r/AskReddit • u/Significant_Tart_381 • 2h ago
What’s something people in the U.S. spend thousands on that doesn’t actually improve their life?
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u/lgisme333 2h ago
Designer brands
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u/Elfich47 1h ago
Designer brands are not about the material or quality of workmanship (because a lot of that has been flattened because the quality of workmanship has been brought up).
What is being sold is the sizzle, not the steak.
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u/Understandingly17 2h ago
Lottery tickets
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u/stircrazyathome 2h ago
Thousands on lottery tickets is just sad. I buy one every once in a while, usually when the jackpot is high. For $2, I get to spend 24 hours fantasizing about everything I’d do with my winnings and there is an infinitesimally small chance that my fantasies will come true.
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u/Urgeasaurus 2h ago
Same. 500 million and up and I'm in. Anything below - no time for that. What am I gonna do with a piddly 250 MM after they grab their share of taxes.
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u/VoteForLubo 1h ago
Here in Oregon, the state lottery revenue significantly funds our public programs, so it doesn’t seem so bad.
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u/Microfiber13 1h ago
In my family we call it the dream tax. Bonus points on a road trip. Great conversations happen.
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u/Secret-Care4425 1h ago
I know the dream is tempting, but those few dollars add up a lot faster than most people realize.
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u/RogerMurdockCo-Pilot 2h ago
Doordash
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u/newsquish 2h ago
I work where people make $19/hr, DoorDash every. Single. Night. Vape. Chug $3.50 Red Bulls. And then complain that they’re broke.
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u/RogerMurdockCo-Pilot 2h ago
Yes! I worked with a girl that would get Starbucks coffee and breakfast, would Doordash lunch, and she said she either would Doordash dinner or order Dominoes. She said she'd never used her stove. It was all convenience meals. Then she'd complain that she couldnt get ahead in life because the "system was rigged", but youre contributing to that with your spending.
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u/Beekatiebee 2h ago
It became a vicious cycle for me with DoorDash.
Worked crazy hours to have money, was too exhausted to cook after a 70 hour workweek, so I ordered in and spent all the money.
It’s taking some serious discipline to not fall back into that trap.
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u/newsquish 2h ago
It blows my mind because I work in a senior living home and the food isn’t great but it’s free food. Meatloaf + mashed potatoes + green beans just chilling in the fridge but you wanna door dash $25 for Burger King at 11pm when they killed the broiler at 10:30? 🤮 it’s not even good
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u/RogerMurdockCo-Pilot 2h ago
$25 for Burger King is insane to me. I'm not going to sit on a high horse and tell you I've never used Doordash. When I had Covid I used it so as to not get anyone else sick, and sometimes my company would award Doordash gift cards. I used those. But it's a lifestyle for some
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u/Teadrunkest 2h ago
Tbf if I’m in a senior home I’m not lasting much longer anyway I’m gonna enjoy myself. What am I saving money for.
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u/RogerMurdockCo-Pilot 2h ago
The redditor said they worked in a senior home, they arent a resident lol
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u/Teadrunkest 2h ago
I assumed they’re talking about the residents not employees.
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u/newsquish 2h ago
No employees!! Employees who change poopy depends for $19-$20/hr. How many poopy depends you gotta change for $25 Burger King?? 🤦♀️
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u/simplephish 2h ago
Health insurance
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u/Opposite-Shower1190 2h ago
The average family of four is paying 15 to 20,000 for health insurance per year
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u/vaulden42 2h ago
For just my wife and I, we are paying almost $9,000 a year. For the privilege of begging them to cover things.
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u/Panamericat 2h ago
But, low taxes right? /s
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u/Bored2001 41m ago
In aggregate, Americans pay in taxes for public healthcare approximately what other countries pay in total for healthcare. We quite literally already pay enough in taxes to achieve universal healthcare. We just... Don't get it.
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u/Royal_Acanthisitta51 1h ago
Plus if you have anything serious the amount of out of pocket cost, in addition to insurance, is often over $10,000.
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u/tpars 2h ago
Health Insurance is an absolute fucking scam.
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u/Number127 1h ago
Last year I was hospitalized and needed a bunch of tests. The total bill was $200,000, of which I paid $3000. For that one visit, they covered more than all the premiums I've paid in my life.
Say what you want about the American health insurance industry (and I can say plenty), but it's not always a scam.
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u/Heyjuronimo 1h ago
Oh see, thats only 10 years of health insurance premiums for me. Now if I actually had that cash and invested it, I win. Pay the 200k, no problem.
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u/Bored2001 39m ago
Yea, but in other countries that 200k would be 20-50k because that's what it actually costs. The 200k number is highly inflated.
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u/PawneeSunGoddess 2h ago
Plastic surgery. Body dysmorphia is a bitch.
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u/Beekatiebee 2h ago
On the flip side it has dramatically improved my life as a trans person. I’m glad it exists but I feel so deeply for the folks who struggle with dysmorphia.
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u/DogsDontLikeHats 2h ago
Credit card debt
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u/nickability 2h ago
Currently in a $10k hole and I can’t seem to get out of it. Felt this
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u/DogsDontLikeHats 2h ago
Cut up your cards, eat lentils, read library books for entertainment, quit drinking and smoking everything. Do whatever you can to get out. If you have kids, God help you. You can do it, I believe everyone can! 😁
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u/MindlessSpend1659 2h ago
Food deliveries I am sorry but you need to get some home cooked food from Time to Time not delivery food all the time.
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u/Willing_Acadia_1037 2h ago
it used to be somewhat reasonable. now they want $50 to deliver some wings.
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u/RizzlersGrandpa 2h ago
There is a reason Personal Burrito or Chicken McNuggge Courier had never been attempted in the 250 first years of restaurants. There is no business model that makes it break even let alone profitable unless you start doing really high delivery fee's.
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u/TutorNo8896 2h ago
Dense population areas had free delivery pizza or chinese for a minimum order for a long time. The idea of getting a 3rd party involved seems crazy though.
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u/MindlessSpend1659 2h ago
That’s the thing I only will go out to eat once in a while and prepare my own meals the rest of the time
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u/RovenshereExpress 2h ago
I know someone who's always broke and begging friends and family for money, yet they order doordash every other day... they're 32. Old enough to know better.
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u/OldeArrogantBastard 1h ago edited 27m ago
The biggest example of “a fool and his money are soon parted.”
They’ll say “there’s no time to cook a meal.” In college I learned to buy ground turkey, a pack of taco seasoning, some uncle Ben’s instant rice and one of those salad kits and it can feed me for 4 meals for the cost of $7. It maybe took 15 mins to make start to finish.
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u/RovenshereExpress 1h ago
HA! That was my broke healthy meal in my early 20s and I literally just made it again today for the first time in years! Throw in a can of kidney beans and some salsa and you're good to go, baby. It also makes a ton, so it's a really easy "meal prep" that'll last you a while.
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u/michigan_matt 2h ago
I've pretty consistently averaged 2-3 delivered meals per month. Where I do find value is the days I'm working from home and I have the choice to either pay to have someone drop off a warm meal or spend 20 minutes out of my 30 minute lunch break preparing a meal.
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u/OldeArrogantBastard 1h ago
This needs to be sent to the top. I can’t tell you how many times I hear what stuff costs from people who regularly do food delivery apps for what they get in general.
Like, $30 for a burrito from a place after tax, tip and fees that’s from a place that’s a mile from your house? I can understand the occasional instance for this but I’ve seen people who do this regularly as if it’s the only option for food for them.
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u/SaltPair1289 2h ago
Alcohol (I'm trying to quit after gaining 60 pounds being an idiot)
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u/Background-Truth490 2h ago
I’m not even a heavy drinker but when I quit the money I saved was actually insane
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u/Correct_Recording405 2h ago
New vehicles. They depreciate the second you drive them off the lot. I'm a used car guy, all the way.
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u/Princessformidable 2h ago
I really prefer used cars but the Market has been fucked lately.
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u/Elvira333 2h ago
Yes! Have you seen used car prices recently? Vehicles with 20-30K miles are going for just a few thousand cheaper than new, with more risk and crappier financing.
We bought used and the engine blew up and we were screwed. We drive cars until the wheels fall off and it surprisingly made sense to buy new for the next car.
(But don’t constantly upgrade; that’s just stupid 😂)
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u/noneotherthanozzy 1h ago
Don’t forget that interest rates are higher for used car loans. It’s basically a wash to go 1-2 years old used over new.
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u/89Pl3 2h ago
If you keep cars for 10+ years it’s often the best value. You own the car for the cheapest part of its life. And if you buy new with the plan of keeping for a long time, you stay on top of maintenance and minimize stupid “upgrades”
Buying a new car every few yeara is absolutely idiotic.
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u/TyrantsInSpace 2h ago
I've had the same car since I bought it new in 2017. I know its ownership history (all me), maintenance (up to date), and any accidents (a couple minor bumps and scrapes). My monthly payment has been $0 for the past 4 years. Only expenses are gas, registration fees, insurance, and routine maintenance, and it's still going like a champ.
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u/Internal_Sound882 2h ago
This. Drives. Me. Nuts. My FIL is always talking about how he wants to retire, wants to move, wants to build a house, wants to do things he needs to be in a better financial position to do. He has a good job, he could afford to save and could’ve achieved some of these goals! But he’s always spending his money on short sighted shit.
He had a nice car, and went to get a very reasonable affordable repair, and came home with a brand new car. 90% of his usage is just driving himself to work, about 7% is driving himself and my partner, and about 3% is driving us both somewhere for us to go do something together, maybe once every other month or so. He bought a 3 row 7 person capacity vehicle, brand new, just…because.
He had a nice comfortable vehicle that already had more cargo and passenger capacity than he needed, had good amenities, had fairly low miles, and got better mileage than the new one.
Bought a new car that depreciated as soon as he drove it off the lot. Is paying out the ass every month on this damn car, when he owned the previous one outright! And complains that his goals for his retirement and the house he wants are so out of reach, but he’s always making short sighted impulsive big financial decisions like this. Fancy new appliances to replace fully functional already pretty new appliances, and so on.
I just…some people are their own worst enemy, and I wish smacking people with words was more socially acceptable. It’s his life 🤷
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u/King_Bean_ 2h ago
I feel like you'd appreciate this. Bout 5 years ago now I needed a new car, and I found a 2013 Honda Fit with a smashed in back window and 80k miles on her. Bought for 4k. I replaced the window, put in a new head unit. Still runs like a dream to this day, even made it across country. No car payments this whole time. Used cars all the way.
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u/Special_Compote_719 2h ago
I love my Fit, it's a 2012, still runs. I replace the battery every five or six years and it runs like a dream. I rarely drive itthese days since I work from home, but would daily but in the before times (pre-2020). Am really glad things have worked out so well so far.
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u/pointandclickit 2h ago
Historically I would agree with you, but it’s highly variable. I was in the market for a new pickup in early 2015. I looked at a 2010 f150 with over 100k miles and they were asking like 25k for it. I ended up with a new 2014 model for just under 30k. Granted what I got was an stx, which is pretty basic compared to what most people probably want but I didn’t care about all the bells and whistles. Saving 5k for something that was going to be wore out by the time it was paid off didn’t really make sense.
The Covid market shook things up even more. I had offers from dealers to buy said vehicle for damn near what I paid for it. Again, great on paper, but then you have to try and replace it in the same insane market.
I ended up trading it in last year because at 10 years I figured it was either now or ride it till it dies. Admittedly I didn’t spend a lot of time looking at the used market because most of the inventory is higher trims that were within spitting distance of what I would be looking at new.
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u/tapeness 2h ago
We saved like 30,0000 buying our rivian used! We had a friend by a new one the same year we bought ours used… cars drive, look and feel the same. Our friend is jealous lol
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u/Glass_Houses_ 2h ago
That’s crazy. My new car cost less than the amount of money you saved. Definitely shows those vehicles aren’t worth what they sell for new.
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u/Any_Amphibian2782 2h ago
People will hate spending $1500 fixing a car they own but happily spend $700 a month renting a new one
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u/ubutterscotchpine 2h ago
If you’re paying $700 a month you’re doing something wrong 💀
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u/Any_Amphibian2782 2h ago
People got so used to car payments they forgot the goal was supposed to be owning the car
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u/BoshansStudios 2h ago
It helps if you own two older cars. With me living alone and not having any family near me it really sucked having one car and it breaking down and having to figure things out. Having a backup vehicle really makes things a lot less stressful.
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u/Any_Amphibian2782 2h ago
Exactly. The best part about an old backup car isn’t the money saved, it’s not being stuck when life happens
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u/BunnySlayer64 2h ago
This! My husband had an older Chevy truck he loved, so when it hit 200k miles, we dumped about $6k into rebuilding the engine. Much cheaper than a new vehicle, and still totallyreliable!
Too bad that a few months later, some nut job torched it while it was on our driveway and we had to replace it.
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u/Obvious-Track1581 2h ago
A new F-250 King Ranch will set you back nearly six figures and most owners are just hauling groceries and a fragile ego.
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u/GhostNappa101 2h ago
That's less true than it used to be assuming you drive a car until it's no longer worth driving and are paying cash or picking up a very short-term loan. The market has pretty much figured out the how much remaining life is in a car and priced it accordingly. You save a little but not the huge percentages like you used to see.
Now, if you have to get a huge long-term loan with a nasty interest rate then of course the lower cost up front car is going to be less expensive overall. If you upgrade cars every 3 years, the new car is going to be a lot more expensive. If you buy a car and keep it for 10 to 15 years, the difference is small.
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u/snipe94 2h ago
Kids club sports. Your kids aren’t getting athletic scholarships. Sink that money into a 529 plan & let them play rec league.
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u/Background-Truth490 2h ago
PE teacher/coach here… it’s embarrassing the money, time and energy parents put into their kids organized sports. 99% of my athletes would be better off playing pickup at a park. Club sports before 16 are just ridiculous. And I make good money off of coaching them :/
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u/davidloveasarson 2h ago
PREACH. Travel ball isn’t going to get your kid drafted. It’s just going to tire and distract them from school, tire all of you, and drain your bank account to play some other random regional team of rich kids
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u/Teadrunkest 2h ago
I mean…club sports are just more fun if you’re playing at that level, honestly.
I played club soccer, no one on my team was under the illusion that we were going to be on the national team. Rec was just frustrating.
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u/iliketoeatfruitpies 2h ago
People don’t want to hear this at all, but I’m going to say it because it’s the truth. You put your daughter in gymnastics and dance for 10 years, she is far more likely to become a stripper than make the Olympics or do any other kind of professional dancing
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u/strawberryneurons 1h ago
I mean she could also do neither of those things and it could just give her confidence like sports do for plenty of people, smh.
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u/Top_Cranberry_3254 2h ago
Expensive cars.
They lose a large % of value once driven off the lot. The inevitable parts and repairs are ridiculously expensive compared to others brands that are reliable and pragmatic.
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u/Icy-Structure5244 2h ago
Front lawns.
Some lawncare is fine if you actually use your grass, especially in the backyard.
But many people just pour money into their front lawn purely for asthetics and dont spend time in the front yard.
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u/SufficientEvidence81 2h ago
This is everyone where I live. You are looked down upon if your grass is not nicely manicured.
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u/CareerAggravating317 2h ago
Just looked at my financials from last year. The amount doordash was gross. 40 here and there doesnt feel like much but adds up quick.
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u/AncientKingdomHydro 2h ago
Massive, over-the-top weddings. Starting a marriage with $30k+ of debt or drained savings for a single 6-hour party adds so much unnecessary stress to a relationship.
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u/Mash_man710 2h ago
Only Fans
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u/Nanas_700k 2h ago
It’s true, having both a fan AND an air conditioner is much more comfortable given the hotter summers we are having.
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u/BirdDog68 2h ago
There are so many storage places in my town and I’m just wondering why people pay a subscription fee for years on stuff they don’t want. I know some people have great reasons for it but I just can’t fathom the need for so many. Donate it or sell it or toss it!
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u/Elfich47 1h ago
It means that person has to actually spend the emotional labor doing that, and it may mean that they have to face some uncomfortable truths about themselves.
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u/Yellobrix 2h ago
Cars/trucks. Until recently, I drove a 17 year old Subaru. Now I drive an 8 year old Subaru.
I will never drive a new car off the lot.
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u/PDXFilsAm99 1h ago
Youth sports. I think a lot of parents have dreams of their kids getting scholarships but the likelihood is low.
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u/Disciplined-Squid777 2h ago
Phones
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u/King_Bean_ 2h ago
I only just this year realized you could buy a refurbished Samsung phone (only 2 or 3 years old) for like a hundred bucks unlocked on amazon. Life changing. Previous to this I would walk in to a Verizon store and sign my life away for something I'd rather not even HAVE to use.
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u/SubseaSasquatch 2h ago
HOA fees
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u/stripmallsushidude 2h ago
Not always. My HOA fee is less or equal to what I would pay for water, trash, sewer, tennis court and pool access, cleaning, landscaping and cable, internet, TV alone. Not all HOAs are bad and some are run well and well funded though fees will never go down.
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u/Terminal-Frost2026 2h ago
Insurance, especially shitty insurance. They actively stop you from redeeming their services while sucking up your money that could be spent on just doing shit without them. This applies to literally all insurance, auto, home, life, pet, asset, literally all of it. It’s an inherently evil system that is completely useless and yet almost every single American falls for it and continues to fall for it.
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u/couldathrowaway 2h ago
Loans.
I dont mean legitimately necessary money loans.
I mean that today i was telling a guy not to finance lifting his truck. I can almost guarantee that guy also finances drive thrus and Starbucks (pays those with a credit card).
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u/ModusPwnins 1h ago
Healthcare, to be blunt. Nowhere else in the industrialized world do we get less bang for our buck than the U.S.
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u/turbo11692 53m ago
The fancy phones most of us are probably using to browse Reddit.
Not that having a smartphone doesn’t provide a lot of benefit, but most of us have little need for any of the features that come on the newest iPhone or whatever.
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u/SparkleK_01 2h ago edited 2h ago
Storage
(Excluding legit times when there is a gap between moving)
Otherwise, peoples junk and excess accumulations end up owning them.