21 Things That Are No Longer Worth the Money, According to Austin Williams
Prices are up. Quality is down. And a lot of things that used to be reasonable purchases have quietly become bad deals.
In a YouTube video, content creator Austin Williams laid out the following 21 things he said are no longer worth your money in 2026.
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Anything Inside a Gas Station
A bottled drink runs about $4, a candy bar around $3.50 and a pack of batteries costs roughly 50% more than at a regular store. Williams said gas stations went from being convenient to being a financial trap and the fix is simple: go in prepared and never need to walk inside one.
Anything at Walmart
Williams used to be a vocal Walmart advocate. He's changed his position. The produce, food, clothing and general merchandise have declined in quality to the point where cheap prices no longer justify the purchase. A low price on something that doesn't work or doesn't last isn't a deal.
Thrifting
Thrift stores were once a genuine money-saving resource. Williams said they've become a trendy pastime where secondhand items sometimes cost more than buying new. He no longer shops there for that reason.
Budget Airline Tickets
Budget-friendly flights can work in very specific conditions — flexible schedule, traveling light, convenient departure times. Williams said those conditions are rarely met in practice. Budget carriers operate on inconvenient schedules, charge for extras and run less reliably, often leaving travelers exhausted on arrival and spending more money to compensate.
Connecting Flights
Williams ran a real example: a direct flight from Atlanta to Seattle for $397 versus a connecting option at $270. The $127 savings came with double the flight time, a five-and-a-half hour layover and the exhaustion of boarding and deplaning twice. In his experience, the math almost never favors the connection.
Luxury Apartments
Williams pays $1,600 a month for a spacious apartment in a walkable Atlanta location that he described as old but highly functional. The same money in a building advertising a communal terrace and fancy shared spaces would buy a 438-square-foot studio with one window. The word "luxury" in apartment listings, he said, is where your money goes to disappear.
Fancy Bag Coffee
Coffee bags that were $5 in 2019 are approaching $12 in 2026. Williams said a significant portion of that price increase reflects bag design rather than what's inside. His solution: an $8 bag from Trader Joe's that he says tastes just as good.
Fast Food
Fast food is no longer fast, cheap or particularly good. Williams said a burger and fries at McDonald's now costs roughly the same as a burger and fries at a local restaurant — which always tastes better. The price gap that justified fast food has largely closed.
Mixed Drinks at Bars
A $20 mixed drink that doesn't deliver much alcohol is one of the clearest value failures Williams identified. His approach at bars is a cheap Mexican lager for around $6. Mixed drinks, he said, are typically a small amount of liquor in a large amount of sugary mixer.
Netflix
Since Netflix launched streaming plans in 2011, the price has increased by 150% while overall inflation ran about 47% in the same period. Williams's workaround is rotating through one subscription service at a time — watching everything he wants on one platform, canceling and moving to the next — keeping his monthly spending around $15 instead of $50 or more.
Private Universities
Williams said a decade into his working life, where you went to school has had little to no impact on career outcomes. What matters is the ability to learn and adapt, communication skills, work ethic and some luck. Two years at a community college followed by two years at an in-state university can produce the same degree with a fraction of the debt.
New Phones
Williams has never bought a new phone. Every phone he's owned came from eBay for under $200. His current phone works fine. He said new flagship phones over $1,000 make no sense when perfectly functional alternatives exist at a fraction of the price.
Main-Carrier Cell Phone Plans
Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T plans at $50 or more per month are paying for the same service available through budget carriers at $15 a month. Williams has used Mint Mobile for six years and said the service quality is identical.
Fast Furniture
Ikea, Wayfair and similar brands produce furniture designed to look good briefly before falling apart. Williams said repeatedly replacing cheap furniture costs more over time than buying quality pieces once. The principle: buy once, cry once.
Fast Fashion
H&M, Zara and Shein produce clothing designed for short-term aesthetics rather than durability. Williams's calculation is that one $50 shirt that lasts five or six years is better than five $10 shirts that don't survive a season each.
Snack Foods
A bag of chips runs about $7, Oreos around $6 and a twelve-pack of soda roughly $13. Williams said none of these have meaningful nutritional value, they drain the grocery budget and they create future health costs. He said the amount of junk food in the average grocery cart genuinely shocks him.
Protein-Branded Foods
Brands have responded to the health and weight loss conversation by slapping the word "protein" on products that don't warrant the label or the price markup — including, Williams noted, what is effectively high-protein Lucky Charms. The protein branding is largely a justification to charge more for the same product.
McMansions
Large suburban homes with three-car garages, multiple guest bedrooms and living rooms nobody uses don't deliver a better life, Williams said. They deliver more responsibility, more maintenance and more expense without a proportional return in quality of life.
Mystery Brand Amazon Products
Amazon has become a dropshipping platform where countless unknown brands sell nearly identical products. Williams said in his experience, mystery brand Amazon products almost never deliver on their promise. Brand recognition exists for a reason.
Rideshare
Uber and Lyft have gotten expensive. Williams said a 20-minute ride to the airport costs around $60. His workaround: a short $8 Uber to a subway station, then a $2.50 train to the airport — saving about $50 and often arriving faster because trains don't sit in traffic.
Paper Towels
Williams closed his list where he always closes lists about things not worth buying: paper towels. He said the one exception is using them to blot grease off bacon. Otherwise, they're unnecessary.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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