Some Things Are Still Affordable Inflation Meme

Budget home $420,069
Gas is too expensive
Having kids $$$
1/4 POUND PLUS ALL BEEF HOT DOG & 20 OZ. SODA (WITH REFILLS) $1.50

This is a two-panel collage meme commenting on rising cost of living and inflation. The top panel shows examples of increasingly expensive necessities: a dilapidated budget home priced at $420,069, an edited Shell gas station sign that reads 'BRO JUST WALK' paired with text stating gas is too expensive, and a baby holding a money bag labelled as having children costing large sums of money, next to a panicked, stressed rage comic character complaining 'Everything is so Expensive'. The bottom panel displays a variety of Arizona iced tea cans and the famous Costco food court 1/4 pound beef hot dog + 20oz soda (with refills) combo priced at $1.50, next to a happy, relieved rage comic character giving a thumbs up, with text stating 'At least we have Arizona iced teas & Costco Hotdogs'. The joke centers on the widespread internet recognition that these two items have famously kept their low fixed prices unchanged for decades, serving as a small comfort for consumers facing widespread price hikes.

As stated in the provided additional information, this meme originates from Reddit meme communities. It leverages two long-running popular internet talking points: that Arizona Iced Tea has kept its 99 cent large can price unchanged for over 30 years despite economic changes, and that Costco has repeatedly committed to keeping its food court hot dog and soda combo at $1.50 indefinitely, even amid high inflation in the 2020s. The meme spread widely across social media platforms as a relatable, lighthearted take on widespread public frustration with rising housing, fuel, and general cost of living expenses.