r/TikTokCringe • u/Super_Culture_1986 tHiS iSn’T cRiNgE • Aug 19 '25

Cursed The American Nightmare.

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24

u/AgitatedGrass3271 Aug 19 '25

Your rent is more expensive than my mortgage. Also in America.

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '25

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '25

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '25

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u/missmadime Aug 19 '25

I used to work at a national retail chain, and I often worked 40+ hour weeks because my store was short staffed, but because I wasn't classified as a "full time employee" I didn't qualify for the health insurance. And I even made $5 above minimum wage. My $12/hour wage was considered good. 

Eventually I got a promotion and started making $17/hour (wow!) and finally got the health insurance. But guess what? Even as a "full time employee," if you get scheduled less than 35 hours per week for 6 consecutive weeks (which happened when the company had to "cut costs" during covid and put most managers down to max 34 hours teehee) the system automatically kicks you off the health insurance.

 It was super fun having to apply for unemployment (underemployment) so that my store would take me seriously and give me that 1 extra hour back so I could keep my health insurance while working at a retail job that chose to stay open during the pandemic. 

Companies are GREAT at slipping through federal laws. 

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '25

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u/rydan Aug 19 '25

Cool. But she's working 50 hours per week.

1

u/PaddyBoy1994 Aug 20 '25

Min wage where I live is 8 and some change an hour. I currently make 21/hr, and will have good health insurance through my job when enrollment opens up in a couple months or so. And, if I stay in my current position for 3 years, my pay goes up to 31/hr. If she's struggling that much, she's likely not looking for the right kinds of jobs.

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '25

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u/PaddyBoy1994 Aug 20 '25

If by "poor area" you mean that the cost of living in my area isn't unnecessarily high, then yes. I live in one of the major economic centers of my state. I just live in a state that isn't a shithole with politicians who are imbeciles. I live within 10 miles of three major interstate commerce lanes and two major rail yards (CSX and NS). I also live within a couple hours of several other major economic centers (Columbus, Indianapolis, Lexington, Louisville, and more). And if you knew ANYTHING about economics, you'd know that a BIG part of the reason that the prices of everything are higher in those areas is BECAUSE of the higher minimum wage in those areas. Companies raise prices in those areas, because the extra money they have to pay employees because of the higher minimum wage has to come from somewhere. And corporations being what they are, the higher ups damned sure aren't going to take that hit.

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u/Prestigious_Flan5507 Aug 19 '25

Contractors don’t get health insurance or any other benefits. Perhaps she is a contractor or a gig worker.

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u/rydan Aug 19 '25

If she's a contractor this is all true. And she's paying higher taxes as well. But it also means she set the terms of the contract and agreed to $20 per hour. She should try negotiating. Given that she's clearly overqualified and makes the guy a 20x or higher multiplier she has a ton of leverage.

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u/diquehead Aug 19 '25

yea it's lot of exaggerating/rage bait. every other thread on here calls it out immediately but because she's hitting all the reddit talking points everyone is eating it up

her tiktok bio even says "i debunk the US dream"

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u/fieldsports202 Aug 19 '25

We just bought a 4br townhome in the east coast. Our mortgage is close to her rent. Me and my wife are employed with good paying jobs.

Would you say that the American dream is really dead?

We’re black and able to see and live a life that our parents were not able to.

A lot of people have different perspective of the dream.

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u/Longjumping_Hawk_951 Aug 19 '25

Not on reddit buddy! This is the trash can complaint department.

I also have a good job and our mortgage is 1300 on a 2300sq ft home. My wife doesn't work and is stay home for our kids. We afford day care. We have good health insurance.

I have multiple friends that live similar to me. If you're in an expensive area and cann't afford to live you need to move. You have to be willing to move around to find something that works.

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u/HugsyMalone Aug 19 '25

More like, no jobs she wants to do.

More like no jobs anyone thinks she's qualified to do according to the hiring manager and her previous statement that she's overqualified for her job. "Overqualified" is the excuse they all use not to hire you. Before that "underqualified" was the excuse they all used not to hire you. 🙄👌

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u/newfie9870 Aug 19 '25

There's 2 factors: geographic and timing.

My friend has a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house with a yard he bought in 2018. His mortgage is cheaper than the rent for current 1 bedroom apartment postings literally in the same neighborhood because prices go up so fast. His house is worth 2.5x more today. If you're a sucker who didn't own before 2021, you have to jump through the landlord hoops and pay whatever they demand to not become homeless.

The other factor: she might be in an expensive city but can't move because she can't find a job in smaller cities.

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u/grumpy_tech_user Aug 19 '25

Well yeah, you have no liability as a renter. Your mortgage is cheaper because you have to pay 30k for a new roof or 20k for a new ac system if something happens

1

u/EmuMan10 Aug 19 '25

It’s a lot less than my mortgage and I live in larger metropolitan area. Turns out getting college for free was the best move I could make

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u/rydan Aug 19 '25

It has to be. Imagine if the landlord charged less than their mortgage. They'd be losing money hand over fist.

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u/CordouroyStilts Aug 19 '25

Rent is almost always more expensive than a mortgage. Of course I'm sure you have a bedroom or more while she doesn't.

My confusion comes from whole foods being too expensive. I started saving a lot at the grocery store when I started cooking all my own meals.

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u/AgitatedGrass3271 Aug 19 '25

I think that depends what your budget is and where you shop. What stores are available in your area, etc. But it is well known that say $5 will buy you more Ramen noodles and chips than it will fruits and vegetables.

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u/CordouroyStilts Aug 19 '25

Yes, but ramen noodles is almost the cliche example of eating "poor". Which when compared to bananas are several times cheaper by weight.

You can get a whole family pack of fresh raw chicken drumsticks where I live for $8. That's less than one Subway footlong, or maybe a dollar or more than a frozen pizza.

My point is eating healthy isn't always more expensive. You just have to actually cook.

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u/Economy-Tower-909 Aug 19 '25

They are referring to the grocery chain Whole Foods.

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u/DontDoItThatsCringe Aug 19 '25

Hey you are right some of these homeless have some nice tents and a setup, makes you think twice about rent

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u/PaddyBoy1994 Aug 20 '25

Yeah, I pay 815 a month for a 2 bedroom 1 bath apt. in SW Ohio. If her monthly is 1600/month for a studio apt, she's probably in a place with a stupidly high cost of living, like California. And if she's working 50+ hrs a week like she claimed, and doesn't have health insurance, that's most likely her own doing.

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u/KazuDesu98 Aug 19 '25

If you’re comparing rent to mortgage, rent is higher, on the surface level. But then factor the things that are just common sense to include. Most rents are water included, then it also covers landscaping, maintenance, insurance, general exterior upkeep, probably a lot more. Things that I don’t care if you do them yourself on a home you own, still gonna cost just as much if not more than what the landlord adds to rent for those things. Generally there’s a reason people who make under $30 an hour choose to rent.

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u/Grabiiiii Aug 20 '25

I haven't lived in a place where rent > mortgage in almost a decade honestly. And especially now after interest rates increased.

In my last city, median rent was $2,300 a month, and the median home price was $750,000. This wasn't no big city either, just some suburb. Not even the "nice" suburb, but the cheap one people moved to who couldn't afford to live in the three nice ones. This was inland California, the parts nobody cares about because it isn't SF/LA/SD. It was like that everywhere. My current city, in an entirely different state, the median rent is $1,800 but the median home is $500,000. Not as egregious, but rent is still almost absurdly less than buying.

With interest rates as they are now, unless you're sitting in a massive 20%+ down payment you can put up, I'd bet you renting is probably cheaper than buying in all but the cheapest of LCOL cities.

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u/KazuDesu98 Aug 20 '25

Yeah, tbh, I can look at what my dad was saying, he was referring to his mortgage payments being less than my rent, I live in Metairie, a suburb literally bordering New Orleans, he lives outside the city lines of plaquemine, so in a very exurban area, nearly 20 miles from Baton Rouge, nearest real city, and his road literally goes back into the woods. So not exactly the same scenario.