Have you ever been living your life and then suddenly thought, this is a scam? This can’t be real? Some things are so part of our society and our everyday life.
Still, we accept them as normal because they’re ingrained in our society or because everyone else accepts them, and we can’t do anything about it?
That was the question someone posted on Reddit, “What’s 100% a scam, but we accepted it in our society?” and these are some of my favorite answers.
1. College Bookstores
Besides the crazy prices for the textbooks that are required reading for most college courses. One person commented, “Oh yeah, the profs that require their own books. I only had one or two of those in my time, but d** did that feel like a shakedown.”
I had the same experience in college. Professors require new editions of their books that cost exorbitant amounts; you can do nothing but pay for it.
2. Convenience Fees on Electronic Payments
Fees on electronic payments feel like a huge scam. One person said, “biggest insult to everyone’s intelligence. Pay this extra fee to give us money electronically without needing to pay an employee. it costs so much more for the computer to do it!”
I always recommend that you try to get bank accounts and cards that don’t charge you fees. Of course, you can’t always avoid fees as many utilities or other services require a fee to pay electronically, and you end up doing it because it is not worth calling or visiting in person.
3. Ticketmaster
Many people called Ticketmaster a scam, “I was looking for tickets to a pro hockey game. The ticket price was $108 and the Ticketmaster fee was $83. Needless to say, I didn’t buy the ticket,” said one person. While others shared that going into the box office or venue saved them a lot of money on tickets, many pointed out that very often, venues use Ticketmaster exclusively, so you can’t do that anymore.
4. Weddings/Rings/Bachelor Party
One person responded, “That it’s considered normal to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a wedding/ring/bachelor party.” Many people spend a lot of money on their weddings and parties for a one-time event. It doesn’t seem like the best way to spend your money! There are many ways you can save money on weddings and have an amazing party with family and friends without starting your married life by spending lots of money.
5. Turbotax
It’s pretty shady that you have to pay for software so that you can figure out how to pay the government your taxes. It made some people very angry when someone shared, “TurboTax. They lobby the government to make it difficult to do taxes without their software. I lived in the UK and it took literally 15 min to do taxes on bad government software.”
One person offered a great tip, “The IRS offers a free alternative available on their website for most people. The IRS also has no advertising budget. Hence why nobody knows about it.” Good to know!
6. Dental Insurance
One person listed health insurance in the USA as a scam, and another person countered with an even worse scam: “Health insurance is less of a scam than dental insurance. Once you reach your OOP with health insurance they pay for it. Once you reach your OOP with dental you pay 100% of everything.”
I think both are scams. Consumers are left with thousands of money in debt for seeking medical care- even after they pay hundreds to an insurance company.
7. Student Loans
Student loans are a huge problem in the U.S. Many Redditors agree, “Truly a crisis in our society. Attention parents: ESA, 529. Save, save, save!!!!”. There are other options besides going to college, some said. “Similar to that: everyone going to college” is also a scam. College is not for everyone and not the best career choice for everyone.
8. Tipping
Of course, you should tip the people who serve you, but the entire tipping situation is a scam, “Australian here. Will never understand why people accept this. We just pay people a living wage and don’t have to tip random interactions.” Paying workers a living wage is a much better idea than making them exist on tips.
9. Fad Diets
One person had a great explanation about why this is a scam. “They don’t work, they never have, they likely never will, and they cause an insane amount of damage to people’s mental and physical wellbeing – but even though they’re probably less popular than they were a few years ago, they still seem to pop every other month. It’s an entire industry built around preying on the insecure and uninformed, which is not only over-all ineffective but can cause/exacerbate eating disorders and other health conditions”, he said.
10. Recycling
Recycling is a good idea, but does it really happen? One Redditor said no, “Might get hate but recycling. I’m pretty sure like 90% of what we recycle gets thrown away anyways and hardly any of it actually gets repurposed, yet we pay for it.”
More From A Dime Saved:
- 16 Weird Gen Z Trends We Just Don’t Understand
- 10 Best Frugal Tips for Frugality Beginners
- 4 Of The Most Dangerous Cities Are In The U.S.
A Dime Saved
Hi! I am a millennial mom with a passion for personal finance. I have always been “into” personal finance but got inspired to start my blog after a period of extended unemployment. That experience really changed the way I viewed my relationship with money and the importance of accessible personal finance education.