Things I didn't know were that fucking expensive

[HairsprayBabe]

I am happy to admit we are virtually the modern equivalent of peasants but it blows me over when I find out the cost of things that I had previously never considered.

Front doors is todays example, nearly a grand for the most bog standard door, I fear we shall just have to live with the leaky one for now!

Make me feel better, what did you not know was that expensive or maybe I am just dense!

Getting some simple architectural plans done. My estimate was out by a factor of 10...

Vet bills. Looked at pet told me I could buy what was needed on Amazon. Charged me £50 for the 2 minute consultation.

They really are a “cuddle in a fur coat” aren’t they?
Just so shocked at how expensive they are!
Your dog was beautiful, sorry for your loss 🌸

Train fares as pp have said.
The government bang on about getting cars off the road and using public transport, great idea if that works. We don’t always want to drive somewhere so we look at getting the train, then we look at the price and fk me, it’s expensive. We don’t always know when we want to go somewhere on the train so can’t book in advance but when it’s actually far cheaper to drive, even with fuel costs etc, etc, it’s bonkers.

Train fares are utterly insane. Especially when you're often even unable to get a seat.

First class stamp ONE POUND EIGHTY

There’s no political will to sort any of this out, because most politicians are too wealthy to notice these costs, and probably claim them on expenses. This is what the ruling elite simply do not understand.

OMG I had no idea about this railcard! Game changer! Thanks

Do you mean the mark up on the physical frames and lenses or the profit margin on the business as a whole?

The cost to run for a modern optometrist or dentist business is phenomenal and its not nearly covered by the fee for eye checks or dental checks on the NHS. The private sales side is what funds the business.

Conservatory furniture, I bought 2 huge bent cane chairs from fb marketplace for £50, they looked fairly new so I looked around online, they’d originally cost iro £1200! One of the seat covers was ripped at a back seam so I patched it. They are so comfy and will last forever.
We had to travel 15 miles to a farm in the back of beyond to get them but it was well worth the effort.
Even the fake rattan effect crap is £100s.

Nail on the head. They'll just charge things like rail fares, postage, meals/subsistence etc to their employer or more likely the employer's HR dept will organise it for them so they'll never see the cost themselves at all. Just another way in which they're utterly out of touch with the general public. It's "let them eat cake" all over again with out political elite.

All the above.

Cucumbers. Veering around the £1 mark for a fecking cucumber! In fact fruit and veg in general (I do not live anywhere near a farm shop, before anyone suggests it). I'm going to start growing my own in my small urban back garden, and I reckon I can also manage to grow potatoes (in a tub or bag), raspberries and spinach plus a load of herbs.

You can’t blame the current government. They didn’t privatise the railways. I believe they are actually planning to re-nationalise them - but that won’t be cheap either. Shareholders will want their pound of flesh.

Yes to the car keys. Many of the things mentioned above have a top and bottom price and a North vs South cost, so living in the north I am not too horrified by some items, but car keys? WTAF!

I lost half a mini key, so the plastic bit with the remote control in it, I still had the emergency manual part of the key. Half a key cost in excess of £400 and the man on the Mini counter was a surly bastard to boot and I had to wait about two weeks for it.

And you can use your Tesco clubcard points to get it

I spent all last night regretting getting new glasses, varifocals (because age 😭) and transitions lenses, frames were £100, eye test was £25, total £175, I nearly fell over! How on earth have you spent nearly £800?!

Oh my god, sofas!!!!!!
I remember finally paying attention to the cost of a new sofa in my early 20s, i was just about to move into an unfurnished flat with a decent one I got free off a family friend and got curious. Oh my GOD. And i do sort of get it, they have to withstand a lot. But also... WHAT??
A follow up shock happened when I found out people put sofas on credit and pay back over years rather than buying a cheap one from a charity shop or off FB marketplace, but thats another story of my early 20s naivete entirely...

New driveways. I expected about 10,000 max. Nope, with a minor amount of replacement hedging and fencing 4x that.

I know, I realised that as I hit send on my post.
I think what’s happened with the cap on bus fares is just great, we use the bus much more often now as opposed to driving wherever possible.
We’re both retired and now and then, we fancy a day out somewhere, we look at getting the train, see the cost and go by car instead.

Ours charges £78! 😬

Second hand cars.
We thought £10k would get us something with ok mileage and about 5 years old (to replace a 20 yo VW).... Nope, that money will get us the type of car we want, but over 10 years old already.

Just paid under 3k for our new front door, plus small side window

That was cheap compared to some of the prices I looked at.

What did that billionaire Sunak say again? “Just hang in there.”

Not a bloody clue about those much less wealthy than him.

I did doubt him. The practice seems to get newly qualified dentists to do the NHS work, he was a bit gung ho I thought but I didn't push it and it's done now.

Mine were about £400 thanks to the thin lenses I get because I'm v short sighted - my frames were cheap, it's everything else that bumps up the price.