The cost of a normal life. Rent, paychecks, healthcare & the numbers behind “just budget better.”
Zurich, Switzerland
Joined January 2025
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- Following6.6K
- Followers9.8K
- Likes63.3K
Leon retweeted
Why do footballers avoid drinking water during matches? 😳
Then you have Haaland and Bellingham doing things differently
Leon retweeted
this is what happens when you spend 72 hours trying to find the fortnite pirate token... you become crazy.
im not a spy.
Leon retweeted
🔐 Vaults in Battle Royale have been reinforced - vault Chests and floors are now unbreakable.
Grab a Vault Key to claim what’s inside!
Leon retweeted
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS
Why can a health insurance company decide that a treatment recommended by your doctor isn't medically necessary?
Your doctor examined you.
Your doctor knows your medical history.
But someone reviewing paperwork gets to decide whether the insurance will pay?
How does that make sense?
Leon retweeted
GENUINELY ASKING
If buying a house was the main way the middle class built wealth for decades...
And young people increasingly need wealth from their parents just to buy one...
Doesn't that mean we're slowly turning the system upside down?
Instead of housing creating wealth, you need wealth to access housing.
Leon retweeted
My neighbor is 67 and still works four days a week at a grocery store.
Not because she enjoys keeping busy.
Because her rent is $1,580 and her Social Security check is $1,940.
Five years ago, the same apartment cost $1,050.
She's never missed a payment.
Never caused problems.
Never asked for anything beyond normal repairs.
Last month she got another renewal notice.
An additional $95 a month.
She told me she's starting to look for a roommate.
At 67.
After working for more than 40 years.
We spent decades telling people retirement was the reward for a lifetime of hard work.
Apparently the reward is being allowed to keep working so your landlord gets paid.
Leon retweeted
My friend's daughter graduated with $47,000 in student loans.
She got a job paying $54,000 a year.
Her parents were proud.
The college was proud.
The company was thrilled to have a qualified employee.
Then she started making her monthly payments.
Student loans: $510.
Rent: $1,350.
Car and insurance: $440.
And that's before food, utilities, healthcare, or retirement savings.
So here's the trick.
Spend four years borrowing money to become employable.
Spend the next 15 years paying for the privilege.
Then start saving for a house.
By the time you're financially ready to buy one, the price has doubled.
But at least the diploma looks nice on the wall.
My friend's daughter graduated with $47,000 in student loans.
She got a job paying $54,000 a year.
Her parents were proud.
The college was proud.
The company was thrilled to have a qualified employee.
Then she started making her monthly payments.
Student loans: $510.
Rent: $1,350.
Car and insurance: $440.
And that's before food, utilities, healthcare, or retirement savings.
So here's the trick.
Spend four years borrowing money to become employable.
Spend the next 15 years paying for the privilege.
Then start saving for a house.
By the time you're financially ready to buy one, the price has doubled.
But at least the diploma looks nice on the wall.
GENUINELY ASKING
If buying a house was the main way the middle class built wealth for decades...
And young people increasingly need wealth from their parents just to buy one...
Doesn't that mean we're slowly turning the system upside down?
Instead of housing creating wealth, you need wealth to access housing.
My neighbor is 67 and still works four days a week at a grocery store.
Not because she enjoys keeping busy.
Because her rent is $1,580 and her Social Security check is $1,940.
Five years ago, the same apartment cost $1,050.
She's never missed a payment.
Never caused problems.
Never asked for anything beyond normal repairs.
Last month she got another renewal notice.
An additional $95 a month.
She told me she's starting to look for a roommate.
At 67.
After working for more than 40 years.
We spent decades telling people retirement was the reward for a lifetime of hard work.
Apparently the reward is being allowed to keep working so your landlord gets paid.
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS
Why can a health insurance company decide that a treatment recommended by your doctor isn't medically necessary?
Your doctor examined you.
Your doctor knows your medical history.
But someone reviewing paperwork gets to decide whether the insurance will pay?
How does that make sense?
My aunt got her annual property tax assessment.
The county says her house is worth $86,000 more than last year.
AUNT: "Great. Can I have the $86,000?"
ASSESSOR: "That's not how it works."
AUNT: "Can I use it to pay my taxes?"
ASSESSOR: "No."
AUNT: "Can I buy groceries with it?"
ASSESSOR: "No."
AUNT: "So why am I potentially paying more taxes on money I don't actually have?"
ASSESSOR: "It's based on the assessed value of your property."
She's 69.
She doesn't want to sell her home.
She just wants to keep living in it.
Apparently becoming wealthier on paper is enough to make your bills go up in real life.
My friend's dad worked at the same manufacturing company for 27 years.
He finally retired at 63.
Two weeks after his retirement party, he received the paperwork explaining his health insurance options.
Keeping similar coverage through COBRA would cost him $1,340 a month.
That's $16,080 a year.
His pension pays $2,100 a month.
He called HR and asked if there was a cheaper option.
They told him he could look into marketplace insurance.
He spent nearly three decades working for a company that advertised its excellent benefits.
The moment he stopped working, those benefits became something he had to figure out how to replace.
We tell people to work hard so they can enjoy retirement.
Then hand them a $16,080 annual bill for the privilege of staying insured.
Leon retweeted
My aunt got her annual property tax assessment.
The county says her house is worth $86,000 more than last year.
AUNT: "Great. Can I have the $86,000?"
ASSESSOR: "That's not how it works."
AUNT: "Can I use it to pay my taxes?"
ASSESSOR: "No."
AUNT: "Can I buy groceries with it?"
ASSESSOR: "No."
AUNT: "So why am I potentially paying more taxes on money I don't actually have?"
ASSESSOR: "It's based on the assessed value of your property."
She's 69.
She doesn't want to sell her home.
She just wants to keep living in it.
Apparently becoming wealthier on paper is enough to make your bills go up in real life.
Leon retweeted
WAIT, CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS
If student loans exist because most 18-year-olds can't afford college...
And college is supposedly necessary to get a job that pays enough to live...
Why does the system require you to go into debt BEFORE you're allowed to earn the money needed to avoid debt?
Am I missing something?
Leon retweeted
I HAVE A GENUINE QUESTION
If employees are told their raises can't keep up with inflation because the company needs to control costs...
But the same company announces a record year for shareholder payouts...
At what point are we allowed to ask why controlling costs always seems to start with people's paychecks?