Reddit user "TheDeathSummoner" asked:
"What would you like to buy for yourself, but can't afford it?"
So I'm just gonna go ahead and kick this thing off by acknowledging the dystopian hellscape we live in and say healthcare. My answer is healthcare.
I can't afford insurance. I can't afford to go to a doctor. Would love to - but it would cost me my rent per month just to HAVE insurance, which would mean I could never afford the copays to USE the insurance and that other bills would go unpaid.
It's so expensive to have and so much more expensive to use that it would be literally throwing away what little money we have. So let's see what fun stuff Reddit came up with!
Dental Work
Dentist GIFGiphy"New teeth."
"It's like....thousands and thousands of dollars to get dental implants. Or anything not dentures. It sucks."
"My teeth hurt, man. It's not how they look. It's that I'm losing them."
"And dentures scare the f*ck out of me. I'm 31. It makes me feel horrible." - Juicebox-shakur
"Paid $1800 to get my 4 wisdom teeth extracted. Then paid $2500 for a root canal and a cap for the tooth next to one of the extracted ones. Then paid $1000 for a filling."
"I have friends in the South who solve every tooth problem by just getting it pulled. Sh*ts too expensive." - massiveboner911
Somewhere To Live
xyngular reviews first home GIF by XyngularGiphy"Looking on zillow and seeing housing that's considered safe, clean, and in a good area starts at 500k and that's just depressing." - maraca101
"In my town, houses used to start at 35k back in like 2016 when I got mine. Working class people who could save up a down payment could buy houses with yards in reasonably safe places."
"But now out-of-state companies are buying them up in droves, outbidding regular people, to make them sh*tty, unmaintained rentals."
"They rent them to people who could have had a $300/mo mortgage on the same property for $700/mo rent."
"No one but me seems to think this is f*cked up at all."
"Do they know what's happening? They have to. It's like they're trying to bring back some kind of serfdom with no choice except all the workers have to rent from the rich."
"I get calls and texts all the time from telemarketers, not trying to sell me anything, but trying to talk me into selling my house to their company. Just no." - heynatastic
"I'm 50, Gen X. I feel like we were the last generation to be able to get a good job that could pay for a nice house. I bought my house when I was in my 20s for $155,000. Zillow lists it at $540,000 (it's paid off)" - ohphilly
The Basics
Election 2020 Reaction GIF by Joe BidenGiphy"A future where I can live comfortably. Not rich. Just not having to choose between paying all of rent and electricity or food." - Ninjabonez86
"This - the damn basics that EVERYONE should be able to afford and not have to go to bed at night tossing and turning and wondering what bill you can and cannot pay tomorrow. This is my dream as well." - saywhat1206
Until...
cottage GIFGiphy"A mountain cottage deep in the wilderness. With endless views, forests on its doorstep and a stream nearby. No neighbours for miles, plenty of wildlife and a massive fireplace that is on permanently when the snows arrive." - GandalfTheGrumpy
"Until you have a bad accident or get very ill. I live in Alaska and few people actually live like this because it's too dangerous. I'm not saying it isn't or can't be done. But when it's 200 miles to Costco or the dentist and the snow is six feet deep..." - CanisMaximus
"I second this."
"Don't get me wrong, living in a remote, natural area is wonderful most of the time. Some things become known headaches, such as communications and energy needs, but those are nothing in exchange for the solitude, etc."
"But one burst appendix or very bad infection when you're snowed or flooded in and it could be a long, miserable death from something that could've otherwise been easily treated." - genericasallfck
People Explain Which Conspiracy Theories They Believe Are 100% True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
This Is America
Independence Day Summer GIFGiphy"An apartment. Furniture. New shoes - mine have holes or don't fit properly."
"HEALTH INSURANCE BECAUSE AMERICA."
"I'm angry, can you tell?" - f1r3k33p3r
"A college degree in the United States. Still paying back student loans from 1996." - SunnyKarma
Oh. The Irony.
Parks And Recreation Thumbs Up GIFGiphy"Therapy." - Twix925
"Same. Ironically I work for a community mental health center but my insurance doesn't cover it." - rahrah89
"If you live in a town with a university, you might be able to find students on internship/needing clinical hours for very cheap." - emilylouise221
My Babies
baby documentary GIF by SundanceNOW DocClubGiphy"My babies."
"Chemo made me infertile at 34 before I had the chance to have a baby."
"I have 12 embryos in a testube. Can't afford to use them." - TNBCisabtch
To Leave
Sad The End GIF by HollyoaksGiphy"A Divorce." - squashybunz456
"I could not possibly hear you any clearer. I am trapped and every day another piece of me dies." - marilynsgrrrll
"My way out of this marriage." - sarahchuxx
Too Much
Stressed Season 3 GIF by Parks and RecreationGiphy"I'd love to go back to school, but being able to afford tuition on top of rent, bills, and living expenses just feels impossible."
"Working while in school is just begging for me to get burned out and depressed." - mmm-pistol-whip
Nan
clicking youtube GIF by Great Big StoryGiphy"Always wanted to buy my nans house and my house and make them into 1 (we live next door) but if i won the lottery id buy the street" - Shtkid-doosh
Eyesight
Glasses Seinfeld GIFGiphy"Operation for my eyes…"
"I can't drive and I'm 28…, no one knows but I hate it so much…"
"The hardest part is to look for a job if you have really bad eyes…"
"And glasses don't work well."
"I have 60% with my glasses"
"Life sucks sometimes but we have people that have bigger problems so…" - DoeS-Okarian
Hey Look, It's This Again!
happy silent film GIF by Charlie ChaplinGiphy"A home in my state."
"I've lived in the PNW for my entire life, and in the last few years I've realized that I will never be able to afford to own my own home here."
"Even condos go for $400,000 with $500/mo minimum HOA fees. An actual home is just completely out of reach, even though I make close to the top rate in my career. It's beyond depressing."
"I'd love to be able to have a little garden and to plant some flowers and paint my bedroom whatever color I want, but all I can afford is a 500sqf apartment that's entirely beige. I can't even hang the decor I like." - katieoffloatsmoke
"Living"
Dean Winchester Facepalm GIFGiphy"A place to live. A vehicle. Real privacy. The capacity to make enough money to take a week off ever. Insurance."
"I know it seems like I am young based off the lack of things. I live on my own, and have for a number of years. I will be married soon. Trying to make a living wage is very difficult." - Omen224
Shelter
"I'm homeless and have been living in a shuttle bus for a year so my perspective might be not be as exciting as others."
"I'd like to buy shelter. A home or a condo would be great but even an acre of land where I could build a small home. Just some place to call home." - kimk333
Sooooooo sorry if you thought this was gonna be all sports cars, exotic trips, and cool tech. Sure there were a few answers like that, but far and away the top response was just a home.
Somewhere to live.
Not even a fancy one, just a home.