
Life is lived by spending money. That is the way we have created our lives, and now that is the way we must live them.
You have to spend money on everything.
For housing, for food, for transportation.
It is literally impossible to live without it.
Sometimes it can feel like we're drowning in bills only to have an unforeseen expense crop up and do far more damage.
Redditor PhantomBaka asked:
"Whats criminally overpriced to you?"
Here were some of those answers.
Twenty Eight Dollar Salad
"F**king salads. Man it's so frustrating, sometimes I just want something light and it costs me more than 6 hamburgers."-toddmflong
"I just ate at a restaurant this evening that offered a Caesar salad for $15. The chicken was $6 extra."-A_Very_Living_Me
Seems Important
"Epi-Pens. This, a thousand times this. I have 4 kids, each needed pens for school, and they couldn't share of course, and pens only came in sets of two."
"So a single $35 pen turned into $3200 because pens were $400 each, and each had to be bought in pairs, and I had to have a specific prescription for each kid. F**king stupid."
"Got the doctor to prescribe a vial of epi and a filter needle (glass vials need filter needles) and the single script cost about $16. Gave to the school nurse. Done. Oh, and the vial didn't 'expire' in 1 year."-ericzhill
Noms Will Break You
"Concessions at sporting events in the US. Our taxes pay for the stadiums. Then the public has to buy tickets to get in. Then when we finally get inside, they are gonna charge $14 for a $3 beer."-ArminTanz
"I remember a coworker told me a story of a baseball game he went to. After buying tickets and beer/food, they sat down and it started to rain."
"It was raining too bad to keep going so they called the game. He said that was $50 down the drain."-superzenki
Are you seeing things here that you immediately roll your eyes at?
Can't Get Out Easy
"Death. Even with no funeral/service/etc - there will be a cost for cremation, burial, etc that your next of kin will need to deal with/pay for. Your will needs to state what you want done, and plans made to fund it."
"My dad passed away earlier this year, and even with no funeral, service, etc (per his request) I still had to pay over $3000 just days after he passed to have his body dealt with, and another $600 for someone to dig a hole at the pre-purchased cemetery plot."
"(His requests were similar to my mom’s when she passed away about 7 years ago, so I wasn’t surprised by the cost - but it’s definitely difficult to put so much money into basic post-death/funeral care.)"-whiteink-13
D'uhhmerican Insurance
"For a family of four it can cost you $1,400 a month to HAVE THE PRIVILEGE of paying the first $12,000 of all your medical bills YOURSELF before insurance kicks in and covers 70-80%. Like, WTF…"
"Doing the math: you pay $28,800 per year BEFORE insurance kicks in…"-CURCANCHA
The Biggest Scam
"Texas Instruments Calculators. Honestly. You have all the necessary software available for you as free or at worst cheap apps on any smartphone."
"I understand you cannot obviously use your phone on exams, but at intro levels, you want to know the graphs of the simpler functions, at least in the appropriate bounds."
"In more advanced levels, the kind of assessment that requires you to use a graphing calculator could easily be done differently, resorting to a computer or a phone."
"The technology might be amazing, but I haven't used my graphing calculator since high school, and I do lots of maths on the daily."-FroggyWatcher
I Just Wanna Play WoW
"Graphics cards is the reason why I bought my first prebuilt. I have always built my own computers, because traditionally it was cheaper for better parts, and it was usually easier to swap out parts if something failed."
"This past year I tried to upgrade my computer as it was finally starting to struggle with new games. After a few weeks experiencing the graphic card sh*tshow, I finally just went ahead and bought a whole pre-built via Costco that had a 3080."
"It was more money than I wanted to pay and the computer is way beefier than what I needed, but after seeing scalper prices and realizing I’ll probably be spending who knows how many months playing the graphic card lottery, I actually feel like I came out ahead."-kamikaze_puppy
The worst part of spending all this money is there's no way to STOP spending it.
Kontakte
"College textbooks - They can cost hundreds of dollars, and professors will publish new ones all the time to force students to get the newest version instead of reusing an older one."-terminat323
"I’m just finished an online program and bought all of the books since I was responsible for teaching myself the material. I went onto my college’s bookstore site and tried to have them buy the books back that I didn’t want."
"They offered 15$ for a textbook over 150$. 15 f**king dollars."-emmma9321
Trauma Often Equals No Money For Therapy
"I tried to get a trauma therapist recently and the one I was recommended charges $200 an hour and doesn’t accept insurance. That in itself is traumatic."
"While we’re here, two things I can recommend from someone who has been in the system for 16+ years and just recently received a correct diagnosis of narcolepsy."
"-Advocate for and get a medical work up if you can before attending therapy. Even if your PCP or psychiatrist just tries to send you to therapy without any testing, keep fighting for it, especially if you have chronic symptoms like depression."
"Many symptoms related to underlying medical conditions can mimic psychiatric conditions. It’s really dangerous to sit in therapy for years without adequate medical testing to make sure you don’t need medical treatment first."
"Also, don’t take meds from a psychiatrist who doesn’t order labs first or gives you a hard time about ordering labs or a sleep study."
"The best psychiatrists should ask for these right away and help you advocate getting them. Out of the long list of doctors I have worked with, only one ordered a sleep study and labs. And she saved my life.
"-For those who have had terrible experiences within therapy, check out the Very Bad Therapy podcast. It’s a podcast that gives a platform to those who have been harmed by therapists and different therapeutic models. It helped me to not feel so alone."-ThisNerdyGirl
The "No Calorie" Diet
"It costs money to be poor. God I hated being poor so much. My old boss asked me if I was working out since I had lost like 15 pounds but the reality of it was I couldn’t afford food."
"We had snacks in the office that accounted for probably 75% of my daily caloric intake. I was going further and further into debt just to keep the bills paid, and for many months could only make the minimum payment on my credit card so the interest was also killing me."
"So glad I’m in a better, debt free position now and have the ability to help out those less fortunate than myself."-FILTER_OUT_T_D
These things are things we have to live with in order to survive, but the truth is, there might be a better way.
As we all navigate these things, and how to stay on top of an ever-more-expensive world, the best thing we can do is rely on each other for tips and tricks on how to make this mess of a life just that much more easy.
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Have you ever heard of a certain job that people call a career and thought... "PEOPLE PAY YOU FOR THAT?!?!"
All hard, honest work is good work.
And then there is just trash work.
And I don't mean garbage collection, that is honest work.
I don't know how some people live with themselves.
Redditor MrTuxedo1 wanted to discuss the careers they don't believe people should chase. They asked:
"What job do you have no respect for?"
Ticket scalpers. How do you the audacity to say that's a job?
Actual burglars have more empathy.
Disrespectful
"There are debt collectors who call relatives of the deceased to pay off their debts when they are not legally obligated to."
Top_Gun_2021
Shady. Shady.
"Australian Real Estate Agents. Laws don't seem to apply to them. Just as dodgy in sales and rentals alike. Never seen anything like it overseas."
snave_
"I'm in the US, it can vary state by state but my state is pretty strict on realtor laws. Some states require attorney review and there are definitely penalties for being reported for shady sh*t. It does require consumer reporting though."
ilostmytaco
Etransfer
"Where I live, tax info was leaked and now scammers are targeting low income individuals/families (people earning under 30,000 per year) with etransfer scams. I got one the other day that was an etransfer warning that 240$ 'a family member sent me' was about to expire."
SnowyInuk
"That’s disgusting. The scammers know what they’re doing, they know the harm they cause people and yet they don’t care."
surelysandwitch
Should be illegal...
"MLM managers. Not the low level idiots that get suckered into it, they suck too for trying to bring new people into that sh*tshow, but the people who create them know exactly what they are doing and are pretty much the only ones who profit off of it. Should be illegal. Pyramid schemes are illegal. None of them ever get the just desserts except occasionally by vigilantes I assume."
Wereno
I hate debt collectors. Yeah, you calling me one hundred times a week is going to miraculously make money appear.
Animals
"Paparazzi."
VictorBlimpmuscle
"I met Jack Gleeson (King Joffrey from Game of Thrones) at a bus stop in Dublin. Really nice guy but he said he quit acting due to people being nasty online and constant hounding from paparrazi. He's happier now but it sucks that he was pushed away from a career he was quite good at."
goobi94
Scumbags
"The pastors at mega churches whom ask their followers for money for private jets. Absolute scum to abuse others faith for your own greed."
ichancho
"Brian Tamaki is a greedy freaking pig, he takes advantage of so many people who are already struggling. Every time he’s in the local news (which btw is often) I get more and more pissed off at him and his wife. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Tamaki "
surelysandwitch
it’s a thing???
“'Dating Expert.' Sadly it’s a thing. It’s basically a self appointed title that requires no training or qualifications. What’s worse, is that I have a female friend who uses one. It’s very much a blind leading the blind situation."
Mean_Manufacturer_61
"Most of the self proclaimed “dating coaches” I know are women in their late 30s or early 40s who have never been married or had a longer relationship."
ipozgaj
EVIL
"Poachers. Especially big game poachers who purposefully hunt nearly extinct animals from species they know they are on the brink."
"I know there are poachers that come from rural villages who are trying to just put food on the table, which has my sympathy but poachers who come from money and hunt down animals minding their business in most shelters or restricted areas just to put a head on their wall as a trophy are absolutely heinous."
GetterdoneObiwan
I See It All
"Psychic Mediums. Specifically those who prey on the grieving."
JamesDeadite
"I've always found it interesting how many magicians go after people like this. I think it's because they know what it takes to trick people for the art. The slight of hand and mentalism. And they abhor people who use these tactics for such sh*tty purposes."
34HoldOn
I want so bad to believe in psychics and mediums. What say we on that topic?
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The nose is constantly being attacked by odors of the world.
Going through one day without having to hold my breath during a certain point, is a miracle.
Of course, I'm a New Yorker, so I maybe exaggerating for people in the countryside.
What's funnier is odors that are pleasant, that shouldn't be.
Have you ever looked and something and thought... "yuck."
But then you smelled it and it was like... "oh lovely,"
Redditor HappQueue wanted to know what aromas are arousing to the senses that may come as a surprise to many. They asked:
"What smells good but shouldn't?"
For some odd reason I love the things burning. Anything, food, pots, pans. You name it. Weird.
Blow
"Matches/candles on a birthday cake. I remember lighting matches as a kid purely to blow them out and inhale that sweet match-y smell."
semispooked
"guilty good"
"I work at a Chemical plant. We make a highly acidic product that is dark blue, viscus, highly corrosive, and smells exactly like Fruit Loops. It is incredibly disturbing."
Turin082
"Organic chemistry has many 'guilty good' smells. Thiophosgene (sulfur derivative of a chemical weapon used extensively in WW1) apparently smells like meat. Phosgene is used to make polycarbonate, thiophosgene is used to make some sulfur-containing molecules which eventually end up in therapeutic drugs."
HammerTh_1701
I can't huff it...
"Paint, specifically house paint. I love the smell. But anytime I hear that anyone is painting a room or their house, I volunteer. I just love sitting on the floor in a room that's been freshly painted, closing my eyes and just inhaling that slightly chemically, slightly creamy aroma."
Neowza
A Hint of French...
"A fish and chips shop burnt down as couple blocks from work a few years ago. The whole neighborhood smelled amazing for days. Just the slight hint of French fries. Nothing overpowering. It was so awesome. Until I found out someone was trapped in the fire and died."
stevey_frac
Drag
"Race fuel. Instantly puts me in a good mood as it reminds me of going to the drag races with my dad when I was young."
garfnodie
Fuel and matches get me too. And they sort of go together. Interesting.
Just like the Movie...
"The water from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Mmm, bromine."
Stalkerslovemy
"This is one of my favorite scents of all time, and Disney is very aware that people enjoy it. Evidently it’s a lot harder to recreate than just adding bromine to water."
cash4panties
"black widow".
"There's a chicken wing restaurant near my house that has a challenge sauce called "black widow." The owner claims it to be around 500,000 scovilles. A few years back some buddies and I decided to try them, the sauce was a dark molasses color and smelled almost like a BBQ sauce, no hint of the danger that lurked at all. We each grabbed one wing and it went terribly. I don't know how something so spicy could smell so innocent."
Final-Chapter
Endless Weekend
"Hotel/rented rooms whenever you go on vacation. There's this particular smell that just says 'you are on vacation,' especially on a beach/swimming trips/out-of-the-town vacays."
Yummy_Llama
"Bath and Body Works has a plug-in scent called Endless Weekend that replicates that scent (to my humble nose)."
Exxcentrica
"oh no..."
"Someone you are attracted to's body odors. Anyone else who is slightly unhygienic smells repulsive."
Mini_gunslinger
"I remember back in high school a girl leaned over, sniffed me, told me that I smelled really good, and asked me what cologne I was wearing. I asked if she was joking, and she's like, no, you smell really good. When I told her I had just gotten done with gym class, she gets a small 'oh no...' look on her face and turns away. I think we both had a revelation that day."
user deleted
That Smell
"The smell inflatable things give off. I have no idea how to describe it, but it’s… nostalgic? to me."
crestfxllen
I do love the smell of plastics and inflatables. Ahh....
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At one point in time, we've misplaced things that we've considered priceless possessions.
It's hard to imagine how to go on without the lost object–whatever it may be–but over time, it becomes a distant memory and we move on.
That is until we magically find ourselves presented with this opportunity proposed by Redditor mikehotel288, who asked:
"You find yourself in a room with everything you’ve ever lost in your life. What do you look for first?"
There are necessities people cannot do without.
No More Dry Lips Ever Again
"Gonna be a lot of chapstick in that room."
– camefromxbox
There are things that bring us comfort and are irreplaceable.
Safety Blanket
"My baby blanket. It became tattered over the years—to the point where I couldn’t reasonably wash it anymore—so I had to throw it away a little while back."
"I have heavily regretted that decision. I was really attached to it (hence it being in tatters), but I really wish that I kept what was left of it instead of throwing it away. Just knowing that I’d still have it would be a huge comfort to me."
– Uearie
Sentimental Heirloom
"The pendant my dad had made for me with my grandmother’s engagement diamond. It was 2 carats. It disappeared from a Las Vegas hotel room 20 years ago. It was hidden deep in a suitcase where it would not have been easy to find. It was just GONE. Cops didn’t do anything. Didn’t even come to take my statement. Cleaning lady said she thought she saw an elderly man enter my room. The guy I was with was not sympathetic in the least. Entire situation was f**ked. I’m still so upset about it."
– MaritimeDisaster
Lone Shark
"My plastic shark toy I lost when I was 10. Ain't no f'king way it just VANISHED."
– Guilty_As_Charged__
Not everything lost is tangible.
Tick Tock
"The time I wasted."
– shinyfennec
It Holds Value
"My private key with 6 BTC in it."
– Significant_Mirror19
"I didn't lose one, but I'll check my room for yours just in case."
– Smodphan
Finding Purpose
"The reason I walked into the room."
– Lloyd_lyle
Lost Opportunity
"That one girl i spoke to on omegle lol"
– h-amishh
If only we get to reunite with those we've lost.
The Loved Family Member
"My grandpa."
– Splatty_boi_420
Grieving Parent
"My daughter. She’ll be in my brother’s arms. So I’ll find both things I care to look for."
– SeeTheFence
Missing Mom
"My mom. She died of cancer in 2017. She never got to meet my daughter. I miss the hell out of her and wish she was still part of my family’s life."
– X-Arkturis-X
The Animals That Come Into Our Lives
"My pets that have passed: especially my horse, Blue. It's been 4 years, but it feels like just yesterday."
– Baciandrio
While many of these scenarios are unlikely, the thread gave people an opportunity to reflect on the things that made a strong impression on their lives.
Sometimes, the memories of the things we've lost–whether they are random objects or sources of love–is all we have.
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What's worse than returning home from a night out or a workday and discovering your home was broken into? Being home when the break-in happens.
Home invasions are a common trope portrayed in horror films like The Strangers and Funny Games, and they're absolutely terrifying because they are based on real-life incidents.
Redditor silentagent47 asked strangers to consider this horrifying hypothetical.
"You have 5 minutes to prepare before a guy breaks into your house with the intention to kill you. You can not exit your house. What is your strategy to survive?"
The hunter becomes the hunted, inspired by TV and movies.
Duplicating A Scene
"There was an episode of Burn Notice where Michael puts aerosol cans in the microwave with kitchen utensils and hits popcorn button. I really want to know if this works or not."
– JohnSterlingSanchez
Epic Burglar Trap
"Speed-watch Home Alone."
– pluribusduim
It's about the choice of weapon.
Jump Scare
"I get the vacuum cleaner ready in a certain room, I turn it on as hes about to enter to create a distraction, then I jump out when he's inspecting the noise and bonk the f'ker on the head with the piece of 2 inch steel tube I keep as a weapon."
– BustedBastard
Beware of Dog
"Unleash the Hounds"
– myassonreddit
Make A Weapon
"Duct tape a bunch of knives to the end of one of those tall lamps to make a spear of blinding and then proceed to go sicko mode."
– DubTheeBustocles
Preparing For A Thwack
"Turn shower on, for some reason I have a shovel behind my wardrobe?? So grab that. Wait for him to check shower, whack with shovel. Boom."
– hypersp00p
It's Just A Game
"Corner camp with a shotgun."
– Arrow3619
A Warm Welcome
"Hairspray and a lighter to his face."
– WorkingClassSheep
The effectiveness of these tactics are questionable, but points for creativity are warranted.
Stand Still
"Put a lamp shade on my head and stand in the corner of the room."
– Cannabis_Sir
Make It Erotic
"I turn on all the lights, take off all my clothes, rub butter all over myself, and start a fake conversation on the phone. As soon as he breaks in I say into the phone: 'I’ve gotta go, my next appointment is finally here…”
– FrankieTheAlchemist
Forget The Stairs
"Go to the LIVING ROOM."
– on-oath-never-again
Removing The Element Of Fun
"Draw an X on my forehead and grab a beer."
– Candycoatedmuffin3
And that's why I would opt for living in a commune or apartment complex.
People who own houses are just asking for forced entry.
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