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15 of the wildest things average folks have witnessed at uber-rich people events

It's a whole other world.

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money
Fandom.com

People share the wildest things they've seen or heard at "rich people events."

So many of us love to binge the exotic, exorbitant lives of characters in shows like Succession, White Lotus, and The Gilded Age, but it’s another thing altogether to see it play out in real life.

Recently, average joes who have borne witness to people who simply have way too much money to burn (usually as their hired hands) shared some stories likely to leave you with equal parts awe and disgust. Stories of last minute jet setting for seasonal truffles, car accident “fall guys,” full-on backyard carnivals, and more.

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Jessica Walter in 'Arrested Development.' media4.giphy.com

Below are a few glimpses into just how the other half lives.

1. Truffles in Tokyo

“I was a server at a really nice restaurant and ended up working a dinner in our private room for the president of a major movie production studio's birthday…At one point in the dinner his assistant (one of three assistants sitting at the end of the long dinner table) informed him that the first truffles of the season had been delivered to some chef in Tokyo. So producer guy goes ‘Great! Anyone want to go to Tokyo this weekend for a truffle tasting?’ A couple of people said yes so he instructed the assistant to ‘make sure one of the jets is available’ for the trip. They stayed 3 hours after we closed. Bought every bottle of the same brand of wine we had in our cellar ‘for the road,’ let me taste a 1989 Chateau Haut-Brion and tipped $3600 for the lateness of their departure. Wild night.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Andrew Skarsgard in 'Succession.' media1.giphy.com

2. Hired Fall Guy for Car Accidents

“My friend had a friend who is one of those ‘Crazy Rich Asian’ type of dudes…One day, this rich dude was driving his Ferrari on the toll road. My friend was in another car following him for a car meetup event. This dude crashed his Ferrari into another car, and then stopped on the side of the road…[and] called someone. In 10 minutes there was a yellow Lamborghini. The Lambo driver went out, took the Ferrari key from the rich dude's hands, and then sat inside the crashed Ferrari. The rich dude drove the Lambo and continued the journey. Apparently the new driver will take the fall for every single crash related problem. Oh yeah, the police were there the whole time, and they didn’t bother to talk or approach the rich dude before the lambo driver came up.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Ryan Gosling in 'The Fall Guy' media0.giphy.com

3. A Yacht…Just In Case

“I once had super wealthy bosses and they were talking about their friend who owned several buildings. And who had a big yacht [that] always ready to go [with] a full complement of personnel, paid full time… It was basically a hotel at sea. The thing is, the guy rarely used it. So you had a boatload of bored people who had nothing much to do. If the guy goes to Europe, he would rather fly there -- and have the yacht head there ahead, just in case he felt like using it. Which wasn't all the time.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Leonardo DiCaprio in 'Wolf of Wall Street' media2.giphy.com

4. Two African Safaris, Please

“When we were poor our daughter went to a private preschool that was great for her disability and they accepted us at hardly any tuition in exchange for speaking at fundraising events for them on our daughters benefit from being at the school. At their big fancy yearly ball dinner we were speakers and they sat us at a donor table. We were literally stealing dinner rolls to make our Carl Buddig sandwich meat better. At the auction portion one of the ladies explained that last year she bid on and won the African safari but she didn’t have anyone to go with her so she donated it back to this years event. As that vacation came up for bid she goes ‘wait my niece loves animals and travel, I’ll take her’ and she went and bought it for he second year in a row.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Goldie Hawn in 'The First Wives Club' media3.giphy.com

5. 20K Rehearsal Dinner

“I worked a private event as a waiter, it was a rehearsal dinner. The father of the bride was telling everyone he chartered a private jet for his daughter and son in law to fly to Bali for their 6 week honeymoon, which he has also paid for. The jet was to stay there for their use for the duration of the trip in case they wanted to visit other places if they got bored. The rehearsal dinner for 20 people was about 20k.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Martin Short in 'Father of the Bride.' media3.giphy.com

6. Secret Service Wedding

“It was a ritzy wedding and someone there was a congressman. So we had secret service throughout the wedding pretending like they were guests while also not engaging with anyone to be distracted. They were like real life NPCs.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Hopefully they were paid well. media3.giphy.com

7. Losing 10K Like It's Nothing

“I was in the Peace Corps in Zambia. We used to hang out at the casino in Lusaka cause they gave you free food, drinks, and cigarettes while you played. We would play like $2 hands of blackjack just to get fed. But I went to the roulette table and some guy put down $10,000 in USD all over the table. Lost his spin, and just shrugged his shoulders and walked away…I was floored by the amount of wealth that existed right around us.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money I can't imagine even betting with $10. media3.giphy.com

8. A Family's Worth of Ferraris

“My buddy took me on a cruise with our local Ferrari club. The house we went to was owned by a member who had 8 Ferrari's in his garage… While we were there he unveiled his new car, a custom built Daytona SP3 that was all completely custom. The base price of the car is around $2.2 million so with the customizations it was closer to $3 million the way he had it. The crazy part was the story he told about it. This was supposed to be an early build number car but it was delayed. He had to ask Ferrari about why his $3 million dollar car was taking so long while he was putting in another order for a different completely custom Ferrari that is probably worth even more than that. Spending more money on 2 cars than I'll probably make in my whole life was a pretty wild story to hear while in a garage with cars that collectively are worth more than my family has made all together for a couple of generations. Really puts the wealth gap into perspective.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money You can never have too many Ferraris… media4.giphy.com

9. Friends in High Places

“The CEO of my company came down to visit our office and took all the managers out to lunch. He asked for an update on projects going on, and one person mentioned having been stuck in limbo because of the state agency not getting us the approval. He asked if anyone had tried calling the governor. After he looked around and saw a table full of blank stares, he pulled his phone out and did just that. Apparently the governor is a buddy, and the situation was resolved the next day.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money A still from 'Home Economics.' media1.giphy.com

10. Night At The Museum

“I was invited to a corporate party in NYC. The party was at the Museum of Modern Art. They rented the museum for the evening. There was a caviar table you could go to and get as much caviar as you wanted. I was told that the caviar cost $5,000."

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Doesn't sound like a bad night, honestly. media1.giphy.com

11. 24/7 Butler

“I was hired to be a photographer at a wedding. They had rented the venue at a very expensive vineyard. There was a mansion there and as part of the deal the bridal party got to stay at the mansion. The owner is almost never actually there. He lives in a big White House, if you know what I mean. I show up early the morning of the wedding and I’m greeted by the butler…He said it’s shift work, that there are basically three of them…and it’s 8 hour shifts. So I [asked] ‘if I showed up at 2am in January one of you would be here, all alone in the mansion, just knocking around on the odd chance the big guy shows up?’ And he was like ‘yeah, someone’s always here.’ That just kinda blew my mind. Can you imagine just being the dude who sits alone in someone else’s mansion polishing the silver waiting to see if they show up?”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money You never know when someone might visit your mansion. media1.giphy.com

12. Throwing Away Perfectly Good Fillet

“Not at an event, but at my then 9yr old son's friend's house. They were VERY wealthy, and it was the Dads birthday dinner. They were having fillet steak, seafood etc. Their two sons were disgusted that hey were having fillet steak-AGAIN. And one threw his away, and the other huffed off to his room and demanded his Dad (whos birthday it was) take him to get a pizza. Dad actually DID! And my macaroni eating kid sat there scarfing his steak and witnessing the majesty of life.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Who throws away fillet? media0.giphy.com

13. Racing Porsches

“I attended a rich person dinner in Bel Air… I began to make small talk with the guy seated next to me. We started talking about traveling, and he said his friend recently ‘raced with the Porsches in Germany.’ I looked at him, and said ‘oh, you mean he raced Porsches in Germany, that's great.’ He looked at me confused and said ’"no, he raced with the Porsche family’ and rattled off a couple names of the Porsche heirs that apparently they were friendly with.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Barry Keoghan in 'Saltburn.' media1.giphy.com

14. Owning Politicians

“I was at a political fundraising dinner around 20 years ago. There were many affluent rich people there but only one billionaire. At one point I naively asked him why he didn’t run for office. He laughed and looked me directly in they eyes and said, ‘son, why would I be a politician when I can own one?’”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Paul Giamatti in 'Billions.' media4.giphy.com

15. Backyard Carnival…For a 4-Year-Old

“My dad cooked a small dinner at a very privately wealthy family's house, in which Dick Cheney was a guest and they flew in Elton John to play piano for the night. That same family put on a birthday party for their 4 year old granddaughter, who wanted “a carnival” for her birthday, so they invited all of the country club staff's families to ‘make the place look alive.’ Free carnival rides and food all day and night. In their backyard.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money An image of a carnival media2.giphy.com

Of course, what also makes many of our beloved rich-centric shows so watchable is the fact that these characters, even with their excessive wealth, cannot escape grief, loss, or retribution for their wrongdoings. I'm not to say that any of the wealthy folks from these stories should face comeuppance simply for having what many others want, but it’s no secret that the working class sees this stark contrast more and more each day, and will not stop calling for more equality in one way or another.

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Married couple says the '3-Hour Night' hack has totally improved their marriage

“It's been so fun and such...a game changer for how our evenings go.”

@racheleehiggins/TikTok

Want out of a relationship rut? The Three hour night might be the perfect solution.

Almost every long term relationship suffers from a rut eventually. That goes especially for married partners who become parents and have the added responsibility of raising kids. Maintaining a connection is hard enough in this busy, fast-paced world. Top it off with making sure kids are awake, dressed, entertained, well fed, oh yeah, and alive…and you best believe all you have energy for at the end of the day is sitting on the couch barely making it through one episode of your favorite show on Netflix.

And yet, we know how important it is to maintain a connection with our spouses. Many of us just don’t know how to make that happen while juggling a million other things. According to one mom, a “three-hour night” could be just the thing to tick off multiple boxes on the to-do list while rekindling romance at the same time. Talk about the ultimate marriage hack.

bored, couple, marriage hack, man ywaning, concerned woman A couple that has lost their spark.via Canva/Photos

What is the 3-Hour Night marriage hack?

The three-hour night was something that Rachel Higgins and her husband began incorporating into their lives at the beginning of 2024. And so far, “it's been so fun and such...a game changer for how our evenings go,” she says in a clip posted to TikTok.

Before using the three-hour night, the evening would look a bit like this: their daughter would go to bed, they would lounge on the couch, scroll through social media, then fall asleep. Sound familiar?

But with a three-hour night, Higgins and her husband divvy up the time before bed into three sections, each for a different focus.In the first hour, starting around 7 p.m., is what Higgins calls “productive time,” during which the couple sees to any household chores that might need to be done.

“So, start with like a quick cleanup of the kitchen or just like things that accumulated throughout the day, and then we try to do something that either ... has been being put off or cleaning the bathroom or like organizing the pantry or hall closet or something like, super random like sharpening the knives. Anything that's productive for the household,” she explains.


@rachelleehiggins

if you’re stuck in a rut with your evenings try this! i saw someone do something similar to this a while ago but can’t remember who! #marriage #1sttimeparents #newyearsgoals

Next, the second hour is geared towards re-establishing a physical or emotional connection in their marriage. The phones go away, and they focus only on enjoying one another.

“So, that could be things like showering together or ‘having fun’ together, playing a game together, or just like anything that's gonna get you guys talking and connecting or like debriefing from the day or just like talking about what you're doing and like the plans for tomorrow or like how work's going or whatever. So, anything that's gonna connect and strengthen and build your marriage,” Higgins says.

Lastly, the final hour of the night is dedicated to anything Higgins and her husband individually want to do, any sort of personal recharge activity. Since this is a judgment-free time, Higgins states that “If you just want to lie on the couch and scroll your phone and watch TikToks or whatever, like watch YouTube videos,” it’s totally acceptable.

happy coupe, couple in bed, young married couple, man with beard, smiling woman A happy couple in bed.via Canva/Photos

Higgins’ novel approach definitely interested viewers, who chimed in with their own questions. One major concern was how the heck this could be done every night. But even Higgins admits that she and her husband don’t succeed at having a three-hour night every night—they usually try for about 3-4 times a week. And honestly, even once a week could still probably be beneficial in building intimacy.

"Such a good idea. Good for us empty nesters too! The phone scrolling is outta control!"one commenter wrote. "This is really cool. The housework is equal. The emotional connection is equal and the self care is equal. No room for resentment," another added. "We don’t have kids yet but I love this and want to do it because the nights slip away so fast!!" a commenter added.

Others wondered how to have a three-hour night when things randomly popped up in their schedule, like when kids won’t magically go to sleep promptly at 7pm. Higgins shares that in these cases, they tend to just shorten each phase. The point being: these can and probably should be customizable, even fun, rather than yet another rigid chore.

Plus, a three-hour night (or whatever your version of a three-hour night may be) is a great way to remind yourself just how high a priority your relationship has in your life, no matter what else is going on at the time. Odds are you'll probably find you do have more time for it than you previously thought.

This article originally appeared last year.

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3 apps that quiet the chaos and help you feel on top of your life again

Without breaking a sweat.

Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash

Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash

Dread. Gloom. Horror. Tightening of the chest. Brain spinning on a hamster wheel.

That’s what a typical person — regardless of whether they are a millennial, Gen Z, Gen X, Gen Alpha, etc — feels when their phone buzzes with another notification whilst they’re already drowning in unread emails, half-finished tasks, and the growing pile of “important” stuff.

Here’s the thing: In our always-on world, feeling overwhelmed isn’t a personal failing — it’s practically a universal experience.

But what if you were told that the very device causing some of that chaos could also be your secret weapon for reclaiming your peace of mind?

These three apps aren’t just digital tools; they’re your new best friends in the fight against overwhelm and doomscrolling. (Yes, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook — we are coming for you.) They’re designed to do what you’ve been trying to do manually: organize the noise, save you precious time, and help you absorb the information that matters.

Because once you are able to hear yourself think, everything else starts to fall into place.

1. Accelerated: The Life Skills Course You Never Got

Be honest— Do you think your formative schooling years prepared you for the real world?

As an adult, can you handle stress? How do you negotiate salary at a new job? What about handling workplace conflict? Do you know how to grow your wealth in the next 10 years? What’s the easiest way to build good habits?

Non-fiction books are a great source for bridging the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge. The problem? Who has time to read entire books when you’re barely keeping up with everything else?

That’s where Accelerated shines. It’s a book summary app that takes those life-changing books you’ve been meaning to read and condenses them into 10-minute reads that actually stick with you.

The app covers everything from self-development and mindfulness to business and technology — all the genres that schools skip but life demands. Want to understand why you keep procrastinating? There’s a summary for that. Need to figure out how to set boundaries without feeling guilty? Covered. Trying to wrap your head around cryptocurrency or AI? They’ve got you.

The real game changer is the AskTed chatbot, which acts as your personal tutor. So, if you have ever read something profound and thought, “but what does this actually mean for my situation?” Now you can literally ask! AskTed can answer your questions about the summaries, abbreviations used, technical jargon, etc — helping you connect those insights to your real life.

But how does this app help with the chaos? That 10 minutes you spend mindlessly scrolling through TikTok or Instagram during lunch break or before bed? Do you really think it is relaxing you? Not really!

If anything, you probably feel more scattered afterward, just like the guilt you feel after eating junk food. So instead, why not spend those same 10 minutes on something that could make you smarter, more confident, and better at your job? Now that’s the kind of screen time that truly serves you.

2. MeetingLog: Your Personal Meeting Whisperer

Remember the last time you sat through a two-hour meeting, frantically scribbling notes whilst trying to participate in the conversation at the same time? Chaotic, I know! Or when you wanted to watch that brilliant TED talk everyone was talking about, but couldn’t find 18 minutes to sit still and focus? Yeah, we’ve all been there.

MeetingLog app is a super-attentive assistant who never ever misses a detail, yet somehow manages to turn even the most rambling conversation into clear, actionable notes. This AI-powered Voice Note-taker can transcribe anything with spoken words — your personal meetings, that inspiring podcast episode, even that YouTube video you bookmarked six months ago but never got around to watching, and last but not least, your very own voice recording.

Here’s how it goes one step further. Instead of dumping the raw text from the content on you, MeetingLog creates easy-to-digest summaries from it, the key points are highlighted, and action items are pulled out. In short, all the verbal vomit gets transformed into neat bullet points that convey the key message from the content.

It is also super-inclusive and supports 100+ languages and accents. It offers unlimited cloud storage, i.e., unlimited audio can be transcribed and summarized. It is able to identify who said what and tag the notes appropriately, even if there is more than one speaker involved.

Finally, MeetingLog isn’t just for work stuff. If you are open to being a little creative, it can also act as your own personal journal. Simply record your thoughts before bed — talking through your day, your highs and lows, or what you’re grateful for on those particularly challenging days. The app transcribes everything, so you can build a personal journal — without the pressure of finding the right words on paper — and reflect back on it on the days you need to the most.

3. Podurama: Your Antidote to Doom-Scrolling News

Picture this: instead of starting your day with “BREAKING NEWS: The World Might Be Ending (Again),” what if you could listen to two economists having a fascinating chat about inflation trends? Or a climate scientist explaining recent findings in a way that’s informative but not anxiety-inducing? Wouldn’t it be 1000 times better if you could feed your brain the same information, but without the cortisol spike?

Podcasts are a perfect way to stay up to speed on news topics ranging from parenting, technology, AI, plants, health, and pop culture. There’s no shortage of smart people (podcasters) who have found their niche and enjoy discussing their topics of interest with even smarter people (guests). Podurama offers the convenience of listening to 2.5 million podcasts and 50 million episodes under one roof. What’s even better is that their recommendations help you discover hidden gems tailored to your interests.

But the true game changer is the auto-chapters feature. It automatically breaks down lengthy podcasts into smaller segments and offers concise summaries for each segment that you can read while sipping your coffee. So even if you were unable to listen to things end to end, you’ll know enough. So much so that when your friends start asking where you heard that fascinating perspective, you’ll have an intellectual answer that doesn’t involve an Instagram comment or a YouTube meme.

Final Thoughts

These apps are by no means a magic pill. In simpler words, the noise doesn’t disappear completely — life is still life, after all. But these apps help you sort through it all without feeling like you’re drowning.

MeetingLog means you’re not frantically trying to remember what was said in that important call three days ago — it’s all there, organized, timestamped, and clear. Podurama keeps you informed on the current affairs without the anxiety spiral, so you can have meaningful rather than passive conversations where you just nod along. And Accelerated fills in all those life skills gaps, giving you the confidence that comes from actually knowing how to handle whatever comes your way.

In the end, remember that your phone is still going to buzz. Your calendar is still going to be full. But now you have a way to turn all that noise into something useful, something that helps you grow instead of just survive. And honestly? That makes all the difference.


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Woman gives tour of her $650 New York micro apartment and people were unprepared

Could you live in this apartment?

incognito7nyc/Flickr & Canva Photos

A woman ruffled some feathers with a tour of her $650 NYC micro apartment.

They say New York City is the City of Dreams. Young people all over the world flock to the city when they're ready to start chasing after their biggest ambitions. If you have a passion for theater, television, or the arts, there's no better place to be. Want to become a successful and prestigious stock broker, lawyer, or investment banker? It's all New York, baby. It's a city of immense opportunity and tough competition, but that's what makes it full of life and culture for those who choose to live there.

But all of that doesn't come cheap. The average rent in New York for even just a small, studio apartment is $3,264 per month. That buys you less than 500 square feet. And, even though it seems like you're really pinching pennies by living somewhere so cramped, that price tag is enormous! Even if you account for the higher-than-average salaries in New York.

Most young people just getting started in their careers can't afford that. Not to mention, the competition for good-quality apartments in New York is cutthroat. Still, people are desperate to live there by any means necessary, which has given rise to some really fascinating (and, in some cases, slightly horrifying) micro apartments.

In 2023, one woman went viral for showing off her New York micro apartment. It clocks in at just 80 square feet and cost her, at the time, a meager $650 per month.

new york, new york living, NYC, tiny apartment, micro apartment, apartment tour, budgeting, gen z, millennials, american dream If you like spending all your money on rent, New York is awesome! Giphy

YouTuber Caleb Simpson interviewed the woman, Alaina, for his channel that specializes in featuring interesting and unique living spaces. Alaina's apartment definitely qualifies, though technically the square footage is 80x150, because she's including the vertical space. Every square inch counts!

"So really it just feels like a walk-in closet," Simpson remarks upon entering through the front door.

Alaina shows Simpson around the apartment, which includes a tiny living room slash kitchen area with a mini-fridge, a small sink, and a small stove and microwave. In the main living area, she's placed a fold-out sofa of sorts. Alaina's makeup and pantry foods are all crammed into one small cabinet.

From there...well, there's not much left to see. But Alaina and Simpson check out the loft, which holds Alaina's bed and a little extra storage in the form of hooks where she hangs her bags and purses.

The apartment has no windows. There is a storage cupboard under the stairs, but it's hard to access.

"Every time I want to get something out, something else has to move," Alaina says.

As far as a bathroom, Alaina is lucky enough to have her very own private bathroom complete with shower! Many New York micro apartments feature communal or shared bathrooms, so the private bath is a plus for this tiny space. However, hers is located separate from her apartment, down the hall. And, you might be surprised to hear, it's extremely tiny.

Alaina admits she previously lived in a "luxury" apartment that cost over $3,000 per month, but she wanted to free up money to travel, which prompted her to downgrade.

Watch the whole tour here:

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Alaina says her tiny apartment was a "hot commodity" when she signed the lease, beating out tons of other prospective renters.

Commenters on the video, which has a staggering 24 million views, were more or less horrified at the conditions that New Yorkers were competing over:

"Firetrap . No exits , no windows with fresh air . Cooking with no air flow . Crazy this is even happening"

"I can't even breathe looking at this tiny apartment"

"'In a van, down by the river' has never sounded better."

"NYC should be ashamed and embarrassed to relegate people to live in this kind of space. Not only does it look uncomfortable / unhealty but It looks extremely dangerous. NYC should do better in providing affordable housing with decent square footage."

It's cool and scrappy that Alaina makes the pint-sized apartment work for her as she pursues her dream of living in New York City. We might find it claustrophobic, but the fact that multiple renters were fighting over this space really says a lot about the way our culture is moving.

Younger millennials and Gen Z are sick of chasing after the American Dream of the single-family home with a white picket fence and a golden retriever.

new york, new york living, NYC, tiny apartment, micro apartment, apartment tour, budgeting, gen z, millennials, american dream The City That Never Sleeps Giphy

It's hopelessly out of reach for many of them anyway due to skyrocketing housing prices and stagnant wages. So, they can work their fingers to the bone with multiple jobs and maybe afford a slightly better apartment, but still not be able to save enough for the future—or they could actually enjoy their life with the money they do have.

NBC News writes, "Several years out of Covid lockdowns, younger Americans’ outlays on things like travel, recreation and dining out have been outpacing their older peers’ even as the economy slows. As of last summer, the average Gen Zer or millennial was dropping over $400 a month on nonessentials, compared to about $250 for Gen Xers and less than $200 for baby boomers."

In another YouTube interview, Alaina admits to spending big money on her monthly gym membership: over $300 per month, to be exact. Commenters chastised her for having her priorities mixed up, but honestly, there's nothing backwards at all about wanting to relax at your gym's spa after a long day of work, or travel to the far ends of the world, versus spending all of your money on an OK-but-still-crappy apartment.

In an update in the YouTube video's caption, Simpson writes that Alaina chose not to renew her lease in the micro apartment after filming. But that doesn't mean she regrets her stay.

"It's an adventure," Alaina says. "People need a lot less than they think they need."

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Why I made a viral TikTok video marketing myself as a single woman looking for love

The response has been random and interesting.

Images courtesy Mary Lentz/TikTok

Mary Lentz in her viral TikTok video

After more than 10 years in Los Angeles, I've learned that the city's dating scene and my life goals are fundamentally misaligned. While I dream of becoming a wife and mother, I've encountered countless men in their 30's who aren't ready to settle down.

Most of my meaningful connections have been with men outside of LA. I'm picky, I have high standards, I know I'm a catch, and I refuse to settle just because the dating pool feels shallow.

My pool is also naturally smaller than most: I’m 6’ tall and looking for a man who shares the same faith that I do. I also need a half-glass full kind of guy who is assertive and communicates well. The past few years have been discouraging. I've met promising men only to hit the same dealbreaker repeatedly: they're not open to distance.

Meanwhile, I'm willing to relocate because I don't want to raise a family in LA. Whether that's another city entirely or somewhere like Ventura County, I'm flexible about geography in a way that many LA men aren't. I also don’t understand that if a man is ready to settle down, and I’m willing to move, why not invest in a season of plane tickets and FaceTimes if the reward is potentially finding your future Mrs?

Mary Lentz, TikTok, dating, Los Angeles TikTok · maryinthemiddle www.tiktok.com

2864 likes, 1038 comments. “get me off the market!! dating in 2025 is a joke and so maybe tiktok will be more helpful than the 5 dating apps I’m on. way too much money has been invested in the apps just to use their filters that have only yielded ghosting or dates where the man didn’t plan. i’m in Los Angeles but open to relocating (please note: I DO have a hard time in humidity and would consider myself a city girl, however I can do suburbs as long as it’s driving distance to a city). Much love, let’s do this ❤️”

The inspiration for my TikTok video came from seeing a 30-something woman on IG essentially marketing herself to single men. I thought it was brave, and it got me thinking: what do I have to lose? So on a whim, I posted my own version. The response has been random and interesting.

I've received an overwhelming amount of DMs, but most are from men with no videos, no photos, and usernames like "Lakers_Riley47" which feels like catfish territory.

I've had gems of ladies reach out suggesting I DM their brothers or friends, buuut here's the thing: if they think we'd be a good match, they can share my post with said prince charming and let him reach out to me.

Someone commented that my video "seems desperate." I responded "I am," because, duh, I am desperate, clearly. I’m content and enjoying my life, but I believe in the verse "knock and the door will open for you." Knocking requires action, and in 2025, knocking means posting a TikTok marketing yourself. I don’t think dating apps go in your favor, the apps I’m on have felt endless and fruitless, and waiting around for chance encounters wasn't getting me closer to my goals. So I decided to take control and put myself out there in a way that felt authentic to who I am and what I want.

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Women praise man's 'Wonder Woman' description of what happens in perimenopause

This is one kind of "mansplaining" we can get behind.

Photo credit: Canva

What if middle-aged women are just discovering their superpowers?

The social media era has had its pitfalls, but some positives have come from it as well. One benefit of people publicly sharing their lives is that it's opened up conversations about things we didn't openly talk about before. If you have a physical or mental health issue, you can now easily find a community of people with shared experiences instead of feeling alone or isolated in your struggles.

Perimenopause has become a big topic of discussion online, and it's making so many middle-aged women feel less alone in the wild ride that it is. The years preceding menopause are rife with dozens of potential symptoms that suddenly come out of nowhere and stay for an undetermined amount of time. Not just hot flashes, which everyone knows about, but random things like itching all over, joint pain, brain fog, frozen shoulder, sleep disturbances, slowed metabolism, irritability, anxiety, and more. The hormonal shift is powerful and impacts everything.

hot flash, menopause, perimenopause, perimenopause symptoms, women, middle age Hot flashes? How about "power surges"?Photo credit: Canva

It's hard for women who are going through "the change" to explain it. But unexpectedly, there's a man who's given an incredibly empowering description of perimenopause in a video captioned "YOUR MIDLIFE WIFE IS WONDER-WOMAN" that's gone viral for just the right reasons.

"So your partner, she's going through her midlife 'reset,'" Michael Hunter (@uspiral.life) begins, speaking to partners of women in this stage. "The hot flash years, and you think she's being a little moody, snapping more than usual, forgetful, foggy, fried. Congratulations, because you're not witnessing her fall apart. You're witnessing her upgrade."

And every middle-aged woman's ears just perked up.

[instagram https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMoHliWuNwf/?igsh=aXo0dWcwdmc3OGVq) expand=1 site_id=19596302 embed_desktop_width=540 embed_desktop_height=989 embed_mobile_width=375 embed_mobile_height=782]

"Welcome to the divine demolition phase of her existence," he continued. "'Cause everything that doesn't serve her? Her hormones are throwing that in the fire. Compliance? Burned. People pleasing? Torched. Tolerance for your nonsense? Ashes. She's not becoming unstable. She's becoming unavailable for the roles, the rules, and the rhythms that were never designed for her power."

PREACH, SIR. (I mean, please continue, by all means.)

"So check it," he goes on, "her estrogen is dropping, which means her capacity to sacrifice herself is silently plummeting, too. And the hormones that once kept her agreeable? They're packing their bags. She's no longer chemically encouraged to make you feel safe at her own expense. And you're calling that a problem? It's a wake-up call.

menopause, perimenopause, perimenopause symptoms, women, middle age Perimenopause is a wake-up call. Giphy

"Her nervous system is recalibrating. Her brain is rewiring. And her body is asking better questions, like, 'Why am I carrying this marriage?' 'Why do I say yes when I mean hell no?' and 'Why is everyone around me so damn loud and needy?'"

Seriously, who is this guy?

"She's not being hormonal," he says, "She's being clairvoyant. She's finally seeing through the performance, the politics, and the pressure. She's deleting what no longer aligns, and she's upgrading to a new operating system: Truth 3.0 with zero buffer time for B.S.

"This is your opportunity to rise along with her, man. This is your opportunity to grow. So next time you catch her looking like might spontaneously combust, don't flinch. Witness her. Because if you can survive the fire, you might just get to meet the woman who she was always meant to be."

menopause, perimenopause, perimenopause symptoms, women, middle age, wonder woman Menopausal woman discover their superpowers.Photo credit: Canva

Ordinarily, a man explaining perimenopause would have us all rolling our eyes and tossing around the word "mansplain," but Hunter received the social media equivalent of standing ovation in the comments from women who finally felt seen in his words:

"Omg who are you and where have you been all our lives?!? Thank you on behalf of all of us…can you come speak to my kids next??😂🔥🙌"

"Who are you? 😂 we like you (a lot) and nominate you our midlife spokesperson!!! ❤️🙌"

"The first time I have truly loved a man explaining something that happens to a woman. GO : Ladies send to your husbands and get those husbands to send it to all their friends. 🙌🙌"

"You just became the sexiest man ALIVE! Knowledge applied correctly….sexy!😍💯👏❤️"

"Your words made me tear up, so powerful thank you 🙌"

standing ovation, thank you, good job, menopause explanation, perimenopause Standing ovation for Michael Hunter Giphy GIF by Film Independent Spirit Awards

"Thanks for making us feel normal instead of washed up goods. I find it hilarious learning that menopause is why I can no longer tolerate ANY amount of BS😂 it’s been like a light switch. I feel like I just woke up one day & decided I was done with so much crap that I’ve tolerated in the past…I appreciate the positive spin he puts on this! Blessings my fellow menopause-ers!!"

"That has to be the best and most kind description of menopause I've ever heard. Fantastic. 😍"

"You couldn’t have said it better. It’s nice to hear a man have this perspective."

Someone even nominated Hunter to be an honorary member of the We Do Not Care Club. (Explained here, if you don't know.)

In all seriousness, though, the way he describes what's happening at this stage of life is spot on and such a refreshingly different way of perceiving it than we glean from society. And the fact that it's coming from a man is a strange kind of relief—like we don't have to try to explain ourselves because someone outside of it gets it.

Rock on, Michael Hunter. Thanks for the morale boost and for the education of our loved ones.

You can follow @upspiral.life on Instagram for more.

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