cash rules everything around me [negative]

the biggest and most evil monster is capitalism

every time I gotta spend money I feel like Cassie when she was stuck in the bathroom hiding from Maddy.

Go outside, it’s free. Take a bath, it’s free. Uhh…yeah. I think that’s it. Because even life’s smallest pleasures are no longer free.

Everything comes at a cost.

Although there is no such thing as “post-pandemic” as we’re still dealing with it and discovering new virus strands, I’ll use examples beyond 2020 as a reference point.

from period trackers to dollar menu items, it's getting scary.

It all started with VSCO cam. The filters and features I enjoyed using all of a sudden had a price tag. Huh, that’s weird. Then Flo, the app I used to track my period started charging to keep track of ovulation. Mhm, weird. Then I started getting emails about TV subscription prices increasing like Hulu, Netflix and Peacock. (I also started noticing this in 2019) Then, one day I was craving a large fry and small sprite from Mcdonalds. It cost me $6. Mhm weird.

Then, one night I realized I didn’t have any water in my house, so I drove to fast food chain Jack in the Box to get a large ice water to hold me over till then. It cost $3.09. Then you have Twitter, which was renamed as X and has a ton of paid subscription features and a fee for a blue checkmark.

And would you fucking believe—today, while I’m at a conference taking notes and writing this, I used the app Otter, a voice recording app that will also transcribe the recording. It STOPPED my recording at 20 minutes urging me to “upgrade” to premium for more features.

I’ve been using Otter since 2018…there was never a need to pay if you recorded over a certain amount.

Some people think these things aren’t a big deal, but they absolutely are because all of these things used to be FUCKING free. (Or very, very affordable)

These days as a dysfunctional, sometimes broke adult—every dollar matters to me. But now everything and I mean EVERYTHING is a cash grab now. It’s disappointing. Every time I look at the price of something, I have to do double take because how things change so quickly.

Whether I’m talking about getting my hair done, going to the movies, student housing, gas, plane tickets, groceries—everything is up. Everyone wants their coin.

I personally been peeped that these nasty, wage thefting ass CEO’s wanted their lick back after the pandemic. People started to find value in their home life, DIYs, how important their joy was outside of their jobs and how resourceful working from home was. But as soon as fewer people stopped dying from the virus and vaccines became available, CEO’s and companies started plotting their get back.

Besides the increased utilization of subscriptions and bullshit fees, the working class continues to suffer.

And the one that hurts the most… is TikTok shop. Yes, I know it sounds small and ridiculous but—allow me to explain.

made by me LMAOOOOO

TikTok became extremely popular during the pandemic because it was a major factor in keeping everyone busy and connected when the future seemed uncertain. I personally use social media and television as escapism, but TikTok was also vastly different than the other social platforms.

It prioritized random creators, videos, music, tutorials and so much more. We all saw what these other apps started to do when Tiktok became THAT girl.

While it provided a great way for businesses to also engage and share their message, the app still felt organic and colorful. I personally have bought from two small businesses, thanks to TikTok. But it was still an app I could turn to for free entertainment, laughs and information.

I love it for the business owners, just not for me.

But TikTok shop has absolutely oversaturated my for you page. Every other post is about buying a shadow work journal, a fucking cup, an embroidered sweater, a set of press-on nails. All things I enjoy! But I now truly feel like my entire life is consumed by ads and every piece of media I touch is fiscally motivated.

If you ask me, I would still enjoy and make purchases from TikTok shop if it had it’s own channel and wasn’t integrated into my feed. I’m so happy for the small business owners, but can’t help but feel like capitalism is all that matters these days.

Reading news articles, I run into video ads, watching a show on Hulu, it’s an ad.

Everyone wants a dollar from me.

Right now, I’m very vulnerable to the cost of everything because I’m rich in spirit—not in my wallet. So it’s very overwhelming to constantly be bombarded with money grabs.

So can someone remind me, what exactly is free?