Fermsy

happy new week y’all

Paying $1,200/month to a private insurer who can deny your claim = the free market working.
Paying $200/month into a public system that covers everyone = government overreach.
One of these numbers is six times the other.
Guess which one gets called “expensive.”

NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE ARE SKIPPING THE ER EVEN WHEN THEY NEED IT…
Paid my premium like clockwork all year. Went in for stitches. Left with a $600 bill before insurance even kicked in.
Can someone walk me through why we pay monthly just to get billed again the moment we actually need care?
WHERE DOES THE PREMIUM ACTUALLY GO? Genuinely asking.

Your grandfather worked ONE job. No degree required. No LinkedIn optimization, no side hustle, no budgeting app.
He bought a house in his 20s. Raised three kids on a single income. Retired at 62 with a pension that actually paid out.
You have a bachelor’s degree, a decent job, a budgeting app that guilt-trips you over a $6 coffee, and still can’t put 20% down on anything within an hour of where you work.
You didn’t get lazier. You didn’t get worse with money.
The math changed. Wages flatlined. Everything you need to survive got more expensive. And somehow the story became about your spending h

Late 20s or early 30s and nowhere near a million dollars?
You’re not failing. You’re just… normal.
Median net worth for that age group is under $50k. Most people your age are in the same boat, quietly panicking about the same thing you are.
The “millionaire by 30” thing was never real for most people. It was always a highlight reel, not a benchmark.

Robots don’t sleep. They don’t get sick, don’t take breaks, don’t ask for raises.
We built machines that could feed and clothe everyone with a fraction of the labor it took a century ago.
And yet the standard is still 60 hours a week, just to keep the lights on.
The efficiency gains didn’t disappear. They went somewhere. Just not into your paycheck.

Boomers hold $78 trillion in wealth.
That’s more than half of all wealth in America.
Held by 20% of the population.
Millennials hold $9 trillion.
That’s a smaller share of wealth than boomers had at the same age, adjusted for inflation.
Boomers bought homes averaging $25,000 in the 70s.
Same homes average $420,000 today.
Boomers paid $500 a year for college.
Same degree costs $35,000 a year now.
Boomers retired with pensions averaging $2,800 a month for life.
We get a 401k and a prayer.
It’s not that boomers worked harder.
It’s that they worked in an economy built to reward the work.
We’re wor

Nobody tells you what a mortgage actually costs until you’re already in it.
I borrowed $280,000.
My monthly payment is $1,847.
Over 30 years that’s $664,920.
I borrowed $280,000.
I’m paying back $664,920.
That’s $384,920 in interest.
To live in something I already call mine.
And that’s before:
Property taxes — $7,200 a year.
Homeowners insurance — $2,400 a year.
Maintenance — $3,500 a year average.
Realtor fees when I sell — 5% of whatever it’s worth.
The bank gets paid first.
The government gets paid second.
The insurance company gets paid third.
Then maybe.
After 30 years.
After $664,920.
Af

In 2019 my car insurance was $98 a month.
Today it’s $262 a month.
I pay $3,144 a year for something I’ve never once used and every year the letter comes.
“Due to market conditions your rate has increased.”
Market conditions, just market conditions.
I am being charged for other people’s accidents.
Other people’s fraud and other people’s bad decisions.
And I have no choice.
Because driving without insurance is illegal.
So they can charge whatever they want.
And I can pay it or walk.

Nobody warns you about Sunday evening.
That specific feeling that starts around 5pm.
The weekend isn’t over yet but your brain already knows it is.
The anxiety creeps in quietly.
The emails you didn’t check start mattering again.
The meeting you have Monday morning parks itself in the back of your head.
The freedom you felt Friday at 5pm evaporates in real time.
You’re not even back yet but you’re already gone.
And you sit there trying to enjoy the last few hours of your weekend knowing the whole time that the clock is running out.
Sunday used to be a day.
Now it’s just the waiting room before

My boomer aunt told me to just invest in the stock market.
I make $62,000 a year.
Take home: $3,900 a month.
Rent: $1,800
Car: $380
Insurance: $260
Groceries: $550
Student loan: $350
Utilities: $180
That’s $3,520 gone.
I have $380 left.
She said “just put $500 a month in an index fund.”
I said “from where.”
She said “cut back on unnecessary spending.”
I don’t have unnecessary spending.
I have a budget with no room in it.
She started investing in 1989 on a single income with a paid off car and a $450 mortgage.
Then looked me dead in the eye and told me I need better financial discipline.
$380 l

My 401k went up $40,000 on paper last year.
I didn’t sell anything.
I didn’t withdraw anything.
I didn’t receive a single dollar.
It’s just a number on a screen.
But if I withdraw it to actually use it?
Federal tax.
State tax.
Early withdrawal penalty if I’m under 59½.
They’ll take 30-40% of money I haven’t spent yet.
On gains I haven’t realized yet.
On a retirement I haven’t reached yet.
Meanwhile hedge funds have accountants who ensure they never actually trigger a taxable event.
Billionaires borrow against assets instead of selling them.
Pay zero tax on billions in wealth.
Legally.
But a re

The average American carries $6,000 in credit card debt at 21% interest.
Minimum payment: $120 a month.
At minimum payments only that $6,000 takes 6 years to pay off.
Total repaid: $10,800.
You borrowed $6,000.
You paid back $10,800.
$4,800 straight to the bank for nothing.
And that’s if you never use the card again.
Most people do.
So the balance never moves.
The interest compounds.
The minimum payment barely dents it.
The bank books it as profit.
Credit cards aren’t a convenience.
They’re a subscription to debt designed to never end.
And the people who need them most are the ones who can lea

My electric bill went up $47 this last month.
Same apartment. Same usage. Same appliances.
I called to ask why.
Then I looked at the actual breakdown.
Delivery charge: $38
Grid modernization fee: $12
Renewable energy surcharge: $9
Fuel adjustment charge: $22
Meter reading fee: $6
Actual electricity used: $47
I paid $87 in fees to receive $47 worth of electricity.
My bill wasn’t $47.
It was $134.
They don’t charge you for the product anymore.
They charge you for everything around it.
Check your utility bill. Every single line.
The number at the top is never the real number.

My electric bill went up $47 this last month.
Same apartment. Same usage. Same appliances.
I called to ask why.
Then I looked at the actual breakdown.
Delivery charge: $38
Grid modernization fee: $12
Renewable energy surcharge: $9
Fuel adjustment charge: $22
Meter reading fee: $6
Actual electricity used: $47
I paid $87 in fees to receive $47 worth of electricity.
My bill wasn’t $47.
It was $134.
They don’t charge you for the product anymore.
They charge you for everything around it.
Check your utility bill. Every single line.
The number at the top is never the real number.

$100,000 salary sounds rich.
Until you see the math.
Take home after tax: $5,800/mo
Rent: $2,200
Car payment: $450
Insurance: $430
Groceries: $600
Student loan: $400
Utilities: $200
Gas: $180
Total: $4,460
Left over: $1,340
For savings.
Emergencies.
Retirement.
Everything else life throws at you.
$100,000 a year.
$1,340 a month of breathing room.
That’s not rich.
That’s one emergency away from broke.

A cashier told me my total was $8.55.
The screen said $8.51 and i pointed at the screen.
She said they round up because of the penny shortage.
I handed her $8.51 exact.
But let’s do the math nobody wants to do.
The average fast food chain serves 1 million customers a day.
Round up 4 cents on every transaction.
That’s $40,000 a day. $14,600,000 a year.
On pennies.
On a shortage that conveniently always rounds up and never down.
These companies post billion dollar profits every quarter.
And they’re skimming your change to pad it further.
This isn’t a penny shortage.
This is a corporate policy di