11 Once-Affordable Things That Are Now Just a Pipe Dream (Unless You’re Rich)

11 Once-Affordable Things That Are Now Just a Pipe Dream
Wealth Gang / Pangurban/istockphoto / Gavin Guan/istockphoto

It’s no secret that “doing life” is incredibly expensive these days. So when a Redditor posed the question, “What was affordable 50 years ago that now only the rich can buy?,” users flooded the thread with answers.

Of course, “rich” is subjective, and some of the answers — like groceries — are generally accessible to most income levels, despite becoming more pricey. But we pulled out a handful of items that have definitely turned into a luxury in the past few decades, from ski vacations to a plate of lobster.

1. A Summer House

Summer home
Dimensions/istockphoto
Dimensions/istockphoto

“A house” was arguably the most popular answer to this thread’s question, but we found this specific answer — “a summer house” —a little more interesting.

“I know many families that have an old house on a lake that they go to in the summers. It’s been passed down for a couple generations. Nobody in the current generation could afford one but some how a family with a single income bought it 50 years ago and the man’s wife and wife and kids would spend the whole summer there and he would go up on weekends.” u/spidereater

2. Natural Fiber Clothing

Folded laundry
PeopleImages/istockphoto
PeopleImages/istockphoto

“Feels impossible to find anything affordable that has mostly cotton.” u/l_ally

“100% wool coats don’t exist except in high end retailers, at least where I live.” u/gepinniw

3. A Ski Vacation

Ski lift
Pangurban/istockphoto
Pangurban/istockphoto

“Skiing was never for the poor, but god d**n it’s expensive now.” u/malevolentarcher123

“Depending on planning, you could fly from the US to France to ski for a few days and it would be cheaper than keeping it domestic.” u/[deleted]

4. Concert Tickets

Outdoor concert
Urupong/istockphoto
Urupong/istockphoto

“I dug out a ticket stub to a Weezer show from ’97 (Pinkerton tour, around the height of their popularity)… $28 for floor tickets, fees included.

I just bought tickets to seem them in May (Blue Album reply, definitely not at the height of their popularity)… $120 for nosebleed seats + $45 fees.

I’m paying 490% more to see them play the same songs I heard them play 27 years ago, for worse seats.” u/fulthrottlejazzhands

5. Disney

Disney logo on store window
RinoCdZ/istockphoto
RinoCdZ/istockphoto

Both Disneyland and Disney World cost a pretty penny today, especially once everything is tallied up.

“I don’t think that it’s the price of the ticket that makes it unaffordable. Even at $150 it’s still accessible to most. It’s the price of everything else that makes it unaffordable. Parking, food, travel, time off work, and pretty much all basic needs have gone up in cost too much to make it affordable.” u/JJiggy13

6. Lobster

Lobster claws
Instants/istockphoto
Instants/istockphoto

“Much of the old cheap lobster was canned, bits of shell and all, and sold similar to canned tuna. These days, lobsters are harder to catch due to overfishing, have to be transported while alive, and need to be cooked specially. The lobster you’d eat 200 years ago was not prepared as fancily as lobster today.” u/Romanticon

7. Horses

Young girl combing the mane of horse
Vilin Visuals/istockphoto
Vilin Visuals/istockphoto

“In the old days the poor had horses the rich had cars, now everyone has cars and the rich have the horses.” u/biztravellerUK

8. Major Sporting Events

Arizona-2023 Super Bowl LVII Stadium in Glendale Sportsman's Park
EuToch/istockphoto
EuToch/istockphoto

“A ticket to the Super Bowl.” u/Wolfman1961

Super Bowl ticket prices are ridiculous, with an average price of over $12,000 in 2024.

9. Single Engine Airplanes

Planes powered by propeller engines
P_Wei/istockphoto
P_Wei/istockphoto

“Single engine aircraft use to be surprisingly affordable. Almost every ranch here in the middle of nowhere had one for parts/grocery trips to town in the 50s and 60s.” u/bn_freak

10. A Small Farm

The sunset view of the countryside Gippsland in regional Victoria
Gavin Guan/istockphoto
Gavin Guan/istockphoto

“Certainly not cheap, but with a some saving, a middle-class person used to be able to afford one. Now, enough acreage to really do much other than garden and run a few chickens is too expensive for the average middle-class person.” u/amishcatholic

11. Sports Cars

New York City, USA - August 09, 2023: Ferrari SF90 Stradale supercar sports car in showroom, low corner view.
photosvit/istockphoto
photosvit/istockphoto

“In the ’60s, if you wanted a Shelby GT500, you could save your pennies with any normal decent job and obtain one relatively fast with reasonable planning. That’s a pipe dream in the current economy.” u/CB-Style

Author
Erin Kuschner

Erin has spent the past decade as a writer and editor for both digital and print publications. Prior to joining Wealth Gang, she was a reporter and editor at Boston.com, Time Out Austin, and Time Out Los Angeles, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, Eater, and other publications.