I think it’s probably one of those things that is stupid until you reach a point of financial success or fall into groups that consider your financial wealth important. Why it’s a thing is probably because we pay our taxes once a year and that’s when it’s laid bare and you see how much you made. So after 10 or 20 years you kinda know what 50k a year is and if someone is talking about making that much you can understand the lack of money they have. If you friend tells you that, don’t ask them out to expensive things unless you’re going to pay the bill.
If you want to see for yourself the absolute horror that is sugar, i suggest this CBC documentary
I noticed when I visited Ireland, from the US, that most cars are manual. At the rental places it was rare or expensive to get one. I can drive either. But learning to shift with my left hand was OMG WTF for a few minutes. I couldn’t get the hang of left turns driving on the right side. I had to really think about it each time.
Washington State USA is expensive. I have lived in Seattle and Spokane. Both were affordable until the last 10 years and now most prices have doubled or more. The house I purchased in 2019 was $500k and the current value from some of the real estate sites puts it at almost $800K in less then 5 years.
Total bullshit but thankfully I love the house and I made out like a bandit when I purchased very low and sold very high on my first house, to be able to afford this house. It will be my forever home so I can’t complain too much. Expect that when the city thinks the house is worth $800k, my taxes will reflect that even if its not worth that much.
I once was fired for being a top performer but being a contractor. Me and another guy were doing 45% of all the IT help desk work for a top American insurance company. Then one day th company that employed us had their contract terminated. This means that we were asked to leave. In the exit interview I asked if it was performance based, because I felt we did most of the work, they complemented my performance and even noticed that I was the best at making coffee but they had to start making better financial choices and we were welcome to apply for full time work with the company.
Funny how it worked out because the next job was the one that really put me into the career position.
So I have to say that sometimes bad things happen when it’s not your fault but it can be a blessing in disguise. You might be opening a door to something better.
Trying to get to the center of the universe in Perma Death mode was one of the best gaming experiences I can remember. It took so much dedication and patience to finally get to the end (hint, play the main quests).
NMS is the only game I ever got 100% on.