Items now too expensive for NJ to spend money on

Have you been feeling the pinch lately over how expensive literally everything has gotten? I'm sure if you ask anyone in New Jersey that question, they'll share their frustrations with you.

And that's what it is. Frustration. Frustration that prices have nearly doubled yet our pay rates stay the same (unless you were making minimum wage going into the new year, of course).

Frustration that, along with stagnant pay and prices doubling, our taxes continue to go up. And the frustration that even traveling our roads and tunnels has gone up.

It's getting so bad that we actually might need to celebrate gas prices. Yes, they've been lower in the past, but overall gas prices haven't gone up nearly as much as everything else. Sounds crazy, right?

So it should come as no surprise that people all over the state have been cutting back on things they probably never intended to. Again, when prices nearly double (and in some cases, nearly triple), but your pay rate stays the same or can't keep up with the change, what else are you supposed to do?

Buzzfeed recently tackled this problem by asking folks what has gotten too expensive for them that they're no longer spending money on. After checking out the survey, I decided to ask those living right here in New Jersey what they've been cutting back on.

A real quick note though. Two of the items on that particular Buzzfeed survey that said people aren't buying anymore were groceries and gas. But let's be real, no matter where prices go both of those are necessities so you can't really "stop" buying.

With that said, you can trim up your grocery shopping by eliminating certain items from the list, or take public transportation to slim down on buying gas (or even walk in some instances). But to flat-out not buy groceries anymore or spend on gas or transportation is a bit of a stretch and probably should've not been included as general items people are no longer buying altogether.

As for Jersey, here's a look at some of those answers. Afterward, feel free to leave a comment about what you've been cutting back on to combat ever-rising prices in the Garden State.

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Items now too expensive for NJ so spend money on

Buzzfeed recently conducted a survey that asked folks what they're cutting back on in an effort to try and save money. Although not everything on that survey relates to New Jerseyans, the ones that mainly do are listed below.

Gallery Credit: Mike Brant

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LOOK: Here's how much grocery shopping now costs in the U.S.

The average cost of groceries for one person per month in 2023 was around $337. But how does your state compare? Do you pay more, or less? Data compiled by Zippia takes a look at the average monthly grocery bill per person in all 50 states. States are listed from least expensive to most expensive and are rounded up to the nearest dollar.

Gallery Credit: Mike Brant

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