Items Now Too Expensive For Michiganders to Spend Money On

Ever since the pandemic, the price of everything has gone up and many people in West Michigan have stopped buying certain items that are too expensive.

Pandemic and Inflation

When the pandemic hit in 2020, no one knew what to expect in the workforce. There were layoffs and shutdowns, and many businesses didn't make it.  Grocery stores wasted no time raising their prices, much like every other business that provided services people needed.

Undoubtedly, there has been a ton of price gouging, and it continues. The problem is, that once prices go up, they rarely go down. Prices are so high many people are not buying many items that they used to.

Read More: Did Michigan Grocery Stores Use Pandemic to Unfairly Raise Prices 

Items People In West Michigan No Longer Buy Because They're Too Expensive

I stopped going to fast-food restaurants and changed grocery stores because things were too expensive. I asked people on Facebook in West Michigan what items they no longer buy because of high prices and below are some of the messages.

Nazz kicked off the post on Facebook with travel, concerts, and dates. These items come up often on this thread. Ruby has cut out all types of meat, even lunch meat.

You can see from this Facebook post that the first thing to go when times are tough is Michiganders' entertainment budget. Many people mentioned not going to restaurants, not going to concerts anymore, and no longer taking real vacations.

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Hannah posted, "We can't go on dates anymore. Can't afford to do extras let alone pay for the babysitter."

Groceries, concerts, and restaurants seem to be where people have cut down on the most. People are changing their buying habits and hopefully, the prices will come down soon, or more businesses will close and more people will be out of work and that will make everything much worse.