considering i graduated college in '03, didnt get married, and bought a townhouse over a year ago... that leaves food and gas. didnt so much notice the bump up on food stuffs, so, gas it is!

I drive a car that is fuel efficient, thank goodness I was looking for that when I bought it 5 years ago! Food is what killed us this year. I try to cook and eat with fresh ingredients, so I've had to really do a lot of homework before I went shopping.

I use a lot of public transit, so gas wasn't it. I love to cook, and and fresh produce is a must -- so Iwas already used to spending a bit on food. My college experience/degree are worth so much to me, so higher education was definitely worth the expense. As for weddings, there are definitely some bits that cost more than they're worth...

But, as I live in the SF Bay Are -- so real estate is by far the most overpriced item! The prices of 2 bedroom/1 bath condos in SF are ridiculous for the lack of space and amenities that you get.

At the moment I am paying $1.77 a gallon for gas. So I said Higher Education... Way expensive!

Honestly, it was hard to pick just one!

Definitely gas until it started to drop recently... I filled up my car for $20 today, and had been paying at least $45-$50, AGH!

I was torn between weddings and real estate. why would anyone say gas/ it's so cheap now!

Gas is what hurt me the most this summer. At it's highest, in my city at least, I paid $4.12/gallon. The other day I paid $1.89!!! I did notice food costs rising as well, but since I didn't do much of the grocery shopping for my house this year the prices didn't affect me as much.

gas is cheap at the moment, but this summer we were paying double what we're paying now. THAT is is why gas is the most overpriced expense of the year. granted we're paying less now, but think of how many people were going to struggling to afford gas.

Weddings. But maybe that's just cuz mine cost me a pretty penny. Ouch.

My only main expenses are gas and food, so it was hard to choose. But I do spend more on food than gas, so that's what I voted for.

Weddings, IMHO, do NOT need to be expensive. You can get married in style without spending a ton. You just have to be creative.

I'm unemployed so everything is expensive.

I voted for gas. Food was a close second for me, but I don't mind spending a little extra in that department for quality.

I agree with Spectra that weddings are only expensive as you make them. It is possible to have a lovely event without dropping a fortune.

I take the subway so it's higher education for me!

I think everything on the list is relatively overpriced or pricey.

Because of my frugal ways, I find ways to manage all those costs.

My job as a visual merchandiser (until July because I moved to Greece) required me to drive around to about 32 malls on a regular basis, sometime 5 in a day. And it got to the point at the end of Spring that I would save money by not working. Ha. Thank God for expense accounts

For me it was food. I take public transit which will increase in Jan of 09.

It was gas for me this year... because it made everything else go up (food, etc). Plus there is no public transit where I live, so you have to drive. (Granted there is walking and biking, but I live in the sticks!) But I say gas, food, higher education, real estate, then weddings... yep, that's how I'd put 'em.

for 2008 overall, i had to say GAS! but right now, it's really REALLY good...down even lower than a year and a half ago when i bought my car...so i can't complain...but for the year overall, it was really out of control! gas is SUCH a pain to spend money on. it just seems like you're throwing it away and not getting anything in return!

Groceries. They don't know how to go up a dime! The increase by the quarter. Nothing should cost $1.49 one year and the same thing $1.89 the next. That increase in all prices without the pay going up at the same pace is out of wack. At the rate they are increasing, a loaf of even store brand white bread's gonna cost $2.00 in a few years. That's ridiculous. People have to eat,damn! You can cut back and cook from scratch if need be, but not if they make all the staples too expensive.

But I found one grocery store! If you have one try ALDI's!! The brands are mostly German imports but they are excellent (no out-of-date or dented stuff at all) AND much cheaper than other grocers. If you don't have one, go to the website and BEG for one. They pay the cashier's twice as much as other stores because they don't have baggers. You have to bag it yourself. Small price to pay for the $230 for a month's worth of groceries for 4 people that I bought just yesterday. To include Belgium assorted chocolate boxes for teacher gifts AND port wine cheese balls, sparkling Martinelli's apple cider...YES! Another thing, many of their products are high fructose corn syrup free!!
aldifoods.com/us/html/store_locator_ENU_HTML.htm

Hope that helps! take care.

gas used to be approx $5 at one time.. i live in orange couty!!!! it was horrible . now it's amazingly cheap. but rent is killing us here. prices to rent an apartment are absolutely out of control. unless you want to move into a pretty bad/ghetto area...which i did

other - cell phone plans, especially the text and data plans!!

Dude, Mesayme, I LOVE Aldi!! That's my main food store, actually. It's getting to be more popular in our city because their prices are a TON cheaper than any other grocery store. I mean, yeah, you don't get quite the variety of brands that you get at the regular stores, but I've always been very satisfied with their products and their produce. And I love that they charge for bags because it motivates me to bring my own canvas totes, LOL.

YES! I was a snob at first... 'I don't use this brand...' Divorce will de-snob ya real quick! LOL
The food's wonderful. I love that they have items straight from Germany that you can't even get elsewhere! And I bring my own bags...they were SO ahead of the times.
It's so much cheaper because they don't have to run commercials for sales...It's already CHEAP!!

i have to say that gas was by far the worst ...it's one of those things that you really can't find a way around. real estate, weddings, school - there are options there - loans and all that - but with gas - you're SOL

Gas and food, they both were way overpriced. I don't like to buy food with a lot of preservatives and I feel like the food that is good for you was more expensive than those with a lot of additives and preservatives.

Gas was bad, but the whole wedding phenomena with stupidly expensive and extravagant to-dos just seems bloody stupid.

just one? theres too many..I refuse to pick just one...

Real Estate. Americans pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for cheaply built houses that can easily get swept away by tornadoes, hurricanes, and the like.

For me, in the UK, it's gas & electricity. Prices have doubled over the past two years, and it's becoming so expensive I wonder how much longer I can afford to heat my (small) flat.

I got married in 08 but did it well. Destination wedding for a week in the tropics... under $6,000 including a good photog + assistant we flew in for the week. Totally not overpriced.

I would have to say gas, but compared to what gas should cost it really isn't bad.

Perhaps inflated real estate.

I would love to go to Juilliard but with a cost 40.000 (!!!) bucks per year i really don`t know if i can. Which sucks. Do i really have to say what i voted for?.

I said weddings because it's the one thing on the list that you don't need in some form or another. Gas is overpriced but we wouldn't be in this state with it if we conserved it more (see: Hummers).

gas is pretty cheap right now ($1.46) i'm continuing my Education at a county college and its not so expensive, my moms house dropped in sales value...so i chose wedding because the prices are still rising, and that's where i'm taking the biggest hit!

I'd def hav to say gas...and its beginning to go back up again!

I think gas is UNDERpriced considering how much people elsewhere pay for it, and how much energy we get for a relatively low price. I think weddings are always overpriced, so I voted for that.