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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Don't be alarmed: There are some terrible corporations out there (looking at you, Nestle) but there are also some great brands that are selling decent products.
I know, surprising, right? Maybe we've all just gotten used to brands selling things of questionable quality that when we stumble across something worthwhile it stuns us.
Hold on tight when you find a brand deserving of your loyalty!
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor spwf asked the online community,
"What brand(s) do you swear by and why?"
"Their cast iron pans..."
"Lodge. Their cast iron pans are super durable and can last a lifetime."
StillForest989
Not just a lifetime. Your Lodge cast iron will outlive you, if (and even if you don’t) take care of it. Even if they get rusty they can be resurfaced. And damn is it satisfying to resurface a forgotten cast iron pan.
Asics, specifically the Gel-Nimbus series. I've suffered from joint pain and unbearable plantar fasciitis from a relatively young age... These shoes are life savers. Very pricey and I don't love the look of tennis shoes of any type but nevertheless I will praise these shoes to the end of days. Hopefully, I will always be able to afford them once a year.
Glad to hear you've found some much-needed relief!
"Warranty and service..."
"Victorinox. Excellent pocket knives, multi tools and their kitchen knives are probably the best ones you can get under 100 USD. Warranty and service is top notch."
CharacterComb3039
Anyone who cooks, but can't afford or doesn't want to invest in a professional-grade chef's knife should get a Victorinox. They aren't nearly as good as a top tier professional chef's knife, but they are night and day compared with everything else in their price range.
"This one brand..."
"This one brand of granola bars called Sunbelt Bakery. Every other granola bar brand is so dry I can't eat them anymore."
[deleted]
Yes, these are so good! An excellent choice.
"Very comfortable."
"Dickies. High quality pants. They're meant to be work pants so they're pretty durable and breathe well. Very comfortable."
GargantuanCake
"High quality" is right. Those pants last forever.
"It helps clean..."
"Dawn dishsoap. It helps clean dishes and it's great when one of my kids has an accident and I have to wash their clothes. Sometimes leaves a small stain but no smell. It has saved so many outfits."
[deleted]
Fantastic – it sounds like you should be their salesperson.
"They don't use..."
"New Balance. They don't use slave labor to make shoes."
Tink2013
They are comfortable and fit well.
I personally still don't like the aesthetics of many of their shoes, but still recommend them to people who want a good shoe.
"They are a retailer..."
"REI. Stand behind everything in their store. They are a retailer but you can beat something up they sell and they give you a full refund."
bigturkey1738
Many people use them for shoes, for camping gear... all kinds of stuff. They're very reliable.
"I wear my Timberland boots..."
"I wear my Timberland boots almost every day, I’ve had them for almost ten years, and they’re still just about as sturdy as they were the day I bought them."
RedWestern
These shoes tend to last forever. "Durable" is the perfect word.
"One large bottle..."
"Dr. Bronner's Castile soap. One large bottle lasts me about a year and I use it for everything. No toxic BS in them like pretty much every other soap and they smell fantastic."
"Also when I say everything I really mean it. All purpose cleaner, dish soap, body wash, shampoo, carpet extractor wash, dog shampoo, it’s called 18 in 1 for a reason."
drumkid74
If you're interested in the story behind the company, the documentary Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox might be right up your alley.
See? Not all brands are terrible. After reading about some of these, it might be time to change of your buying habits.
Have some suggestions of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!
You know what would be great?
If society could just stop with arbitrary dress codes. If you're not working with the public, why should you have to dress up so much? If you're a police officer, then it makes sense that you'd wear a uniform that identifies you as a police officer. If you're Ted from IT who sits in the backroom all day, I really don't see why you have to come in every day in a suit and tie.
Let's just toss them out, shall we?
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor Levels2ThisBrush asked the online community,
"What should be socially acceptable but isn't?"
"Leaving the office..."
"Leaving the office whenever you've finished your tasks for the day."
misringuette
This is why I'm so glad remote work is the new office.
"And yet, I get it!"
"Taking off sick from work, WITHOUT giving an invasive reason. I supervise a small team and so I see all the OOO emails, and for gods sake I want people to PLEASE not feel the need to explain in detail what kind of diarrhea is afflicting them, or how bad their period cramps are, or how much bad sushi they ate the night before. Just say “I’m under the weather, I won’t be online today.”"
"And yet, I get it! I do it too! I feel guilty or like I’ll be looked at with suspicion if my reason for taking off isn’t sufficiently debilitating enough!"
"But… we need to stop this. As a manager I don’t care, I don’t THINK the people above me who are also on these emails care… let’s just all agree to take sick days without any details from now on!"
imnotwallaceshawn
I do not miss my retail days where I had to organise someone to cover me and beg on bended knee.
"Cashiers or workers who don’t need to be standing all day not having a stool or chair."
Lavatories
Another thing I do not miss from my retail days. Having to stand for hours and hours only to come home with my feet killing me was not fun.
"Prices on apartments..."
"Prices on apartments and their respectable reasons for such price directly on their websites or advertising without the need for a tour or any secrecy."
Spiceinvader3124
I always assume if I have to ask the price I probably can’t afford it.
"Being quiet..."
"Being quiet/not wanting to engage in conversation all the time."
[deleted]
In Finland, if somebody tries to talk to you, they are probably a tourist.
"Choosing not to..."
"Choosing not to have toxic family members in your life."
[deleted]
It feels very liberating once you accept that you don't have to put up with it.
"Employees..."
"Employees calling customers out in public for being a**holes."
gameboy1001
Absolutely. Many customers get away with treating employees horribly because they know they can do it without any pushback... most of the time.
"The fact that I sometimes..."
"The fact that I sometimes need to take my insulin in public. No, Karen, I am not doing drugs, I need to live."
blubberwinx
You’re getting that sweet sweet insulin high… the high of being not-dead.
"Afternoon naps."
"Afternoon naps. I’m on team nap. Give me 25 minutes to charge up and I’ll give you back 3 hours of high quality work. Everyone wins. Plus I go home with extra energy instead of dead tired."
Governmentwatchlist
Short naps don't work for me. I can't do a 25 min recharge. When I take a nap it needs to be like a solid 2 hours
"Speak up!"
"Salary transparency. For some reason, in the US, there’s a taboo or stigma around discussing one’s salary. This should be done openly and freely, with zero embarrassment or judgment. The only winners from avoiding these conversations are the corporations that are able to pay people differently for the same roles. Speak up!"
Jumping_Bear
The "for some reason" you're referring to is simply propaganda on behalf of corporations.
It's evident that something's got to change around here, and we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!
Have some observations of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
As much as many of us don't like to disrupt the status quo, there is only so much time a person can tolerate a miserable situation before things become so unbearable that they ultimately have to peace out.
For some people, it takes a while for them to reach a breaking point. Eventually, there comes a time when they realize their self-worth is more important than continuing to please others who don't appreciate them for the sake of keeping up with appearances.
Curious to hear from people whose patience ran thin and made a strong decision, Reddit Prestigious-Order-62 asked:
"What made you say 'f'k this sh*t im out?'"
The unwarranted reprimanding was something that was never mentioned in the initial job description.
Feeling Criminal
"In the late 90’s."
"One time I got pulled into the Security office at a Department store I worked at. They accused me of constantly using the sales day coupons for people that didn’t present one (we always kept an extra copy at each register). I had watched my own department boss do it many times so I assumed it was okay. We didn’t even collect the coupons to be counted for the cash office, we just chucked them after use."
"They claimed I lost the store hundreds of dollars and had been watching me 'for months' do this awful, unforgivable crime for people spending 90 bucks on already bloated price designer jeans. I’m sure the occasional 10% discount was just devastating. 🙄""I got this huge lecture of how I was LITERALLY stealing from the store and they COULD call the police but would give me a chance to work off the damage. I couldn’t believe how criminal I was made to feel over it. The best part when they called my boss in who pretended to have never done it before to save her own a**."
"I asked if they were firing me. They said 'Yes and No. You will be let go, but you can choose to work off the damages so we don’t take you to court.' I told them I will just quit and asked for my last check. They said they will deduct what I owe from my last check. And I said 'Well then you need to show me all the footage and prove that I was stealing.' They wouldn’t produce footage, finally called the cops, and when the cops arrived, they were just as confused and called it an internal problem and advised them that this was overblown. I think they felt sorry for me. So finally upper management came in and just said 'just issue the last check, I will sign it here.' So much drama over so stupid a thing."
"It was sad because that actual day my Mom and daughter had come to the mall to meet me for lunch and I had to explain I just was forced to quit that job and was never allowed in that store again like I was some awful jerk."
"It was nice a few short years later, the entire chain bankrupted."
– Munich11
Power Trip
"A coworker waited until we were in front of a large group of people to start 'disciplining' me for something 'wrong' I did (I took my lunch 15 mins late to help another coworker) when she wasn’t even my supervisor. Applied for a job transfer the next day and couldn’t be happier where I am now."
– _shes_a_jar
Abusive Boss
"I had a piece of sh*t of a boss. He'd praise you in private but berate you in public. In front of coworkers and customers. Always about stuff that didn't matter."
"He'd also happily break company policy to side with customers after you spent an hour telling a customer you can't give them stuff for free, for example. Any time he was around, everything was miserable."
"My only regret is that I wasn't there to see him marched out by corporate when he got fired, because I had gone on to a better job by then."
– redisforever
Human Punching Bag
"I used to work in a Kitchen at a pub, it was grim work, but I had freinds there and had worked there for 3 years, So it wasn't too bad."
"One Christmas season we were being absolutely pumped, full out functions and busy services. My boss at the time was very stressed and fair enough, We were busy, We were all working overtime and full out. He used any excuse to completely blow up and absolutely scream at me for little to no reason, essentially him yelling at me was his stress relief. But fine, whatever, kitchens are rough places, no appolagies or anything, move on."
"I then go away for 3 weeks over the Christmas holidays and spend the time road tripping around the country having an amazing time."
"First shift back, not pleased being back, he makes a snarky comment."
"F'k this, Im out."
– Freddy54323
Even though these employees weren't chewed out in front of co-workers, the low salary without room for negotiation made them not wanting to stick around for much longer.
You Only Get One Job
"They cut my hours so I had to get a second job. 3 days before I was supposed to start said second job, my manager at the main job told me that I couldn't get this second job because I had main job first and I needed to make it my priority. That's when I said f'k you and left. I didn't even give a notice, I literally just sent an email saying I wouldn't be coming in the next day, grabbed my sh*t and went home."
– ginger_princess2009
Meager Wage
"I used to work Retail and after 7 years at the company, I found out I was only making 50 cents more an hour than someone who just started yesterday. I understood if they couldn't pay me more and asked for a good schedule. 7-3 or 8-4 every day and the same two days off every week. I didn't even ask for weekends off."
"I was told that they couldn't give me a good schedule so I quit."
– maybeashly
Situations weren't much different outside the work place. Social dilemmas prompted these Redditors to say, "nope."
Rude Reception
"Went to a pub because a friend kept asking. When I got there, he was with a group of people I didn't know, so I introduced myself and got the next round. As I come back with the tray, I hear them saying something along the lines of 'why is that b*tch still here? I thought she was just supposed to drop off a bicycle?' 'Ya, we don't want her to come to <this other town with more pubs> and now she is drinking with us?' 'She's so dumb' *proceeds to imitate and ridicule me as I was actively listening and nodding when I was having a conversation with my friend."
"Gave the beer to random people and walked right out after saying good evening to my friend and briefly explaining I did not appreciate being tricked into being a bicycle taxi for people who hate me directly after meeting me."
– ILikeLamas678
A Shocking Incident
"I was on my boat fishing for bass. I casted out my line and watched the lure hit the water but the line just floated in the air. Lightning and thunder crashed and the line fell to the water. F'k this sh*t, I'm out."
– fsh4fun051
Femme Fatale
"She lined my bed with broken glass put the blankets over it and I dove on in lol."
"Edit: She was violent/crazy and on drugs, was like the 20th attack I took and that made me really think lol."
– MyLifeForAuir1Ally For The Ex
"I found nudes of his ex (from ten years ago) that I’d previously asked him twice to get rid of tucked in a pair of MY socks. Our couples counselor asked why he’d kept them and he said, 'You know. In case I ever needed to blackmail her.' He said it like it was a perfectly normal and reasonable thing to plan to do. The therapist and I locked eyes and I noped the f'k out of there and moved out."
– Previous_Mood_3251
Most of these Redditors realized leaving their situation was better than dealing with the consequences of sticking around.
The latter is never a good option. Why remain in a scenario you know is already going to consume your soul?
The lesson for today is–Don't be miserable. Your sanity is worth saving.
Besides, you would never know that something better awaits if you just don't get the F out.
As we enter into the summer months, people now have to decide whether or not they want their morning coffee to be hot or iced.
Lucky for them, it's delicious either way.
One could make an argument that foods that are equally delicious hot or cold are perhaps the best, or at least the most reliable.
And this can include foods which are not customarily sold both hot and cold (cold pizza anyone?).
Redditor NectarineOther4989 was curious to hear which foods people enjoy either hot or cold, leading them to ask:
"What is something that tastes good both hot and cold?"
Fresh out of the oven, or the next day!
"Cookies."- SuvenPan
Chocolate withstands all temperatrues
"Brownies."- Reasonable-Software2
Chocolate Satisfying GIF by HuffPostCan't go wrong with fruit and pastry
"Pie."
"Apple pie."- Hak_Saw5000
This doesn't only apply to food
"Revenge."- pushthestartbutton
karine vanasse revenge GIF by HULUGiphyLet the flavor develop
"Banana bread."
"2 totally different flavors depending on warm vs cold from fridge."- nonkowledge
So many to choose from!
"Sandwiches."- Designer-Usual1691
A matter of textural preference
"Cheese, ya fools."- eat_dontpray_love
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs Eating GIFGiphyUnder a hot greek sun, or during a cold winter's eve.
"Spanakopita."- mrsxpando
While there's no better smell than a batch of chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, those eating them the next day likely aren't missing out either.