The Life You Want Costs $11,694/Month

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Thanks to Betterment for sponsoring this video! Get started, be invested, Sign up in minutes: https://www.betterment.com/influencer/the-financial-diet?utm_campaign=INF&utm_medium=paid_social&utm_source=Instagram&utm_content=tfdinvesting Americans used to have a village, where much of what we needed was provided free of charge, as part of being a community. But now everything -- from childcare to dating to social clubs to exercise -- has become a for-profit entity, charging us for connection and happiness (or even just basic necessities). Totaled up, the life we're constantly being sold costs well over $10,000/month in most major cities, and is out of reach for the average American. But sometimes it feels like there's no other choice. So what's the antidote to all these for-profit solutions to our isolation? In this month's video essay, Chelsea breaks down how we got to this place -- and where we go from here. Thanks to Samantha Dalton for sharing her expertise with us! Follow her on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sam.the.therapistt?igsh=MXZvNXo0dnNlamIw and TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sam.the.therapist SOURCE LINKS: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/05/08/americans-are-less-likely-than-others-around-the-world-to-feel-close-to-people-in-their-country-or-community/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4872611/ https://www.ktvu.com/news/gen-z-phone-addiction-bepresent-2024 https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/disconnected-places-and-spaces/ https://www.newsweek.com/child-care-costs-more-expensive-college-1862309 https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/religious-landscape-study-executive-summary/ https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-green-book-an-historic-context.htm https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/IPUTN722410T301000000 https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/how-much-does-an-equinox-membership-cost, https://www.sohohouseco.com/news-and-events/news-details/2025/Soho-House--Co-Inc--Announces-Second-Quarter-2025-Results/default.aspx https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1908630116 https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/02/02/the-who-where-and-why-of-online-dating-in-the-u-s/ https://www.beyondintractability.org/bksum/putnam-bowling https://s203.q4cdn.com/993464185/files/doc_financials/2025/q2/Match-Group-2Q-2025-Prepared-Remarks.pdf https://www.cbsnews.com/news/valentines-day-2024-online-dating-app-fees/ https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/IPUTN722410T301000000 https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-pet-ownership-and-insurance https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c201r14z6r3o https://theweek.com/business/economy/rising-costs-pet-affordability https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/vet-private-equity-industry/678180/ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/nation/how-the-rising-cost-of-childcare-hurts-parents-job-stability https://www.americanprogress.org/article/still-underpaid-and-unequal/ https://time.com/child-care-crisis/ https://www.businessinsider.com/most-expensive-cities-for-childcare-daycare-us-affordable-care-cost-2023-5 https://open.substack.com/pub/rebeccagale/p/private-equity-is-coming-for-child?r=223wg&utm_medium=ios https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/16/us/child-care-centers-private-equity.html https://jacobin.com/2025/04/private-equity-day-care-childcare https://blog.dol.gov/2024/11/26/highlights-of-a-record-breaking-national-apprenticeship-week-2024 https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf https://ir.doordash.com/financials/quarterly-results/default.aspx https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-107040 https://news.linkedin.com/2025/Q4FY25_Earnings_Highlights https://www.ccdaily.com/2025/01/new-stats-on-registered-apprenticeships/ https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/150423_upskill_report_final_3.pdf https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/match-group-announces-second-quarter-results-302522306.html https://www.epi.org/publication/millions-of-workers-millions-of-workers-want-to-join-unions-but-couldnt/ https://www.ft.com/content/66434380-8a79-41e0-9f3e-8485d9241345 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/match-group-announces-second-quarter-results-302522306.html https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/06/for-the-first-time-social-media-overtakes-tv-as-americans-top-news-source/ https://sproutsocial.com/insights/attention-economy/ TIME STAMPS: 00:00:00 Intro 00:05:39 Ad break 00:06:41 Intro continued 00:10:57 Chapter 1: Why aren't we getting together anymore? 00:21:14 Chapter 2: Dating apps and the price of being single 00:32:01 Chapter 3: The pet industrial complex 00:39:01 Chapter 4: Who is watching our kids? 00:46:55 Chapter 5: The death of the union & the rise of the gig economy 00:55:22 Chapter 6: Social media and the breadcrumbing of community