MUCH?! Fuck off!

This thread so reminded me of this. No I'm not saying everyone is doing coke but cheese is expensive. And I love cheese (not coke though).
I used to be bemused by my thrifty mother's skill at slicing cheese so thin you could read the paper through it. When we got a toastie maker you'd bite into a cheese and onion toastie and get onion with a hint of cheese.
And cherries. I'm growing my own now. Cherry trees are expensive so I'd better get some cherries!