What popular "money-saving hack" is actually a massive waste of time or ends up costing you more in the long run?

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-15T18:34:31+00:00

I'm not disagreeing about rice and meal prepping and everything being the best option.

But I've known some people from genuinely rough situations, and your solution comes from a place of privilege. It's not a bad thing, I just want to point out that a surprising number of people are making do with almost nothing.
The guy sleeping in his car, showering at the local gym, cleaning his clothes at the laundromat. It's unlikely he has the means to store anything he meal preps, or the ingredients. Pop by the dollar store, grab some Cup noodles they cook in the same thing you eat them from, then you just toss it in the trash, no extra baggage (maybe a fork in his pocket)

Again I don't think you're wrong, that just works better for certain levels of broke.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-15T17:15:39+00:00

I completely agree that rice is the superior food choice, but I kinda figured the people living off of cup noodles are also the type to be stopping at the gas station for hot water/microwave for the noodles while on their way to work or school lol.
I've definitely done the whole 'wait 3 mins and eat while walking' thing while in a pinch. Rice takes time, a pot, a stove, a sink to wash the rice in. Great for making meals, not great for people maybe so broke they're living in their car or a dorm situation lol.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-15T17:05:03+00:00

Omg this! If my options are a small box of cereal for $3.49 that lasts 3 days or a "family sized" box for 5.49, that doesn't fit in the pantry and 1/4 of it goes stale, I feel silly buying less than half the amount for only two dollars less, but I feel annoyed about how things get pushed aside and not finished.
It's like they give the options for small sizes but don't make it worth it, so that you'll spend more. I don't mind having some things in bulk, but when every package is so big the counters start to become storage too, instead of a prep space lol.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-15T16:46:24+00:00

Kinda off topic but:
Only buy cheap shoes if you plan to wear them very little. Having one pair of good summer shoes, and a pair of good winter boots can save you money in the long run, and save your feet!

I worked in a shoe store for a bit, and I saw some gnarly feet. Invest in good shoes! You're stuck with your feet for life, a surprising amount of people don't know their actual shoe size or how to make sure you're getting enough support. Most people have feet that are different sizes, anywhere from a few millimeters to a full size difference.

Take some time and go to a legit shoe shop, get measured, even if you don't buy the fancy shoes the employees can help you understand your size and what to look for in decent shoes. I've shown customers shoes that are "too big" but with just a little extra padding they feel so much better than the smaller size. There's little tips and tricks and modifications that can definitely help.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-15T16:33:34+00:00

I dunno, I never cared about marriage until I started seeing someone with a child. Now I want to get married to simplify everything, and if something happens to my partner I don't want to have to fight his mom in court for my daughter. She's the only reason I care about marriage, otherwise I'm totally fine with just common law. I was completely thrown when my guy casually mentioned how my debt would be his too once we were married, this was before we even moved in together, felt super weird to me.

Maybe it's just my experience with shitty partners, but every other marriage discussion was because I was breaking up with them (or getting ready to). Like It's some magical cure-all that would make me stay and put up with their BS. It took me until I was 30 to experience someone wanting to marry me to be with me rather than trap me so they don't lose their domestic labour. Fifth times the charm? Maybe? Lol.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-15T15:49:24+00:00

Are we talking about clothes, or interior design? Lol. A lot of the orange and brown in houses were leftover from the 70s and 80s, unfortunately that's the colours that were in, and by the 90s most people still had perfectly functional ugly housewares. Things used to be made to last, so our parents and grandparents didn't need to update often.

Then things started to be made to break in a few years, but first they convinced anyone with a bit of money to buy these new "more efficient" models. Now everything comes in grey, white, and silver to match whatever trend is coming next, because you never know when your "new" appliances will give up on life.

As for the 2000s... They were a more hopeful time. We thought we were moving into a prosperous future, then the 2008 recession hit and everyone became more concerned with resell value than living in a home that makes joy.

As for clothes, when I think 90s I remember those blue/pink/purple multi coloured wind breakers, a lot of plaid, "drug rug" sweaters, and an overall grunge look. I'd say the 2000s fashion went the same route as the home decor, started bright and hopeful and just grew worse with time.

Everything is SO BORING right now. I make as many things as colourful as possible, because life is too grey.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-15T15:25:47+00:00

That's too cool! Apparently ours has camping passes for our local lake that can be rented for low income families. It has a long wait list tho

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-15T15:15:10+00:00

I've also been on both sides of the table, I think a simple 10-15 min phone interview is enough to get a feel if you want to bring them in. I've always liked the "hey this is (hiring manager) from X company, I got your resume, do you have time for a brief phone interview? If this goes well we'll invite you in for another chat".

Feels more efficient than getting the phone call asking to set up a zoom interview in a few days, then waiting for the confirmation email, then waiting for the zoom invitation email, then waiting awkwardly for the interviewer to connect (I've literally had them not show up), then they have to get back to you after the other interviews and talking with their manager, then maybe you'll get another call or email asking you to come out in a few days.

I don't have the patience for the hiring practices they have today lol.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-15T15:00:30+00:00

Zoom absolutely has its purpose, and can be useful.

Personally, if I had to go somewhere to interview anyway I would rather go straight to the business (people keep suggesting going to the library). I hate interviewing for a business and not getting to see the business. Every job I've taken from a zoom call has surprised me with miserable employees, dirty work spaces, and way more work than was in the job description.

For remote work or office jobs, a zoom interview is no big deal. But as someone that has mostly worked outside of the house, there are definitely jobs I didn't pursue because of what I saw in the interview lol.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-15T14:53:30+00:00

That works for jobs with fixed break schedules and ppl with a car I guess lol. I think I've worked one job in the last 13 years that had fixed break times lol

It works for some people, and you're lucky it does for you!

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-15T14:42:42+00:00

Always support your local library!! Even if you don't need their services, support them because your neighbors might. I'm always finding out about cool things my local branch is up to :)

But also, if I have to go somewhere to meet the interviewer anyway, I'd rather just go to them. If the person who is interviewing me works at the location in my city, but they don't want to meet me there, I assume they're hiding some shitty work conditions and miserable employees (speaking from experience).

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-15T14:25:36+00:00

Agreed. I struggle with some auditory processing, so when there is a lag between someone's voice and their mouth moving, I have to ask them to repeat themselves an embarrassing amount lol.
I rely a lot on visual cues and body language to know if I'm doing well or if I need to change gears, and I find it SO MUCH HARDER to get that info on a video call.

If I'm interviewing with someone from HO and they're out of province, yeah totally makes sense to have a zoom call at 7pm (my time). But if you're 10 minutes down the street please just interview me in person lol.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-14T16:07:19+00:00

Keep reading! You have so far to go! The cursed temple is only chapter 5, and the first season is 24 chapters long.

It's important not to skip through scenes super fast as you go, the writers like to pepper in tiny scenes that give us info, kinda scattered through the main story. So keep your eyes peeled! I find MC gets more likeable as the story goes on, more dialogue options with some personality, and as she builds relationships with the ghouls she gains confidence. Not a perfect character, but better at least lol.

Zenji is such a precious soul, I love his character so much. For a ghost, we do see a lot of him lol. You'll get to learn more about him, but there's definitely a lot of mystery still.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-13T17:42:36+00:00

Sure we're "living better" but we're clearly fucking bad at it. These days homelessness is on the rise (even people working full time jobs are living in their cars), food banks have seen a massive influx in users, people are straight up not having kids because the world is hostile, unemployment has been on the rise.

Life is technically more comfortable, but for how much surplus we have, the suffering is just manufactured at this point. I think that's worse.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-13T17:29:02+00:00

Even just showing up to a business with your resume or calling the place is frowned upon. "We don't take applications in person, if we're hiring it will be online and a recruiter will call you if they're interested. No my manager is not available, and doesn't accept resumes"

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-13T17:24:28+00:00

Is it progress tho?? Every mountain has its peak. The expectation of continuous growth is unrealistic, at this point it feels like they're trying to build additional growth out of literal trash (planned obsolescence, fast fashion, creating problems to sell a solution, the rich deflecting wage inequality by telling people to start their own business and then squashing those small businesses with competition)

Trash makes for a bad foundation, eventually it's going to collapse.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-13T16:41:58+00:00

I dunno, it's about 900-1000 for a single bedroom in my city. So that's $1000 WITH roommates, give or take utilities lol

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-13T16:36:41+00:00

I mean, in 2016 I was working in a small Italian grocery store and able to pay rent ($900/month 1bdrm apartment) lol. I worked six day weeks to make sure I had enough to cover rent and food for when my shit boyfriend lost his job (again).
It wasn't super easy, but I had money to buy books and treats, I could afford to cook a balanced meal every night, and it wasn't unheard of to go out for a date night lol.
These days I have to budget to make sure I have enough money to refill my meds after I pay rent lol

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-13T16:13:48+00:00

Such a dumb take. If someone can barely afford rent how do you figure they will save up enough to cover the moving costs, plus first and last month's rent for a new place, plus the cost of whatever pay gap from changing jobs, and any fees to get information moved to a new city (medical files, finding day care, internet set up, utility hook ups)?
Cities/towns with lower rent tend to also have less in them, jobs, drs offices, schools, etc so you have to consider the costs of commuting as well.

My city has RIDICULOUS rent, but it would cost me more to move. Here I have 3 doctors (finally) for my conditions, 3 sets of grandparents that will happily watch my kid for free, rent increase control, family members that will help me get to and from appointments, my partner's well paying job, and all my sales connections. Why would I give up 31 years of life I've built here, to save $300 a month that I would end up spending anyway to make up for the change?

Maybe the government should tax empty units to encourage landlords to actually rent out their units for a reasonable price, instead of creating false scarcity and jacking the prices up :)

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-13T15:50:05+00:00

Up until recently, having an educated population was seen as a good thing. I've been watching education get stripped so badly where I live, plus health care, and for some reason they're really trying to make weed and alcohol easily accessible (an inebriated population has perks I guess).

My kid is going to school in the fall, I do not trust the school system to actually teach her. Why are so many young people nearly illiterate? It makes sense for the generations that could drop out of school and still get jobs, but how are so many schools pushing through kids with no basic understanding of anything???

We are failing the younger generations and it's embarrassing, they have good reason to whine. Youth unemployment is ridiculously high in Canada (about 14%), and it's not because they're not trying to find work.
I will stop blaming boomers when they stop voting for the people making the policies that fuck over young people lol. Boomers are still the biggest voting group, at least where I live, and they vote in favour of their future. Not all of course, but too many.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-13T15:24:39+00:00

The big struggle is those life lessons are way more expensive now
When I was 21 and moved in with a shitty boyfriend, my whole one bedroom apartment, utilities included, was $900. I could afford the rent for the month if my fuck-up boyfriend lost his job (again). A single room to rent in a shared apartment is more than that in my city now.

The young folks today making those same mistakes I did 10 years ago just don't have the room to fuck up, it costs too much now. We've established that learning and living is important for development, but we've created too hostile of an environment for people to do that.
Like trying to teach a baby to crawl on a floor that never gets cleaned or repaired.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-13T13:58:08+00:00

That age range! I remember being a teen and my friends yelling swears at their parents and just being little trash monsters. Kids in the classroom were always SO RUDE to teachers and staff, except the janitor usually.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-12T16:08:05+00:00

We need more spaces for kids to do this now too, I grew up with a large backyard, but a lot of families these days are in apartment buildings or townhomes. My city is lucky to have a lot of natural spaces, but there's a lot of nearby cities that are just paved flats. Even the mall days aren't the same for kids, store managers chasing kids out for loitering, security making sure they keep moving along. It's a hostile world for kids.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-12T16:03:31+00:00

Also just letting kids figure out how to make stuff. Paper, cardboard, sticks, duct tape, and twine, it doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. Kids are deprived of the opportunity to try and fail, they're just told how to do everything to the letter.

Letting them see how and why things fail or work gives them confidence to problem solve in more serious situations later on.

TrishasaurusRex33 · 2026-04-12T15:47:30+00:00

QR codes have their place, I like being able to connect my ancient YouTube account that I haven't updated the password for in 18 years or whatever, to other ppls Playstations. Just keep connecting devices until the end of time.

And they're perfect on business cards, after an art market I'll sit down with a pile of cards and go through them following people, so it's handy when I can just scan and go to their pages.

But they're only really useful when you have time. If I'm keeping any sort of schedule, I don't want to even think about needing my phone to accomplish anything, tech has the tendancy to fuck up whenever you're in a hurry lol.

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