Are weddings inherently expensive or are the outdated traditions that boomer parents demand at them taking most of the budget?

We all know that having a wedding is not cheap. That's why more people are opting for simple courthouse marriages and perhaps a small dinner party afterwards. All that most people can afford these days with the cost of everything skyrocketing. Weddings have always been costly, but even the "cheap" weddings these days cost a pretty penny. The wedding tax has gotten out of hand!

However, when this couple decided to have a small courthouse wedding, the bride's parents demanded they follow Chinese traditions. These traditions can end up being very expensive, and because of this, the bride demanded the wedding party plan everything for them for free. Well, free ford them, it cost the wedding party over $500 a person, plus unpaid time off!

An evening out turned into an awkward confrontation when their waiter assumed that they were giving him a $40 tip when they paid their $60 tab with a $100 bill.

"You won't have a calculator with you all the time," our teachers used to tell us in grade school as they desperately tried to get us to show our work on our homework and on tests. They'd also told us things like we'd be using cursive "all the time" when we were adults, so we needed to make sure that we knew how to use it.

Neither of those things ended up being true. You only ever use handwriting when you're filling out official forms that specifically ask you to "print" in simple lettering instead of using cursive, and thanks to the invention of the "smart" phone, we quite literally have a calculator in our pocket everywhere we go.

This, of course, means that we should never be beaten by the most basic functions of mathematics. Subtracting a number less than 100 from 100 should be something that we can do without having to pull out our phones or reach for a pen and paper. Yet, even if you need to fall on the crutch of your pocket calculator or ask ChatGPT, there really is no excuse for not being able to figure out out whatsoever.

The whole socially performative sequence of getting the bill and tipping is already awkward enough without having to chase the waiter down for your change that they, for some reason, have assumed is a tip. Let alone having to chase the waiter down to get your change, convince them the amount was not intended to be a tip, and then proceed to teach them basic arithmetic on the spot. 

Still, as skeptical as this guy is of the waiter's true intentions, "Hanlon's razor" certainly applies here. This adage tells us to "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." Quite simply, it is far more likely that this confused 16-year-old made a bad assumption and is bad at math than it is likely that he was trying to get away with extra tip money. It seems way more unlikely. 

When you work for a company, there is no doubt that your list of responsibilities may be lengthy, yet there are certain elements that should be the responsibility of your company. When you are a chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant, it is not your job to pay for the ingredients. When you are an actress, it is not your job to pay the extras…So, why, when a delivery driver requests a credit card to pay for gas, is he denied? We understand that some companies like to avoid 'unnecessary fees, but unfortunately, companies that offer delivery services actually require gas to get from point A-B.

Years back, this warehouse manager had to make a delivery, but whilst his boss was away, he was forced to ask the head salesman for the company card. A request that was denied alongside the claim that an eighth of a tank should surely get him where he needed to go…Well, it did not. Instead the trunk ran out of diesel, broke down from air in the fuel system, and racked up major delays and repair costs…all that could've been avoided if he paid that little extra $19 (Relax, it was the 90s, we know you can't even get a min for $19 these days…) Let's just say that salesman never had another say in allocate the company credit card activity every again…Poor Paul, he had a great smile, just not much behind it.
 

According to this local Karen, when you work from home, that must mean that you're available for babysitting 24/7. As any WFH employee knows, just because you're at home in your PJs doesn't mean that you're not incredibly busy with work-related tasks. 

After asking her neighbor if he could babysit her 13-year-old, this Karen couldn't fathom any reason her neighbor would decline. Knowing he had important meetings on Zoom and a busy workload for the day, the WFH employee declined, saying he was busy at work. However, this Karen wouldn't take no for an answer, and she insisted, haughtily claiming that he's "just sitting around at home anyway," why can't he watch her daughter? But this guy wouldn't let her push him around. 

Alas, that resulted in a swift report to the HOA board, and the HOA president shaking his head at yet another silly complaint from the neighborhood Karen. Perhaps on her own work time, she can do some research for some good, local babysitters who nanny for a living, instead of pestering her neighbors with other jobs. 

How far should someone go to ensure they don't "burn bridges" at workplaces they interview for?

The person in the story below did not expect to be met with such pushback after deciding the job they were interviewing for was not for them. They didn't even think they should inform the recruiter; they simply stopped replying when they got the offer letter, expecting the hiring manager to take the hint and move on.

While that is not the best way to part ways with a company you interviewed for, does that really justify the manager's reaction? He called the candidate, insisting on finding out the reason they refused the job. After the candidate told them they simply didn't want the job, the manager proceeded to yell at them for their audacity. "You are worthless, you're making things up, you should be grateful," etc, etc. 

Should the candidate inform the recruiter that they do not want the job? Absolutely. Does the fact that they didn't justify the manager's over-the-top reaction? Absolutely not.

But you can be the judges of that yourselves. Keep scrolling to read the full story.