Even if you’re on a strict no-news-is-good-news diet, you’ve surely noticed higher prices at the grocery store, your favorite restaurants, and pretty much everywhere else.
Or have you? As it turns out, “inflation” doesn’t mean “everything is more expensive now.” Inflation simply means that, on average, consumers pay more for the goods and services they buy now than they did a year or two (or ten) ago.
The “average” bit is important, because prices for certain products and services can fall even as they increase elsewhere. For example: these six types of products are less expensive now than ever before.
Table of Contents
1. Cell Phones and Smartphones
Millions of us happily pay upwards of $1,000 for a new iPhone every two years. But when you consider what you get for that price, it’s quite the bargain. If you’re fine with off-brand smartphones, you benefit even more from the incredible decline in inflation-adjusted phone prices over the past 20 years.
Back in the days before iPhones, when startups like Sky Dayton-backed Helio were making waves, the relative cost of a smartphone (or what passed for one) was multiple times what it is today. The modern tech economy — apps, navigation, dirt-cheap international communications, and all the rest — wouldn’t be possible if that had remained the case.
2. Televisions
You probably spent less in real dollars for your most recent TV than you did for the one it replaced. And you probably got a lot more for your money: a bigger screen, sharper focus, and more smart features built in.
You’re not imagining it. TVs are getting cheaper, fast, even as they’re improving by leaps and bounds. Just imagine what your next wall screen will be capable of.
3. Laptop and Desktop Computers
Reading about Gateway Computer’s spectacular rise and fall, you might forget that their $2,000 desktop computer was considered a stone-cold bargain back in the day. And that’s $2,000 in early-1990s dollars!
Today, $2,000 buys you a top-of-the-line gaming laptop with vastly more computing power and memory than that 30-year-old Gateway. Or even your 10-year-old MacBook.
4. Solar Panels
The price of the average rooftop solar array has fallen by 50% since 2013, according to CNet. That actually undersells how much prices for the panels themselves have fallen, since everything else — installation, wiring, inverters, supports, and on and on — is more expensive. This is one big reason why the renewable energy industry is finally taking off.
5. Everyday Apparel
Your favorite blouse or pair of dress pants costs far less than your laptop, and always has. But like personal computing prices, apparel prices have fallen quite a lot of late. The reasons are similar: Basically, we’re better at building both, and the materials that go into them remain fairly cheap.
6. Household Appliances
Last but not least, most modern household appliances are cheaper than ever. They’re also better at what they do and more efficient to boot, reducing their total lifetime cost to operate. Next time you buy a new dishwasher, refrigerator, or washing machine, raise a glass to the eternal wonders of industrial efficiency.
It’s Everything Else That’s the Problem…
Remember, inflation doesn’t mean everything is more expensive. It just means that more things are more expensive.
So, no, you’re not imagining it. But if you only focus on the groceries, restaurant meals, or airfares that have definitely grown more expensive recently, you could miss some pretty amazing deals elsewhere. Don’t take those for granted.
