The Expensive Purchases People Don't Understand How Anyone Affords
"Reddit user StalkSmash asked: 'What is one thing that you flat out just don’t know how people afford?'"
The way people spend money has always fascinated me.
For many years I waited tables.
I worked in high-end, low-end, and all of the in-betweens.
And what would shock me most (besides all of y'all's BAD behavior) was the waste.
The waste of food, but more importantly the waste of money.
How does someone order a $50 steak, only eat half and toss out the rest?
No doggie bag. No leftover.
It must be nice to have that much coin to toss away.
Redditor StalkSmash wanted to discuss everyone's shopping habits, so they asked:
"What is one thing that you flat out just don’t know how people afford?"
Premium liquor choices always stun me.
When a certain friend can just casually order a $30 martini because of the vodka choice, without blinking, I'm stunned.
Jealous first, then stunned.
Stay Home
Hungry Night Court GIF by Laff Giphy"People who eat exclusively by ordering takeaways or delivery from restaurants. It's mind-bogglingly expensive."
woke_agenda
Secrets
"Secret hidden families. I can barely afford 1."
judgeeveryonesbiznes
"At my last job, a woman told me her (ex)husband had a secret family. She found out when I guess the mortgage company called to ask about some documents for the new house. No idea what he did for work. Wife, two kids, a house, and whatever the bonus family consisted of."
Tomacxo
"My dad did this. He had started a company in another city within the state, as that was where the industry prospects were better. Aaaaaaaand time rolled on past and I guess he missed having family around, just not ours."
luckycaller13
Bad Upkeep
"Eyelash extensions and the upkeep of them."
CollegeFabulous3535
"I got them. They took 2 hours to put on initially and then you have to go back every two weeks to get them filled or you look like you have mange."
"You also have to brush them every single morning or they will point in every direction, and God help you if you have a cold or allergies where your eyes get even slight build-up. You can't just pick any crusty s**t from your eyelashes because the fake ones are glued on and this acts as a stopper so you can't just slide it off your lash."
"I spent so many mornings standing in front of the mirror cleaning and arranging one f**king eyelash at a time. I couldn't deal."
Purple_Chipmunk_
Overpaying
"I still don't know how we afforded daycare. At one point had two kids in daycare for a year before oldest went to kindergarten."
PJ_lyrics
"We have two kids in full-time daycare, the daycare that we go to is slightly below market rate for the area, we're going to pay around 25k this year. Thank God my oldest goes to kindergarten next fall."
"We overpay on our mortgage because we're trying to pay it off quicker, but if we paid the actual loan amount daycare would cost more than our house."
"And let me be clear, my wife and I are the lucky ones. We waited to have a kid until our late 30s, and I was 40 when kid 2 was born. We both have good careers and make good incomes and it's a serious, serious financial stretch for us to be able to afford it, I honestly don't know how other people do it and there's no way I would have been able to afford two kids even 7 or 8 years ago."
topcide
For Fun
Shark Week Ocean GIF by Pudgy Penguins Giphy"A boat or RV (or both)?! I can barely afford to exist much less spend all this money on recreation."
Korashime
Boats have always been an issue.
Just remember the Titanic.
Upkeep
Face Botox GIF by Montreux Comedy Giphy"Women who keep up with nails, lash extensions, Botox etc. That crap is expensive as f**k!"
GingerMeTimberMate
Up in the Air
Flying Music Video GIF Giphy"First-class airfare... it’s just so overwhelmingly expensive in comparison to regular seats I can’t imagine anyone ever having that amount to spare unless you’re incredibly wealthy."
Fit-Vanilla-3405
International Worth
"International First Class tickets. I'm going to Japan in a month and was thinking of going in style. I got a nice raise and a bit of vacation time saved and wanted to treat myself. Forget it all. $17k was the cheapest I found. Absolutely insane!"
trapNsagan
"Buy economy than wait. They will send emails out to bid on the business and first-class seats that are not sold. Or you can check on the airline's app for seat upgrades closer to the departure date and upgrade cheaper."
brosiedon7
Special Days
"Multiple-family foreign holidays per year. To be clear, I'm not criticizing anyone on this, and I appreciate that if you leave in mainland Europe, it's easier than here (Scotland)."
"I am just genuinely amused/bemused when I see people on their 2/3/4 foreign holiday of the year on social media."
"We went to Portugal last year (Fantastic country, btw). 2 adults 2 kids (the eldest boy was playing in a football tournament), and it was probably £3.5k and that was done cheaply. We don't go into debt for a holiday ever, though."
MelmanCourt
Getting on in Years
"Eldercare. $300 a day is about typical for most states, and it goes up if they need special care (dementia, etc)."
"3/4 of Americans who live to 21 live to 65, of which 2/3 will need long-term care for an average of 3 years. Maybe not all long-term care is nursing level, but some of it is even more expensive -- memory care, etc. Comes out to roughly $150k per person-- and almost double that if you limit it to those who need any at all. Somewhere between a generous down payment and a new house. Who can afford that -- especially after decades not working?"
Opening_Cellist_1093
First-class has always been an intriguing aspect of mine.
But that extra coin can get crazy.
I'll stick to coach.
Sometimes being a parent is just not in the cards.
And that's ok. In fact, for many it's a joy and a blessing.
Not everyone is meant to be a parent.
Just look around at all of the people who are parents that shouldn't be.
When someone says kids aren't for me... I applaud them.
Parenting is something you should want to do, not forced by society.
Redditor RGX323 wanted to lay out the reasons why they decided children weren't for them. They asked:
"People who don't want children. Why?"
I hate kids. Not really, but, enough to know parenting isn't my journey. My dogs are enough.
Me. ME. ME!
time-out blues GIF by Angry BirdsGiphy"I'm selfish when it comes to my quiet time. I love being alone."
Worried_Jaguar_912
Might as Well...
"I think having children isn't something you do because you don't have a reason not to. I would have children if I had a really good reason to, and I don't. It's an important, life changing decision that involves an innocent person being brought into the world. I don't think I should do that just because might as well."
DM_Rexy
Get a Dog
"I used to think I really wanted kids, like growing up I thought it would be the best thing ever, but for the past few years I’ve really been questioning whether that’s something I’ve just accepted as a social norm, and whether a child is actually something I want in my life. Recently my partner and I got a dog, this thing is a hell of a lot of work, I’m up at 3am every night for potty business."
"Everyone says kids are way harder than dogs, and I just can’t imagine going through that, and I’m not even the one giving birth to it. I really don’t think I want everything that comes with having a child, even if I would enjoy some of the highlight moments."
HuntedWolf
Geneology
"I am physically disabled with a genetic circulation condition. I don't want to pass my condition onto others, and the physical aspects of raising children would be too much strain on me."
odysseyshot
"I'm not physically disabled but I have a severe stammering/stuttering disability. A couple of people in my family had it before me but not as severe. I wouldn't wish this life on anyone let alone my children. Plus I like being alone."
aftabtaimoor61
Unhappiness
No Thank You GIF by Karen CivilGiphy"Because I genuinely would not be happy with kids. I strongly believe that all kids deserve to be wanted, but not all people deserve to be parents."
Express_Topic_4081
All honest answers. All good answers.
No Thank You...
Schitts Creek No GIF by CBCGiphy"I have zero desire or instinct to be a mom. Life is enough work without kids. With kids looks straight up awful. I don't know any parents that make having kids look attractive."
alieninhumanskin10
No More...
"Expensive, plus being a teacher I have seen enough and don't want to come home to dealing with more kids."
User Deleted
"Fellow teacher here. Same feelings. After some of those tougher days as school, sometimes all I desire is the ability to get away; to come home and sit in silence. Imagining having my girlfriend and I both working full-time (as we'd need to in order to support a family) only to come home and jump right into full-time parenting duty is so unbelievably daunting."
rake2204
Back Up
"I like my own personal space."
NotYourAverage666
"Oh my gosh, yes. I was never a touchy kid. Even as an adult, I don't give a lot of hugs/kisses/physical affection. If I ended up with a kid like my brother (ADHD and constantly wanting to hold hands or be in your personal space) I think I'd go crazy! Or give the kid a complex."
SgtSilverLining
Laziness
"I have no desire to raise a child, or care for one, or be responsible for one. I am lazy, I can take care of myself just fine, but the extra work to raise a child for something I don't want isn't worth it. I want financial freedom, freedom to make spontaneous decisions, children wouldn't allow for that."
haircatmoon
Therapy Bills
Shark Tank Mark GIF by ABC NetworkGiphy"I refuse to mess up a child as badly as my parents messed me up, and I don't think I could cope with being responsible for an infant or a toddler. Also, my genes aren't worth passing on."
darthfruitbasket
Fork It
"They’re expensive, loud, time consuming, and don’t smell good. Plus I don’t feel like putting my body through a year of physical hell just to follow it up with 18 years of putting my goals and career to the side to make sure it doesn’t stick a fork in a socket or swallow a bee."
thatbikerchick51
kids is the norm...
"Having kids isn’t for everyone. We need to get rid of this idea that ‘having kids is the norm’ or ‘what adults do like get a job, buy a house and have a family.’ I don’t feel that we’re on earth to tick boxes. It’s about living what is true for our own evolution as a human being, a spirit in incarnation. So whatever that may look like, wether it’s having a family of 6 children (me being one of such off-spring) or if it’s buying a clapped out old farm and turning it into a dog rescue place then do that."
Jinobin
Cats & Dogs
"Self-awareness. I am the one to end the family curse of anger, violence, betrayal and gaslighting. I am not going to put my future children in that situation. Also, cancer, diabetes and bad cholesterol run in the family. I am good with my pets. Cats and dogs."
"I love them and they give me the love I need in my life to function in this world and actually live a peaceful and purposeful life. I have friends who can't and do not want children as well so I am in the right crowd and don't feel like I am missing out on something."
summertimepeace
Crapshow...
"Firstly, the worlds a s**tshow. Second, there are enough kids in the world that need homes. If I wanted kids, I’d foster or adopt. Third, I grew up being bullied a LOT. Oddly, I used to get along with the parents of my bullies. It made me realise that, while how someone’s brought up can affect who they are, yes, a lot of people are crappy despite their parents."
"Also it made me realize how often kids lie about who they are to their parents, taking on personas to appease them to their face while being horrible to others behind their backs. I don’t want to bring another horrible person into the world. Not a universal experience, but it’s mine. But also, again, the world’s a s**tshow."
UlyssesSStarlord
Inner Focus
mickey mouse animation GIF by hoppipGiphy"Haven't conquered my inner demons yet... I don't want them to inherit my inner demons."
Jimboynoob
Lisa?
"Why not? This is just like asking why someone doesn't want a dog. They don't want to."
MisanthropeManic
"My career choice is not popular among my more conservative family and friends and I always use a similar argument when they ask why I don't want to have kids and I say 'because I'm not interested.'"
"Like, why don't you want to be a researcher, Lisa? It's fulfilling and rewarding and you learn new things everyday that you just wouldn't experience elsewhere! Because you have literally no interest."
humdrumflagellum
Adventures
"I never understood why so many want children. Life is a huge adventure without children. With children it’s a job for twenty years."
Hotspur2018
"Even worse than that, its a job after you come home from your actual job, for which you have to work longer hours to help pay for the children you’ve had and now have to clean up their pee, crap and puke and causing thousands in property damage by drawing over every freaking wall imaginable."
Kurai_Kiba
mental...
"People say it changes your life. My life is awesome and I don't want it changing. I'm 40, never married and me and my girlfriend do what we want, when we want. Why would we give this up to change crappy nappies, halve the amount of hours we sleep, lose our social life and spend all our money on kids? Mental."
i_like_flies_
Fireproof
Season 8 Teacher GIF by FriendsGiphy"I'm a teacher. Best contraceptive on the planet."
MyHeadIsBursting
I'm Bad
"I'd be a terrible father. I like to relax and do whatever the hell I want when I get home. Taking care of a small child is one thing I would definitely not want to do after a long day of work. Yes, I am selfish, in this instance. Plus, I like my money. Kids are expensive af, and saving money that I can then spend on going to see my family or going on vacations or just doing whatever the hell I want is something I don't want to change any time soon."
DesertOps4
More people need to embrace their childless selves. There is nothing wrong with that.
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I understand how the world works. I am a fan of capitalism and commerce.
And no, everything from cars to clothes shouldn't just be handed out like a lollipop at a doctor's office.
But there are some things in life intended for everyone to have access to.
At the rate we're going, I just know some fool is trying to figure out how to charge us for the air we breathe.
I like capitalism, I despise greed.
Redditor Xanduh wanted to make a list of all the things that really shouldn't be monetized, they asked:
"What should be free?"
And for the things we do and should have to pay for, let's lower some of those prices. Do you really need to make 1000% profit? Where you going? Space.
Necessities...
Fake Id GIF by Why Don't WeGiphy"ID cards issued by the government. Especially since you need them for almost every aspect of daily living." ~ DeathSpiral321
Afterlife
"Dying." ~ Dumb_Vampire_Girl
"I say this every time this discussion comes up. In the middle east, people are buried the day of or the next day after death. There is no casket, you are only buried in a white shroud. In my country burial is free, you can make a donation to the mosque for the service (as part of daily prayers), the transport of the body to the grave is free. You pay for the grave plot. Done and done." ~ CorianderSuuucks
That's My Spot
"Parking at hospitals." ~ WeCantKeepDoingThiss
"I once read a Reddit comment about hospital parking not being free and they explained that in some large cities, it actually makes sense to charge for parking. Patients and visitors could get their parking validated and the fees waived. This way, the parking lots weren’t full just from people parking to go downtown for whatever reason. Makes sense to me now. I’m from a smaller city, so I’d never been to a hospital that had paid parking." ~ NotActuallyFamous
Save a Life
"CPR lessons. ***edit: thank you for the upvotes and award. I’m new to commenting (digital shyness hahaha)." ~ Odd_Cake_5670
"I was taught that in cases of cardiac arrest, the impact of CPR is incredibly low... something like a 12% chance of survival improvement. Using an AED, automated external defibrillators, raises that percentage somewhere closer to 80-85%. If CPR training is happening, there needs to be AED training too. It is not hard to do." ~ ManThatIs*ucked
Flying Easy
michael jackson damnation GIF by South Park Giphy"Picking your seat on an airplane when booking online for coach seats." ~ IamDuckieee
"And if I do pay for this privilege, I should get the seats that I selected and not some random ones on the other end of the plane." ~ RDEnergizer7000
Don't get me started on airlines. To think about what it used to be like to fly even just 10 years ago. I'm surprised the toilets aren't pay as you go.
911 Issues
ambo GIF by St John AmbulanceGiphy"Ambulances. Or at the very least, they shouldn't be as expensive as they can be now.." ~ xXWolfyIsAwesomeXx
Clean in Expensive
"Drinkable water." ~ I_Love_Small_Breasts
"Yeah, I'm a municipal drinking water plant manager, tap water in my town is 'free' as in we don't meter and charge by volume to residents. But we have to gather money to keep the lights on and equipment running, so we charge a flat water tax rate worked into property tax."
"Our medium sized plant (produces 2 million US gallons or 7.5 million liters per day), which services 5500 people costs about $450,000-550,000 per year to operate (varies from year to year based on what breaks/needs replacement and chemical costs fluctuations)."
"Clean drinkable water isn't cheap to make, but it shouldn't cost what it does in many places, we don't operate for profit, just to keep going, the amount of tax charged to residents is adjusted each year based on cost trending as required." ~ Amidamaru717
I Gotta Go!
"Peeing/pooping in 'public' restrooms. Not sure wether this is a common thing around the world, but here in the Netherlands, almost all toilets are paywalled. Almost all establishments require purchase or payment. I somewhat get this, i somewhat don't. I'd assume sanitizing toilets is in the staffs duties?"
"Obviously restaurants/bars don't want to deal with the crap of non payers (pun intended), on the other, foot traffic is foot traffic, a handful of crap is peanuts compared to current day adds. I specifically don't get McDonald's deal with the quarter in lady. What really baffles me is the literally gated off toilets on the massive stations."
"For one, fondling a machine while having to catch a train is annoying, second, the station probably costed hundreds of millions, yet the toilet costs a buck. At least i get a discount on my next crap. No wonder the alleyways in the cities smell like fermented pee." ~ Nekrosiz
Chronic Issues
"Insulin (slightly biased T1D here)." ~ Jef171
"I’m not diabetic but y’all should definitely get that for free. & syringes. & test strips. & monitors. & pumps. The whole condition should be free to have. You got it for free, you shouldn’t have to pay for the add ons, it’s not DLC." ~ ghosts-go-boo
"I understand needing to pay for some of the new pumps and med-tech getting brought to market because they took a lot of time/$ to develop. But yea, Actual insulin, needles, test strips are all necessary to live, cost pennies to produce, and could easily be provided free." ~ Jef171
Help Me
the office therapy GIFGiphy"Therapy and in general mental health help." ~ ApprehensiveStatus13
"I agree with this but I also think therapists should be pay very well. They go to 6+ years of higher education for this and in the U.S. have to get over 3,000 working hours to even be licensed. Plus they have to listen to trauma and things like that everyday." ~ rainydayinmay9
Spaces
"Parking at the college you go to."
simplexseason
"Parking was absolutely awful at my college. If you had classes in the middle of the day, you had to show up at least 90 minutes early and stalk other students walking through the lots. It got worse ten they got rid of the largest parking lots to build more dorms. They tried to implement some kind of valet system for a couple months, but that was an even bigger s**t show."
CaffeinatedCannoli
Speak Up
"Hearing aids. They don’t cost too much, relatively. Research shows that if you need a hearing aid and you go without it, you raise your risk of developing Alzheimer’s. I’m 67% deaf but even government insurance doesn’t cover hearing aids. It will cover dental and Alzheimer’s up to a point. The cheaper option would be to cover the hearing aid and try to prevent Alzheimer’s if you can."
happyhomemaker29
But we Breathe
"Air for your tires."
tmartinez1113
"In my state it's required to be free. The machines will gladly take your money, but you can go inside and ask, and they'll turn it on for free!"
thegreatpotatogod
"Half of the gas stations charge a few quarters for 2 minutes worth of air, and their pumps are usually rusted and beat. The other half provide free air from nice digital pumps. Guess which gas stations get my business?"
PoopsExcellence
Take me Away
commuting abbi jacobson GIF by Broad CityGiphy"Public Transportation."
unpickedusername
"The Netherlands has free public transport (either in the weekend or during the week. Not both) for students. It's an absolute blessing to have. Otherwise traveling to university would cost me more than I'm paying for university."
ThePotatoSauce
Safety
"Any and all forms of contraception."
throw-away-hlpplz
"Preach!!! Money toward preventing kids since there are not enough programs to support children living in poverty."
sdmh77
For the Girls!
"Menstrual products."
Mars_Bars21
"Hear, hear! And gynecological care!!!! So many people who menstruate don’t receive appropriate or adequate care. It makes my heart sad to know that some folks suffer through gynecological issues that can often be treated with proper knowledge and care."
dhawkins331
Smile
"All medical dental (not cosmetic). Like filings, wisdom tooth removal, cleanings."
kingblobf
"This, or at least a lesser payment. My dentist said it would cost 500 per wisdom tooth an expected me to pay 2000 dollars to take out all 4 at the same time. I'm on disability and I'm struggling to find work, even part time, I can't afford that."
1BoiledCabbage
Help Me
Teddy Bear Cartoon GIFGiphy"Health care. All levels and types."
Umpire
"My dad died from one of the most survivable cancers there is because he didn’t have health care. Over 90% of people survive melanoma and I’m convinced the 10% that don’t are impoverished Americans."
armedo
Healthcare is a right not a privilege. Will we ever be a society that agrees on that? Sad. Mental health especially.
Good list.
Hobbies are great, but they can get awfully expensive very quickly. Not every hobby is going to cost you an arm and a leg, though; some are even completely free!
Reddit user Maximus100BC asked:
"What is a hobby that is 100% free?"
Cleaner Neighborhood And Relaxed Mind
I've been litter-picking and I find it more engaging than just walking and super soothing to help my community look tidier.
I've been doing around some trails near my house and the road along my street with my son. Sometimes my mom joins as well. It really does make you feel good until two weeks later when there is litter everywhere again. If there were not parks with garbage cans nearby I don't think I could keep up with it.
Libraries Rock!
Reading (public libraries)
Public libraries also offer free services in borrowing all sorts of media from other libraries. I watched all of the studio ghibli films by borrowing from public libraries
Observation Is Key
People watching
Sometimes I like to imagine short histories about people I don't know based on the interaction I'm watching
This. I hate airports but I make it tolerable by making up narrations about other airport goers.
You Could Become A Grandmaster...Or Not
Chess. Online chess is totally free and materials to learn are all over the place.
Readers beware, chess can either be the best game in the world, or the most frustrating game in the world (due to the fact that you're not getting better at all).
Or both.
Put It On Paper
Writing
My husband and I are working on better recreational habits and one of the things we started doing is working on a sci-fi book together. HUGE bonding activity.
Don't Take Them All Home, Though
Volunteering at a local dog shelter.
The 12 dogs you end up adopting are definitely not free….
Rocks Are Cool
You could collect rocks. You can start that in your own backyard even.
I play DnD; I collect (math)rocks aka dice.
You'll Always Have Your Instrument With You
Singing
Straight up my favorite hobby. And you can enjoy it anywhere! Doing the dishes? Driving the car? Just sing!
Also: maybe it's just me but singing is so cathartic I can use it to calm down when really angry or upset. So that's a win too!
I love singing, but doing it on front of anyone is really difficult. I'm even somewhat confident that my singing is at least not unbearable to listen to as well, but singing in front of someone is just a crazy amount of anxiety. So basically the only time I ever do is in the car.
Trains!
Train spotting
If you assume you have internet and don't use it just to watch rail cams, that's free. Virtual Railfan is great and you may get to see a shooting like the one in Arizona this week. Also go to a railroad crossing or even a park that is adjacent to some tracks and just watch.
Give Your Time, And Get Something In Return
Volunteering. You can meet great people, help others and learn something for life.
I used to volunteer in the hospital, that is how I decided to go into medicine as a career. Meet some really nice people, too.
Hobbies don't have to cost you hundreds of dollars to be rewarding.
Have you ever found yourself handing over some hard-earned money while wondering "why am I even paying for this?"
There are some things that absolutely should be "free" - or at least not an extra fee on top of some already-paid money. So let's talk about them.
Reddit user QadeerRay asked:
What is an item you think should be free?
The responses were honestly a lot more varied than I expected. I was positive I'd see someone mention the places that charge you for using rain water - the literal water that falls freely from the sky - but there's a lot here that I hadn't even thought about and honestly, I'm kind of salty now.
Come, be salty with me.
Notifying People Is Expensive
creepy grim reaper GIFGiphy"Death certificates." - redrivverrunning
"For me they were $16 each - and every single company that the deceased has an account for needs a copy."
"I learned to go in person to places like banks as much as I possibly can. They make a copy and give it back to me, that way I can avoid mailing it for them to keep forever so I have to buy even more official copies." - classic_elle
"In the state where I live, they charge you $20 for the first certificate and $3 for each additional one so the funeral homes generally suggest you go ahead and order 5-6 more than you think you'll need after figuring out their accounts and stuff because it's still cheaper than getting a single extra at a later time." - SilverDarner
"The UK government does have a service where you inform them of a death, provide them with the certificate, and they'll make a best effort to inform all of the person's banks and pension providers. It doesn't have nearly the number of companies being informed that I would've liked, but it's a good start."
"What confuses me is that other companies aren't jumping at the chance to be on the notification list... you'd think it would be in their best interest to be notified if one of their customers died so they can clean stuff up on their end. But oh well." - SweatyOctopussy
"Not really, (at least in the US) they would really only need to stop billing/autopay once they are informed of the death and it is confirmed. The longer they can go without that confirmation, the better it is for their bottom line."
"Source: Work in corporate America" - TheLastFartan
Looking At You, Nestle
3D Loop GIF by Pi-SlicesGiphy"Drinkable water. Looking at you, Nestle. The company has a history of taking over water sources and that whole formula thing was gross." - Whit-Batmobil
"Nestle financially pushed for hospitals in 3rd world countries to start new born babies on 'free trials' of formula feeds so the mother's weren't feeding & their milk would dry up. Essentially forcing them to buy & continue using the formula forever."
"To make matters worse, this was done in areas with no safe drinking water so babies that were only a few days old were giving formula mixed with unsafe water & many got sick/died as a direct result when their mothers could have just breastfed them safely and for free."
"Even when Nestle was alerted to this (as if they didn't already know) they refused to change their tactics. The company is scum." - now_you_see
In Public
bathroom GIFGiphy"Using public toilets in Europe." - pretty_pumpkin
"Personally, here in Germany I find it is counter-intuitive. I think people resent having to pay for a toilet, and treat it like 'Alright, you're going to charge me €.50 for a pee, I'm going to get my money's worth then and just piss everywhere, because f--- you for making me pay to pee.' "
"This I find is especially true with toilets where the cleaning is 'automated.' On the other hand, you go into a lot of department stores, or a mall, etc, the toilets are often attended to by a person sitting just outside the entrance. Payment is usually optional (i.e. there is no turnstyle you have to unlock by putting money in), but it is typical to put €.50 or so in the dish on your way out... and in those cases I find the bathrooms very clean."
"Other bathrooms, particularly those along the autobahn, are actively serviced, but have a payment turnstile thing you have to go through. You can then use the receipt from the turnstile at the fast food and snack shops which are a part of the building, and you'll get the amount you paid at the bathroom deducted from your purchase."
"But overall public bathrooms are just terribly hard to find (paid or otherwise). Public pissing is common and basically unavoidable. You see it and smell it regularly." - Mozambique-Ready
Insulin
michael douglas greed GIF by 20th Century Fox Home EntertainmentGiphy"Insulin industry is actually hijacked by three companies and they're doing all they can to keep it's price high."
"It's not a luxury. It keeps people alive! Show some humanity."
"• Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi are the three companies that dominate more than 90% of the world insulin market by value. This means that they can set prices as they wish."
"• Production cost of insulin is about 2% of it's market price."
"• Unlike any other medicine, there is no generic insulin. Insulin is still under patent after 37 years. 'Big three' producers are abusing legal loophole for over 4 decades. (Known as Patent evergreening)."
"• These companies make profit of worth billions. Not to mention they're spending millions on lobbying politicians and donating to other decision makers to keep quiet."
"• They pay another companies not to enter the market. Or they sue them. That's what happened to company called Merck. Sanofi sued them." - DogDisguisedAsHooman
Standard Bathroom Care
tampons ugh men GIF by DiggGiphy"Uhm tampons and pads in public restrooms, schools, etc. Freak I'm a penis carrier and even I think that sh*t should be free."
"You would be mad if you went in to a public restroom and there was a coin slot for the f*cking toilet paper."
"I don't think they should be free off the shelf. Everything requires money to make so in reality nothing is free, but this should be standard care in every bathroom just in case." - TripleThickBacon
We're Not Here For Fun
season 8 episode 23 GIFGiphy"Hospital parking. Oh, dad's dying? Doesn't matter. 5 bucks." - bdd4
"Where I live you go in for free, but they do charge to leave. If you get your parking validated, (pretty much just saying you had a reason to be there as a patient or visitor) you get to leave for free."
"They had a huge issue with people parking there for free, but not even being there for the hospital. Just a place to park as they did business or shopping downtown where the hospital is located." - Howling_Fang
"You're gonna love this. We as hospital staff have to pay to park the hospital as well!"
"I am close to graduating from a medical program and some area hospitals hire from graduates of our school's program over other applicants so they have meetings at our campus about working there and benefits, etc"
"the cheapest parking package they offered, which is still a MASSIVE hike to the door is $50 a week, the most expensive being $100 a week."
"They made it a point to highlight that their staff ride all the city buses for free with our ID cards and they bring you to the front door, so that's something at least." - xBlackx_xDahliax
The Dreaded Paywall
Pay Me Kim Kardashian GIF by GQGiphy"Scientific articles. They're mostly behind a paywall."
"You can either subscribe to certain journals so that you have access year-round ($ depends on the specific journal), or you can pay for access to one article at a time. The latter is usually about $30-$50."
"As a scientist, this has always irritated me. People on social media everywhere reference blogs and other non-scientific articles, which are, of course, ill-informed and non-scientific."
"We should be linked to science journals when we Google - but then every time we're interested in some topic, pay $50 to read about it?? That's ridiculous."
"Even news media reporting on interesting results from science pubs get the results mucked up. You really can't trust anything but the peer-reviewed paper itself." - BrahmTheImpaler
"I firmly believe this is one (of many!) reasons why the US is full of anti-science/anti-intellectualism rhetoric."
"We keep information locked behind paywalls, creating yet another socioeconomic barrier for attaining knowledge. Even if the desire to learn is there, it means incredibly little without the ability to access the information." - sayhellotojenn
The Best Questions To Ask During A Job Interview | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Buying My Info Back
Confused Always Sunny GIF by It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaGiphy"Schufa Auskunft."
"This private company in Germany just collects all your information (like a credit score) without your consent and the you have to buy all that info back from them because otherwise no landlord will ever accept you."
"There is a free Schufa you can request that once a year (so bad luck if your search for a home takes over a month) and it's also not the full one. Some landlords still demand the full one." - GreenKangaroo3
Seeing Is A Luxury?
Glasses Seinfeld GIFGiphy"I have insurance and I still have to pay (in my opinion) too much to just be able to see."
"It's not a luxury, it's a basic need. Also, my sight changes all the time so I can't even get a nice pair and be set for the next few years. If I'm lucky I'll get to keep a pair for 1,5 to 2 years before I absolutely need new glasses." - Proper-Literature173
"I think it's weird that vision and dental are separate from health insurance. Like seeing and chewing are just vanity." - FistedTate
"I can't believe how far I had to scroll to find this, I passed 3 waters and chicken nuggets. Why does it cost money to see? And I have 20/20 vision so this doesn't affect me." - Tian_Lord23
We Already Paid Tuition
game over mic drop GIF by University of FloridaGiphy"College books."
"I feel the school should invest in a series like they do in high school and the books just be included in the tuition. You never keep them, you just give them back to the school. If you damage or lose the book THEN you pay for them." - nips4chips
By Law
heavy metal rock GIFGiphy"Anything you're required by law to have."
"You pay taxes for someone to tell you HAVE to buy something, or else you HAVE to pay them even more money. It's a scam." - 39thusernameattempt
How Many Times Can Money Be Taxed?
taxes GIFGiphy"An inheritance..."
"If my parents or anyone dies and leaves me a sum of money, I have to pay inheritance tax on that, which I believe is something like 40% over here."
"That's money that's already been taxed when it was income AND it could be taxed as capital each year you (or the person that died) own it." - sapphirenx
This Again
Studying College Life GIFGiphy"If I'm sending a transcript from "University of Missouri - Kansas City" to "University of Missouri - St. Louis" I should not have to pay $50" - sgt_redankulous
"I paid 50k for my degree. But somehow none of that covers the cost of the transcript? At least my diploma was free…" - easternred
Who Are You?
The Daily Show Idk GIF by CTV Comedy ChannelGiphy"Identity papers. It's the law to have them, yet you have to pay for them!" - scorpiomobile
"It's also really hard to get any papers if you don't already have them. Like if you don't have a birth certificate."
"It is almost impossible for homeless people with no forms of identification to get into the system in states like Florida because the only way to do anything is by having your elected representative assist and they are not very helpful to indigent people in general."
"Funny enough, I always though it would be easiest to have the court ID you by getting arrested. They have to legally ID you somehow to incarcerate you..."
"In California it is easier but you have to start with the Social Security Administration and work your way up to Vital Records to get identification and a birth certificate." - _My_Angry_Account
So tell us, what you YOU make free for everyone if you could?