Why Is Everything So Expensive? Food, Housing & Affordability

Why does everything feel so damn expensive — and how much of it is actually beyond our control?

It starts with a surprisingly reasonable dinner bill and one simple question: When did reasonable become surprising?

In this episode of All About the Biscuits, RJ takes a raw, honest look at affordability in America — from grocery and restaurant prices to rent, housing, wages, work ethic, and the expectations we’ve built around what we think we should be able to afford.

Yes, groceries cost more. Housing is expensive. People are genuinely struggling. Corporations and government deserve scrutiny. But that can all be true while we still ask another uncomfortable question: What responsibility belongs to us?

RJ breaks down what the facts say about food prices and where our grocery dollars actually go, shares how his own family changed what they buy when prices went up, and looks at housing through the lens of Charleston’s growth, roommates, living at home, homeownership, income, and long-term expectations.

This isn’t about telling struggling people to “just work harder,” and it isn’t about pretending corporations are innocent. It’s about refusing to accept easy answers from either side.

Sometimes the system needs to change. Sometimes our expectations need to change. Sometimes people need a hand up. And sometimes we need to look in the mirror.

So who owns America’s affordability problem — corporations, government, the economy… or us?

🎙️ All About the Biscuits

Storytelling. Perspective. Conviction.