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People Who Believe They Threw Their Lives Away Admit Where It All Went Wrong

Life is hard: I think we can all agree on that.

And, while we all make mistakes, some people really and truly believe that they threw their whole lives away, and that is really sad to think about…but it happens to some folks.

AskReddit users who believe they threw their lives away talk about where they think it went wrong.

1. Wasn’t prepared.

“College.

I was always one of the best students in high school. I got to college and I didn’t know what “study” meant. I just thought you skim though the book, it had always worked for me before. I had to get kicked out, then do a real job.

Eventually I went back and got my degree, but I left a lot on the table. I with I had prepared myself.”

2. Too much time online.

“Internet.

I moved after a kind of trauma in my life and it was my only connection to my former friends and therefore the only normal thing in my life. I began to see that, I think, as a connection to the real world and spent all my time on the computer. All my time.

I never joined any clubs, never really strived to make friends outside of the ones I talked to online, hobbies were limited to the computer and what I could accomplish while distracted.

Dont get me wrong I think the internet is am amazing tool and can be used as such. I do also think its dangerous and addictive. To this day I have trouble focusing, trouble realizing how much time I’ve spent on the computer, and I get caught in loops where I use the computer to relax and get away but get depressed and pessimistic because the news and comment sections are usually quite toxic.

If I could go back I wouldve dont things differently, I think my life would be richer.”

3. Too much alcohol.

“When I started drinking.

The drinking wasn’t really that much of a problem, but it was enough for me to be too hungover to keep up my monthly appointments to get my ADHD meds. I fell behind on meds, became embarrassed to re-schedule appointments, missed the deadline to renew my health insurance.

Then I couldn’t handle school anymore, publicly bombed a few presentations, and stopped going. I only had one semester left but it was a small school and all of the professors know that I just completely gave up. Now I’m too scared to go back and have none of the degree and all of the debt.”

4. The wrong path.

“My parents were addicts. They got divorced and my mom f*cked up a lot so we often didn’t have a lot of food.

I got tired of being hungry and started shoplifting food at the grocery. I didn’t get caught by the staff, but some other criminals noticed me. I ended up forming a sort of crime ring with them. At that time they stored cigars on a aisle in the store. We started stealing them as well as gum and candy and selling them at school. We also started smoking them.

That was how I started down the wrong path. I progressively hung out with worse people and did worse things. I dropped out of high school and spiraled out of control. Its more than 20 years later now. Most of my “friends” are dead in prison or IDK where. I have nothing. I did get clean a few years back and I haven’t committed a crime in a long time, but I have no idea how to move forward in life.

I have no skills, no recent work experience, and no references. I f*cked my life up pretty good.”

5. Depressing.

“It all went wrong in my infancy really.

Had cancer as a baby, the cancer itself and the treatment crippled and disfigured me. Spent my entire childhood ostracized by everyone my age; the only interaction I had with other kids was occasional bullying and nothing else. Pretty much left me socially crippled…

Flopped at high school because I never went (was absent like 60% of the time), the school didn’t report me to a truancy officer or anything, they just marked my absences down as being because of my disability and excused them. I still graduated because I did all my work, albeit poorly, and went to college, where I got good grades…

But since I had spent my entire life up to that point in a depressed haze, I had no idea what I even wanted to do with my life and got a useless degree. I was going to go to law school because I couldn’t think of anything else to do with my useless degree, but since I was still an anti-social recluse.

I couldn’t get any letters of recommendation from anyone and had no extra-curricular activities, thus no chance of getting into any ‘good’ law schools… So I didn’t bother with that.

Wasn’t really anything I could have changed along the way to make my life any better, though, so its not like I have any regrets… Just hope reincarnation is real and things go better the next time around at this point.”

6. Blew my chance.

“I think my chance to shine was blown in my 20s.

I spent most of it fat, I took my living conditions for granted, I was a bit of a little b*tch when working actual jobs (explains why they ended so short) and I didn’t really have a good handle on interacting so well.

It was haywire. Now I’m just stuck spinning in place due to that.”

7. Wow.

“I had a kid when I was 19.

At first I was capable of studying and work and the same time, then I just gave up. I was quite talented in highschool, had no problems in college, hang out with a bunch of friends and really enjoyed life.

Then I dropped college to work full time, started to get isolated, lost friends, opportunities, years. It didn’t helped that my relationship was like any teenager one with all the economic pressures of an adult life: that was hell.

Now I’m 27, I could get back to college, and I’m failing big time. I can’t concentrate, feels like a mental fog. Also the age difference triggers my social anxiety.

I had a friend who was deep into physics. We used to joke that when he would won the Physics Nobel Prize I would won the Literature one.

He went to another city to study.

I stayed and had a son when I was 19.”

8. Stuck in a rut.

“My parents home schooled me for all of high school, and didn’t do a good job at it.

So when it was time to go to college, I just took a few classes, passed them, hated others, so dropped them.

Stopped for a while to work and have been working a series of cr*p restaurant jobs ever since.

Finally started taking criminal justice courses one or two at a time and enjoyed those, so I’m a few classes from my AS now.

Went to the police academy, but haven’t been able to get a job in law enforcement since graduating, and I’m back to working cr*p restaurant jobs and living with my parents.

I’m 32.”

9. Waste of time.

“I got pregnant with a man I had just met when I was in my early 20’s.

Rather than raising my son myself, I married him to try to “right” things despite knowing that he had anger issues and a drinking problem. Almost twenty years later still stuck in the marriage.

What a waste of time. Wasn’t even a good father.”

10. “Tanked my future.”

“Not necessarily my life but I definitely tanked my future by my choices.

I once had a promising military career. I was a senior NCO with a sure shot at making first sergeant within a few years. At the time of this story, I had just re-enlisted. I got a nice bonus and a ranger school slot out of the deal. I was given orders to Ft Camppbell and was to report to 101st airborne after completing ranger school enroute.

I had everything going for me. I had a wife and a beautiful family of 3 sons. I was respected by my unit, my Soldiers and my chain of command. I survived 30 months of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and my career was just about to enter a new chapter in the garrison world.

I was also attending online college for free through military TA and I had big plans on retiring from the military to work for the NSA once I finished my degree in cybersecurity.

This happened right after I got back from Afghanistan. What people didnt know at the time was that my wife and I were struggling to get along. It was like we were drifting apart but we both refused to admit it. So for my entire tour in afghanistan, we were arguing on a nearly constant basis. On top of all this she was pregnant again.

I was hiding all this from my unit at the time out of shame and embarrassment. I dont think they ever knew how stressed out I really was because I kept a very stoic and emotionless demeanor about it. I hide sh*t well like that.

If only I had talked to someone because when I got home from tour and started pouring liquor out onto my problems. Things only escalated from there. I managed to get a PTSD diagnosis and they basically just threw benzodiazepines at the problem.

Before I knew it I became a high functioning alcoholic using ativan to control withdrawal symptoms, but no one had any idea. I became physically dependent and started drinking during the day. Still managing to hide it from my unit. The arguments and chaos between my wife and I kept getting worse but I was in denial and completely blind to how toxic we had actually become for each other.

Months later on the day my 4th son was born I was hungover but still drove my wife to the hospital. We got there safe and she delivered the baby without any complications.

Beautiful baby boy but they were worried about his vitals so he was to be monitored in the NICU for a few days. Later that afternoon I had to take my car back to base for a brief moment to gather a few things for my wife because they were admitting her to the hospital also.

Somehow on the way back to base I managed to rear end a stopped vehicle. The guy lived but he got sent to the hospital for whiplash. The police breathalyzed me when they got onto the scene and I was immediately arrested.

Even after not drinking all day my BAC was still at .10. I didnt even feel like I had been drinking. But still I caused property damage and injured the other driver and blew over the limit. I was completely f**ked and I knew it. Just like that I had a felony DUI on my record and my career was over.

Long story short. I lost all of the opportunities I had before. Lost my reenlistment bonus, I lost my career and the respect of my command team. I was kicked out of the military. I lost my security clearance, my tuition assistance and my GI Bill benefits.

In the aftermath of my discharge, we moved back home to live with family that could help us get through it, and things only got worse from there. I fell deep into depression over the loss of my career but still didnt quit drinking.

The arguments continued to spiral downward and eventually we got our kids taken away by the police and she was convicted of CDV after a very intense argument. This was the final straw for my marriage and we separated after that.

My wife went back to her home state and my kids are staying with my grandparents and I’m paying g her child support until we can close the case that got them taken away. So here I am. Broke, depressed, childless, and going through divorce. I feel completely ashamed and miserable with how things turned out for me and my family.

I have little to no hope that my life, relationships, finances or opportunities will ever recover from this.”

11. Might take a while.

“Alcohol went wrong for me.

I’m a 28 year old female who has lost EVERYTHING due to my alcoholism. I recently lost my job and house. I keep fighting though, and I’m 13 days sober.

I hope to get my life back, but unfortunately it will take a while.”

12. Wish things were different.

“I’m 29 and about to have a 3rd career change. I live alone, so have to save up for mortgage payments while I’m on the lower wage of a new career.

I broke my leg quite badly a few months back which I’ve been off work for. Suddenly I realised there’s no one there for me. I had to move back in with my parents for a few weeks but I’m still sat in this house alone again now until I’m well enough to go back to work.

God I wish things were different.”

Do you think that you’ve thrown your life away?

If so, when did it go wrong?

Talk to us in the comments…

The post People Who Believe They Threw Their Lives Away Admit Where It All Went Wrong appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Share Cold, Hard Facts of Life They’ve Learned Over the Years

Everyone has different upbringings, but I was lucky enough to be raised by positive, and decent parents so I probably naively thought that certain things in life were going to be much easier and smoother than they’ve turned out to be.

But, you live and you learn…

And sometimes, the cold, harsh reality of life smacks you right in the face and teaches you a major lesson.

AskReddit users went on the record and admitted the harsh facts of life that they’ve learned. Let’s see what they had to say.

1. Just the way it is.

“It’s something adults always say, but life isn’t fair.

At the end of the day, the people who take advantage over others are almost always going to be the most successful if they get away with it.”

2. Are you listening?

“People mostly just wait for their turn to talk, they only rarely listen you you.”

3. Sad, but true.

“If you’re doing something right nobody ever notices, its only when you screw up that people notice.”

4. Up to you.

“The only person you can depend on is you.

Friends that you thought you’d have forever will move away and lose touch and (not to be morbid) people close to you will die.

With this in mind, you have to do what is best for you:

Don’t let your caring for these people hold you back because one day you’ll realize they’re gone and that you never got to do the things you wanted to do.”

5. Hard truth.

“My obesity is my own fault.

A bit of background, 8 years ago I was diagnosed with PTSD after leaving a seriously abusive relationship, since then it’s been purely emotional eating.

Until recently I blamed my weight on the PTSD/stress and found excuses but this last year I’ve been mentally healthy and found I have less and less bad days. That being said I’m still over weight and I’m still overeating.

I live alone so I have no one to fell guilty in front of but genuinely feel so low after a binge and end up really disgusted with myself.

I’ve tried so many times to start up but the motivation leaves me so quickly its pathetic.”

6. Get used to it.

“You’re stuck with yourself for the rest of your life, no one else.

So you’d better like it.”

7. A tough one.

“My parents are getting older and that scares me.

I’m not ready for them to go.

I would gladly give them some years off my life so they can stay with us a little longer.”

8. You gotta find the bright spots.

“That I’m going to die alone and no one is going to care.

I’ve long since given up trying.

Let it end.”

9. Better people.

“Some people are better than other people, naturally.

This isn’t based on race/gender/s*xuality/economic circumstance or anything like that.

But some people are born better.

All humans aren’t equal in terms of their potential and aptness– even if they should be treated equally legally/socially/morally.”

10. Watch your back.

“You need to watch your own back because no one else has your back.

Even the best of friends will eventually backstab you if the need for it arises.”

11. Good point.

“Family isn’t always there for you.

Sometimes you have to either go it alone or make a DIY family.

And so I did.”

12. True for a lot of people.

“America:

Your boss doesn’t care about you.

Your government REALLY doesn’t care about you.”

13. Believe in yourself.

“You are your biggest cheerleader, and the best person you can trust.

I just learned that my best friend of six years, who I trusted with anything for a long time, was manipulating me and spreading rumors behind my back for nearly a year, and she is the reason some of my other friends don’t talk to me anymore.

I’m in high school, so I thought these people would be like those people my parents talk about, the people they’ve been friends with since they were 14 or 15 or 16 and never fell out of touch with.

C’est la vie, I guess.”

14. It’s up to you.

“If you are looking for someone to blame for your problems, look in the mirror.

If you want a solution to your problems, look in the mirror.”

What’s a hard fact of life that you’ve learned?

Talk to us in the comments and let us know.

We look forward to hearing from you!

The post People Share Cold, Hard Facts of Life They’ve Learned Over the Years appeared first on UberFacts.

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What Are Socially Acceptable Things That Really Shouldn’t Be? Here’s What People Said.

It’s funny what society tells us is acceptable and what isn’t, don’t you think?

I see some things that people do that the majority of folks view as totally normal and I think they’re whack as hell.

And then I’ll see something that I think is ludicrous or even dangerous that isn’t frowned upon one little bit.

Life sure is weird…

Folks on AskReddit talked about things that are socially acceptable but really shouldn’t be.

1. Enough of that.

“Going to work sick some how makes you a team player……”

2. Loyalty?

“Company loyalty. It’s completely fine and expected for the employee to be loyal to the company.

But it’s also acceptable for the company to fire someone who’s been loyal to them for years without even giving them an explanation.”

3. Not cool.

“Being asked to work off the clock.

Checking work emails and texts at home is work and should be paid.”

4. That’s just weird.

“Touching pregnant women’s baby bumps is apparently socially acceptable… it should not be.”

5. Where are my breaks?

“I work retail, so this should be familiar.

In a convenience store you don’t get breaks per se because of the nature of the business, especially if you are the only employee in the store at a given time.

I am a non-smoker. Guess how many smoke breaks I get, let alone a “regular” break? That’s right: zero. If a smoker needs a “smoke break” guess who has to cover that break? Yup, me.

If you aren’t sure where I am that’s OK, I’m in the US. Breaks for an addiction is fine apparently, but God forbid you need a quick 5 minute break to destress due to stupid people.”

6. Doesn’t work for everyone.

“The definition of a successful career being related to income rather than job satisfaction.”

7. Amen!

“The entire concept of the paparazzi.”

8. So annoying.

“Bringing a small child to an R rated movie.

If it’s not appropriate, then don’t go if you can’t find a sitter. If I’m watching a horror or comedy flick with an R rating in theaters, I shouldn’t be able to hear chattering and crying 5-year-olds.”

9. Just don’t say anything.

“Telling people “oh you’re so quiet” when you are the one obviously uncomfortable with their quietness.”

10. Kinda weird.

“That dads are “babysitting” their kids.

Not only is it often rude to the father, but it is also perpetuating this idea that the mom has to be the main caretaker of kids and makes it so that dads are in the right when they are basically babysitting their own kids because mom is busy.”

11. All work, no play.

“The fact that life revolves around work.

You work 8 hours a day, 5 times a week to do something you enjoy for a few hours per weekend.”

12. Enough of that!

“Older family members constantly asking and pressuring younger people to get married and have kids already.”

13. I agree 100%.

“Wine mom culture.

The idea that it’s fun and quirky for a mom to need to drink excessively to deal with her kids and husband.

No it’s not okay to drink a half a bottle of wine before noon.”

What do you think is socially acceptable but really shouldn’t be?

Talk to us in the comments and let us know.

Thanks a lot!

The post What Are Socially Acceptable Things That Really Shouldn’t Be? Here’s What People Said. appeared first on UberFacts.

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16 Things That Are Way Harder Than People Want Them to Be

It’s one thing to go into a task knowing that it’s going to be hard the whole way. It’s going to be a lot of work, but it’ll be worth it in the end, blah blah blah, and so we dive right in.

We get offended, I think, when we’re not expecting a big to-do but a project or task turns out to be a whole pile of work when we were expecting a tiny speck.

Here are 16 things you might want to prepare for, because they’re probably going to be far more trouble than you think at the start.

16. Sometimes you just don’t want to be there anymore.

Leaving a party/social gathering. I wish it wasn’t considered rude to just fucking leave.

15. How did you think it such a hardship 10 minutes before?

And getting out of the shower after it took you so long to get in.

14. Delayed gratification is hard.

Saving up to retire.

13. It’s depressing because it’s true.

getting mental health treatment without having to fight everyone on the way in a test of your determination.

Last year I was having a really difficult time with some family stuff. I currently live in the southeastern United States.

Trying to find a psychologist that would even call me back was impossible. I seriously hope this is a unique problem that no one ever has to deal with.

12. It really is the little things.

When the damn seatbelt keeps getting stuck while you’re trying to put it on! You be raging in your car before you’ve left your driveway.

11. All about who you know.

Looking for a job when you have no connections.

I’d like to add applying for jobs specifically. So tired of all these Indeed postings trying to make me take a mini exam to prove I’m worthy of applying

10. This makes me angry.

Getting your tubes tied without having already had at least 2 children.

My wife and I aren’t having kids and she doesn’t want to worry about it, but NO doctor will even consider it, and we’re both in our 30s.

9. It’s no picnic.

Period.

I dream of not having the sometimes unbearable pain and all this fucking blood to clean up every time.

I once passed out because of that, I was unable to call anyone to get me painkillers.

8. They must be from the Midwest.

Leaving a restaurant with my family.

OK, meal is over, let’s say our goodbyes and head out.

OK, standing next to the table, let’s say our goodbyes and head out.

OK, just outside the front door, let’s say our goodbyes and head out.

OK, made it to the parking lot, let’s say our goodbyes and head out.

FFS, just say bye and walk away!

Why is this so hard!

7. I feel this one in my bones.

Taxes.

On year 4 of doing them myself.

I’m either doing it right or should be expecting a call from the IRS some time in the future.

6. Comfort is key after the year we’ve had.

Figuring out what to wear to work that will be both comfortable and not look bad/sloppy.

5. A circle that leads to nowhere.

Getting a job with no experience.

4. And then having to express them. Ugh.

emotions honestly.

like what the f*ck dude how can something i cant even see make me feel the way they make you feel

3. It’s harder to find things in common.

Making friends as an adult.

Young kids don’t really have the forward thinking or mental blocks that plague adults.

Kids are pretty carefree and are unaware of a lot of things.

When you don’t have these mental blocks or that voice inside of your head, it’s pretty easy to meet and make friends.

Think of it as a weird “ignorance is bliss”.

2. Who is telling the truth?

Knowing what a proper diet and exercise routine is, everyone’s out there trying to monetize it and it seems like everything either beginner or advanced nothing in between.

1. See also: breastfeeding.

Childbirth.

Literally every human that comes into this world requires either 1) that their mother endure hours of unimaginable pain before literally ripping apart her genitals to allow this new human life an entrance into the world or 2) that their mother allow a group of strangers to slice through her abdominal muscles into her uterus to extract a baby, before then undergoing many weeks of pain and physical recovery from the trauma of major surgery.

Wow, if some of these aren’t so true.

What else would you add to this list? Tell us down in the comments!

The post 16 Things That Are Way Harder Than People Want Them to Be appeared first on UberFacts.

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Things That Shouldn’t Be as Difficult as They Are

There are some things in life that we expect to be hard and so we’re pretty accepting when that’s how it goes. Other things are as simple as we expect, and others we think are going to be rougher than they turn out to be (those are the best).

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the things we think are going to be easy, or at least, not too hard – but they end up to be downright taxing.

Here are 18 perfect examples –  just a head’s up for next time.

18. You can be a hero.

Clearing a jam from the office copy machine.

17. And we dearly want it to be simple.

Installing a printer.

I don’t want your 15 other garbage apps, HP.

I just want to print my essay.

16. Use those muscles.

Opening that one jar that even the strong friend can’t open.

I just wanted some jam.

15. Not talking to a human!

Canceling any type of subscription.

My family got a roku and we cancelled Dish and they went crazy.

My mom called to cancel and they begged and offered to cut the price in half for a year.

45 minute phone call just to say i don’t want the subscription anymore.

14. You can feel this in your soul.

Finding motivation,

13. It’s no easy feat.

Killing mosquitos.

F*cking annoying pieces of h%ll.

12. Amen to that.

losing weight.

it feels like it goes on fast and takes blood sweat and tears to come off.

11. You attach your resume and then have to enter your work history WHY.

Applying for jobs having to type out your resume 2 times and submit your formal resume and then doing this over and over for every job you apply for.

Please upload your cv. Okay now please get to the next page where you copy paste directly from the cv. Now fill in in this section on why you’re excited by the prospect of working here. So now you’ve been selected for a phone interview, tell us everything in your cv. Great phone interview so now you have an in person interview but we haven’t read anything in your application, so why don’t you explain your cv in great detail for us.

Dude, it’s two pages, font size 12 with double spacing, I spent 6 hours writing the damn thing, please take 2 minutes to read it.

10. No pain no gain.

Starting a serious exercise routine.

Like you’re giving your body literally what it needs to be healthy and it pays you leaving you semi crippled for weeks.

9. It shouldn’t be that hard.

Falling asleep.

Staying asleep.

8. It’s the whole realtor thing.

I might be wrong, but I don’t feel like buying a house should be all that complicated.

We’ve just started the process of looking and I already feel overwhelmed.

7. Easy peel stickers exist. Use them!

Peeling stickers, why can’t they just come off smoothly?

6. Reality check, please.

Entry level job applications

Currently have a great job in IT.

But 8 years experience in my field and when I see the job postings for lower tier people than I am they ask for more than I know.

It’s crazy.

5. Maybe they’re paid by the hour.

Insurance.

And when you call someone that works there to help understand better, they act like all of this legal jargon should just be common sense and you’re an idiot for not knowing.

4. They do that on purpose.

Getting unwanted apps off my phone.

Disabling OneDrive on Windows 10.

I don’t want it on. It’s full, all it does is bi*ch about being full, and make it where when I click on my images in my regular folder, I can’t see their icons.

3. Kindergarten fail.

Cutting in a straight line with scissors.

I’m 21 and still somehow fail to do this.

2. It makes me want to cry.

Getting out of bed in the morning.

Trying to find a good reason is just too hard.

1. Without being rude.

Ending a conversation just because you don’t feel like socializing anymore.

All I do is when I want the conversation to end, I wait for dead air and say, “Well, I’ll let you be”

Works almost every time! Try it!

Man, I totally agree with many of these!

What else would you add to this list? If you’ve got a good on, drop it in the comments.

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How Is It Expensive to Be Poor? Here’s What People Had to Say.

I know that it sounds kind of confusing, but it really is expensive to be poor.

Life can just be more difficult when every little task is a challenge and every little penny has to be stretched to the limit.

Folks on AskReddit discussed the ways that it’s actually expensive to be poor. Let’s have a look.

1. Nickeled and dimed.

“I saw a lady coming out of a laundromat, loading her baskets of clothes into a taxi (there is zero other public transport where I saw this happen and only a few taxis).

Not being able to put enough money together at one time to buy a car or a washing machine (she probably rented so this maybe wasn’t even an option) was costing her a fortune. Just being nickeled and dimed to death.”

2. What do you do?

“My car has a leaky seal on the transmission.

It’d be about $250 to replace the seal and flush the transmission. I don’t have $250, so I keep topping up the fluid and keep driving it because I’ll never get $250 if I don’t get to work.

But, in time, that’s going to destroy the transmission, which will be about $1200 to replace.”

3. All kinds of charges.

“There are late fees for everything.

Overdraft fees at the bank. Sh*tty jobs usually don’t have good healthcare plans. If you’re poor, you need credit cards just to survive, but interest rates are higher for those with low credit scores (see late fees above).

Sh*tty cars are always breaking down, and that’s expensive…”

4. Good point.

“If you’re well off, you buy 1 pair of boots for $150 and they last a lifetime.

If you’re poor, you buy boots for $30 and they last a winter.”

5. It adds up.

“Renting to own anything is really bad.

You pay 4x the value of whatever it is you’re renting to own. And if you miss a payment they repossess it. Not only that you very well might be paying 4x the new value for a used item.

And only low quality items are sold rent to own. Ashley furniture, sh*tty used cars, the cheapest big screen tvs available at wholesale. Houses might be better, but rent a center, and JD Byrider are worse than loan sharks.”

6. Quicksand.

“If you’re ever desperate enough to take out a title/payday loan you’ll discover you just stepped in financial quicksand.”

7. A great example.

“Not having in-home laundry is a great example.

Say it costs you $4 to do your laundry each week (which I think is very cheap). In 5 years you will have spent over $1,000 on laundry.

For $1,000 you can get a good washing machine that would last you through those 5 years, then another 5 years, and maybe a lot more. And that doesn’t count the time saved doing laundry at home, and any transportation costs.”

8. A big one.

“Healthcare. That’s the big one.

If you don’t have a healthcare plan, or have a sh*tty one you don’t go to the doctor unless it’s life or death.

That means small problems that could have been caught in the beginning become hugely expensive problems later on.”

9. Horrible.

“If you can’t maintain a minimum balance or don’t have a bank in your neighborhood or were raised to be suspicious of banks and don’t have a bank account, you’ve got to pay fees to cash your paychecks.

Then there are fees to buy money orders to pay your bills– or the cost of getting TO the utility office or car dealership or wherever to pay in cash.”

10. Hard to get out of it.

“Debt.

Basically if you’re poor you need to borrow some money to either get a house or buy food and after a while the debt keeps getting bigger and bigger.”

11. Tire problems.

“Tires!

Used tires cost 1/3 price and get about 20% of the life of a new tire. Also you are paying mount and balance every time, plus worry about blow outs. Even a new tire at $80 with a 30K mileage expectancy or a $100 tire at 65k mileage warranty.

Over twice the life, little more than 20% in extra charge.”

12. Caught in the system.

“The justice system.

If you can’t pay a fine, the state will make things more expensive by adding fees on top of fees on top of fees, then they will incarcerate you for not paying the inflated fees.

Then you have to pay the parole officer who is keeping an eye on you while you care unable to get a job that pays enough to pay him.”

13. All about power.

“When you have less money the power relationship is flipped in nearly every financial interaction you have.

When you have money, banks and companies compete to get access to your reliable spending, be it with low interest rates on borrowing or better deals for early payment. They have to compete because you have the option to go to someone else who will gladly take your payment history and stable income.

You’re a safe bet, so you have the luxury of choice.

When you don’t have money institutions know you have nowhere else to go. So they happily gouge you knowing agreeing to horrendous loan terms is your only option.

I teach econ and always remind my kids that commercials boasting about “no credit, low credit, no problem!” know exactly who they’re getting in the door.

People who have nowhere else to go.”

How about you?

Do you know some more ways it’s expensive to be poor?

Talk to us in the comments and let us know what you think!

The post How Is It Expensive to Be Poor? Here’s What People Had to Say. appeared first on UberFacts.

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These Things Are Surprisingly Safe for Human Consumption

I think sometimes we eat a lot of things that we really shouldn’t. As the mother of toddlers, I absolutely know this is true – and as someone who has made more than one call to poison control, I also know for sure that there aren’t as many things that can kill us as you might think.

Here are 15 things you’d probably guess shouldn’t be ingested – but that are, as it turns out, totally safe for human consumption.

15. Not actual peanuts, but…

Some packing peanuts are actually made out of corn starch.

They of course aren’t produced in a food safe environment, and all of the nutritional components like sugars are removed so as not to attract bugs.

But yeah, most styrofoam peanuts are edible.

The ones that aren’t made of corn starch, though, are made of polystyrene, a petroleum-based plastic. So definitely do your research before you decide to sample some packing peanuts.

14. But potentially painful to eat.

Euell Gibbons: “Many parts of the pine tree are edible.”

Pine needle tea is a very good source of vitamin c

13. We’re just special that way.

Caffeine.

That stuff plants evolved to make it so nothing could eat them, it kills most other creatures.

Meanwhile us humans are like ZOOM.

12. That sounds about right.

A whole box of Nivea cream apparently.

I ate an entire box of Nivea cream when I was a toddler and the only aftereffect was that my poop smelled nice for a while.

11. Maybe it’s not a great thing.

Nicotine is the same. Also opium. And capsaicin. And onion/garlic flavor.

These are all anti-pest chemicals that humans love because we are questionably-designed garbage disposals.

10. He had nice breath, anyway.

Had a severely alcoholic patient drink two large bottles of Mouth Wash (Listerine etc) every day for about 15 years.

You’d think nearly 10,000 bottles of Mouth Wash would kill a man, but no. At least, not very quickly.

9. SMALL amounts, people.

Petroleum Jelly – small amounts have been used as laxative and stool softener.

8. Don’t eat the bees!

You can eat everything inside of a natural beehive, including the bees. Just don’t get stung!

My roommate didn’t believe me when I got honeycomb from a local farmers market and ate it by the spoonful.

Usually I just crush it to get the honey out then spit out the comb, but I chewed up and swallowed a whole chunk just to prove to him that you could do it.

7. Do not try this at home.

Charcoal.

Well, not the one you’d buy for BBQs, but medical charcoal has a similar composition and is not only safe, but awesome at cleaning up some unfortunate gastrointestinal interlopers.

6. Good to know?

When I had my gallbladder removed a few months ago, the doc told me, apropos of nothing, I could eat the stones they let me keep.

I mean, I guess they’re mostly cholesterol, so it makes sense.

5. In case of an apocalypse.

Animals with rabies.

Just avoid the saliva glands and that general area.

4. They probably know what they’re doing.

Some indigenous tribes eat clay in small amounts due to the minerals and texture.

I have two cousins adopted from a Haitian orphanage. The orphanage basically took lard and mixed it with small amounts of dirt to feed to the kids.

I imagine it was more “filler” than any notable benefits, but still, crazy to think about.

3. But it stains.

methylene blue

…Though it’ll make your pee turn blue

It stains really badly. You can get blue underwear, blue toilet bowl, blue car seats.

(Most people who take methylene blue have bladder control problems)

2. That’s just encouraging people.

Ballistol

It’s a general purpose oil for lubrication and rust protection and can be used for metal, wood, and leather.

It’s completely safe to drink, and it even smells like liqorice.

1. I’m sorry, what?

Shellac.

Yes. The stuff they use to seal wood.

It’s used in everything from finger nail polish to candy.

Its secreted by a bug.

Yummy.

Color me surprised (even with those toddlers)!

What’s something else that belongs on this list? If you’ve got a surprise up your sleeve, share it with us down in the comments.

The post These Things Are Surprisingly Safe for Human Consumption appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Discuss the Weird Things They’ve Found After Music Festivals and Other Events

I’m not really one for big music festivals these days, but when I was a teenager I loved going to the Warped Tour every summer.

All the biggest punk bands playing on a few stages in the miserable heat for ten hours? Count me in!

And the people watching was just great, as you can probably imagine.

But I often wondered about the people who had to clean up the place after all the fans left for the day…

Some of these responses give me a good idea of what they saw.

AskReddit users talked about the unusual things they’ve found at festivals and events. Let’s get weird!

1. All the good stuff.

“I used to walk around the raves and look on the ground with a flashlight, found a multitude of great things.

In one night I would find a baggies ecstacy pills, cocaine + assorted drugs, 30+ lighters, hundreds of dollars in cash, jewelry and so many articles of clothing.

That was the average each weekend.”

2. Carny life.

“Worked as a carny a few seasons.

The zipper operator would straight up guard his ride’s area to loot it in the morning after it’s use. Many cell phones, wallets, cash and tons of change.

He knew how to operate it so well that he could spin certain tubs (full of riders) excessively if they looked drunk or like they might be unwilling donors. He made more in ground scores than he made operating and moving the ride.”

3. Raiding party.

“Having had all our sh*t stolen (including train tickets home) when I went one year, I was stranded at the campsite with my mates after everyone had left.

After 2 hours we managed to find bus tickets home, an LV bag, 200 cans of beer (and two buggies to carry them on), around twenty power banks, an iPhone, loads of tents full of excrement, about ten unknown pills.

A couple of bongs, loads of pairs of crutches, about an ounce of weed… Came across a YURT style tent worth about £1k and disassembled that to take home too.

W came across other groups of people raiding the abandoned tents and all congregated and piled every single inflatable mattress we could find in a giant pile and jumped onto it from up a tree.”

4. You probably need this.

“I’m an event manager for corporate conferences and trade shows.

Best thing I’ve seen left behind was from a large well known medical company. They left an unopened / brand new defibrillator that you’d see in an emergency room. When I called and told them they had left it behind they said to keep it.

So naturally I googled the item – retail cost $5K.”

5. I wonder who it is…

“I can’t disclose much due to the NDA I signed but I cleaned for an annual Christmas party thrown by a multi billionaire type guy a couple years in a row.

I’ve found little baggies of pills and powders, jewelry of all kinds and n*pple pasties and panties in all sizes. I’ve seen a half naked drunk chick try diving into a pool and splitting her head open and ODs of all kinds.

Man I miss cleaning for those parties. I got to attend the wild parties AND get paid for it!”

6. Gross.

“A pig’s head.

Crew had roasted a whole pig during set up and someone off their head decided to take the left over head for a walk around site Monday morning of the festival.

It was actually a bit messed up, saw a few freaked out people afterwards and had to convince them it wasn’t real so they would calm down. It was dumped in a hedge somewhere until crew found it and disposed of it properly.”

7. OH MY GOD.

“Talladega, circa 2005.

Dead body under a mountain of beer cans.”

8. I’ll take that!

“I was cleaning after a festival once and a guy next to me found a gallon ziplock bag half filled with weed.

Once he look at it further he realized there was an iPhone and a roll of money in the bag as well.

Needless to say, he was happy.”

9. How does this work?

“I have no idea how people are getting it on in the middle of the dance floor, but my god I have become desensitized to used condoms at this point.

Some genres are worse than others, but I just want to know how?

Like you are literally surrounded by people, you have security watching the crowd like a hawk, and some how you manage to get it on. What?”

10. Biker rallies.

“Sturgis Motorcycle Rally: Millions of bikers converge into one small town every August here in South Dakota.

There’s a huge venue/campground called the Buffalo Chip.

Keys and blowup dolls are some of the most common things left behind.”

11. Yeehaw!

“I worked Talladega clean up.

For those that don’t know, it’s a NASCAR track in Alabama. The most savage rednecks go here to be absolutely crazy. S*x, drugs, and TONS of alcohol. Well I’ve found condoms, full bottles of liquor, bunch of weed, syringes, a drone, a pistol buried in mud, and a destroyed cell phone.

That was one time. And I was one of about 50 workers.”

12. Wild.

“Best time to go is Saturday and Sunday night. Just take a walk in high traffic areas with your head down. You’ll find lots of drugs and cash.

The craziest thing I’ve ever came across though was just a huge coincidence. I was at a festival about 750km from my home town. It was Sunday midnight and I was just dancing through the darkness on half an Oz of mushrooms I noticed a flash of white out of the corner of my eye near the forests edge. Turns out it was someone’s provincial ID card.

Not just anyone’s. It belonged to a girl from my hometown I haven’t seen in years. Given her lifestyle its not strange she lost her ID while f*cked up at a festival.

It was just a crazy coincidence that the only ID I’ve ever found in years of festival going, far from home, at a festival with 9000 people, happened to be someone I knew pretty well.”

How about you?

Have you ever found something weird at a festival or an event?

If so, share your stories with us in the comments. Thanks a lot!

The post People Discuss the Weird Things They’ve Found After Music Festivals and Other Events appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Discuss Things That Were Around 10 Years Ago That Don’t Exist Anymore

I remember when I got Nintendo.

My brother and I BEGGED my parents for it for a few months and boom! There it was under the tree on Christmas day.

And you know what? I never, ever upgraded. I never got another gaming system ever again in my whole life. Which was fine with me, because I loved (and still love) the original Nintendo.

But everyone else I knew seemed to forget about it and moved on to other systems in a hurry…

I guess some things just fall by the wayside…

What was around 10 years ago that doesn’t exist anymore?

Here’s what folks on AskReddit had to say.

1. Remember when?

“Livejournal.

I mean, it still exists but when the Russians bought it everyone bailed.”

2. Cool animation.

“Flash animation on youtube before YouTube’s copyright went on steroids.

There were some really funny and good animations on there with music that you can’t use now in your videos. A lot of these flash animations started on newgrounds and moved to youtube to only die out.

So many good artists who made these got screwed over thanks to the bs copyright strikes.”

3. Not fun anymore.

“Fun pop music.

Nowadays it’s all sad gloomy stuff that just floats and doesn’t go anywhere with overproduced trap beats.”

4. What did you stumble upon?

“Man I would spend hours on StumbleUpon back in the day.

Found a ton of awesome sites and resources.”

5. All of these.

“Kongregate

Miniclip

Kizi Games

Borne Games

My favorite game personally was sly and fox, it captivated me as a kid.”

6. Too spread out now.

“Netflix streaming that had everything in one godd*mn place.

I can’t wait for all these streaming services to start making deals and bundling with each other, effectively just reinventing a moderately better version of cable.”

7. A good spot.

“RadioShack is the ONLY place I can ever think of when people come into my work looking for fuses that we don’t carry, or can’t get.

I honestly don’t know where to refer them to anymore. RadioShack was THE place to go for that stuff.”

8. What did I do?!?!

“Pressing internet button on your phone accidentally then spending 2 minutes frantically pressing the back button for fear of charging your parents what felt like hundreds of dollars to load google.”

9. That’s crazy.

“The median house price in Sydney is $1.68 million.

Australian house prices have compounded at 7% for 30 years, wages have increased 3%.

If your parents aren’t rich you can’t afford a house.”

10. The phone game.

“Blackberry smartphones. The real ones, not the fake ones they kind of have now.

The old school BlackBerry with brick breaker is hands down the best phone I ever had.

I miss it so much.”

11. What happened to them?

“Do you guys remember those snap bracelets that you would snap on your wrist?

I swear I haven’t seen one of those since like 2010/2011.”

12. I miss mine!

“Flip phones.

I had 2 over the years.

Loved those phones.”

13. This is sad.

“My three adult son’s sweet childhood days.

Oh, how I LOVED being a mom to little boys, having a purpose, how much fun we had, how much we laughed, always having a house full of kids, love, the wonderful chaos of three little boys, brothers, childhood, becoming a teenager, and young men. I adored them.

They are grown now, and not one of them speaks to me. Two I haven’t seen in over two years. I recently moved to a new home about a half hour away, not one helped during the move, and not one has come to visit, even though I bought it in a place I know they’d love to come.

I don’t expect anything different anymore. The Loneliness is Deadening. My grief profound. My heart numb. Never in a million years did I see this coming. I miss my children’s love. I miss it so much.”

What are some more things that were around 10 years ago that aren’t around anymore?

Talk to us in the comments and let us know!

Thanks in advance!

The post People Discuss Things That Were Around 10 Years Ago That Don’t Exist Anymore appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Share What They Really Wanted as Kids That Seems Crappy Now That They’re Adults

Did you ever want something when you were young and when you got a little bit older, you thought to yourself, “actually, that sounds pretty terrible”?

I’m sure you have, because we all do that.

Hey, you’re not gonna want the same things in life when you’re 12-years-old AND when you’re 25, ya know?

What did you really want as a kid that just seems downright sh*tty now?

Here’s how AskReddit users responded.

1. Not into it anymore.

“Like 40 dogs. Inside.

Little me thought it would be a wonderland.

Adult me just sees the food bills, vet bills, smells and maintenance.”

2. Dreaming of horses.

“A horse.

A really pretty dappled gray with a long wavy mane and big dark eyes. And he would run right up to the fence to greet me and beg to go for a ride, and riding him would be my whole job because someone would pay me to do it, and I’d have a big house and a nice clean barn and a covered arena and acres upon acres of green pastures.

Man, I was a stupid little kid. Can’t even afford a second cat right now, let alone a privacy fence between my yard and the neighbor’s. Acres of land, my *ss.”

3. No more swords!

“A collection of sharpened, combat ready swords.

Katanas, longswords, claymores, falchions, cutlasses, I wanted to own all of them. Not just prop swords either, gotta be the real deal.

As an adult, I realize that 1) having a bunch of swords is pointless, and 2) unless it is a legit collection of historical pieces, it comes off as pretty trashy.”

4. Pretty expensive.

“A pool, as a kid I was always jealous of my neighbours because they had one. I now realise that a pool is basically a really expensive pet.

It needs your constant attention and, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can kill it.

The cost of maintenance alone was enough of a turn off for me.”

5. Didn’t work out.

“From watching Spongebob, I used to think being a fry cook was the coolest thing ever.

Then I actually got a job as a fry cook and it was the shi*ttiest thing ever, with low wages and borderline abusive management.”

6. This still sounds amazing to me.

“I wanted a moat around my house, filled with alligators, and you had to get across on a rope swing.

There would be a drawbridge, but only my grandma would be allowed to use it cuz I liked my grandma.”

7. No, thank you!

“Tons of snow. I loved snow days.

As an adult it’s anxiety inducing.

Wondering if you will get in trouble for calling out of work, childcare and how to get the car out of the d*mn snow.

It’s too much.”

8. FAME.

“To be extremely famous.

I believe that if I were to ever achieve fame I would want it to be for something in my career or if I had an insane talent. Otherwise, I feel like I am unworthy of fame.

Even now, I like to edit videos for youtube and while I could be a YT I can’t ever want to be EXTREMELY “famous”, I’d like to be underrated but still seen.

I wouldn’t want to be in shows, or how other young people who are famous in media are unless it was similar to my brand.”

9. How much is this gonna cost?

“A car.

I was never a “cars” boy, but I did have the sort of understanding a car was a necessity. Now that I have one, I realize that these things are a constant tug-o-war between great convenience, and massive money-drain.

Anytime something goes wrong, I can’t help but dread what I imagine will be a major money sink.”

10. It’s not fair!

“To be an adult.

Too many responsibilities and obligations and bills and… just f*ck it all.

When you’re a kid you spend all your time wanting to be an adult.

When you become an adult you keep wanting to go back to being a kid.”

11. Probably a lot of work.

“A monkey.

There were a lot of movies and TV shows on when I was growing up where they featured monkeys that people dressed up like babies.

They just fit into the family somewhere between babies and pets.

WTH was I thinking?”

12. No TVs in the bedroom!

“A TV in my room.

As an adult, I can’t stand having a TV in the bedroom.”

How about you?

What did you think looked awesome as a kid that seems pretty sh*tty these days?

Talk to us in the comments. Thanks a lot!

The post People Share What They Really Wanted as Kids That Seems Crappy Now That They’re Adults appeared first on UberFacts.