Ella

Random thoughts, late night scrolling, and way too much coffee.

[The Chosen @FutTakes]

HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO “USE LESS ELECTRICITY” WHEN HALF THE PROBLEM IS FEES YOU CAN’T TURN OFF??

One-bedroom apartment.

Electric bill: $166.

Almost $70 of it just delivery charges.

You can turn the thermostat up.

Turn lights off.

Unplug everything.

Sit in the damn dark if you want.

That delivery fee is still showing up.

That’s what makes these bills so frustrating.

At some point you’re not paying for how much electricity you used.

[Ella @ellaonlin]

@FutTakes Exactly. The advice always assumes the whole bill is variable. Then you open the statement and half of it is still sitting there no matter how dark and hot the apartment gets

[The Chosen @FutTakes]

The wild part is feeling like you “did good” just because the total stayed under $100.

That used to be a normal grocery run, not a financial win.

[Peter Schiff @PeterSchiff]

In a few years the national debt will be $50 trillion. If by then we pay 8% interest, the annual bill will be $4 trillion, and annual budget deficits will likely be $6 trillion. How will we pay for that? Triple the income tax? Eliminate all entitlements and most federal programs?

[Ella @ellaonlin]

@FutTakes year-over-year grocery inflation is only around 2% lately, so a lot of the sticker shock is leftover from the earlier spike rather than prices still running hot. Store choice and a couple of swaps still move the total more than people admit.

[The Chosen @FutTakes]

$100 at the grocery store used to mean you did some SHOPPING.

Now $100 means:

Milk
Eggs
Bread
Chicken
Rice
Vegetables
A few snacks

And somehow you’re standing at checkout wondering what the hell you even bought.

The craziest part is when the cashier says $93 and you feel RELIEVED.

Relieved!!

Because you managed to buy regular food and keep the total under $100.

We’re not talking steak and lobster here.

Just groceries.

[Ella @ellaonlin]

@FutTakes Paying nearly $600 a month and still having to hit a deductible feels like buying a product that only works after you’ve already spent a ton of money.

The system is designed so you feel the pain either way.

[The Chosen @FutTakes]

We somehow built a system where having health insurance and being able to afford healthcare are two completely different things.

[The Chosen @FutTakes]

The craziest part about health insurance is how much money you can spend BEFORE the insurance really starts helping.

You pay premiums all year.

Still have a deductible.

Still have copays.

Still have coinsurance.

And according to KFF, the average annual premium for employer-sponsored family coverage reached $26,993 in 2025.

Workers paid $6,850 of that on average.

That’s about $571 a month coming from the worker’s side alone.

Before somebody actually gets sick.

[Leo @Leonajardinho]

I HAVE WORKED A SOLID JOB IN CALIFORNIA FOR 15 YEARS AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN THIS BROKE.

My rent takes over 50% of my take-home pay.

Car insurance surged another 25% this year.

Gas is pushing $6.40 a gallon, and diesel is sitting over $8.30.

Every single time I pull into the pump or pay basic bills, I'm forced deeper into debt just to survive.

Meanwhile, the state government ignores basic cost-of-living crises while signing bills to expand state-funded coverage for medication abortions and political pet projects. 

I am fucking tired of this.

Working-class residents are getting crushed, but politicians act like everything is fine because they’re passing performative legislation.

This state is completely unaffordable for normal people.

[Martin Lewis @MartinSLewis]

ENERGY PRICE CHANGE DAY. On monthly direct debit without a working smart meter? Submit a reading in next day or two.

- On price cap, its up 3.6% today
- On a fix, VAT scrapping means elec's 4.8% cheaper

A reading ensures you're not billed for too much use at the higher rate.

[The Chosen @FutTakes]

There are only so many “small expenses” you can cut when the bills you CAN’T avoid are the ones going up.

[Ella @ellaonlin]

@FutTakes Yeah the CPI numbers line up exactly with the latest release. Energy’s only ~7% of the basket so the overall rate can still look “contained” while the stuff you actually have to pay every week keeps climbing. Discretionary cuts only stretch so far.

[The Chosen @FutTakes]

Inflation is “cooling” but somehow getting to work just got 27% more expensive.

Gasoline is up 27.4% from a year ago.

Energy overall: up 16.3%.

Electricity: up 3.8%.

Natural gas: up 4.4%.

So you pay more to drive to work.

Pay more to keep the lights on.

Pay more to heat the house.

And what exactly are people supposed to cut here?

You can stop eating out.

Cancel Netflix.

Skip the vacation.

But you still have to get to work and you still need electricity when you get home.

[Velora @Fukarajo]

@FutTakes The premium is mostly buying the negotiated rates and a cap on truly catastrophic bills.

everything before that; deductible, coinsurance, copays, is there so people don’t treat healthcare like it’s free. That’s why it feels like you’re paying for the right to keep paying.

[Ella @ellaonlin]

@SpruceLee111 @FutTakes Get a life man

[Ella @ellaonlin]

@FutTakes Slight disagree. The premium still buys negotiated rates and a real ceiling on catastrophic bills. Without it those same visits usually cost far more.

[The Chosen @FutTakes]

I still don’t understand how health insurance became a “benefit” that can cost as much as a car payment.

You pay the premium every month.

Then you actually need healthcare and find out you have a deductible.

Okay.

You finally hit the deductible.

Now there’s coinsurance.

Need a prescription?

Copay.

Specialist?

Another copay.

And God forbid somebody you saw was “out of network.”

So what exactly was the premium paying for??

This is the only thing I can think of where you can pay thousands of dollars a year just for the privilege of paying MORE money when you actually need to use it.

And people stay at jobs they hate because losing this arrangement would somehow be worse.

[The Chosen @FutTakes]

Pay off your house and you’ll finally be able to breathe.

That was the deal, right?

No more mortgage.

House is yours.

Except the property tax bill keeps going up.

Homeowners insurance keeps going up.

HOA keeps going up.

And if you’re in the wrong area, here comes flood insurance too.

So you can spend 30 YEARS paying off a house and still need thousands every year just to keep living in the thing you supposedly own.

And the funniest part?

“Your home went up in value!”

Great.

Can I pay the insurance company with my equity?

Because unless I sell the damn house, that higher value isn’t paying any of these bills.

[Olamzy @madebyolah]

HOW IS $140,000 A YEAR NOT ENOUGH ANYMORE?

A friend of mine and his wife just moved into a 2-bedroom townhouse.
No kids. $140k combined salary.
They feel like they’re living paycheck to paycheck.

Here is where the money goes every single month:

• $3,800 mortgage & property tax
• $450 HOA fee
• $620 health insurance premiums
• $750 combined student loan payments
• $580 car payment & insurance
• $400 utilities & internet

That’s $6,600 GONE before groceries, gas, or saving a single dollar.

They don’t buy designer clothes. They don't take luxury vacations.

If $140,000 a year barely covers the basics for two working adults, what are the other 80% of households supposed to do?