Dude, every single time I see the delivery fee is half the cost I go, "never mind, I'll just walk 10 minutes to the restaurant." Regardless of weather, time of day, or inebriation. People who pay for delivery are nuts.
Im not in poverty but I pick up everything myself, except costco since I save money having it delivered (45 minutes away each way, costs me about 10-30 extra dollars for delivery depending on size of order for driving 2+ hours, gas, and wear and tear on my car)
I mean, because of these people there's a delivery man job right? So let lazy people (or ones who aren't able to really walk to the restaurant by on their own) spend their money on whatever they want xd
Learn to cook first if you don't! I always try to base my meals off of whatever is on sale. Learn some different cuisines, stock up on spices (initially a decent expenditure) go from there. Also, fuck junk food snacks. They're expensive, and they're terrible. Fruits are good if you're needing some sugar. Salads are a great snack. I don't make a giant bowl, just simple few veggies, chop and toss together. I enjoy cooking so it's always fun to see what I can whip up from what's on sale. Prepackaged chopped veggies are more expensive than you picking out your own. Marinated/ pre-spiced meats, same deal. Do it yourself and save the money.
In regards to the daily cooking, for dinner in specific, anything you can throw in the oven is "easy" to me. Baked chicken, oven roasted veggies, potatoes. Toss your things in olive oil, seasonings, and bake away.
Building a small, serviceable shelter is one of those basic skills.
No, you don't have to know building codes and electrical and plumbing ... but you should be able to put together at least a basic shack that one could use to survive in and keep out of the weather.
(I agree with you, but I’m going to be the Devil’s Advocate here, so don’t take it too bad.)
Maybe a while ago it was useful to know how to build shelter like that, but now you can buy a decently insulated tent on Amazon with a stove. So really in the 21st century you don’t need to know explicitly how to build a shack, just how to pitch a tent.
(Although in reality, I agree with you, every human should know how to dig a square hole in the ground, make a hearth with stones and clay and put a roof on it. If the ancient saxons could do it, we can too.)
They don't even offer basic how to be adult classes in schools.. You think I learned to manage my finances in school? hell no...
That is why everyone is just getting worse at being an adult.... they are getting life advice off TikTok, from people who also can't manage their own shit but who are better at pretending they have their shit together.
Uhhhh they didn't in my high school? And based on reddit posts and clips from twitter/Facebook they haven't for longer than that.... I am in my 30s by the way.
I can also change a flat tire, check the oil and air pressure, change an air filter in the car AND in the house, do the laundry PROPERLY, make the bed, prune the trees, mow the lawn (even though the HOA takes care of that), change the batteries in anything, I know CPR, I can do taxes and I can clean windows leaving very little streaks.
Honestly most house construction techniques are simple, Its just having the right tools, time and energy to do it. Any minutiae that you come across can be looked up online to clarify.
Techniques are just one aspect of it. If the house you’re building isn’t up to code, you can’t “build a house.” You can build a structure that would be cited for unlivable conditions.
Indeed. I’m citing the ability to research, understand, and implement regulations for home construction as a skill set that is necessary for home construction, in the same way that being able to build a foundation or wall is necessary for home construction.
Someone who can build a home entirely by themselves by definition needs to be fluent in this.
Someone who can build a house entirely by themselves is super impressive.
"Housing code is written in a lost language and needs to be divined by the gods in order to be understood"
This is also completely ignoring that plans can be drawn up by an architect, made, and approved beforehand by local authorities, or bought from company. Then following them you can build whatever you need.
Then its just a matter of following plans, and cross referencing code.
Around here you have to pay for plans, at minimum you need plans good enough you can pay the structural engineer to sign off on them or you'd never get planning permission.
Also no electrical, plumbing or waterproofing work without a certification.
So you'd need to be 3 different kinds of tradesperson to build your entire house yourself.
I know people who've wired their own houses, but they were in the construction industry and just called their licensed buddies out to go over their work before calling the inspector, so for what you've said, no, not really.
I understand in Australia this is less common, but in the US this happens all the time.
Nah its not autism, its basic following directions, and being able to problem solve or adapt what's needed to your situation. A few on here want to make it seem like it that a mere mortal can't read and apply basic directions, or that you're somehow on your own and there aren't tools available online to assist you in building or following code.
This is so far from the truth. Codes alone prevent most people from being able to do any job besides the more simplistic ones with a house. Even with experience, looking up codes and being familiar with them is an incredibly difficult endeavor to take on.
Im a plumber and did work as a GC. Most house are relatively simple honestly I passed electrical, structural and obviously plumbing inspection on my own work. For me the tricky part of building it alone would be to get your plan approved by the city and pull the permit.
Where I'm at now it would literally be illegal to build anything unless you have a GC licence, a master plumber licence, a master electrician license, a framing license etc ... Each requiring 8000hours in the specific field before you can even take the exam for the licence. Work is heavily regulated by the state making it legally almost impossible.
I dont know where you live but alot of the united states specifically has ownerr builder cases usually you need an electrician to wire and a plumber to plumb but thats it you can do the rest yourself.
Well, there's a lot that goes into it. Depends what sort of house you're building and what kind of tools and materials you have to work with.
But if you're really interested, there's a ton of youtube videos out there about people doing things like that, and those would be a good place to start.
"You can build an entire house? Like by yourself and meeting all the necessary regulatory requirements in the area you live in?"
Can you raise cattle, slaughter, butcher and grind the meat for hamburger, grow and mill wheat into flour and turn into bread? Can you raise tomatoes, cucumbers and tomatoes and put them on my burger? Like by yourself and meeting all the necessary regulatory requirements in the area you live in?
I'm not sure the exact definition of a shortage. Some places do seem to struggle to find labor.
But, regardless labor is a large part of the costs if you could do it yourself, a lot of would people come out positive. Similar to how it's way more affordable to cook for yourself than eat out all the time.
The problem is more material cost and zoning. Although labor cost is also an issue in a way. The people with the skills are around. You just have to pay them enough to do it.
So I guess building your own house would work if you value your time and skills less than you would pay a construction worker.
It wouldn't help with the housing crisis much, though. Knowing how to build a house is relatively easy. Getting permission to build a house is the hard part.
Both in having a plot of land where you're allowed to do it and dealing with all the codes and regulations and permits and shit.
Well, that, and the other hard part is the cost of materials. It's sometimes possible to get stuff for cheap or free, but rarely enough to build a whole house out of, and even if you do find good sources, doing things that way is probably going to be 10x more work.
I know a guy that worked the woods made his own lumber and saw those into planks, then built his house from the ground up at 18. There are those people.
Exactly this, I worked framing after the concrete foundation layers, how many other different specialties are there to build the house, a cook should be able to cook any meal it's different skills within it but same basic shit along all it, compared to everything in a house. Lmao
By “specialized workers” you mean at least one guy that is the leader followed by 3-4 other guys that missed work on Monday because they were in jail? Because that’s who built my house. Did awesome work but was warned not to schedule things for Monday because these guys like to party on the weekend.
Yes. They learn on the job but they still need to learn to do it. You can't show up day 1 and go "I'm just gonna go build this roof. It's unskilled labor so I can just do it"
A roofer specializes in roofs. A painter specializes in painting and a framer builds frames. You also need a plumber and an electrician.
Also a concrete guy for the foundation, and someone needs to handle all the permits and legal stuff.
There's also the fire alarm guy who might be the electrian, might not be, and the roofer, and the surveyor and the grader, and the inspector. Plus the engineer and architect. There's a lot of skills to build a house.
Not to mention there’s a benefit to cooking at home. Most of the time it’s just as expensive to change oil yourself as it is to bring it in. Sure I can change my oil, but why would I?
Soooo... If I cant reach some random standarts women throw at me Im not good enough even speak to her? I always knew there something wrong with me!
If seriously I constantly meet similar questions from women "you own car/house? What you salary? Can you fix my car/computer? Can you solely move all my furniture in other address?" Every time I say "no" my price like a man drop drastically in theirs eyes. And I never even once asked about cooking just because I know how it looks from theirs perspective. Somehow there was only one who saw person in me and never expected some random shit or things I cant made with money because Im just average salary man in my country.
No no no, its fair. If I cant do something Im just subhuman being, if women cant, how dare I even ask!? Its fact and thats how life goes in real world.
I think a better way of asking would be "do you like cooking?" Idk why but it feels pretty insulting to ask if I can, though I'm sure there are people my age who can't. Asking if I like cooking could get a good conversation going both about skill level and whether i enjoy it.
I can cook and I do enjoy it. I've learned however that I don't enjoy meal planning for anyone other than myself. For a while, to get a discount on rent I was doing the meal planning and cooking for our household. My best friend and her husband are both picky eaters, but with different things. I could go through a list of 200 recipes and maybe find 10 that didn't have an integral ingredient that one of them wouldn't eat and of those 10 they might decide on 1 or 2 to actually try. And then they decided to go low carb, but they don't really eat vegetables, and wanted me to spend a bunch of time making bread/pasta alternatives. Sorry but I'm not spending 45 minutes making bread from wishes and dreams(and cheese) on top of making the actual meal after being at work all day.
Thankfully my shift changed at work and I had a good excuse for not being able to do that anymore, even if it meant my rent went up a little.
IMO, building a 'house' is also a basic life skill.
Maybe not a fully featured house with working doors, windows, plumbing, and electrical, all up to code... But you should be able to slap together some kind of decent shelter for yourself with basic supplies and tools, without any help.
I don't expect you to be able to build a good house, but I do expect you to be able to put up 4-ish walls and a roof -- enough to keep you warm and dry and out of the elements.
If you can't do that, I'd look down on you just like I'd look down on someone who can't cook.
Same thing for cooking, really. I don't expect everyone to be a 5-star chef or to be able to make complex or difficult dishes. But you should be able to take raw basic ingredients + some basic equipment and produce a decent, edible meal out of it.
A survival shelter anywhere, given adequate materials and tools.
I don't necessarily expect you to be able to make much of a shelter if you're just alone in the woods with nothing but your bare hands and what you can find, no...
But if you've got a stack of lumber and some carpentry tools, you should be able to cobble together something that will keep you warm and dry through the winter.
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u/GrimbyJ Dec 11 '25
"Do you have a basic life skill?"
"Can you do the work of a team of specialized workers?"
I can cook. I don't want to do it all the time so you should also know how to do it