One day in the future we will pay a small fortune for the luxury of one single jelly bean, the way things are going. Things are supposed to get better and become cheaper, but we seem to be stuck with these products that increase in price but decrease in quality.

Fast food

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Fast food has never been good for us, but at least it used to be tasty. Now, half of it is flavorless cardboard. Fries come in smaller portions, and burgers have shrunk, but downsizing is a common business tactic, notes WEF. Now, it costs as much as a hearty sit-down meal would, so why not do that instead?

Furniture

There are castles with 500-year-old beds that are as sturdy as the day they were made. But when you sit gently on your own bed, the legs break off because, if you’ll allow me some melodrama, furniture now is made of paper. But still costs almost as much as a king’s 500 year old bed.

Chocolate

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The price keeps going up, but the quantity keeps going down. One rarely eats a chocolate bar these days without commenting that “it’s not as good as it used to be”. Unfortunately, according to Forbes, chocolate production is struggling due to deforestation issues, socio-economic problems, and plant diseases.

Household appliances

Back in the day, appliances were built to last, and if they broke, we would repair them. Now, if one of our appliances breaks, we are usually better off buying a shiny new one, as having the appliance repaired can be an expensive inconvenience.

Jeans

These super-cool denim trousers were designed to be worn by working cowboys while wrangling cattle and riding horses all day. They are not supposed to wear away on the inside of a person’s thighs while being worn for the fifth time, thank you very much. And they just keep getting more expensive.

Live music

Does anybody else remember when you could buy a concert ticket with a few quid, and the concert would be amazing? Now, you almost have to sell a kidney if you want to go and see your favorite artist, and that’s if the tickets aren’t all sold out online in the first two seconds.

Books

Reading for pleasure is expensive, but reading for study will leave you destitute. Textbooks are at an astronomical price now and are constantly getting updated, so buying a used one is often out of the question. With so few textbook publishers in business, it’s a less competitive market, explains Study.com. So basically, they can charge what they want.

Flying

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Flying is expensive and uncomfortable if you’re not Harry Potter. But we can’t say that it has really increased in price. However, years ago, flying was a luxury says Your Life Choices. You would be served food on plates and eat with real cutlery. You could meet the pilot, a real treat for kids, and there was legroom.

Cinema popcorn

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When you go to the cinema, you have to have popcorn. It’s the law. You absolutely cannot watch a movie on a big screen without munching on a bucket of salty, buttery goodness. And that is why they keep jacking the price up, and we keep paying. Unfortunately, it is rarely as fresh as it used to be.

Breakfast cereal

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Let’s pretend that we don’t know the reasons that cereal is not as delicious as it used to be, so we can complain about it. Ok, so it has less sugar and additives, which is great. But it just doesn’t taste like it used to, and it costs so much more.

Hair products

Sometimes I wonder if I should shave my head so I don’t have to take out a second mortgage. Shampoos and conditioners are so expensive now, and unless you can afford the quality stuff, it’s really not the best anymore, not to mention the fact that the bottles seem to be shrinking with each rebrand.

Printer ink

The ink in a printer cartridge does not last as long as it used to, yet somehow, a new cartridge is about the same price as a new printer. Although we can’t say that the quality is worse, we are definitely getting less of it and paying way more.

TV services

We pay an absolute fortune these days to have many viewing choices, with access to almost anything. A lot of the options are awful. But we are paying to watch it all. Who has the time? It would take a billion years to watch everything we pay for; excuse the hyperbole. What a waste.

College

Many people with a college degree now cannot get work in their chosen career field, with many students raising concerns over the quality of their education. Despite that, tuition is incredibly expensive, and student loans take many years to pay off.

Restaurant dining

With the ever-increasing cost of living, overheads for restaurants and other businesses have increased too, and many businesses in the food sector and otherwise, are struggling. Therefore, they have raised their prices, they’re using lesser-quality ingredients, and have cut back on their portion sizes. It is understandable, but it is also frustrating.

Clothes

Clothes just don’t last like they used to. Our parents and grandparents, and even some of us youngsters have clothes from years ago that show no sign of fraying or tearing, but even though the price of clothing is steadily creeping up, the quality is dropping, material is thinner, they’re just not up to scratch any more.

Donuts

Remember when donuts were made fresh and they were ever so delicious? Now they’re just mass-produced, frozen, delivered around the country, defrosted, and sold to us, brainwashed consumers who will buy them regardless of the insane price. But there’s no love in them anymore. If Homer Simpson were a real boy, he would start a riot.