Top 10 Things WAY More Expensive Than They Should Be

There’s something undeniably special about seeing your favorite performer live. Surrounding yourself with thousands of diehard fan, singing and dancing along; it all gives music an added dimension you just can’t get listening to a recording. But, it gets a bit difficult to dance when you’ve paid an arm and a leg for the ticket. As of 2016, the average price per ticket for an American concert is roughly $47. And that’s not even for the good seats! With so many people crowded into such a small place, it can be a challenge NOT to wonder where all that money is going.

It’s a cost you really don’t understand until you move out. There are so many supposedly essential furniture items to buy, and each one is likely to cost you anywhere between a hundred bucks, to well over a thousand, depending on the piece. Some are non-negotiables, like beds, dishwashers, and dressers. Others really make you stop and think though - will paying $500 for a coffee table actually make your living arrangements any better? Thankfully, for the frugally minded, we live in the golden age of online classifieds, where, if you don’t mind something used you can acquire many of these items at a fraction of the cost.

It’s pretty obvious when you think about it: if you’ve got a captive audience, you can set the prices wherever you want. And that’s why a simple candy craving can break the bank whether you’re at a movie theater, airport or sports stadium. The most consistently frustrating of all is the movie theater: if we spent a billion dollars at the box office on “Star Wars,” how are we still paying like eight bucks on liquorice? But what is a movie without snacks? Sky-high concession stand prices have encouraged even the most squeaky clean among us to smuggle in our own treats on occasion.

The phenomenon of air travel is truly incredible. Flying across the country in a few hours, when it would otherwise take days to drive, is a miracle that should be enjoyed by all. The thing is, it’s hard to enjoy the experience when you know you’ve paid through the nose for it. Good luck finding a domestic flight under $300, and international ones often cost you over a grand round trip. Considering the fact that airplane food is glorified cardboard, and each person is allotted a 2-foot by 2-foot space for the flight’s duration, air travel offers few comforts. What about family trips? In a car, the price of gas is divided. In the air, you’re paying per head.

Here’s a professional whose services you fervently hope you never need, but may desperately require when you least expect it. Divorces, car accidents, and other financial disputes are frequent enough occurrences that you’ll likely encounter at least one in a lifetime. To avoid being taken advantage of, it’s highly advisable to hire a lawyer. The thing is, you’ll still be taken advantage of. Even a modest attorney can cost between $200-$400 per hour in the city. The profession has been a lightning rod for criticism - but hey, considering you can leave a simple consultation with empty pockets, you can kinda understand why.

Diamonds. People don’t love ‘em cause they’re cheap. It’s more or less a rule that all engagements include the purchase of a diamond ring. In the late 1800s, De Beers stockpiled diamonds, effectively gaining a monopoly on the market. They then ran a stellar marketing campaign, drilling it into our heads that “diamonds equal love”. Now, it’s just about impossible to get a proper ring for under $2,000. And, let’s be honest... financial stability isn’t necessarily a precursor to marriage. If only we could all agree to stop the whole diamond ring thing. Can we interest anyone in a cubic zirconia, or maybe a nice moissanite ring, perhaps?

Those among us living with a well-established, universally funded health care program or who are given adequate health care by employers get to avoid this massive headache. Others have to live with the knowledge that one small accident could mean financial ruin or crippling debt. The worst part of it all? You never really know the cost beforehand. Should you wait out the head cold at home, or roll the dice, see a doctor and play “The Price Is Right” guessing game while waiting for the bill? Often, it’s not a choice. You have a heart attack, and wake up owing six figures.

There’s nothing else out there that manages to put young people tens of thousands of dollars into debt, with no guarantee of adequate future payoff. Sure, the statistics are there; you’ll earn exponentially more in your lifetime with a college degree. That statistic doesn’t make it any easier to take out a $5,000 loan every semester though! In-state public tuition currently costs roughly $10,000 a year, excluding room and board. That doesn’t even address the added woes of out-of-state tuition. What’s more, just when you’ve managed to scrape together the funds for tuition, you get your astronomically expensive textbook shopping list. Oh, the joys of higher learning.

Time for a rather morbid pit stop: funerals are just about the most painfully expensive service out there. When a loved one dies, it’s up to an inner circle of family to figure out the details of the burial process. While grieving, it feels inappropriate to haggle over prices, but it often seems almost as if the industry is well aware of this fact, and makes the most of it. Make sure you’re sitting down for this one — the average funeral costs between $7,000 and $10,000! The burial site and digging costs roughly $1500, but that’s before the coffin, tombstone, funeral service and funeral director fees are tallied. Even the most basic cremation costs between $1000 to $3000.

Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
Ink Cartridges
Glasses
Alcohol at Restaurants

It was a tough choice between these last two, but weddings have reached such ludicrous levels of cost that they practically deserve their own tax break. Not including rings, honeymoons, and bachelor parties, a wedding will suck you dry to the tune of, on average, $26,000. We as a society love weddings, and the industry knows it. Sure, the gift registry has items starting at $40 a piece, but when it’s all said and paid for, that will hardly result in you and your beloved breaking even. It better be “the happiest day of your life” if it’s going to cost you your life savings.