25 ‘Once-In-A-Lifetime’ Experiences That Are A Total Waste Of Time And Money

We love the idea of a bucket list. Grand adventures! Life-changing moments! Insta-perfect sunsets! But when some of these ‘must-do-before-you-die’ experiences finally happen, the reality can feel less like a movie montage and more like… a badly organised school trip. Thankfully, the internet has done some field research for us. Redditors who’ve already shelled out the cash, queued for hours, and fought through the crowds are lining up to say: don’t bother. Here are the most overhyped bucket list items they now strongly recommend you avoid at all costs.

#1

Image source: AFvette07, rawpixel.com

Climb Mt Everest!

#2

Image source: PloyChenXo, freepik

Honestly? turning your favorite hobby into a side-hustle. we live in this world where if you’re good at something. painting, baking, drawing, whatever people immediately say, “omg, you should sell these on etsy!’ DON’T DO IT. the second you start charging money for it, your escape becomes your obligation.

#3

Image source: PsychologyOk8722, pikisuperstar

Homeschooling their kids.

#4

Image source: Remarkable_Ninja_791, EyeEm

Smoking cigarettes.

#5

Image source: Meccha_me_2, The Yuri Arcurs Collection

Having kids. A lot of people make bad parents.

#6

Image source: Hijadelachingada1, freepik

Intimate time on the beach. The sand gets everywhere:/

#7

Image source: CherryDarling10, ahmadzada

Times Square on NYE.

#8

Image source: Randoseru_Romper, freepik

Polyamory, opening the relationship. Most people aren’t built for it and you’ll most likely end up single.

#9

Image source: New_Zone6300

Chronic overworking It’s praised as ambition , but it quietly wrecks people.

#10

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Motorcycles.

My ER doctor friend refers to riders as future organ donors.

#11

Image source: AtmosphereDue4124, wirestock

Cartwheel after 35.

#12

Image source: Fair-Group-2838, Anna Tolipova

Fad diets that promise crazy results in days. People like me thinks “why not try it?” but most are unhealthy and can cause serious problems  instead of helping. Slow, consistent habits are way safer.

#13

Image source: ingannilo, freepik

Major home renovations.

Television shows make it look easy, but ask any tradesperson what it takes to move a kitchen from one room to another, or how many man hours go into refinishing hardwood floors, or what’s required to “make a doorway” in a brick wall, and you’ll (hopefully) learn whether it’s something you have the skills, time, and materials budget to manage.

#14

Image source: SnowStar35, freepik

Off grid living or trying living out a van…

#15

Image source: Artistic_Concert_177, freepik

That “one weird trick” your uncle keeps trying to tell you about at thanksgiving. it’s never a trick, it’s just tax fraud.

#16

Image source: FuckAllYouLosers, 1cE_

House flipping.

#17

Image source: Mediocre-Catch9580, senivpetro

Binge drinking/ drinking to excess.

It’s even worse now with social media.  Trust me, you’re being laughed at.   No one thinks you’re funny.

Not advocating sobriety as much as moderation.  .

#18

Handyman as a job. Most guys learn how to wire and outlet, buy a used set of tools and assume they’ll make a business out of it. A lot of what I’m about to mention also ties into home DIY enthusiasts.

You WILL absolutely get ripped off working for ‘friends and family’ more often than not.

You will price out a job, ask reddit, and still end up in the hole.

You will complete a job, and then have to keep fixing your first fix.

You will start a job that quickly eclipses your skills.

You will start a simple job only to find one horror leading to another, turning it into an ordeal.

You will have clients try to scam you.

You will have clients offer to sleep with you for discounts or freebies, sorry miss but rearranging your guts for a few hours while you lay there isn’t worth a few hundred; let alone the 4k you assume it is.

You will break something expensive. Possibly more than once.

You NEED insurance, otherwise one bad job will destroy your entire life.

You will also need health insurance, the stuff between walls and under floors, in crawl spaces and attics WILL hurt you. Maybe not today, but the piper gets paid.

You will skimp on PPE and regret it IMMENSELY at least once.

You will spend half of a job bouncing between the job, hardware stores, and spend the commute losing your mind or questioning existence.

You will run into a client who knows EVERYTHING and they will try and hover. This is the biggest red flag aside from arguing about pay.

You will run into other Handy Persons, who should not be allowed near a pair of safety scissors, let alone power tools.

You will go hungry. Stay hydrated.

You will tear your hands up on everything. From tools breaking, catching nails or screws you didn’t see, to old piping or wiring in the wall that the mice must be sharpening to a razors edge. Stay up to date on tetanus and get a cheapo phone plug borescope with light.

You will decide that this is your last project. Regularly.

You will treat yourself to a little snacky-snack for making it this far, you’ve earned it.

You WILL NOT cut concrete or stone without proper PPE. The stuff you can get from that is just terrible.

You will shart at least once, due to eating junk and stressing on one project or another. Keep a gym bag with an extra outfit, travel deodorant and wash, with two pairs of socks and three underwear minimum. This is good advice in general.

You will absolutely end up with a client you hate. Inexplicably this client will pay rate, and have plenty of work for you on and off. This will not change your hatred.

Don’t get me wrong, I started out with a Ryobi bag set and a mechanics chest from Craftsman. I quickly refused to do anything more complex than patch drywall or fix outlets/fixtures for friends. What I made in discount dollars was almost always a few bucks in the green after gas. As a working person, you need to make money; (almost) everyone is feeling a squeeze these days and charging a fair price to a friend or family member is hard. Quoting a job to a stranger and either signing the agreement or walking away is better.

DO NOT let clients argue with you. My prices are X per hour, tools and time are mine. You can cover parts and material if my quote is a little steep. I have had to buy tools for specific jobs that don’t see much use, but I eat that cost because now if I ever need it I have it. Some clients will offer to help buy this tool or that thing, politely decline. I can accept gifts once the job is done, provided you are satisfied; gifts just muddy the water and turn into he said, she said often enough that I’m amazed we don’t see more people complaining.

GET A BODYCAM, OR AT LEAST A BODY MIC.
You are a stranger in a strangers home, and without something to cover your back there is a very real risk of running into people who then try to hurt you. Sometimes it’s boredom, or a misunderstanding. Sometimes it’s malicious and evil. Doesn’t matter what they say if I can slip them the SD card showing my every move.

BEWARE SECTION 8. A lot of places are very, very particular about who works on what. Not necessarily because your work is in question, but because they have an ‘in’ with a local guy or crew and split the cash. Other places have SO MUCH PAPERWORK. If you do need to work in housing just keep it low key. I have done plenty of little jobs for projects and housing around, and I’ve also been threatened, yelled at and had stuff thrown at me when caught. You also need to be mindful of every tool you own, because some people just cannot help themselves. They NEED to steal your stuff. Good locks and a small dashcam/alarm will save you.

LEARN WHERE THE SHUTOFFS ARE FIRST THING. Gas, electric, water, hot water. Not knowing will increase your expenses by the second as you scramble to turn off the water before a bathroom wall floods, or you need to shut off the gas because you broke an old corroded 90* working nearby. Obviously anything water related is -usually- right there on street, but double check just in case. I have run into more than one where the entire thing was full of dirt, wasps, spiders, bees, dead things, and in one case candy wrappers. I avoid apartment work because if I make a mistake, it will affect more people than I had an agreement with.

These days I work for cash, only take jobs I can do alone and get everything on paper prior. Always explain that if you do this job, and you find ‘uh-oh’s’, that you can quote it out or leave. I have fixed things, taken my photos and left only to be called back out due to issues, and most of the time it wasn’t my work. Have I messed up? YEAH. Never more than a few hundred bucks worth as of yet, but that has been thanks to insurance, and documentation. Pictures, video, emails, save it all. It is the shield that protects not only your back, but your livelihood as well.

TL;DR: You will mess up. You will need money enough to do the job AND fix any possible oopsie-doos you may run into. If you do want to do handy work, see if you can hire on with someone or a local racket to get a foundation. YouTube is good for a lot, but nothing beats experience.

(Edit: Thanks for the award and votes! This is my second [Edit2: now first highest!] highest voted comment! All of you are awesome. If you truly want to be a handyperson, don’t let me scare you off. It’s hard, and rough at times, but work is work and if its something you enjoy knuckle down.).

Image source: corvanus

#19

Image source: CrappyJohnson, benzoix

Becoming a content creator. You can be really, really good and never find your audience. There’s some dark alchemy at play, that makes one person successful while an equally good creator perpetually struggles. And if someone says they have a roadmap for it, they’re probably hustling you.
It’s also a ton of work, and requires extreme personal discipline to consistently put that work in every single day. Again – it might all be for nothing.

The above only applies to people who are actually interesting or capable of creating compelling content. Most of the population frankly doesn’t have a lot to offer in that space, but they’ll still submit themselves to the struggle.

Note: No, I’m not a content creator, or failed content creator. I just know a lot of them.

#20

Image source: Decent_Succotash_193, esolex

Fighting. You don’t need to be fighting.

#21

Image source: snakeayez, f11photo

Going to Vegas. It’s crowded, loud and you leave with less money then when you got there.

Source: living there over 10 years.

#22

Image source: DieUmEye, freepik

Having a strong opinion about things that they have no actual working knowledge of.

#23

Image source: TyrantsInSpace, maksymfesenko

Flaming shots at tourist trap bars.

#24

Image source: toddriffic, rawpixel.com

Trading stocks. Low cost index funds will almost always win in the long term. They beat the vast majority of professional traders, what makes you think you can do better?

#25

Image source: Primary_Assist_5541, freepik

Retail management. Everyone thinks it’s a ‘safe’ career step or a way to get leadership experience, but in reality, you just become a professional lightning rod for every Karen in a 50-mile radius while your soul slowly leaves your body through your ears.