There's truly no question that the cost of living has gone up exponentially in the last few years, including housing, groceries, gas and other bills. Add to that the stagnancy in hourly wages and salaries, and we've got a big problem on our hands.
Even for people who can still pay their bills, they're likely having to seriously cut corners on other things, like spending any time with friends, family and partners outside of the house, or even participating in a third space or hobby.
TikToker and lifestyle influencer Sean Lans recently found himself falling victim to this when he realized he'd have to basically choose between a week's worth of groceries and paying for his friend's birthday night out.
Rather than pointing at the economy or government, Lans argued that this is an issue with people who choose specifically expensive places to celebrate, like fancy restaurants, high-priced nightclubs and other pricey events.
One of Lans' friends recently invited him and some other friends out for their birthday, including dinner and a closed event after. The cheapest entree on the dinner menu was $41, while the event after was $35, not including the cost of transportation, a birthday gift, a tip for the dinner table and potentially other expenses at the secondary event.
Because the evening was so expensive, Lans decided that he would skip the dinner entirely and join the group for the event after— that way he'd be in a better headspace from not stressing about what he spent, and he'd be able to better celebrate his friend's birthday.
But when he arrived for the event, he realized his friends might not feel the same way.
"When I met them out after dinner, the vibe was clearly off, and a mutual friend told me, 'Yeah, he was talking sh*t all dinner long, complaining that you didn't go.'"
"But I'm sorry, I'm not going to spend the equivalent of a week's worth of groceries on one night out."
You can watch the video here:
Some TikTokers argued that birthdays happen once per year, so splurging on the cost should be doable.
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But others argued that with the current economy, people need to be mindful of what their loved ones can actually afford to do.
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We all know that prices are at an all-time high, and most people appear to be pretty understanding of that. But there are some who believe that since these events happen once per year or maybe slightly more often, a person should be able to plan ahead and save up for them.
Since people are feeling so divided over it, the moral of the story really is to communicate with friends about your potential plans, and understand that not everyone can afford the things you can.
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