Life is expensive without the extras. However, if you want to do things to enrich your life they don't always have to be costly.
One Redditor that goes by Goatonaflyingpancake brought out some great ideas when they asked:
“What is something people don't realise is actually affordable?"
Seriously, renter’s insurance though!
“Renter's Insurance. Especially if you bundle it with your car insurance. Usually covers replacement of contents and loss of use, so if you rent and right now could not afford to repurchase all of your clothing, furniture, housewares, electronics and medical equipment if you have any, as well as pay for a hotel until you find a place or get back in the one where the fire was, get you some. And take the time to accurately valuate the replacement cost of your possessions to make sure you get enough.”
The internet (and local library) is filled with free learning tools.
Read Open Book GIF by INTO ACTIONGiphy“Learning -- you don't need formal education to increase your skillset. YouTube is free and there are plenty of other free platforms and tools available. Using YouTube I learned to solve a Rubik's cube, whittling, basic embroidery, and cross stitch in 2020.”
“Many US libraries also give you access to Libby to borrow thousands of free ebooks and Audiobooks. I paid like $30 for a secondhand kindle and have never once paid for a book for it.”
“My library lets you borrow other things, like tools. I've heard of some letting you borrow video games in other cities. Libraries are the best.”
“Don’t buy birds of prey.”
“Birds of Prey in Britain. Sadly, predatory birds are extremely affordable in the UK. A barn owl is around £25. This leads to idiots thinking that owning a bird of prey is a good idea when in actual fact they take a huge amount of work to train and maintain."
“This then leads on to them escaping into the wild and negatively affecting the natural ecosystem. Don't get me wrong, birds of prey are beautiful and seeing them in the wild is an incredible experience however, they will continue to munch their way through all of our small rodents and animals.”
“Alternatively, because they may have been raised by humans from a chick, they fly off into the wild and die of starvation because they haven't had the parental hunting training. Don't buy birds of prey.”
Having decent shoes.
“For people that can't afford high quality shoes-Shoe sole inserts. The cheapest ones at Walmart are made of memory foam-like material and make a world of difference for me!”
“When I first started working as a cook I bought a $25 pair of non slip shoes at Walmart. I did one shift with them and KNEW I needed better shoes, however I could not afford them. I decided to try the inserts out and I ended up wearing those shoes with a $12 pair of inserts for 3 years.”
Don’t wait due to money issues!
GIF by INTO ACTIONGiphy“The Covid vaccines are free. You don't even need insurance. Seriously, if you haven't gotten yours because you're afraid you can't afford it, go get it today.”
Supporting local artists...
“Original art - not mass-produced posters or prints like you find at Target and Home Goods - but actual one-of-a-kind paintings.”
“Grocery delivery.”
“Grocery delivery. I don't have a car, and to take a bus would require walking 10+blocks and then getting off and carrying all my groceries back the same ten blocks. And the bus will cost 3.50. Delivery with instacart (and I'm assuming similar apps) costs about 8 dollars. So I order from them for 4.50 more than what it costs to go to the store, and save myself 4 hours of time. It's great.”
“Side note: I've been experimenting the past few months. Instacart, ubereats, doordash, lyft, all these services for the past 6 months I've been offering the choice between a monetary tip or a gram of some good weed. About 85% of the time they pick the weed. It all started when I was taking a lyft home from the dispensary and the driver commented on how good it smelled. It's been a fun experiment it seems like they've enjoyed it.”
Best Excuses For Late Assignments That Were Actually True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Camping!
“I used to think camping equipment was very expensive (i would always browse the LLBean catalog growing up) so i would always borrow a tent, sleep on the ground etc, then i looked at the tents at Walmart and got a tent for like $30 and an air mattress for $7.”
“I've tried telling my friends this a million times. You can bring all your food and cook everything cheaply over a fire or a propane stove. Hell you can pack only hot dogs, chips, and a veggie try and have a complete meal right there for an entire family for less than 20 bucks.”
“There's also way more state parks than people think. This might be because I live nearby a ton of them, but I'm willing to bet that most people live within an hours drive of at least one. County parks are even cheaper but I prefer having the guarantee of flushing toilets.”
Spice does NOT mean extra mayo and raisins in the potato salad...
Giphy“AAA membership. If you own a car it's the best $55 you can spend.”
“Ask for the triple A discount everywhere you go once you get your card. The hotel I work for, it can save you $7 to $21 a night, depending on room type. It's one of the best discounts we have for non-members of the hotel rewards program. If you only stay a few nights a year, it's a good deal. You'll definitely get your membership fee back in discounts alone.”
Thankfully while the economy recovers there are still lots of inexpensive things people can do.
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Food trends are not so very different from fashion trends, constantly evolving and quickly becoming outdated or passé.
Can you think of the last time you were served ambrosia at a dinner party?
Or have you noticed how anything featuring kale is now met with an eye roll rather than excitement?
Of course, some food trends tend to last longer than others.
Even if many people wish that they would also become extinct... the sooner the better!
Redditor Prestigious-Humor872 was eager to hear all the food trends people wished would die out, and fast, leading them to ask:
"What modern food trend can you not wait to die?"
Less Isn't Always More...
"2 ingredient desserts (with 7 'optional' ingredients that appear once you read the actual recipe)."- strawberry-emma
You Pay For The Experience
"Food trucks that charge the same price as a premium restaurant but serve half the size on a floppy plate that I have to stand up to eat."- thorn_10
"Food trucks."
"Weren’t they supposed to serve cheaper food because of lower overhead?"
"No brick and mortar?"
"We have a lobster roll truck-pulled by a Range Rover- that shows up for lunch and charges $22 for one entree."
"Ridiculous."- tizzymyers·
GiphyChoice Of Words...
"Calling a slight alteration to a recipe a 'hack'."
"Adding parmesan cheese to your grilled cheese sandwich is not a 'hack'."
"It's a minor recipe change."- No_Pear_2326
Jumping The Gun A Bit...
"If I'm on a website I'm only there to look at your menu."
"I'm not interested in starting an order before I've looked at the menu."
"No, I don't want to give you my zip code."
"Just give me your menu and some food pictures."- DueRest
Staying Humble?
"Fancy restaurants that say they serve 'street tacos' and proceed to charge $18 for three."- Chipwich75
T-Bell Yes GIF by Taco BellGiphyThere's A Reason We're Told Not To Play With Our Food...
"The stupid food wasting trends on YouTube and TikTok etc."- fluffernuttersndwch
Presentation Is Key...
"For some reason putting food in wine glasses."- Ralphroberts603
"Restaurants serving food on cutting boards, shovels, paper, shells, or anything that is not an actual plate."- Funny_Disaster1002
meat grill GIF by Gifs LabGiphyRemember The Golden Arches And The Red Roofs?
"Making all fast food buildings look like cookie-cutter beige/grey boxes."
"They all used to have their own distinct personalities."- mattnotis
There's Economizing, And Then There's Jusy Poor Hygeine...
"The videos of people making food in sinks."
"Gross."- h20rabbit
Is It Even Still A Secret After 100 Thousand Views?
"Any TikTok/IG trend that makes life more difficult for fast-food workers with overly complex orders or ordering stuff not on the menu or trying to 'one up' each others orders etc."- HiThisIsMichael
bored fast food GIF by Zaxby'sGiphyMaybe It Gives Them Incentive?
"Tipping as an option BEFORE receiving good service."- mytimeis2044
Sweet Tooth? Or Cavity Express?
"Sweets on top of sweets."
"A milkshake with a donut, lollipop, and cupcake attached."- Marleygem
Technology Slowly Taking Our Jobs...
"I just went to a restaurant, not a fast food place, a sit-down restaurant where you have to scan the QR code for the menu, then a screen pops up where you have to place your own order."
"No one comes to the table to answer questions, nothing."
"You place your order, a person comes by and throws your drinks at you. "
"Then they swing by a while later and throw your food at you."
"That’s all you see of them."
"You pay your bill on your phone, and are still expected to tip."- Megmuffin102
Saint Urbain Website GIF by Front of HouseGiphyBe it in presentation, cooking style, or flavor profile, people will likely always try to make food "cool" in truly bizarre ways.
Sometimes ignoring that the only thing that should truly matter is whether or not it tastes good.
At least people have finally realized that kale doesn't need to be added to everything!
For now, at least...
When discussing love and relationships, the motto is usually less is more.
But what if there is more of one partner?
Being involved with identical twins can be quite the experience.
Can you really tell them apart?
Is everything identical?
If you're attracted to one, aren't you automatically attracted to the other?
So many questions.
Now we need some answers.
Redditor nicknamesofdaveryder wanted to hear about love and the twin experience, so they asked:
"Redditors who married someone with an identical twin sibling, why are you glad you're not with the other twin instead?"
I've never met a lot of twins, let alone gotten involved with a pair.
I have questions.
Hopefully I get some answers.
Saved
Comedy Central Wink GIF by Drunk HistoryGiphy"My late husband's twin was a non-functioning alcoholic and my husband wasn’t. My husband says joining the navy was what saved him from going down that road."
iteachag5
Falling Asleep
"Story time! I am an identical twin (we still look so much alike!) and one night I spent the night at her house. She and I fell asleep in the same bed because we were up late talking, etc. Her husband slept on the couch. The next morning my twin went to take a shower and her husband laid down on the bed with me (thinking it was her of course). I jokingly said 'Hey sailor, looking for a little variety?' He shot off the bed and said 'If I was looking for variety, do you think I'd choose you??'"
tanyagal2
The Good Guy And The Other One
"I didn't marry him but I dated an identical twin. His twin's girlfriend and I used to joke around that she got the evil twin. He was just a selfish, messed-up person. One of the benefits of breaking up with my boyfriend was no longer having his twin in my life. Plus, his ex gf and I are still great friends! The good guy was just the lesser evil. She wanted to get as far away from that family as I did. The best thing to come out of those relationships was our friendship."
super-ro
Love Wins
"My dad's an identical twin. People have a hard time distinguishing them, but to my mom and me, they look like two completely different people because of the way they walk/talk/etc. Obviously, my mom only fell in love with this one person. When you love someone it's actually pretty easy to tell identical twins apart."
michaelsgavin
Issues
Threaten Ashley Olsen GIFGiphy"The other twin has the same personality as I do. We argue readily and are super competitive with each other. We butt heads on a lot of issues."
why_not_send_a_nude
Personality clashes aren't just a twin thing.
It's a human thing.
We can't help ourselves.
Different People
Triplets GIF by RuPaul's Drag RaceGiphy"I work with a guy who married an identical triplet, one of the triplets also works with us. I asked him one day if it was weird working with someone who looked just like his wife. He got a little pissed and basically said they are all very different people and he doesn't see much of his wife in her."
LeafMeAlone_99
He's Evil
"We’re not married but known each other since we were 12 and have been together 3 and a half years. His twin is a massive di**head who tried to break us up multiple times, was madly in love with me in his own words, and after 2 years of pursuing me declared I was a terrible person and put him through hell. Because I didn’t break up with his TWIN BROTHER to date him."
xMollyP
Life Choices
"My husband and his twin brother look very different to me, although they are identical and get mistaken for one another all the time. They couldn’t be more different in terms of personality. They have different values and life goals, hobbies, one is introverted and the other is extroverted. If they were two people who didn’t look alike, I would automatically not be attracted to my brother-in-law simply because we are not remotely compatible personality-wise."
"Also they have very different styles. I do not find the way my husband’s twin dresses/grooms his hair attractive. It’s so wild to me when people can’t tell them apart because they couldn’t be more different in my eyes."
lanieeeeeeee
Opposites
"Well, my wife and I have been together for 30 years. She has a 'mirror' twin. Even now, if you don’t know them well or interact frequently you will not be able to tell them apart. They are complete opposites. I married the extrovert, she has never met a stranger, will try anything at least once, and can find a positive aspect in almost everything she encounters, they are also best friends, my wife drags her sister along all the time."
"Once she’s out she enjoys our activities. I love my SIL, all three of them, but so glad I married the one like me. The mirror part even goes for looks, when I see my wife’s reflection I see my SIL, it’s weird sometimes. Also, attitude and personality are everything, I have never been 'attracted' to her twin."
redbonecouchhound
The Look
Sexy Damon Wayans Jr GIF by Global TVGiphy"I used to date an identical twin. Although I found his brother objectively handsome, I wasn't attracted to him at all. It was cool to directly experience how attraction goes far beyond just the looks."
Liatessa
I've never been intrigued by twins, and now I never will be.
