Breakups suck. Even when they're the best thing for you and everyone involved is good with it, they're still kind of sad. It's so much worse when you realize the breakup was a huge mistake. One Reddit user asked:
What was your 'oh sh!t' moment when you realized you shouldn't have broke up with your ex S.O.?
The responses were rough, honest, heartbreaking, and eye-opening. The sorts of things that make people realize they were wrong were shocking. Some of the breakup reasons were really petty to begin with, and Facebook factors into more than one story. In all of that, though, lots of lessons were learned. Brace yourself, some of these stories are really sad or infuriating. But it's not all bad. I made sure to give you at least one happy ending.
You're welcome.
Merry Christmas, Mom
My mom left my step dad. She was always traveling back and forth 2 states over to take her grandma to chemo and during that time his father passed away and they just couldn't reconcile. They loved each other but life, you know?
He got remarried to a great lady and is super happy now. My mom told me recently that leaving him was the biggest mistake she made because he was the only good man she ever really knew. We all have Christmas at their house (seriously he and my mom divorced and he's still grandpa to my sisters kids and we call his new wife our step mom. They're awesome) but my poor mom has to watch them being happy together every year while she lives alone.
- BlNGPOT
Mourning Me
It really f*cked me up when I broke up with my fiance ten years ago because I realized I could never be the same person I was with him, with anyone else ever again.
That sounds emo, but we had so much backstory, so much history, so many inside jokes, so much shorthand for everything. We'd known each other for 15 years.
I had to mourn the loss of a part of me, a whole side of my personality, that I would never get to be again. Besides just losing him.
Obviously you can build history and jokes with new people, but it's not the same of 15 years of history from age 16 to age 32. Those are formative years.
Regardless, it was the right thing to do to leave him. Realizing what I had lost made it even harder. But it was the right thing to do for many reasons that aren't for here.
The Wedding Photos
My friend dumped his girlfriend of 12 years because he'd never dated anyone but her, they were struggling financially, and he wanted the chance to experience more relationships. Right after the breakup, she finished her PhD and started making six figures. She found someone else then got married within a year.
My friend tried dating a couple of people, but none of them have worked out and he still misses her. He said the moment he realized that he made a huge mistake was when he saw her wedding photos on Facebook and started crying.
Lesson Learned
I left her for someone else because I'm an idiot. The other girl turned out to be a jealous, mentally and physically abusive psychopath who eventually ended up in a psychiatric hospital. My S.O, quite rightly, refused to take me back.
Lesson learned.
Irrefutable Evidence
An old friend left his wife because he felt the sex was awful and he wanted someone who he felt he could have great sex with. Wife pleaded with him to stay (no kids) but he refused and filed for divorce.
Divorce is finalized about a year later. This guy dates lots of women, but still finds the sex unsatisfactory.
Meanwhile, ex-wife meets this other guy about a year after the divorce and they have that type of whirlwind romance that truly is from a rom com. She marries this new guy, they have kids and the perfect marriage. She tells everyone that the divorce was the best thing that ever happened to her and can't believe how happy she is and could never imagine that a marriage could be so wonderful.
The guy, who is my friend, is more miserable now than ever. Constantly says what a mistake he made leaving his wife. Doesn't even go on dates anymore and has not had sex in years.
That's a rough way to find out you are bad at sex, but believe me he now knows it's HIM who has work to do in that department. The evidence is irrefutable.
Changing The DJ's Set
I broke up with a woman I was head over heels in love with over something that on reflection was fairly minor. Spent half a year progressively dropping into a deeper and deeper funk. Wouldn't admit it to myself at all that I'd made the wrong choice.
I was hanging out with a friend when she pointed out to me that she had never seen me as happy as I'd been when I was with my SO. Another friend pointed out that same week that the music I'd been DJing had become much more depressing over the past few months and asked me if something was wrong. That woke me up and made me realize how special she had been. It took another year for me to realize she was the first woman I'd really loved in the way you come to love somebody for who they are, rather than what you imagine them to be.
I never saw her again. I wish I'd never left her. We only would have had six years together, as she came down with cancer that eventually killed her. It didn't change how I felt; I'd take those six years in exchange for all the years I have left.
The Happy Ending
When I saw her at her birthday party with another guy.
It was kind of a mutual-ish breakup; it was my first relationship so I found it kind of oppressive.
Weeks later, I took her to dinner and told her I thought we had a future together and that I would be more committed to the relationship.
We've been married for 11 years now :)
We were on a break cause I was being a dick. In order to get a reaction I ended the relationship on Facebook. That was the end of the friendship and all. Regretted it ever since. It's only added years of misery to my life
Overwhelmed And Suffocated
I pushed her away because I got overwhelmed. I don't know if it's an oh sh!t moment, but I miss her.
I have this habit in relationships where I always end things whenever I feel overwhelmed. I really, really loved her. But little things start to pile up. I don't say how I feel because I just don't like confrontation. And then one day I just didn't love her like I used to. I don't know why. And with her, I fell back in love with her for a while and I opened up to her about it. She tried to get me to open up to her more regularly about how I'm feeling, but I just...can't.
I fell out again and ended it. She tried so hard to figure things out with us, but it just...I didn't want to try. It didn't seem fair to her to continue this when I'm just going to keep feeling suffocated. And when she tried to help, I felt trapped.
I don't know why I'm like this. And I know she really cared and loved me. Part of me wants to reach out to her again and really mend things, and figure out how to not feel so suffocated anymore. I don't think it's anything she did, she was really understanding...it's just me. I don't know how to deal with me. And I miss her.
The Captions
I checked out his new girlfriend's social media accounts and saw how they were living exactly the same kind of life we had, and also living out things that my ex and I had planned. The difference is she seems so, so happy about it. Her captions about him shows how she treasures him and thinks highly of him, like she's so lucky to have him. He is indeed a good man. But during our time together he hadn't really figured out stuff yet. I felt like I always had to encourage him, to motivate him. I felt that I was always going to be the captain and cheerleader in the relationship.
When I read his current girlfriend's captions, it wasn't an 'oh sh!t' moment exactly, more of a disconcerting feeling of 'Was I wrong? Should I have been happier with that role? With what we had? Should I have not wished for more? Is there even a 'more'?'
But ultimately, I am happy for him. I don't think I'd ever be loved like that again tho.
Missing What's In front Of You
Because I was a very stupid young man who wasn't thinking at all. I had dated her for a little bit before I broke up with her, cause another girl who I thought was hotter showed a lot of interest in me. And it got really messy after that before we simply stopped existing to one another. That girl I left had been my longest steadfast friend who cared about me way more deeply than I ever deserved. Every relationship since then has exposed very deep flaws in me as a person and allowed me to make very fucking stupid mistakes that I wish had never happened. Every so often I think what if, but I'm not dwelling in the past. She now has an amazing man and I wish them the utmost happiness in this life and the next. I have worked tirelessly to reform myself so I never hurt anyone or make the mistakes I did, and also so that if I meet a girl like that again, I don't mess up again.
"I Don't Blame Her"
One of my Ex's I just never made time for. She was a great girl, we got along well, I just had different priorities at that point in my life.
She brought it up to me twice, she put in effort to fix it, tried scheduling dates, sat down and talked to me and explained why she was feeling hurt. And I'd change for a week. But I'd go back to my old ways. I just wasn't committed. I had other focuses namely my career. Finally she just said she still enjoyed my company but couldn't call seeing me once a week for a 2-3 hours a relationship. Even after she tried to stay friends but time between my responses got longer and longer until eventually I looked at it and her last text was from over a month ago. I felt too ashamed to respond, I probably should have.
But I don't blame her. She had needs I was not paying attention to. So I guess it's more she broke up with me, but she didn't want to. I forced her hand by just not being around.
The important thing was I learned from it. I learned I needed to pay more attention to my partners. I learned that just because I am very long-term focused that I cannot ignore the more immediate concerns and justify it with "It'll pay off in the long run". And that is a lesson that has lead to success since then.
Butt What?
Not me, but a friend of mine dumped his girlfriend of 5 years because he'd never gotten to have anal sex, and wanted to try it, and his girlfriend wouldn't do it because she was in remission from her fibromyalgia and she was afraid that the pain would cause a relapse. His girlfriend came from a wealthy family, and was supporting him financially at the time but apparently anal was just that important to him.
He dumped her and realized almost a year later when he finally met a girl who was willing to let him do anal that he was completely repulsed by the reality of it. He had been in denial that he'd made a mistake before then, but really broke down after he finally did the act. He was broke, and basically homeless (couch surfing). He missed his original gf, she'd been the only woman who'd had the patience to handle his eccentric personality for more than a couple months. He tried to get back with her but she'd moved on. He's never fully recovered in my opinion, he's still essentially homeless and has developed an alcohol problem in recent years.
Should Have Listened
One of the last things she ever told me was "you're going to be single for a long time." It's been 2.5 years. She was right. Not that I necessarily want to be with her again, but she was right that it would be hard to find someone again who'll give me a chance.
Bummer
When I was 16 I briefly dated a girl who was 17. She wasn't in my peer group; she was an "outsider". But she was nice, had curly blond hair. I liked her. She had an old 1970 Cadillac and she let me drive it. I had never driven before so maneuvering that giant boat on the narrow streets of town was...fun. After a few months my friends were bugging me about why I was wasting my time with this girl. She didn't smoke or drink or listen to hard rock. So I let us drift apart. She turned 18, graduated high school and then won the New Jersey state lottery for $6M. I should have stayed with her. My friends were all bums.
With Friends Like These...
The break up was kinda mutual (didn't want to break up with him but, I had no choice.) A few weeks after we broke up, I started to catch up with some friends - all of which tried to take advantage me. The first guy wanted nude pictures of me, the other tried to get me into bed. I felt very sh!tty and disgusted, and couldn't help but remember how gentle and careful my ex was with me.
A Mile Down The Road
I hope she sees this.
When I got about a mile down the road after packing all of my things, I truly regretted leaving. We tried to hang on for a month afterwards but it didn't take. She couldn't handle that I just left instead of staying and trying to work on things. It's my biggest regret.
I was too wrapped up in myself to really see what was causing all of our issues, I only wish I could've seen it sooner. I tried to talk to her about it, to show her that I know now what I could do to help mend everything but I caused too much damage and pain.
I hope to see her again one day, but all I can do now is work on becoming the best person I can be. I'm currently working on all of my issues that caused all of these problems. It just saddens me because I know that down the road I'll meet someone new who will have this version of me that I will have put a lot of time and effort into. But in my mind's eye my ex is the one who deserves all of that work from me.
Mean What You Say
I wasn't the one the broke up with my ex, but breaking up was always a topic that was there due to long distance. We were talking about the future one day and she was pretty adamant about pursuing her career, which meant she wasn't planning on moving back with me. It turned sour really quick and I threw out a "maybe we should start thinking about breaking up."
The next time I visited her, she told me that she decided - and we broke up. I guess the "oh sh!t moment" didn't hit me until a month after when I tried to win her back by flying out to her (I had to give her stuff back, at least that was my excuse). But it didn't work and might have been even more painful cause it seemed like she had someone else already.
When I got home I sat on a bench in a park and couldn't stop crying. I felt like what I just lost was equivalent to losing my best friends that always followed along with all the dumb childish ideas I had, losing my mom with her undying love and loyalty, losing all the vibrant colors that are in the world that made everything seems so beautiful, losing my dreams of possibly one day having kids (I never really liked kids but I always thought if we had kids they would've been awesome), and then some.
The "oh sh!t moment" lasted for about a year, and I still remember her fondly with no resentment because I was dumb. But I take the advice "say what you mean, and mean what you say" pretty seriously now.
- kevwjj
Mental Health Crisis
I left my girlfriend at the bottom of a debilitating mental health crisis. I guess I just ran out of energy for it and figured if I was good enough to get her, I was good enough to find someone easier and healthier to be with.
Nope. Coming up on five years. She recovered completely, no other woman has shown a shred of interest since then. All I had to do was stick it out.
H/T: Reddit
It pays to know another language. Being bilingual can open many doors.
It's also pretty useful for eavesdropping, not that we're endorsing that.
As a Spanish speaker—hooray for growing up in a bilingual household!—I have always been rather humored by moments when people were talking about me... under the impression that I didn't know what they were saying.
Imagine their faces once I proved them wrong!
Those who speak any other language have undoubtedly had a similar experience at least once.
People shared their stories with us after Redditor 64eight asked the online community,
"Multilinguals, what's your 'They didn't realise I could understand their language' story?"
"I was in Germany..."
"Am ethnically Chinese but grew up learning German."
"I was in Germany for student exchange and attended a dorm party one night. Two German guys at the party started flirting with me and openly discussed who would be able to sleep with me that night."
"Played dumb and rejected both their advances. A week later at another party I conversed with other friends in fluent German in front of them. Their expressions were priceless."
howlingowls123
I bet they were shocked! What a power move.
"My dad was down the aisle..."
"Very innocent comment towards my Dad, but regardless they clearly didn't think I could understand them. I once overheard some middle aged guys say that my Dad looks like "the oldest kid from The Brady Bunch if he grew up" in Spanish."
"My dad was down the aisle getting something and I was manning the cart and they were semi near me. I just start laughing because my mom had a crush on Greg from The Brady Brunch as a kid,so it was perfect! Even my Dad's name is Greg!"
"No one was offended, but the guys did look scared for a minute."
complexismygame
I bet they were scared. Must have given you quite a laugh!
"I responded in Spanish..."
"It happens to me all the time because I look middle-eastern when I'm really Hispanic. I was working at a coffee shop and two hispanic men came in talking mad s**t about our food and confused about the menu."
"Right in front of me the guy's like "Lets ask this guy" "This guy? What's this camel gonna know about anything here" (I guess camel is a slur for middle eastern or something?). I responded in Spanish and it was back-pedal o'clock."
Serves them right, if you ask me. Hopefully they learned a valuable lesson.
"In high school..."
In high school I spoke Spanish fairly well. It was not common for that time and for my area."
"A family was buying groceries, and as I was ringing up the items the father said "he has not seen the stuff on the bottom, don't get it."
"I rang up what was on the belt, and sat there, after a few moments I asked about the stuff on the bottom. They would not look at me for the next 2 mins or so of the transaction."
cmichael00
Few places can inspire interactions like this more than the supermarket checkout line!
"I took a youth group to Six Flags..."
"I took a youth group to Six Flags. We had extra tickets from a couple of no-shows, so I decided to scalp them."
"A Korean family walked up and I made my pitch. They conferred together in Korean. I'm a white guy, but I lived in rural Korea for a year and bargained with a lot of shopkeepers, so I knew their counter-offer and what they were willing to pay before they announced it in English."
gud_speller
A secret skill! Look at you go. Oh to be a fly on the wall and see their reactions!
"I was in NYC..."
"I'm French. I was in NYC, on top of the Empire State Building and a young couple was standing next to me admiring the view, the guy turns to his gf and says in French "ahh I need to s**t so bad". I couldn't not laugh."
OliviaRowe
Can't blame you! One of the best things about knowing another language is catching moments like that.
"I was solo traveling..."
"I was solo traveling in Morocco. I'm 22, female and speak Arabic enough to understand conversations, basic words and phrases, etc. I was trying on clothes at a small shop and there were two women helping me choose what to try on."
"They started talking about me in Arabic, saying how I would be a great wife for one of the lady's sons. They were going on and on, and as I was leaving I responded in Arabic, "No thank you, but I appreciate your help," and they were stunned."
mynameissarah
Good thing you could speak enough to get by! You could have been in an awkward situation!
"Oh, the cooks..."
"Oh the cooks at my job still don't know I'm fluent in Spanish. Yes, I know everything you're saying, Alejo."
[deleted]
Restaurants must be full of juicy drama and you have heard all of it!
"My wife is Indian..."
"My wife is Indian and her family speaks Gujarati. I've spent many years trying to pick it up and have found it to be very difficult as there are no great resources that I am aware of to learn it. You just have to listen and try to guess the context."
"Anyway, over the years I've gotten pretty good, and when my wife's aunt was visiting from India she went right in to my wife about how much weight I'd gained and how bad my diet must be."
"I understood every word and stopped her about two minutes into her rant. Turns out it didn't stop her from continuing."
[deleted]
She didn't even stop? Boundaries much?
If you happen to know another language, you pretty much have a secret superpower at your disposal! People will think twice about what they say around you, as they should.
Have stories of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!
Everybody wants a happy ending in life.
A happy love story ending that is.
But it may take longer to find than we'd like.
And we have to have standards and lines that are not crossable.
Know your boundaries.
Be able to say...
"That is my limit."
Redditor arbetarbladet wanted to hear about the reasons people will leave the search for love behind.
They asked:
"What's a dealbreaker when it comes to dating?"
Draw a line in the sand and stick to it.
Start
I Mean Episode 18 GIF by FriendsGiphy"They don't initiate ANYTHING such as dates or intimacy."
Blackcore8
Obsessed
"The date being obsessed with themselves or continually talking about their ex partners."
LMcGenius
"Went on a date many years ago. This was one of my first dates after my wife left me. On this date the woman kept asking about my ex. Probably half of her questions were about the ex."
"Naturally I answered her questions but always tried to move the conversation back to me, her, whatever. Next day she texts and says she didn't think I was ready to date, that I was clearly still in love with my ex because I kept talking about her on our date."
BigPorter
Fixer Upper
"A ‘fix me’ person. I will support you to be your best. But I am not responsible to fix you."
nadanope11
"I think what’s even worse is when they treat you like you’re the fix-me-up. It’s very condescending and humiliating. That’s more of a pet relationship."
sebastianbass740
"I have a bad habit of picking partners who need fixing, it's unconscious really, but it's happened often enough to be an obvious pattern. And even as a person who sought out this trait, dealing with a person who needs to be fixed is exhausting."
L0vely_lacy
Blocked him fully...
"When u notice that they want to change you into ways they like more, subtle hints at start but progressively they get more ballsy."
Draxxony
"I dated a guy who saw me as a lump of clay he could mold to his liking. I told him repeatedly that I was uninterested in attending grad school despite getting great fellowships because I got the job I thought I needed graduate school for."
"He sat me down and told me he could leverage some of his connections to get me into a good program, I told him absolutely not and that I didn't need his help, that I had gotten into good programs,, and he ignored me and just kept on with his pitch. I broke things off directly after this and he vetoed and said he didn't agree so we were still together. Blocked him fully."
SahmiSahm
BRUSH!!
teeth brushing GIF by Michelle PorucznikGiphy"Not brushing your teeth/poor dental hygiene on a regular basis."
Ohyeahimoverhereyeah
Teeth are the key to life.
Stench
spray odor GIFGiphy"Old body odor stank."
Beavshak
"People need to realize that just because you don't smell it doesn't mean other people don't smell it. It's the same sh*t a smoker thinks."
DesperateTall
Earther...
"Flat Earther."
karmaredemption
"I just recently dated a Flat Earther! Didn’t find out until a few months in. Also didn’t find out about his ex being pregnant with his baby several months in, that was the dealbreaker for me but I should have stopped at Flat Earther."
Merskeet
"Or Young Earther."
"A couple years ago I dated a guy for a month before learning that he believed the world was just 6000 years old. The day I learned that, I showed up at the house of my biologist friends who had just been ranting about their college students who didn't 'believe' in evolution. I set down the beer and backpack I was holding and said, 'Guys, he's a Young Earther.' Took them a second to sort it out, and then we all collapsed with laugher. I broke up with him within the week."
firsttimetexan
RAGE!!
"A bad temper."
alval98
"My stepfather had a bad temper. Never violent, but I could never understand why my mother married him. Never date, much less marry someone with a bad temper."
MissNightTerrors
Not a Weapon
"Using their mental illness as part of their identity. No attempt to truly address it and leverage their illness to guilt others."
Toogern
"It's maybe not the best thing to talk about during a first date. But it's the kind of thing I would want my date to know beforehand. I'd rather be told that she's not interested because of my mental illness than not telling her and letting her discover this side of me."
OnTheDevilsGrave
Adults Only
Gary Coleman 80S GIFGiphy"As someone who doesn't want children, dating someone who does is a dealbreaker. Suffered a couple broken hearts over having to make this decision."
_JazminBianca
"This is so important! And, to add, believe someone when they say they don't want kids. Don't take it to mean that they don't want them right now, or any time soon. If they firmly don't want children, that's not likely to change."
pspisy
Deals to the self are important. Stay true...
At the end of a long work day, many of us can't be bothered with the daunting task of cooking.
While ordering out every night is not a financial viability for most of us, what else is there to eat that doesn't always involve nuking a frozen dinner entree?
It turns out there are plenty of options on our home menu.
Curious to hear what some of those might be, Redditor AdamIsAnAlias asked:
"What is your go-to 'I don’t want to cook' meal?"
Chances are, your fridge has enough ingredients to throw together a surprisingly tasty, quick meal.
Wrap It Up
"Throw sum sh*t into a tortilla wrap it up and eat."
– NebraskaIsntRealu
Dinner In One Hand
"When I have tortillas in the house, this is the answer every time. Chicken patties and salsa? Beef and broccoli noodles? Leftover chili and chips? Why not put it in a wrap?"
– Panda_Satan
When all else fails, throw these in a bowl.
Convenient All Day
"There's never a wrong time of day for Cereal."
– Zoelings
Life Saver
"When I was in high school and dealing with seasonal depression, cereal was basically the only reason I survived, lol. Morning, afternoon, 2 am...cereal was always there."
– I_DRINK_ANARCHY
Add It To Ramen
"I felt really clever the day I realized I could cut a green onion into the pot with a pair of scissors and not bother with a knife and cutting board 😅"
– aoeuismyhomekeys
Add A Little Kick
"Yes ramen any way as long as you have some 🌶"
– Stuffzenuffs
Going Fusion
"I like a thai twist on ramen."
"Drain most of the water then add the seasoning packet, a spoonful of peanut butter and curry powder to taste. Mmmm."
– debbieae
Basic And Nourishing
"Pasta or soup."
– EeJoannaGee
Ingredients From A Favorite Grocer
"Trader Joe’s . Box of their tomato soup, frozen gnocchi,and a bag of spinach."
"Heat soup, add gnocchi, cook for 6-8 min, add spinach. Done!"
– fledbum
When you don't have the time.
Cheap Like Fancy
"Uncle bens 90 second rice topped with a can of chili. I’ll even melt some cheese and/or add minced onion if I’m feeling fancy."
"Although this was more of a poverty meal and less of a I don’t feel like cooking meal."
– Fizzbytch
A Classic
"PB&J sammy."
– BookMonger101
I always have rice in my rice cooker so that every time I don't feel like cooking, I can just scoop out some rice and top it with egg and natto.
What's natto, you say? Well, they are fermented soybeans that are considered a super food in Japan. They have a foul odor and it is an acquired taste.
But they're packed with protein, fiber, and probiotics and are extremely beneficial for your heart, bones, and immune system.
I stock up on them whenever I hit the local Asian market and it involves no preparation at all for consuming.
Try it. You may have to pinch your nose while you eat it to mute out the intense nutty flavor, but your body will thank you.
When we encounter a homeless person or panhandler, most people will have some spare change or petty cash at the ready to offer them.
Unfortunately, not everyone is as willing to give them even as little as a penny.
In some cases, it might be a safety issue, as they might not carry loose change in their pockets, and don't feel comfortable taking out their wallets.
Then too, in this day and age, fewer and fewer people even carry cash around with them any more.
Whether their reasons are justified or not, many people have a response at the ready should they be approached by a homeless person asking for money.
"How do you usually respond to a homeless person asking you for money?"
No Response Necessary
"Okay so my car is a rusty old beater with the bumpers duck taped on."
"The other day there was a man pan handling where I was stopped at a red light and he asked all the cars for cash and when he got to mine I didn’t even have to say anything."
"He put his hands up, laughed and walked past me. "
"So yeah."- West_Concern_1165
We're Not So Different, You And I...
“I’m one missed pay check from asking you the same thing”- livelaughloaft
Depends On The Location...
"'No, sorry'."
"Literally never had a response back but feel like it's better to acknowledge they spoke to me?"
"Just seems like politeness I guess."
"I'm in Liverpool, UK."
"It was honestly REALLY noticeable the difference between homeless people here, I presume usually people who struggle accessing benefits for some reason or substance addicts, and the cities I've been to in the US, seemingly profoundly mentally unwell and intimidating."
"In my whole life in the UK a homeless person has never said more to me than 'got any spare change?'"
"So I feel comfortable meeting their gaze and saying 'no sorry', or occasionally giving them change."
"But in the US I very quickly learned to look straight ahead and say nothing."
"Especially in Philadelphia, holy sh*t."- Saxon2060
Short And Simple
"I usually just say 'no, sorry'."
"If I give money to everyone who asks me, I'm going to be homeless too."- AngryHippo3920
Choose Your Words Carefully
"I usually say 'sorry dude', but when I said that to a guy in San Francisco he started yelling at us about not needing our apology."
" At that point I just said "sorry, I'm Canadian!" while running away."
"Just for clarity, I hate these jokes. But even moreso that I did it unironically."- fubes2000
Silence Is Golden
"I smile sheepishly while shaking my head and walking past."- LucyVialli
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Being Cashless
"'I don't carry cash', which is true, because I don't carry cash, my phone is encrypted and biometrically locked, and the cards I carry are easily cancelled and replaced."
"Gotta make it so if you get mugged you don't have to do much after handing it all over."- frygod
Alternatives To Giving Cash
"I live downtown in a major city."
"I get asked for money about 5x/day."
"I just smile and keep walking."
"I regularly buy water and food for the ones that sleep near my apartment that I see repeatedly."- knovit
Sorry, WHAT?!?!
"I'm pretty sure a homeless guy tried robbing me."
"He came up to me and held up a knife to my face telling me he was selling it for $20."
"Me not acknowledging the fact this shady guy was holding a knife to my face in the middle of the night just say 'I don't carry cash' and continued walking."
" It was only after the fact I realized that the guy was probably actually trying to rob me."- Shadow948
Being asked for money is simply an uncomfortable situation, not to mention a reminder of one's relative privilege.
If you don't have anything to give, perhaps the best thing to do is imagine if the situation was reversed, and what you would want to hear.