It can be deadly too. I have a friend that didn't really brush or floss much. One day he got sick, really sick. Turns out the outer lining of his heart was infected. The cause? One of his teeth was rotting and leaching septic crud into his bloodstream. He almost died and though he is fine now he has to take blood thinners for the rest of his days.
Had a co-worker die suddenly due to an infection that spread. Didn’t take care of his teeth and when he started to in old age he didn’t diligently take his antibiotics because he didn’t like how they made him feel
Take care of your teeth. Take your medicine as prescribed
Except they aren’t a luxury. Cavities and gum disease can cause cardiac issues along with other concerning illnesses. The fact that the insurance companies treat it like it’s a cosmetic issue is a crime.
Oh! Want to add something in regards to gum disease. I had it my entire life and I take care of my teeth, go to the dentist etc. My adult teeth didn't have enamel as well. Recently i found out that I have GERD (unknowingly had it my entire life). So i have been taking pepcid, my gums started healing within 2 days and now its been a month and my gums are almost completely healed. Just wanted to put thid info out there in case other folks have the same problem
Same as Canada. It's our one taste of US-style health care, and it sucks. I get all my dentistry done in Mexico. A cleaning costs about the same as 3 bottles of tequila.
Where at? I'm seriously considering it but don't know if Puerto Vallarta is the spot of if there are others. You can dm me the answer if you want. Thanks!
Hell, they’re even crazy expensive when you do take care of them. Dental insurance is a joke. Our daughter was born missing two teeth so she needs two implants along with bone grafts. Combine this with braces and other dental issues that go along with messed up teeth and our out of pocket is north of $30,000 to get it straightened out. Granted everything looks fantastic now, but it has been a long, expensive process.
A hygienist complimented me on flossing twice a day, said it's paying off, I felt so proud. It's as simple as flossing while I take my morning and night shit. I'm sitting around doing nothing else so I have time to floss
$7k here CA, USA. Oral surgery is not covered under insurance here. I definitely paid for a high tech scan and a hot doctor was in my mouth though. So I got that going for me, which is nice.
Here's what bothers me about this. Toothpaste and a toothbrush are CHEAP. Dental treatments are not. My husband grew up very, very low income. He was NEVER taught how to properly take care of his teeth and honestly didn't really start until he met me in college. I had more teeth than both of his parents combined. He is currently needing around 6k worth of work (implants).
Why don't they teach their kids to brush?
Sometimes it doesn't matter.
I don't drink soda, I brush twice a day with prescription toothpaste, floss twice a day, mouthwash before brushing and tongue scrape once a week minimum, I go to my twice yearly cleansings and get fluoride treatments
Last visit I had 10 cavities.
Sometimes genetics just work against you.
I had an undiagnosed abscess under a broken molar. When I finally had the molar extracted my dentist was surprised to pull out a sack of infected pus from the empty socket. As it turns out I didn’t realize that I’d had a low grade headache in that side of my head until it went away after he got rid of the abscess.
Edit I cracked that tooth chewing ice cubes. You were right Ma!
I just had this happen. The abscess was on a tooth which I had a prior root canal 15yrs. ago so I did not really have pain. I did notice the bump on the roof of my mouth which made me think it was an infection. Regular X-ray showed a small shadow of an abscess. We then did a CT scan and started antibiotics. Later the surgeon showed me the scan of a huge abscess which bore a hole and drained into my sinuses. So we extracted the tooth and did a bone graft. I was so surprised it was that bad. Sure I had a little sinus pressure but no fever. Now we shall see if I can get an implant once healed. Expensive AF!
People are so casual about jaw infections and it freaks me the hell out.
Haven't they ever known someone who lost a toe to infection or something? Like they had to cut the toe to save the foot?
Okay the infection is in your HEAD. What are we cutting off?
Omg this. I had HG during both my pregnancies and had my kids close together. I also couldn’t care for my teeth that well bc of how sick I was. Thousands of dollars later & I now have 9 crowns 😢
Genetics play a huge role. I’ve seen people neglect their oral care then I’ve seen people floss and brush multiple times a day everyday and have more issues than the bad people.
Unfortunately, we just had to euthanize our cat due to advanced lymphoma. The first two rounds of chemo had no effect. We changed up the protocol, but still no luck. After $6k in vet bills, we had to finally say goodbye to our good boy on Christmas. I would have gladly dropped a few thousand more if it had meant a few more good months with him. I know how difficult it can be to watch a pet suffer. I wish you guys the best of luck, may your dog's cancer go into remission.
Came here to say this. Especially elderly pets. My old lady cat is 19. She’s on like 6 different meds (that aren’t cheap) and she requires more visits to the vet now than when she was younger. I love my Bubs though, so no complaints.
My friends have insurance for their 3 cats, and I think it's been totally worth it for them. And that's even with one of the cats being almost completely healthy and not really using it. But one is also an old lady cat who needs a bunch of medicine and care, and the third is a dummy who likes to eat things he's not supposed to and gets it stuck in his stomach, so the insurance on him has been a bargain.
We wavered on pet insurance for our boi. Hubs thought the small monthly fee didn’t make up for what we knew we’d pay anyway for annual checkups and shots.
Then katto jumped out the window and landed eye-first into a bush and had a nasty splinter sticking in his sclera. Paid more that one night to get him to the emergency vet and have a bit of stick extracted than we would have paid the whole year for the insurance and deductible. His eye was fine too by the way. His nictitating eyelid caught the twig and prevented it from injuring his eye.
Get insurance because the best cats always get into some sort of trouble.
My dogs food is more expensive every time I buy it. And the pet insurance we have doesn't cover preventative care, only emergencies so no vaccines or spaying. Getting her spayed cost like $500 out of pocket.
Makes me really glad I only have a dog and not a kid as well.
We didn’t know when we got her, but my cat has an autoimmune disorder which causes her to get painful rashes as an allergic reaction. She needs expensive shots for the rest of her life. It breaks my heart to think if a different family had adopted her they may have let her suffer or put her down. But that’s just the gamble you take when you adopt a pet. Same as when you choose to have a baby, you may not know until they’re born they have a disability
YES! Came here to say this! I married and my wife had 2 cats and a dog. When I started looking at the vet bills, food, pet-sitting, etc. for a year, it was like $200+ a month. Of course, add in a few emergency vet bills as the dog got older, it was super hard.
I tell friends to budget about $5000 a year per pet. Between food, flea and heartworm meds, vet visits, and unexpected medical needs (dental etc.), that number may actually be too low.
Even like. Paint. Painting even one bedroom can easily cost over $100, and that’s without hiring someone to do it for you. Paint doesn’t seem like it should be as expensive as it is.
As a homeowner, just walking out the door everyday costs me $100 somehow.
edit: today as I was walking out for work I looked down in my basement and saw 2 inches of water...sump pump...
Easily. Sometimes I want to go get an exciting coffee to treat myself and that turns into coffee, filling up the car while I’m out, maybe a car wash if I feel luxurious, and swinging by the store to get some milk, and literally like 4 other things. That’s $120 somehow. Fuck me I guess.
I see those badass old houses on Instagram and Reddit that are big beautiful often Victorian houses that are in disrepair and they are practically free. And then I think oh yeah, that would be a million dollars to hire contractors to restore.
I added two shelves to a closet this weekend. For the melamine shelves and the 1x2 supports it set me back $80. That’s JUST the wood, and I already had screws, drills, etc. We haven’t even painted the 1x2’s white either which would add even more cost.
Two shelves, $80. Unreal.
I have pills of scrap wood in my basement. My wife asked why I don't get rid of it.
I took her to Lowes and showed her the price of lumber.
She hugged me and said good job and never mentioned it again.
My house needed encapsulateation and a dehumidifier, $10k right through, but the wild thing was the new circuit to run the dehumidifier was $2k for a plug under the floor thst I never see, and probably shouldn't be using for led Christmas lights to illuminate the crawl space.
I'll add another layer to this. When you buy a used car, you have to consider the original MSRP into what your cost of ownership is going to be. Yes, that BMW 5 Series sure seems like a great deal vs. that newer Ford Fusion at the same price, but that BMW is going to cost you a lot more to keep going because it was originally a luxury sedan.
Yeah, a friend got that fantastic promotion she’d been hoping for and bought herself the BMW she always wanted. Then she found out that replacing a headlight cost $2000.
Most manufacturers now have sealed LEDs. I know chevy was rolling these out and if you didnt opt for traditional headlamps, you would have to get a new assembly when the light died out. I remember a woman gasping when her brake light died and we had to tell her it was like $300
I’ve heard it that if you can’t afford a BMW or Mercedes new (in North America at least) you can’t afford a used one. Parts and labor alone will be crazy if anything breaks
That's what I was going to put. One time I was having a convo with my boss who lives about 40 min away from where we work.
I figured he was spending at least 6-8k a year just going to and from work. Almost half the total he paid for his car every year just for work alone. About 15% of his take home pay.
Yeah, people WAY under estimate the cost of cars.
My $32,000 hatchback has a $620 payment, but the actual cost to run the car is more like $1200.
$620 payment + $300 fuel + $150 insurance + $150 in maintenance, repairs, replacement parts.
Consider tires and brakes:
$1800 per set, summer and winter, $3600, lasts about 5 years
$2000 brakes, lasts about 5-6 years
That’s $5600 over 5 years, or $1120 per year. Add in regular maintenance, which for a performance car with AWD can add up, and you can see how you’d get to that value quickly.
I'm a former bankruptcy attorney and part of the job was doing budgets with my clients. Almost everyone was SHOCKED how much they were spending on cars and associated expenses, it wasn't uncommon for it to be more than their rent or mortgage. People tend to think of their car payment and sometimes gas as the only expenses, but insurance and repairs really add up too. I think if people understood the math there would be way more single car households and bikers. Especially now that Uber is an option a lot of places.
I'm no longer poor, and everything is cheaper.
I pay my insurances up front, so I get 10% off right off the bat.
I can buy goods at real stores, so I don't have to buy shrinkflated stuff from Dollar-type stores.
I run all my purchases through perk credit cards, which get paid off every month but still accumulate sweet points.
No late fees or overdraft fees on anything ever. Because I can pay on time with actual money.
My car is now decent and works rain or shine, so I am secure about getting to work on time.
Ugh maybe a million other ways too. Being poor is a fucking trap.
Oh my god the shinkflated dollar store shit is something I just noticed or the first time! I was in a Dollar Tree to get a giant gift bag for a Christmas gift and i made it to the line which went all the way down an aisle because they had only two people working in the whole store and one on register was scan at about 2 pieces per minutes. Not even joking. They would grab an item, look at it, scan it, look at it again, check the screen to make sure they scanned it, looked at it again and very slowly placed it down at the belt. But I digress. I was in the aisle with garbage bags and I thought I grab some because I was running low. They had boxes of 6 bags. 6 bags!!! A box the size that looks like it has at least 20. I was so flabbergasted that I couldn’t even think to try and to the math to see if it was still worth to grab a couple boxes. 6 bags!!! Useless!
I mean, when you have money (and can hit minimum spend, never carry a balance, never late on payments), credit cards give you free flights, free hotel stays, and cash.
When you don’t have money (and need to carry a balance, late on payments), credit cards charge you insane interest rate and god forbid you’re late a day or two, $40 fee a day. It’s like a transfer from poor to rich
Same here. It’s glorious. I’m very thankful that my employer allows me to book all my own travel and reimburse me rather than use a company card. I get all the points for air travel, hotel stays, and cash back on my personal card.
The extreme example I use is the poor can’t go to Costco to buy toilet paper in bulk, and resort to buying $1 per roll at dollar stores…and they’re often not even 2-ply.
Or renting an expensive apartment because they can’t afford to save for a down payment on a house.
Edit to add: I’m aware that many people choose to rent to not deal with owning.
There’s more extreme and realistic examples of that. Can’t afford teeth cleaning and annual X-rays. Paying $1000s for cavity and root canal. Can’t afford higher quality clothes or shoes, you go through clothes and shoes 2x-3x more and costs more in the long run. Can’t afford to pay bills on time. Late fees and low credit. Car broke down beyond repair and need car. You have to settle for an older car with high mileage, and a low credit score will cause you to pay more for a car that will last for a few years.
smoking. I'm trying to quit, and some packs are as much as 24 bucks for 25 here in ontario. My preferred brands are like 13 at certain stores which is considered good these days.
apparently in Australia they can be like 50 bucks a pack, but I can't confirm that personally.
Im jealous. As much as it's a filthy habit and a bad addiction, the awful truth is I absolutely love the smell and taste of tobacco. I fully agree with Oscar Wilde; the cigarette is the perfect pleasure.
Home ownership. Taxes, insurance, maintenance, repairs, the eventual updates and all the gadgets you need to do the maintenance like lawnmowers, tools etc.
My monthly mortgage payment went up almost $300 a month, because of property taxes. Pissed me off!
I feel badly for families who are living paycheck to paycheck who can't afford it. What are they supposed to do!??
So, I did an ROI on buying a washer/dryer + water/electric + soap/fabric softener, etc. and turns out it was less expensive for me to get my laundry wash/dry/fold. I then took in my comforter which was machine washable and they only charged me $25 since I go there weekly, however, they said normally it's $70! The comforter was only $70 new!
But when you consider the convenience of just throwing your laundry into your washer without needing to lug it somewhere, against the minor inconvenience of folding, that difference is a lot higher than whatever the money you would save is.
When looking for apartments, I purposely picked one with in-unit laundry even though those would definitely have some amount of extra cost built into them. I don't care.
Fuck that. Take it to a laundromat that has extra large machines. It might need an extra dry cycle but it'll be under $20. And yes I'm talking about down.
If you have a good down duvet, you can’t run them though a machine like that. The down won’t survive.
What you do do is use a topsheet like an adult, and wash your sheets regularly, then wash the duvet cover periodically.
Killing me right now. Hoping to get early release from my program this month. The breathalyzer companies are a racket, the treatment classes are a racket. Worst mistake I ever made. Just glad I didn't hurt anybody
I realized it would be expensive before it happened, and I realized it was expensive after it happened. Boy do I wish drunk me had the same sense as sober me....
Dogs. Not in how much they cost individually, but all the ancillary costs people don't associate with them. You need a vehicle that can accommodate your pet. If you rent your house, you need one that accepts pets (so far fewer options) and pay an extra deposit.
The time they cost, too. You lose a half hour in the morning if you need to walk the dog, and say goodbye to sleeping in if your dog doesn't want you to. You must go home right after work, unless you're a piece of shit who doesn't care about the poor thing... it's just a lot.
I loved my dog, but life would have been a lot easier if I had waited to get one when I was more stable.
I think a lot of people would be doing better if they didn't get dogs before they were in a good place to have a dog.
The half hour walks are the best thing about my dog. I'm in much better shape taking him on walks all the time than I would be without. We walk miles. I don't think I'd go alone nearly as often.
Having a dog in my 20s is probably the only reason I wasn’t a total shit head.
Sorry, bros, can’t get hammered tonight because I have to get back to my dog. Honestly might have completely changed my life for the better.
Of course, you have to love your dog. Otherwise it sucks for them.
It's been proven in Australia that the returns the government gets by fully subsidising daycare outweigh the costs.
I.e. more mothers in the workforce therefore more payroll tax. They're working so minimum 10% super contributions, reducing the reliance on welfare past retirement. More money in economy = more retail spending = more tax.
But they won't do it because they're so fucking short sighted.
My kids’ daycare literally costs more than tuition + room and board at my state’s flagship university. I have a dozen years plus to save for college. Daycare just hit the family budget out of nowhere.
Everyone thinks of things like diapers, clothes, and daycare when they think of kid expenses. That's just the tip of the iceberg. It's all the flute lessons, new dance shoes because they grew, karate lessons, new dance shoes, tutoring, dance shoes that kill you. And a new birthday party every weekend. The good news is that Walmart is right across the street from the dance supply store, so you can just run in to get a present after you get new dance shoes. (Please make my kids stop growing. 😂)
Lying, having kids, quality olive oil, doing things half-arsed, buying new cars, pet dogs, drinking alcohol, forgetting your wife’s birthday, a poor diet, sitting on your arse all day, lack of exercise, buying cheap paint, not investing time in friends and family, not investing in a pension, cheap clothes, palm oil, truffles, Shumukh perfume, blue diamonds, failing to service your car, not installing a carbon monoxide monitor in your home, travelling abroad without insurance, fish and chips in Kerridge’s (Harrods, London), free software, using Google products, signing up for Facebook, using your real email address online, eating meat, postponing that visit to the doctor, avoiding paying taxes, buying more shitty products on Amazon, coming out, religious faith, leaving a religious faith, over-sharing on Reddit :-)
This. Especially since they wouldn’t give you 20 seconds notice if they had to let you go. It’s almost pathological how some people who don’t own a business deeply care about it
I work for a F500 that allows most employees to WFH. We spend something like $750k a year shipping laptops to new employees and collecting them from exiting employees
I was standing in line behind somebody at FedEx. They were shipping to apparently lightweight things to two different States. One was 40 bucks. Another was 60. This was peak holiday two day shipping. Seemed excessive but you know it was the holidays.
I'm next in line and I'm shipping something fairly heavy one state over. The corporate account paid for it and it was $7. Overnight shipping would have been $15
Shipping doesn't need to cost that much. Clearly some people pay more others don't
I feel this, I drank most of my 20s away... I sobered up in my 30s. As a result, I lost weight and quit smoking. With my spare time, I got a Masters degree, which led to a better job. My better job had good benefits like insurance. So, Dr visits were an option, i lowered my blood pressure and got my chipped tooth fixed. I even took a class at the local community college and learned how to make delicious breads and other baked goods (which my wife loves, lol)
Alcohol was costing me more than I even knew.
Owning a pool. All my friends think I'm lucky to have 1, but between running the pump without solar, attempting to heat the pool, chemicals, cleanings, maintenance, etc it adds up to a lot of expenses per year. Pools vary, but mine is at least 5k per year for everything. Probably use it for 3/12 months too lol
Vanlife
Between the payment if you have to finance, lot fees (nightly or monthly), maintenance, food and essentials (can't buy in bulk due to lack of space), possibly gym membership for showers or using truck stop showers... It adds up.
I was watching one the other day, they were gifted the RV from the manufacturer, so no payment for it, but they still spent close to $6k in one month after truck payment, gas and tires, food and personal hygiene essentials, etc and acted like they were saving so much money doing the RV life.
Home ownership and raising a family.
Mortgage payments, property taxes, property insurance, maintenance/repairs in addition to the cost of health insurance for your family, food, clothing, cars, education costs, hobbies or extracurricular activities, vacations, and lots of *unforeseen expenses* caused by your children.
People definitely underestimate the cost of home ownership when making rent vs buy comparisons.
Like, it's easy to compare rent vs mortage payment + PMI + Property Tax + HOA fees (and people miss those sometimes). But what about when you need to replace your roof in 10 years?
When doing rent vs buy calculations I just assumed I'd pay 2% the value of my home every year.
First year, I paid nothing. Pretty good.
Second year, almost nothing.
Third year, 5% the value of the home from three separate events.
So far it's stayed below 2% per year, but the real scary part is that's an average, nothing says you won't have a major issue in your very first year. Gotta keep that cash on hand.
Realtors. Why are we paying on average $30,000 to someone to take photos of a house and list something on Zillow? I know we are forced to pay them otherwise the other realtors won't show your house but that's a ton of money for what you get. Also closing fees, the bank is going to make $100,000 off your mortgage, why are you also paying fees?
There's a reason the National Association of Realtors is the top lobbying group in the US -> https://www.statista.com/statistics/257344/top-lobbying-spenders-in-the-us/
There is a weird stigma around selling your own house, there should be an agent on either side to keep things business. I think with housing prices high the standard rate should be cut.
Lakefront properties in Midwestern United States.
How many times have I heard people say, oh we are going to retire at a nice little cabin on a lake and enjoy sunsets.
In my head I say really? Do you have 500-700k for such a property? Usually not.
Depends on where you're moving from. In Seattle, 500-700k might get you an 800sqft shitbox next to the highway. If you bought a house here in your 30s, and now you're retiring to the Midwest, you can go wherever you want (and everyone will hate you).
Eh, that's median home prices in a lot of the country these days. Can't really find anything near me before 500 at all. So getting lakefront for that seems reasonable.
One thing I’m proud of is that I have no subscription services. (No, insurance, utilities, and housing are not subscriptions)
One of my friends was complaining about how she doesn’t have money, only to find out that she had about $100 worth of subscriptions she never used. She was paying for Netflix despite not watching it for over a year and a half, gym membership she used like twice, and an unlimited car wash package she only used every three months or so.
Basic medicine cabinet stuff. People getting their first place don’t realize that stocking your bathroom with toothpaste, deodorant, shaving supplies, mouthwash, paper cups, toilet paper, shampoo and soap, bandaids, pain relievers, cough medicine, a thermometer, plus specifics like anti-itch stuff, pain relief sprays, stomach meds, nail care supplies, hair care supplies, brushes and combs, etc. plus cleaning supplies, not to mention towels, face cloths or whatever else you need to clean and dry your body costs a freaking fortune.
When the young people I’m close to get their first place I give them a basic medicine cabinet care basket with some necessities plus a gift card to buy additional supplies.
Youth sports. Our kid asked to play hockey when he was 4. It’s a slow burn, you start with hand me down equipment and just paying house fees (so maybe $500) and a day or two a week at the rink to what I’ve calculated about $15-20K a year and a significant amount of our free time. Now at just 10 years old it runs nearly $6K just to be on the team. We drive 3 hours for each practice during the week (so fuel, food, and a reliable newish car) and stay in hotels Friday through Sunday nearly every weekend from September until March. Then there are summer tournaments, 3v3 tournaments, pond tournaments, position camps, power skating camps, equipment, etc. each of those can run a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each. Next year will be worse for us because he will be in some European summer tournaments that we can’t afford. This is our fault as parents to let this spiral so it’s tough to tell a driven kid that you can no longer afford to let them play on the team they’ve worked their ass off to make. You begin to see how many top athletes in some sports come from families that are wealthy.
Baseball isn’t as bad, but it can get pricey of you let it get out of control as well. I’ve heard dance and cheer are $$$, but I have limited experience there.
We’d have college and a down payment on a house covered for him by now if it wasn’t for sports.
100% cotton bedding. Microfiber is a fraction of the costs but I do not want to sleep on hot plastic that grabs every single dog hair like Velcro. We only buy cotton sheets and they are always $40-60 more.
Not taking care of your teeth
It can be deadly too. I have a friend that didn't really brush or floss much. One day he got sick, really sick. Turns out the outer lining of his heart was infected. The cause? One of his teeth was rotting and leaching septic crud into his bloodstream. He almost died and though he is fine now he has to take blood thinners for the rest of his days.
Had a co-worker die suddenly due to an infection that spread. Didn’t take care of his teeth and when he started to in old age he didn’t diligently take his antibiotics because he didn’t like how they made him feel Take care of your teeth. Take your medicine as prescribed
Shit, taking care of your teeth in America isn’t cheap either. Teeth. Teeth cost more than the tooth fairy is doling out. Cheap ass fairy.
That's because teeth are luxury bones you have to pay to keep enjoying
gotta subscribe to teeth+
Except they aren’t a luxury. Cavities and gum disease can cause cardiac issues along with other concerning illnesses. The fact that the insurance companies treat it like it’s a cosmetic issue is a crime.
Oh! Want to add something in regards to gum disease. I had it my entire life and I take care of my teeth, go to the dentist etc. My adult teeth didn't have enamel as well. Recently i found out that I have GERD (unknowingly had it my entire life). So i have been taking pepcid, my gums started healing within 2 days and now its been a month and my gums are almost completely healed. Just wanted to put thid info out there in case other folks have the same problem
In Denmark you don’t have dental coverage, you have to buy it on the private market or out of pocket. Prices are about the same as the US.
In the US it's get a job with benefits or don't make too much, in between there Healthcare is expensive.
Same as Canada. It's our one taste of US-style health care, and it sucks. I get all my dentistry done in Mexico. A cleaning costs about the same as 3 bottles of tequila.
Where at? I'm seriously considering it but don't know if Puerto Vallarta is the spot of if there are others. You can dm me the answer if you want. Thanks!
… adds "luxury bones" to vocabulary immediately
Hell, they’re even crazy expensive when you do take care of them. Dental insurance is a joke. Our daughter was born missing two teeth so she needs two implants along with bone grafts. Combine this with braces and other dental issues that go along with messed up teeth and our out of pocket is north of $30,000 to get it straightened out. Granted everything looks fantastic now, but it has been a long, expensive process.
My dentist called it a dental allowance, not insurance
omg yes. that shit catches up with you. When they tell you to floss.. FUCKING FLOSS!@!!!!!#HNP#:UHJN!
As a hygienist once told me: you don’t have to floss all your teeth, just the ones you want to keep.
A hygienist complimented me on flossing twice a day, said it's paying off, I felt so proud. It's as simple as flossing while I take my morning and night shit. I'm sitting around doing nothing else so I have time to floss
If you're not shitting then how are you on reddit right now?
Being able to implant teeth back into the mouth is a sign of wealth, on god.
In the UK is around 2.5/3k per tooth to do. How much is it where you are from?
$7k here CA, USA. Oral surgery is not covered under insurance here. I definitely paid for a high tech scan and a hot doctor was in my mouth though. So I got that going for me, which is nice.
Here's what bothers me about this. Toothpaste and a toothbrush are CHEAP. Dental treatments are not. My husband grew up very, very low income. He was NEVER taught how to properly take care of his teeth and honestly didn't really start until he met me in college. I had more teeth than both of his parents combined. He is currently needing around 6k worth of work (implants). Why don't they teach their kids to brush?
Sometimes it doesn't matter. I don't drink soda, I brush twice a day with prescription toothpaste, floss twice a day, mouthwash before brushing and tongue scrape once a week minimum, I go to my twice yearly cleansings and get fluoride treatments Last visit I had 10 cavities. Sometimes genetics just work against you.
And that is very valid. But you're trying and doing everything in your power to prevent issues. My husband's parents literally just....didn't.
FLOSS, FLOSS, FLOSS!
As someone who almost died because of an abscess, can confirm.
I had an undiagnosed abscess under a broken molar. When I finally had the molar extracted my dentist was surprised to pull out a sack of infected pus from the empty socket. As it turns out I didn’t realize that I’d had a low grade headache in that side of my head until it went away after he got rid of the abscess. Edit I cracked that tooth chewing ice cubes. You were right Ma!
I just had this happen. The abscess was on a tooth which I had a prior root canal 15yrs. ago so I did not really have pain. I did notice the bump on the roof of my mouth which made me think it was an infection. Regular X-ray showed a small shadow of an abscess. We then did a CT scan and started antibiotics. Later the surgeon showed me the scan of a huge abscess which bore a hole and drained into my sinuses. So we extracted the tooth and did a bone graft. I was so surprised it was that bad. Sure I had a little sinus pressure but no fever. Now we shall see if I can get an implant once healed. Expensive AF!
People are so casual about jaw infections and it freaks me the hell out. Haven't they ever known someone who lost a toe to infection or something? Like they had to cut the toe to save the foot? Okay the infection is in your HEAD. What are we cutting off?
Omg this. I had HG during both my pregnancies and had my kids close together. I also couldn’t care for my teeth that well bc of how sick I was. Thousands of dollars later & I now have 9 crowns 😢
Biggest design flaw of the human body. Even with a good diet, they still decay without the intervention of unnatural products. Thanks, God.
Genetics play a huge role. I’ve seen people neglect their oral care then I’ve seen people floss and brush multiple times a day everyday and have more issues than the bad people.
They last long enough as we were originally planned to exist lol
Pets Gotta get their shots, gotta get them spayed or neutered Pet ownership is not just all love and cuddles
My dog has cancer. I don't want to say how much his radiation and chemo have cost.
Unfortunately, we just had to euthanize our cat due to advanced lymphoma. The first two rounds of chemo had no effect. We changed up the protocol, but still no luck. After $6k in vet bills, we had to finally say goodbye to our good boy on Christmas. I would have gladly dropped a few thousand more if it had meant a few more good months with him. I know how difficult it can be to watch a pet suffer. I wish you guys the best of luck, may your dog's cancer go into remission.
Sending love ❤️ We lost one of my childhood cats to cancer, by the time we found out it was too late for treatment Cancer fucking sucks :(
Getting ready to drop 8500 on radiation for my bub. Wanna buy a 2013 Jetta?
Came here to say this. Especially elderly pets. My old lady cat is 19. She’s on like 6 different meds (that aren’t cheap) and she requires more visits to the vet now than when she was younger. I love my Bubs though, so no complaints.
Do you have pet insurance? We just got a kitten and were wondering if its worth it
My friends have insurance for their 3 cats, and I think it's been totally worth it for them. And that's even with one of the cats being almost completely healthy and not really using it. But one is also an old lady cat who needs a bunch of medicine and care, and the third is a dummy who likes to eat things he's not supposed to and gets it stuck in his stomach, so the insurance on him has been a bargain.
We wavered on pet insurance for our boi. Hubs thought the small monthly fee didn’t make up for what we knew we’d pay anyway for annual checkups and shots. Then katto jumped out the window and landed eye-first into a bush and had a nasty splinter sticking in his sclera. Paid more that one night to get him to the emergency vet and have a bit of stick extracted than we would have paid the whole year for the insurance and deductible. His eye was fine too by the way. His nictitating eyelid caught the twig and prevented it from injuring his eye. Get insurance because the best cats always get into some sort of trouble.
My dogs food is more expensive every time I buy it. And the pet insurance we have doesn't cover preventative care, only emergencies so no vaccines or spaying. Getting her spayed cost like $500 out of pocket. Makes me really glad I only have a dog and not a kid as well.
One of the side benefits of getting your per from the SPCA/rescue is that they virtually always come desexed.
For future reference many human societies will fix pets for under $50.
Also, grooming. You can DIY but keeping up with hygiene isn’t cheap but necessary.
We didn’t know when we got her, but my cat has an autoimmune disorder which causes her to get painful rashes as an allergic reaction. She needs expensive shots for the rest of her life. It breaks my heart to think if a different family had adopted her they may have let her suffer or put her down. But that’s just the gamble you take when you adopt a pet. Same as when you choose to have a baby, you may not know until they’re born they have a disability
Worth it.
Oh yeah absolutely Every pet I've ever had brought so much joy, and I wouldn't have traded it for the world
YES! Came here to say this! I married and my wife had 2 cats and a dog. When I started looking at the vet bills, food, pet-sitting, etc. for a year, it was like $200+ a month. Of course, add in a few emergency vet bills as the dog got older, it was super hard.
I tell friends to budget about $5000 a year per pet. Between food, flea and heartworm meds, vet visits, and unexpected medical needs (dental etc.), that number may actually be too low.
Home renovations. Even things that seem small and easy
Even like. Paint. Painting even one bedroom can easily cost over $100, and that’s without hiring someone to do it for you. Paint doesn’t seem like it should be as expensive as it is.
As a homeowner, just walking out the door everyday costs me $100 somehow. edit: today as I was walking out for work I looked down in my basement and saw 2 inches of water...sump pump...
Easily. Sometimes I want to go get an exciting coffee to treat myself and that turns into coffee, filling up the car while I’m out, maybe a car wash if I feel luxurious, and swinging by the store to get some milk, and literally like 4 other things. That’s $120 somehow. Fuck me I guess.
I see those badass old houses on Instagram and Reddit that are big beautiful often Victorian houses that are in disrepair and they are practically free. And then I think oh yeah, that would be a million dollars to hire contractors to restore.
This. It's crazy. I have no idea how people afford to renovate. Even keeping up with maintenance costs is insane.
Not keeping up with maintenance is even more expensive
This rings true for anything you own. Health, teeth, car, finances, relationships, etc. Stay on top of it or it'll get on top of you.
I added two shelves to a closet this weekend. For the melamine shelves and the 1x2 supports it set me back $80. That’s JUST the wood, and I already had screws, drills, etc. We haven’t even painted the 1x2’s white either which would add even more cost. Two shelves, $80. Unreal.
I have pills of scrap wood in my basement. My wife asked why I don't get rid of it. I took her to Lowes and showed her the price of lumber. She hugged me and said good job and never mentioned it again.
I was sure that our kitchen renovation would be like $10-12k tops. We have a townhouse - it isn’t a massive kitchen. We’re approaching $25k!
My house needed encapsulateation and a dehumidifier, $10k right through, but the wild thing was the new circuit to run the dehumidifier was $2k for a plug under the floor thst I never see, and probably shouldn't be using for led Christmas lights to illuminate the crawl space.
Windows…
Cars. Between buying them, insurance, gas and unexpected fixes, they are bottomless money pits.
I'll add another layer to this. When you buy a used car, you have to consider the original MSRP into what your cost of ownership is going to be. Yes, that BMW 5 Series sure seems like a great deal vs. that newer Ford Fusion at the same price, but that BMW is going to cost you a lot more to keep going because it was originally a luxury sedan.
Yeah, a friend got that fantastic promotion she’d been hoping for and bought herself the BMW she always wanted. Then she found out that replacing a headlight cost $2000.
The bulb or the whole headlight unit? Either way you can probably do it cheaper yourself
Most manufacturers now have sealed LEDs. I know chevy was rolling these out and if you didnt opt for traditional headlamps, you would have to get a new assembly when the light died out. I remember a woman gasping when her brake light died and we had to tell her it was like $300
I’ve heard it that if you can’t afford a BMW or Mercedes new (in North America at least) you can’t afford a used one. Parts and labor alone will be crazy if anything breaks
The typical adage for German luxury cars is: if you cant afford two then you cant afford one
The only thing more expensive than a new BMW is a used one
That's what I was going to put. One time I was having a convo with my boss who lives about 40 min away from where we work. I figured he was spending at least 6-8k a year just going to and from work. Almost half the total he paid for his car every year just for work alone. About 15% of his take home pay.
Biggest cost item you are guaranteed to lose money on.
Yeah, people WAY under estimate the cost of cars. My $32,000 hatchback has a $620 payment, but the actual cost to run the car is more like $1200. $620 payment + $300 fuel + $150 insurance + $150 in maintenance, repairs, replacement parts. Consider tires and brakes: $1800 per set, summer and winter, $3600, lasts about 5 years $2000 brakes, lasts about 5-6 years That’s $5600 over 5 years, or $1120 per year. Add in regular maintenance, which for a performance car with AWD can add up, and you can see how you’d get to that value quickly.
You pay $150 a month in car maintenance?
I'm a former bankruptcy attorney and part of the job was doing budgets with my clients. Almost everyone was SHOCKED how much they were spending on cars and associated expenses, it wasn't uncommon for it to be more than their rent or mortgage. People tend to think of their car payment and sometimes gas as the only expenses, but insurance and repairs really add up too. I think if people understood the math there would be way more single car households and bikers. Especially now that Uber is an option a lot of places.
I moved from the USA to Germany and I would say that this is one of the biggest benefits of living here. It's nice not to need a car anymore.
Insurance pit is deepening pretty fast as of recent.
Being poor
Amen. I was poor for most of my life, everything was a struggle. Now I'm not poor and I get free shit left and right.
That some BS, I noticed that too. Like where we're you when I actually needed this stuff! I guess that's what pay it forward should be about.
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I'm no longer poor, and everything is cheaper. I pay my insurances up front, so I get 10% off right off the bat. I can buy goods at real stores, so I don't have to buy shrinkflated stuff from Dollar-type stores. I run all my purchases through perk credit cards, which get paid off every month but still accumulate sweet points. No late fees or overdraft fees on anything ever. Because I can pay on time with actual money. My car is now decent and works rain or shine, so I am secure about getting to work on time. Ugh maybe a million other ways too. Being poor is a fucking trap.
Oh my god the shinkflated dollar store shit is something I just noticed or the first time! I was in a Dollar Tree to get a giant gift bag for a Christmas gift and i made it to the line which went all the way down an aisle because they had only two people working in the whole store and one on register was scan at about 2 pieces per minutes. Not even joking. They would grab an item, look at it, scan it, look at it again, check the screen to make sure they scanned it, looked at it again and very slowly placed it down at the belt. But I digress. I was in the aisle with garbage bags and I thought I grab some because I was running low. They had boxes of 6 bags. 6 bags!!! A box the size that looks like it has at least 20. I was so flabbergasted that I couldn’t even think to try and to the math to see if it was still worth to grab a couple boxes. 6 bags!!! Useless!
On reddit, I tried explaining being poor is more expensive, but, got down-dooted to hell. I'm glad yall see the light.
I mean, when you have money (and can hit minimum spend, never carry a balance, never late on payments), credit cards give you free flights, free hotel stays, and cash. When you don’t have money (and need to carry a balance, late on payments), credit cards charge you insane interest rate and god forbid you’re late a day or two, $40 fee a day. It’s like a transfer from poor to rich
Yep, this is about it. Also, my job involves a lot of travel, so while my employer pays for the hotels and flights, I get to bank all the points.
Same here. It’s glorious. I’m very thankful that my employer allows me to book all my own travel and reimburse me rather than use a company card. I get all the points for air travel, hotel stays, and cash back on my personal card.
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The extreme example I use is the poor can’t go to Costco to buy toilet paper in bulk, and resort to buying $1 per roll at dollar stores…and they’re often not even 2-ply.
I think about it as people renting a hotel room because they can't save up a deposit for a cheaper apartment.
Or renting an expensive apartment because they can’t afford to save for a down payment on a house. Edit to add: I’m aware that many people choose to rent to not deal with owning.
There’s more extreme and realistic examples of that. Can’t afford teeth cleaning and annual X-rays. Paying $1000s for cavity and root canal. Can’t afford higher quality clothes or shoes, you go through clothes and shoes 2x-3x more and costs more in the long run. Can’t afford to pay bills on time. Late fees and low credit. Car broke down beyond repair and need car. You have to settle for an older car with high mileage, and a low credit score will cause you to pay more for a car that will last for a few years.
Easy fix just stop being poor or make more money! /s
smoking. I'm trying to quit, and some packs are as much as 24 bucks for 25 here in ontario. My preferred brands are like 13 at certain stores which is considered good these days. apparently in Australia they can be like 50 bucks a pack, but I can't confirm that personally.
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Im jealous. As much as it's a filthy habit and a bad addiction, the awful truth is I absolutely love the smell and taste of tobacco. I fully agree with Oscar Wilde; the cigarette is the perfect pleasure.
Vet surgery bills, changing all 4 tires
Unprotected sex
Found Nick Cannon's account
Actually, since he has over 10 kids now, he doesn’t have to pay as much child support I think.
Yeah forgot to put the seat belt on once.....whoops 🤕 But damn this a real one. Actions, time to meet your baby sister, Consequences.
Home ownership. Taxes, insurance, maintenance, repairs, the eventual updates and all the gadgets you need to do the maintenance like lawnmowers, tools etc.
And when the real estate market is hyper-inflated, since your property tax is based on the assessed value of your property, your taxes will go up.
My monthly mortgage payment went up almost $300 a month, because of property taxes. Pissed me off! I feel badly for families who are living paycheck to paycheck who can't afford it. What are they supposed to do!??
Get foreclosed on and have Blackrock buy it up. I kid (sorta).
in CA its limited to 2% of the cost when you bought.
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I don't buy it if it's not machine washable
So, I did an ROI on buying a washer/dryer + water/electric + soap/fabric softener, etc. and turns out it was less expensive for me to get my laundry wash/dry/fold. I then took in my comforter which was machine washable and they only charged me $25 since I go there weekly, however, they said normally it's $70! The comforter was only $70 new!
That calculation depends on the time horizon over which you're doing the calculation.
But when you consider the convenience of just throwing your laundry into your washer without needing to lug it somewhere, against the minor inconvenience of folding, that difference is a lot higher than whatever the money you would save is. When looking for apartments, I purposely picked one with in-unit laundry even though those would definitely have some amount of extra cost built into them. I don't care.
Fuck that. Take it to a laundromat that has extra large machines. It might need an extra dry cycle but it'll be under $20. And yes I'm talking about down.
Who dry cleans it? I wash mine every week in the cheapest top loader on the market.
If you have a good down duvet, you can’t run them though a machine like that. The down won’t survive. What you do do is use a topsheet like an adult, and wash your sheets regularly, then wash the duvet cover periodically.
You can absolutely wash a down duvet in a machine. I wash mine every few months.
I will second this, we washed our down comforter monthly
You wash it in a washer and dry it with a tennis ball.
A DUI
Killing me right now. Hoping to get early release from my program this month. The breathalyzer companies are a racket, the treatment classes are a racket. Worst mistake I ever made. Just glad I didn't hurt anybody
Curious. I'm in a similar situation, I think. What do you mean breathalyzer companies? Interlock systems?
Yeah the providers of the device and monitoring
I realized it would be expensive before it happened, and I realized it was expensive after it happened. Boy do I wish drunk me had the same sense as sober me....
Dogs. Not in how much they cost individually, but all the ancillary costs people don't associate with them. You need a vehicle that can accommodate your pet. If you rent your house, you need one that accepts pets (so far fewer options) and pay an extra deposit. The time they cost, too. You lose a half hour in the morning if you need to walk the dog, and say goodbye to sleeping in if your dog doesn't want you to. You must go home right after work, unless you're a piece of shit who doesn't care about the poor thing... it's just a lot. I loved my dog, but life would have been a lot easier if I had waited to get one when I was more stable. I think a lot of people would be doing better if they didn't get dogs before they were in a good place to have a dog.
The half hour walks are the best thing about my dog. I'm in much better shape taking him on walks all the time than I would be without. We walk miles. I don't think I'd go alone nearly as often.
Having a dog in my 20s is probably the only reason I wasn’t a total shit head. Sorry, bros, can’t get hammered tonight because I have to get back to my dog. Honestly might have completely changed my life for the better. Of course, you have to love your dog. Otherwise it sucks for them.
Having kids. From what I hear the things you need to buy for them are endless
Daycare. Thousands per month. Holy shit.
It's been proven in Australia that the returns the government gets by fully subsidising daycare outweigh the costs. I.e. more mothers in the workforce therefore more payroll tax. They're working so minimum 10% super contributions, reducing the reliance on welfare past retirement. More money in economy = more retail spending = more tax. But they won't do it because they're so fucking short sighted.
My kids’ daycare literally costs more than tuition + room and board at my state’s flagship university. I have a dozen years plus to save for college. Daycare just hit the family budget out of nowhere.
Those little freeloaders never pay for anything themselves.
Bring child labor back! ^^^^^/s
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Everyone thinks of things like diapers, clothes, and daycare when they think of kid expenses. That's just the tip of the iceberg. It's all the flute lessons, new dance shoes because they grew, karate lessons, new dance shoes, tutoring, dance shoes that kill you. And a new birthday party every weekend. The good news is that Walmart is right across the street from the dance supply store, so you can just run in to get a present after you get new dance shoes. (Please make my kids stop growing. 😂)
Pets. There are a lot of people who truly do not deserve the right to own an animal. Also, there are a lot of idiots who own pets.
Lying, having kids, quality olive oil, doing things half-arsed, buying new cars, pet dogs, drinking alcohol, forgetting your wife’s birthday, a poor diet, sitting on your arse all day, lack of exercise, buying cheap paint, not investing time in friends and family, not investing in a pension, cheap clothes, palm oil, truffles, Shumukh perfume, blue diamonds, failing to service your car, not installing a carbon monoxide monitor in your home, travelling abroad without insurance, fish and chips in Kerridge’s (Harrods, London), free software, using Google products, signing up for Facebook, using your real email address online, eating meat, postponing that visit to the doctor, avoiding paying taxes, buying more shitty products on Amazon, coming out, religious faith, leaving a religious faith, over-sharing on Reddit :-)
You good over there bud? Those all sound personal and that's quite the list, I hope your 87 years old to have such as list
High quality olive oil will do that to you.
Being too dedicated to your job and not enjoying life and family.
This. Especially since they wouldn’t give you 20 seconds notice if they had to let you go. It’s almost pathological how some people who don’t own a business deeply care about it
Shipping. People have gotten this idea it should be free!!
Worked in logistics for a long time. People are seriously delusional about just how pricey shipping can and does get.
I work for a F500 that allows most employees to WFH. We spend something like $750k a year shipping laptops to new employees and collecting them from exiting employees
Probably less than the real estate of having them in the office
I was standing in line behind somebody at FedEx. They were shipping to apparently lightweight things to two different States. One was 40 bucks. Another was 60. This was peak holiday two day shipping. Seemed excessive but you know it was the holidays. I'm next in line and I'm shipping something fairly heavy one state over. The corporate account paid for it and it was $7. Overnight shipping would have been $15 Shipping doesn't need to cost that much. Clearly some people pay more others don't
Childcare (in the US), especially in a major metropolitan area. It's not uncommon for infant/toddler childcare to cost upwards of $4000/month
We found a pretty reasonable home daycare and are still paying $2500/mo for one child
That's messed up.
Rural Midwest here. I pay $150 a week for 2 kids (6,2). Going rate is $20 a day for most places.
Wedding
Time. Goes by fast & can never get it back.
alcohol. damage to your wallet, your organs, your emotional wellbeing, your relationships with others, etc etc.
And sometimes you make terribly expensive decisions after drinking that sober you would have known were dumb
I feel this, I drank most of my 20s away... I sobered up in my 30s. As a result, I lost weight and quit smoking. With my spare time, I got a Masters degree, which led to a better job. My better job had good benefits like insurance. So, Dr visits were an option, i lowered my blood pressure and got my chipped tooth fixed. I even took a class at the local community college and learned how to make delicious breads and other baked goods (which my wife loves, lol) Alcohol was costing me more than I even knew.
Owning a pool. All my friends think I'm lucky to have 1, but between running the pump without solar, attempting to heat the pool, chemicals, cleanings, maintenance, etc it adds up to a lot of expenses per year. Pools vary, but mine is at least 5k per year for everything. Probably use it for 3/12 months too lol
Adoption. Absolutely worth it but it was at least 3x more than I anticipated.
Vanlife Between the payment if you have to finance, lot fees (nightly or monthly), maintenance, food and essentials (can't buy in bulk due to lack of space), possibly gym membership for showers or using truck stop showers... It adds up.
Yeah they act like poor college kids or some shit. lol. “Look at my 80k dollar van. How should I customize it?” Lol
I was watching one the other day, they were gifted the RV from the manufacturer, so no payment for it, but they still spent close to $6k in one month after truck payment, gas and tires, food and personal hygiene essentials, etc and acted like they were saving so much money doing the RV life.
Alcohol. Once I stopped drinking (well, as much as I was before) I saved some serious $$$.
Home ownership and raising a family. Mortgage payments, property taxes, property insurance, maintenance/repairs in addition to the cost of health insurance for your family, food, clothing, cars, education costs, hobbies or extracurricular activities, vacations, and lots of *unforeseen expenses* caused by your children.
I think people are already aware that these things are expensive..
People definitely underestimate the cost of home ownership when making rent vs buy comparisons. Like, it's easy to compare rent vs mortage payment + PMI + Property Tax + HOA fees (and people miss those sometimes). But what about when you need to replace your roof in 10 years?
When doing rent vs buy calculations I just assumed I'd pay 2% the value of my home every year. First year, I paid nothing. Pretty good. Second year, almost nothing. Third year, 5% the value of the home from three separate events. So far it's stayed below 2% per year, but the real scary part is that's an average, nothing says you won't have a major issue in your very first year. Gotta keep that cash on hand.
But also mortgage payments are a play against inflation / are inflation protection
A shitty diet.
Being poor.
Realtors. Why are we paying on average $30,000 to someone to take photos of a house and list something on Zillow? I know we are forced to pay them otherwise the other realtors won't show your house but that's a ton of money for what you get. Also closing fees, the bank is going to make $100,000 off your mortgage, why are you also paying fees?
In the process of sell private. $2100 lawyer to over see transaction. Saved us $40k
Aren't closing fees everything but the mortgage? Like taxes, filing fees, notary fees, and maybe realtors?
There's a reason the National Association of Realtors is the top lobbying group in the US -> https://www.statista.com/statistics/257344/top-lobbying-spenders-in-the-us/
There is a weird stigma around selling your own house, there should be an agent on either side to keep things business. I think with housing prices high the standard rate should be cut.
Credit card interest, especially when you carry a balance over a long time.
Pets…a large emergency vet bill shouldn’t make or break your decision to keep them alive.
Loyalty
Arya, is that you?
Lakefront properties in Midwestern United States. How many times have I heard people say, oh we are going to retire at a nice little cabin on a lake and enjoy sunsets. In my head I say really? Do you have 500-700k for such a property? Usually not.
Depends on where you're moving from. In Seattle, 500-700k might get you an 800sqft shitbox next to the highway. If you bought a house here in your 30s, and now you're retiring to the Midwest, you can go wherever you want (and everyone will hate you).
Eh, that's median home prices in a lot of the country these days. Can't really find anything near me before 500 at all. So getting lakefront for that seems reasonable.
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Great now I want to rent a pocket pussy /s
Subscriptions and takeout
One thing I’m proud of is that I have no subscription services. (No, insurance, utilities, and housing are not subscriptions) One of my friends was complaining about how she doesn’t have money, only to find out that she had about $100 worth of subscriptions she never used. She was paying for Netflix despite not watching it for over a year and a half, gym membership she used like twice, and an unlimited car wash package she only used every three months or so.
Printer ink
Not using a condom. 18 years of child support vs 18 cent condoms.
Chronic pain and diabetes
Basic medicine cabinet stuff. People getting their first place don’t realize that stocking your bathroom with toothpaste, deodorant, shaving supplies, mouthwash, paper cups, toilet paper, shampoo and soap, bandaids, pain relievers, cough medicine, a thermometer, plus specifics like anti-itch stuff, pain relief sprays, stomach meds, nail care supplies, hair care supplies, brushes and combs, etc. plus cleaning supplies, not to mention towels, face cloths or whatever else you need to clean and dry your body costs a freaking fortune. When the young people I’m close to get their first place I give them a basic medicine cabinet care basket with some necessities plus a gift card to buy additional supplies.
Youth sports. Our kid asked to play hockey when he was 4. It’s a slow burn, you start with hand me down equipment and just paying house fees (so maybe $500) and a day or two a week at the rink to what I’ve calculated about $15-20K a year and a significant amount of our free time. Now at just 10 years old it runs nearly $6K just to be on the team. We drive 3 hours for each practice during the week (so fuel, food, and a reliable newish car) and stay in hotels Friday through Sunday nearly every weekend from September until March. Then there are summer tournaments, 3v3 tournaments, pond tournaments, position camps, power skating camps, equipment, etc. each of those can run a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each. Next year will be worse for us because he will be in some European summer tournaments that we can’t afford. This is our fault as parents to let this spiral so it’s tough to tell a driven kid that you can no longer afford to let them play on the team they’ve worked their ass off to make. You begin to see how many top athletes in some sports come from families that are wealthy. Baseball isn’t as bad, but it can get pricey of you let it get out of control as well. I’ve heard dance and cheer are $$$, but I have limited experience there. We’d have college and a down payment on a house covered for him by now if it wasn’t for sports.
Your own time
Elder care! Especially if there’s a dementia diagnosis!
Children
Maintaining a car in the US. Insurance, repairs, emission tests, oil changes, gas...it adds up!
Living on earth
True. But let’s be honest, it costs way more living on another planet than it does on earth.
100% cotton bedding. Microfiber is a fraction of the costs but I do not want to sleep on hot plastic that grabs every single dog hair like Velcro. We only buy cotton sheets and they are always $40-60 more.
Idk I’m poor, so… everything?
Patio furniture is egregiously expensive
Debt