The world at large is entirely too expensive. Why is gas more than a monthly mortgage payment?
There is a scene in one of my all-time favorite shows (Arrested Development) where one of the greatest characters ever created (Lucille Bluth) says to her son Michael (Justin Bateman)... "It's one banana, Michael. What could it cost? $10?"
When the show aired it was an absurdly brilliant line.
In 2021? $10? Could be!
Redditor u/OutrageousSea5212 wanted to compare notes on what we've all paid way too much money for, by asking:
What's something that's unnecessarily expensive?
Rent. Specifically rent in New York and California. Sometimes for a good laugh, while I'm on a wine date with myself, I look at rent prices online. And I guffaw.
Numbers
Teacher Appreciation School GIF by Texas Instruments Education
Giphy
"Graphing calculators. They've been using the same model for 20+ years (17 if we're talking a TI-84), and the prices are ridiculous."
Fees Away
"Ticketmaster's service fees."
"Wow, by far my most popular comment ever! Just wanted to edit to say that if you're able, always order your tickets by calling or visiting the performance venue directly. You can avoid a ton of the fees you would otherwise be charged, and the customer service is nearly always several grades better than what you'll get with a faceless entity that really doesn't care about you at all."
- Boy11jb
A Cheaper Farewell
"Funerals."
"Costo sells coffins btw (online), and they're much cheaper than what the funeral home is selling them for."
"Edit: this is one of those Good Guy Costco things they do, similar to not raising the prices of their food. AFAIK they think it's a rip off what funeral homes charge, and so they offer them online with shipping at a price much, much lower than what funeral homes charge."
"BTW, if you've not had to pick a casket yourself, let me tell you: a lot of funeral home's cheapest casket is literally cardboard with fake wood vinyl on the side. It's there as the "cheap" option so that you pick the one above it (which is more money, of course.)"
- ihahp
Airport Thievery
"Vending machines on the secure side of airports. You can't bring the $2 coke you bought within line of sight of the checkpoint through because it could be a bomb. You can buy another one once you get past security however! But now it's $6. The machines are literally within sight of each other."
- intashu
Ridiculous...
GIF by HULU
Giphy
"Chemotherapy. My infusions are $18k apiece. I'm lucky that it's not for cancer and I only get it twice a year and I have insurance but like… wtf."
Don't even get me started about the prices of medical care in this country. It's criminal.
Color Coded
printer GIF
Giphy
"Printer ink."
"Epson Eco-Tank ET3760 changed our lives…..not the world's best color printer but it gets the job done."
People Describe Their Best Chance Encounters | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Flying Receipts
"Emergency medi-flight. I understand the cost of fuel, wear and tear on the helicopter, as well as the pilot and medical staff. But $5,000 a mile? My ambulance ride to the heliport and ensuing helicopter ride ended up about $250,000."
"That's because the hospitals know that they can overcharge insurance because they'll knock it down. If you ask for an itemized bill for your hospital stay, you can fight tooth and nail and they'll eventually be reasonable. They just do it cause they know they can get away with it via insurance companies."
Keep me in the Dark
"Lamps. I work in manufacturing and have a good idea of how much stuff like that would cost to manufacture, and I couldn't believe how obnoxiously expensive light fixtures were when I bought some new lamps given how shoddy even moderately high end ones are built. Yet IKEA sells something made from probably the same factory for $10."
Knowledge is Pricey
"I'm shocked I haven't seen college textbooks. That crap is incredibly overpriced here in the US."
"I haven't thought of those in a few years but I remember every semester jumping through hoops trying to weasel my way out of paying full price for textbooks. And the people who have replied must not have been in school when ONLINE ACCESS CODES hit the scene."
"Now every single class has some reason to charge you 120 dollars so you can do your homework. So sure you bought the 4th edition instead of the 5th and saved 90 bucks. But now you have to buy the online code and pay 120 anyways. That crap should be criminal."
A Girl's Bestie
"The diamond market is such a racket that for a period of years during the late 1990s and early 2000s, Debeers executives were unable to set foot on US soil because they would have been arrested by the DOJ for price fixing. The crooked company eventually agreed to plead guilty and paid over $300 million in fines and settlements. The cost of doing "business". - https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48041-2004Jul13.html"
- bishpa
Stay Home
Rob Gronkowski Football GIF by Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Giphy
"Any food or beverage sold at a sporting event or concert. And the parking as well."
I do my best to pregame with sporting and concert events. Otherwise, you go broke. Last time I bought a round at an arena event I purchased two WELL double vodka/sodas and one large Diet Coke... $94. Should've got a small diet.
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Kids say the cutest things, don't they?
Their unfiltered observations about life's many mysteries can be downright hilarious and serve as reminders of their pure innocence.
But it's less forgivable when adults make naive comments because, well, shouldn't they know better?
That's not always the case, however.
Curious to hear ridiculous examples of the things grown people say, Redditor Automatic_Hedgehog71 asked:
"What is the silliest statement you have ever heard someone make?"
Some people should really think twice before opening their mouth.
Work Of Art
"'How did they get the paint all the way up the sides?' -Middle-aged woman touring the Meteor Crater in AZ."
“'That’s not paint, those are the actual colors of the rock' -Her husband, giving her a long stare and walking away."
– ghostbungalow
For Trial And Error
"I had a boss say 'oh you don’t want kids, you should just have one to try it out.'"
"Really, and what happens if I find out that I truly don’t want kids? Can we just put it back where it came from?"
– tyintegra
Confused Soldier
"I worked at a place that gave a military discount."
"Family (mom, dad, adult son, adult daughter) walked in. Dad was reading the prices and pointed out to the son that he could get a discount!"
"This kid takes the sign, reads it, and says, as God is my witness:"
"I'm not in the military. I'm in the Army."
– JustMeerkats
To Live Or Let Die
"Someone once told me that paramedics/nurses/doctors are not allowed to do CPR on someone they know because it’s 'a conflict of interest.'”
– corviknight2259
It's a wonder how some people manage to live in the real world.
Know Your Audience When Using Big Words
"Sat down to eat with a friend. I said 'I'm famished' she looked at me, laughed and LOUDLY she said to me 'I swear you make up words sometimes.'"
– NotBadSinger514
"Oh man people say this to me all the time! Why did I read books and learn so many words, when no one understands them, and I really didn't think they were so pretentious, words like Famished."
– Person_Letter_629
Not Icarus
"A friend of mine said she got more tanned when riding her bike than she did when walking because on her bike, she was 'closer to the sun.'"
– Five_Star_Amenities
"This just reminded me of a time I was out on a boat with a big group of people and one of them said 'I’m so glad it’s windy, I won’t get sunburned' they thought the wind would push the light away from their skin. I was the only one to say it definitely doesn’t work like that and I could tell they thought I was wrong."
– Thbbbt_Thbbbt
The Symptoms Indicate Otherwise
"Earlier today I offered a cough drop upon my flight’s landing to the lady wet coughing right behind me the whole flight."
'Oh, no thanks, I’m not sick. I just went to Oregon and have felt awful the whole time since.'
"Okay…so…sick"
– ACaparzo
Completely Lost
"A friend once said she couldn't take Southwest Airlines because she was flying east to Florida."
– ProudCatLadyxo
"How do they get the planes back? Do they repaint them as Northeast? Or do they just push them?"
– ch4m3le0n
"They just keep flying south until they come back around."
– frymeyourpoop
A Silly Sports Spectator Said
"I was at a baseball game in Cincinnati and the teenage girl behind turned to her friend and said 'this is so cool, it's almost like we're watching it live.' I think about that a lot."
"EDIT: based on the look of the girls and their other conversations this was no joke, there was no laughing either. Don't remember the exact year but flip phones were the most common cell phone and we had seats in the outfield so she didn't appear to be watching the game thru her phone. This also wasn't the first time that day where I heard them say something and I stopped what I was doing and stared straight into space, just the most memorable. They seemed like nice enough girls, no malicious or rude conversations, it just appeared like they lacked some basic intelligence for some relatively simple concepts."
– Michael_With_An_M
You can't be difficult and clueless at the same time, can you?
Observe exhibits A, B, & C.
Unpalatable Texture
"A woman tried to send back a dish. She didn’t understand the components of it and tried to tell me that she couldn’t eat it because she was allergic to crunchy. Like yeah the texture. Not the ingredient that we had made crunchy."
– BuckleupBirds
"LMAO. Makes me feel better about the guy who asked a friend (server) for ‘Mushroom risotto, but without the rice’."
– Mavises
I'll Have The Pie And Ice Cream With A Side Of Ice Cream
"Had an older family member that back in the day went to a diner and ordered the 'pie a la mode' from the menu. He then proceeded to ask the waitress if they could put a little ice cream on top of that. : )"
– Fluffing_Satan
My husband and I were walking around a gift shop in Solvang, CA, and marveling at some of the various tchotchkes.
One of them was a MOVA globe.
MOVA globes are usually about the size of a softball held up by three small supports, and they rotate without the use of electrical wires or batteries.
Instead, they're powered by the combination of solar cells and torque from the earth's magnetic field. We didn't know this at the time, however.
When a worker nearby saw us being mesmerized by the shelf of spinning globes, he commented, "Cool, right?"
And I replied, "Yeah, how does it work?"
The dude gave a sly smile and said:
"It's an optical delusion."
Or illusion...
We all have various brands and businesses we tend to prefer over others.
Sometimes, we might not patronize these businesses because they have a superior product, but because they might seem more trustworthy than their competitors.
Indeed, some people have had such terrible experiences with companies, even some esteemed corporations, that they went running from them straight into the arms of one of their rivals.
Vowing that they would never, ever spend money on this company ever again.
Redditor SignificantClick8284 was eager to hear which companies people have zero trust in, leading them to ask:
"What company will you never trust again?"
Their Poor Communication Is Kind Of Ironic...
"Comcast."
"Their agents will lie to your face and act like you're in the wrong when called out."- bigdammit
customer service call center GIF
Giphy
Not A Place To Spend Or Save Your Money...
"Ashley Furniture."
"Joke of a company."
"Bank of America - also scum."- KrankOverman
Better Question, What Question Will You EVER Trust Again...
"Unfurls paper scroll that stretches to the floor and rolls out the door."
"Ahem."- djb2589
"I see no reason to trust any company."- lycos94
When The Conformation Email Is Moot...
"Booking.com."
"I 'booked' through them just to find out that the hotel had no record of my reservation."
"Then I spent an hour in the lobby trying to get them on the phone, just to find out the price wouldn’t be honored and have them try to sell me another nearby hotel room."
"Nightmare."- DuncanAerilious
"Oh, oh The Well's Fargo Wagon Is A Comin'..."
"Wells Fargo."- clubberlang2005
"Yup."
"I was one of the WF customers who suddenly had 3 mystery WF accounts under my name."
"This was prior to the court case so I went in to my branch to ask WTF."
"The manager said the guy who set up those accounts was the same guy that setup my original 2 accounts - a checking and savings account."
"That a-hole tried to make it sound like he was doing me a favor by setting up all these accounts."
"Making it worse he says I need to login to my account in order for him to remove the other 3 accounts."
"He hands me that password box, I enter my password and he says 'that's an easy one to remember'."
"Is that your favorite band?'"
"After he said that I asked for the branch manager and told him what just happened and that I was closing all of my accounts'."- thescreamingstone
kate mckinnon snl GIF by Saturday Night Live
Giphy
"That's All Folks!"
"ACME."
"Every f8cking thing."
"From anvils to bat suits to zoot suits always FAIL."- alien_survivor
Not Equipped For The Digital Age
"HP."
"Thier printers (large and small format) are all complete trash that require constant upkeep."- Bluegrass_Barbarian
Pictures And Fine Print Can Be Misleading...
"Airbnb."- pkovach64
"My wife and I were drinking and got pretty drunk at an Airbnb and without letting us know the hosts sent a bunch of people to the property to refill the propane and other stuff."
"They came into the house while we were drunk and half-naked and were catcalling my wife in front of me."
"This was a pretty big and well-known group operating in Tennesee."
"From what we found out this is extremely common."- Huge-Plantain-8418
Giveaway GIF by AppSumo
Giphy
Analog Has Its Benefits...
"EA."- bullet312
"I lost all my sims sh*t because I hadn't logged in for more than 6 months."
"EA told me to reset my password so that they could restore my account."
"They kept saying the link was in my email, but it never came."
"Kept calling to try to get the issue fixed over a few weeks, then I realized they were just d*cking me around."
"F*ck EA."- MotherOfDogs1872
And To Think They're Supposed To Help You...
"Any insurance company."
"Especially health and homeowners."- carolizzy81
FalsE Advertising
"Nabisco."
"They took double stuffed Oreos, reduced the amount of cream to the same as the regular Oreos, and are still selling them as double stuffed, and are charging double stuffed prices!"
"The betrayal is unforgivable."- It_Wasnt_Me79
oreo GIF
Giphy
As If Taxes Aren't Annoying Enough...
"Jackson Hewitt!"
"Had our taxes done a while back, and the tax preparer asked if we wanted the $200 cash advance."
"We did not."
"She then proceeded to change our information and use hers to get the temporary card with the advance."
'She then used an ATM to withdraw cash."
"She was arrested, but getting a refund was like pulling teeth from a hen."
'They didn't believe that it happened even though we had the paperwork with the tax preparer's information on it."
"It was a frigging nightmare!"
"Oh, I almost forgot she added me to the return and said I was the sister instead of the mom, so we ended up owing $1500 on top of the bullsh*t from the tax preparer."
"I do our taxes now."- RoguePhoenix259
People like to know when they're spending money that it's going somewhere they can trust.
Especially if their money is going somewhere that is supposed to keep their money safe, to begin with...
People's Wildest 'WTF Is Wrong With You?' Experiences