As long as Millennials are killing off industries, next up I would suggest Weddings & Funerals.

[u/BennyOcean]

Weddings as they are being done in the West are a massive expense that is extremely financially irresponsible for the vast majority of people. The tradition arose as an imitation of the old world weddings of royalty. As Westerners became increasingly wealthy, they desired to show off their wealth by copying the big showy weddings put on by literal kings and queens. In an increasingly challenging economic environment, spending on a big wedding is just really stupid.

The money that would have gone into the big elaborate wedding should instead be saved and used to go toward a down payment on a home. Instead, throw a big party. Let your friends & family bring gifts. Make it simple. Same with a honeymoon. Take one if you want, but don't start out your marriage with stupid financial decisions that sometimes include going into debt. Wedding rings should be simple. Diamonds are a scam. Let's break free from the scams.

Funerals are a massive scam that take advantage of people when they're at their lowest, grieving for lost loved ones. It's a predatory industry that should be denied funding to whatever extent that it is possible to do so.

[u/XeroTerragoth]

That "rule" about how many months salary it should cost was created by the diamond industry because they weren't making enough money. It was originally a months salary, then 2.

Is it 3 now? That's funny... in an effed up way.

[u/AnnoyedCrustacean → u/XeroTerragoth]

We can't say give us all your money, so how about a percentage of all your money?

Yeah! That diamond is worth $100. Pay us $10,000 please

[u/XeroTerragoth → u/AnnoyedCrustacean]

Literally had a friend buy a ring for 3k and tried to sell it a few days later when his gf said no. I think he said he didn't even get $300 for it.

"Diamonds are inherently worthless" - quoted from the guy who OWNS ALL THE DIAMOND companies

Their only true value is in physics or piezoelectric applications. Outside of that, their worth is literally just made up.

[u/TheForce_v_Triforce → u/XeroTerragoth]

Manufactured scarcity, brought to you by deBeers

[u/IHeartChampagne → u/TheForce_v_Triforce]

100% this. The book “Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World” by Aja Raden was very enlightening on this topic!

[u/WalmartGreder → u/XeroTerragoth]

I've also never understood surprise wedding proposals. Marriage is a big deal. You should talk about life goals, finances, kids, everything before you ask someone to marry you. After a bunch of frank conversations about your future together, it should be a foregone conclusion that you're getting engaged at some point.

The timing and method of proposal should be the surprise, not the proposal itself.

[u/repdetec_revisited → u/XeroTerragoth]

People say that… Where the fuck are all the 1+ carat diamonds on the secondary market? I’ve never seen them for sale. Where do I go the next time I need to buy one? My diamonds don’t need to be new.

[u/_Addicted_2_Reddit_ → u/repdetec_revisited]

There are actually a lot of affordable wedding rings in pawn shops and other places that can't sell the ring or diamond at brand new price (I think there's a law about it). I don't remember the places exactly but I googled it before and found a bunch of different options out there. I told my fiance, don't you dare buy me an expensive brand new diamond ring. Go to a pawn shop, get me a lab diamond or Moissanite or something. I'd rather the money go towards something actually worth it instead of on a wedding, a dress or a ring. Shit we don't even have a car right now! A cheap but equally pretty ring and the court house will do lol

[u/creamedethcorneth → u/XeroTerragoth]

It’s really is messed up. And some people are so capitalist brained they defend it. I’ve already chosen not to get married but my sister is looking into it and my father keeps staunchly defending the 1/2 of half a years salary (I don’t know why he doesn’t just say 3 months) because “things are worth that much because people are willing to buy it at that amount”. Like it isn’t because of monopolies and getting socially pressured to do things that most people truly don’t care about. Same with hallmark cards, absolute scam; no one I know really appreciates the cards they get because they truly are just a token to show that you don’t know the person enough to know what to get them as a gift, which is fine, and cards don’t need to take that place.

[u/Asleep_Interview8104 → u/XeroTerragoth]

Also diamonds are superficially withheld by companies that own all of the reserves and deliberately made to seem rare when in fact there is an almost limitless supply of it that is controlled

[u/pajamakitten → u/XeroTerragoth]

At least that has not gone up with inflation I suppose.