5 Scams That Have Become So Normalized, We Don't Even Notice Them Anymore (PART 7)

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[@GreyRock100]

Normalize exposing scams.

[@tw8464]

Yes!

[@TheMusicmak3r]

The future belongs to those who scam today!

[@GreyRock100]

@@TheMusicmak3r haha! Yes!

[@illsmackudown]

shadow banning is happening often on big 'platforms', as well as 'forum sliding' techniques, making 'hot topics' etc. a scam

[@susancunningham60]

After spending the last 27 years working a salaried "40" hour week job and actually working 50 to 70 hours, I started a new job 2 years ago. After negotiating my annual "salary" I then demanded to be an hourly employee at the equivalent rate of the salary. They came bsck with "you will then have to accrue your vacation time instead of getting unlimited vacation offered to salaried employees." I then asked how many salaried employees really were taking vacation when it really was comp time for all the extra hours they put in. They literally said, yeah, you're probably right, okay we'll hire you as hourly. I now get 1.5 times for anything over 40 hours a week and I refuse to work more than 45. And yes, I do realize how lucky I am.

[@user-qj6jb9nk9w]

I did the same thing! I left my good paying salary job because I was working 6 days a week, sometimes 7. My average day was 12-14 hours, many times 16 hours a day. I took a $30,000 pay cut but I’m so much happier working Monday-Friday 8-5. Anything extra is OT. Took me 10 years to get the courage to quit. I’m glad you’re happier, I know I am 🙌

[@tw8464]

You're absolutely right. "Salary" is the biggest scam of all. It's just a way of dodging the 40 hour workweek and stealing your labor. The "salary" b.s. needs put a stop to. It's part of the "trickle down" mafia's total theft from the American People for the past 50 years the biggest theft in history

[@tw8464]

​@user-qj6jb9nk9w you may not have taken a pay cut but gotten a raise. The company was stealing your time. A $50,000 salary needs to be for 40 hours like any other work and have to pay overtime if they want more. They're paying 50K for all your education training your years of hard work gaining your experience and the 40 hours a week of labor. That should be the only deal, NOT these companies getting all these colossal extra free hours of our labor draining us completely without paying more.

[@beaubooks7287]

This is a very interesting perspective! Are you in the US or Canada? Where I live, hourly workers are mostly manual labourers. I work 40 hours a week (actually 38.5 but I get an additional 12 days off as compensation), and would definitely get sent home if I tried to stay late. The more I hear about work culture in other countries, the more I realise how privileged I am.

[@user-qj6jb9nk9w]

@@beaubooks7287 not sure if you’re asking original poster, or me, but I’m in US in California. Our work culture here is backwards, we hardly take vacation, don’t use sick time and work insane amounts of hours. I was a hotel manager which is a 24 hour operation. I got burned out. Sure I earned 2 weeks of vacation every year but I never got to use it. Salary really screwed me in the end because I was working so many hours, when I divide it by the salary it didn’t add up. But I switched careers and now work for an hourly wage and get weekends off. I traded my pay, but I earned back my free time so well worth it. I used to always meet people traveling to USA from Europe or other countries who would be on vacation for 3-4 weeks straight a time. I was so jealous!!

[@MrDayinthepark]

The Goodwill and Value Village stories were very good. I dated a girl who worked for a healthcare non-profit. I was intrigued, what are they doing for anyone, non-profit, in the healthcare industry? Then I found out the owner of the business drove an expensive Jaguar, he was in the office nearly all the time . . . money was clearly involved. And then the answer revealed itself: It was a lobbying company, lobbying for legislation to help hospitals and HMOs profit. Non-profit means someone other than shareholders are getting the money. I don't know the rules, but I do know the term "non-profit" is almost meaningless. Someone is still getting rich.

[@seltzermint5]

I worked for a small non-profit that was relatively above board and STILL I saw elements of this. We had team building days that IMO were completely unnecessary, with a nice catered meal, activities like bowling or ziplines and rope courses, and special logo sweatshirts for all. That may have seemed minor but it was thousands of dollars we could have used much better to help people!

[@lmusima3275]

In London where I live, I hate seeing these charity workers salespeople in the street who try sales tricks to trap people into signing up for monthly donations at £10. Some have even tried guilt tripping me for buying coffee ☕️ and I told them to tell that to their millionaire boss

[@Gtfobcso2024]

Along with 3rd party llc's, non profit is a scam, i.e., scientology and other fake religions, including kkk and mormons. Our system is failing.

[@gentronseven]

Many hospitals in the US are non profits with doctors and executives getting 7 figure salaries and that's why it costs them %7000 more than 40 years ago adjusted for inflation. The best part is that the government pays a majority of health care even in the US so they're taxing you to steal your money and give it to health care executives while normal people can't even afford to go to the doctor

[@Bawkr]

This is exactly why I'm voting no on funding any sort of building anywhere I live ever, It never gets done. They always just steal the money. I voted once for a hospital expansion, huge mistake they didn't do anything at all & the money vanished. & also I once again think the whole health system here is seriously flawed especially given recent events. Good Will I like, I shop there, buy peoples old stuff & clean, repair & ship it out to people. It costs me quite the investment upfront when I buy stuff that doesn't move quickly or never moves at all presumably.

[@tdee1575]

As a former Value Village "floor supervisor" (the person that gets called over when a customer wants to yell at someone they think is in charge) - thank you! I can't tell you how many times I've had to surprise some very irate people with the information you just shared! (This was close to 15 years ago, and it feels like people are just figuring it out!)

[@sofia.eris.bauhaus]

can you please explain what all the outrage is about? i don't quite understand what about "thrift stores make money" surprises people. i guess their management may be overpaid? workers underpaid? that's not exactly unique to thrift stores, though, is it? she didn't even say anything about what workers are paid at Goodwill, but i guess just throw them under the bus while you're at it.

[@Van-zf9iw]

re: phone scams. I do not answer from people that I have not programmed into my cell phone.

[@InBrz]

then BLOCK THE NUMBER

[@PacificSword]

There's a feature that won't even ring your phone if they're not in your contacts. It's just blissful. Best feature ever.

[@inertiaforce7846]

I just don't answer and let them leave a message if it's important. This filters out scammers very effectively. Most scammers don't even leave a message and the ones that do are only 10% of them, which I can just delete the message.

[@georgedantz3617]

1. Second hand stores = Yep 2. Organic food = Sort of agree. Very pricey! 3. Payday Loans = Yep! 4. Wearable tech = Mostly yep. By the way, your "smart butt plug" joke is just way funny!😂 5. Salaried work = Yep!

[@zabmcauley5647]

I give to my buy nothing group first, then give the remaining to Value Village. Part of reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle and giving stuff chance of avoiding the landfill.

[@Sekir80]

About that smart buttplug joke... You should check out the chess story from a year ago involving Carlsen and Niemann.

[@Anna81Louise]

My partner works in IT. His job a few years ago was a salaried position. He would have projects that had to be finished by a specific date so he would have to work overtime to get them done. Then there would be a few days before the next project started where he would have nothing to do but he still had to be in the office for an eight hour day. Why couldn't he have the time off to make up for the overtime hours? His time was being stolen.

[@YS_Production]

Because he is soft. I never was in a position where I would be forced to work overtime. I know people who do and they can sometime take time off to cancel out the overtime, but only the same month. If they don't use the overtime hours the same month, they are nullified. No way I would ever agree to that. I don't get why people do.

[@Rickywwx]

He's getting taken advantage of. Also a salaried IT employee, but my company is good to me. We also occasionally work extra hours to hit a deadline. Afterward we are encouraged to take a little time off for the extra work without using some of my 6 weeks of PTO. We also have no punch clock, time sheets, and a flexible schedule that makes it fairly easy to schedule appointments in the middle of the day as long as I put in the work some time and participate in the meetings I need to be at. Like she said, it depends on the company you work for. I wouldn't call it a scam, but salary is easily abused by either side. It requires a good deal of trust and trustworthiness from both sides, but is pretty great for both sides when the trust is upheld.

[@sunnydayz9032]

Definitely Goodwill. I saw a pair of sandals in their summer, all dirty and used that were more expensive than the exact same sandals were brand new at CVS!!😮 shame on them!

[@xkristixx]

So I am a "flat rate fee" clinician, meaning basically getting paid hourly for each service I provide. I was also offered to switch to salary (once my company added them) because of the additional benefits. When I went to calculate the difference in pay, it was almost $15k less, and let me tell you, the added benefits of time off and accrual of PTO was NOWHERE near worth the 15k.

[@skylark391]

Also, Goodwill in my neighborhood built a brand new building for themselves. So, to everybody else they send a message - reuse and recycle, but they didn't want to use some old building for their own business

[@florencemiller7826]

Goodwill is nothing but a rip off, they sell your stuff and profit from ALL the money nothing is charitable about them

[@herelieskittythomas3726]

Very good point!

[@hxviera]

Your take on scams is not only hilarious but also spot-on. Keep exposing those scammers with your wit and charm!

[@ogvelociraptor205]

Always a good day when Nicole drops another Video 🎉

[@SamhainBe]

Absolutely is!

[@seltzermint5]

Sunday morning is the perfect time too!

[@MadisonBriggsArtchick]

As a fairly newly retired person. I think working for other people, period, can be a big scam. Many of my positions in my work life were for a university. The benefits were great, yes, but the salary schedule was fixed and really far below market value for my skills. Also working in the non-profit sector, which was my preference, was unfortunately on the lower end of the pay scale. Doing something good is never appreciated in the way that earning a shitton of money for a corporation is . . . sigh. Now that I am retired, I have confirmed to myself that time is truly worth more than money to me, any day. I am happy to work on my art and spend my time my way, without answering to anyone for it. Hallelujah. BTW, I retired without a nest egg and am mostly living on social security and my freelance graphic design work, and art sales when they happen. Another scam to me is all these you tube videos that scare the shit out of people saying you will never have enough to retire. If you want something bad enough, in my experience, you will find a way to make it happen. Love your videos and look forward to them every Sunday!

[@iczemi]

I retired from a corporation, in Dec. Oh man, it's so good, to not have to do what you're told, every minute of the day. 38 years of slavery was enough for me.

[@drc3po]

I have to agree! So many of the big financial gurus have set the standard that you must have a minimum of $1 million in the bank before you can safely retire? Huh? So every American has to be a millionaire now to be considered just above the poverty line? Absurd. I just saw a Dave Ramsey video where he told an anxious caller, "Just do these steps for the next 10 years (blah blah) and you'll have 500K in the bank when you retire. It won't be enough but will be better than nothing." Wow...what!?? In reality, Medicare plus AARP supplement is far better insurance than the employer coverage I had. And after my premiums are taken out I have the same takehome pay under SS that I had while working full time. Have just enough savings to replace my roof one day, and still able to add to it by working part time.

[@MrDayinthepark]

I dropped the corporate hierarchy in November, in a mass layoff. Working for people incapable of doing your job, is ridiculous. They want us circus dogs to jump higher and higher, higher than they could ever jump. And do it for less and less. I bought some real estate when I was in my 50's, it provides good passive income. I was literally wealthier than my manager in the corporation! If they're not careful, they will destroy our nation. Of this, I am certain.

[@geezer5236]

I am always amazed that your rapid fire delivery is always clear and coherent. Your arguments also clear comprehensible and logical. Your opinions take no prisoners, no apologies. What a breath of fresh air. You go woman.

[@human1513]

Lol. Working for a non-profit means any $ left over at the year end is legally not "profit." It a legal scam. Non-profits are for the higher ups to make a good salary and very few actually do an good for anyone and do not pass on the "not profits" dollars to their employees. You got sucked in.

[@spadog63]

I never answer a number I don't recognize. If it's important they will leave a message.

[@carolinec3951]

Thanks for much for your perspective on so many of these scams. Very eye opening! FYI. In the US, some counties have a department called “General Relief.” That department can help you pay a one-time bill. More people should be aware that this exists.

[@onegreenev]

General relief is a subsidy from the government to anyone who asks at the expense of those working. It is in effect theft and it is a re-distribution of wealth from the working class to the looter class. No such entity should exist.

[@johnepperson8867]

I donate to Salvation army, local church thrift stores and animal thrift stores. Like Nicole said, Goodwill is a business. I've seen, in the deep south U.S., prices are outrageous for used stuff. I feel bad for the folks that depend on thrift stores to purchase their goods.

[@pablodelsegundo9502]

Salvation Army is shady. Better off sticking to your local churches. And yes, Goodwill prices have been ridiculous since the 00s.

[@redflamearrow7113]

The Salvation Army is one of the worst scams to fall for.

[@johnepperson8867]

@@pablodelsegundo9502I looked into your claim about The Salvation Army, I agree. I'll take your advice, thanks!

[@brucemorris3830]

Thrift is definitely not what it used to be. I’m in the US so I knew “Value Village” under the Savers brand name; ten years ago I was a big fan but the prices have at least tripled over that time. At this point I can pay almost the same for brand new clothes at Walmart!

[@rogueinvestor2375]

I've been to a few Salvation Army stores. They look more like boutique stores that cater to upper class housewives than thrift stores that offer affordable goods for low-income population. Goods are quite pricey. Unbelievable.

[@CalliAMusic]

Omg totally agree with you about wearable tech. Why tf would I need an Apple Watch if I already have an iPhone? I don’t need to be glued more to my screen lol

[@paddymurphy-oconnor8255]

I have an Apple Watch SE, the cheapest model, and it’s useful for me when I’m out and about, cycling, gym, emergency voice notes or calls if there is an incident on the road. I don’t wear it at home when I don’t actually need it. The technology is good if it works for you and you are not enslaved by it.

[@gene_takovic57]

Marketing B.S. Like all marketing, trying to get you to buy stuff that you don't need! They don't market water or fruits and vegetables, etc.

[@paddymurphy-oconnor8255]

If you get utility and enjoyment from it, then you are free to buy it. I do find it useful. I also have a Garmin tracker which I wear at night. I'm an athlete and it helps me monitor my condition, heart rate, and helps indicate when I might need to rest or maybe getting sick. @@gene_takovic57

[@InBrz]

to look and feel like an ENTITLED A-HOLE, that's why

[@Giardintek]

Good list Nicole and I have to agree with all of them. We have tons of kids clothes for sale and I usually sell them for $1- or 2- /piece, while thrift stores are charging up to $10- Cdn for a used kids sweater and even more for a jacket. Also don't forget Insurance, which is one of the biggest legalized scam in NA and usually goes hand in hand with banks. Most US/Cdn ppl have no clue what insurance costs in other parts of the World. We have a vehicle in the EU and the mandatory coverage is about $75- / year, that's less than what you pay here in a month for your car.

[@dianawilde417]

Not true. I have a normal car in England and pay $2000 USD a year for basic insurance!

[@jasonleatherwood2172]

Good god i live in tennessee i pay 1500 a year for 5 cars 2 of them full coverage lol and im 37 year

[@Giardintek]

UK is not EU, Remember Brexit @@dianawilde417

[@GarysResolve]

love to hear and see your take on free trials on apps and services that hook you by making it so difficult to cancel prior to end of trial also the sites that make you sign in with an email or phone number just to see the price of their offerings. you are doing a great service yourself thanks and keep it going

[@kerryf9796]

Can you do a video on Temu? I am so sick of their ads. I've read some bad things about them, but I know there has to be more!

[@AccordingtoNicole]

It’s very much in the works. Stay tuned 😉

[@kerryf9796]

@@AccordingtoNicole Yay!!!!

[@Starry_Night_Sky7455]

Yes disillusion people about this crap.

[@smartypants1980]

I'm Disabled and my disabiled friends tell me to not work for goodwill, but goodwill helped me so I stand by goodwill.

[@moredatesmorefiber3526]

how did they help you?

[@smartypants1980]

@@moredatesmorefiber3526 They had job coaches and work tests to see whay Id be good at for work. For some reason, I tested high for construction jobs. Its a little fitting cause my degree is in mechanichal design so I do like buiding stuff but constructiom is scary if you can't see well.

[@seltzermint5]

I believe they are pretty good at providing job opportunities and aid to people who have trouble finding other employment and that is an admirable element of Goodwill. I also know in the USA they are broken up into divisions all over the states, for example I live in an area where we're between divisions and the way things are done in different divisions is MAJOR. Some are much better and less wasteful than others, it's a mix.

[@smartypants1980]

@@seltzermint5 DVR services sent me to them after college.

[@suseanneegoulet1033]

True about the different "companies" or charities running Goodwill stores. They are run very differently in my experience. One store south of me was focused more on helping local people get affordable clothing, appliances ect, although they will mark up some items they view as premium items too much. The other one north of me is highly focused on maximizing profit. They mark up used items purchased at Dollar Tree to over a dollar, crazy!

[@johnl9135]

The smarter the gadgets, the dumber people become.

[@AccordingtoNicole]

And lazier too

[@gene_takovic57]

@@AccordingtoNicole like us Le' Z Murcans.

[@BrianK-zz4fk]

agree!

[@brunogazaille1592]

On the notion of high tech, I noticed the options on how to watch a movie. First, the drive in: you need a car and the screen is very far. Then, there are movie theaters where you sit in a room with many people and the screen is several feet away. Then, you have the living room TV where the tv is a few feet from your face. But that was not good enough: people need to watch a movie on their portable phone. Worst, we are moving toward smart glasses where the screen is literally in your face. Pretty soon, it will still be too far; the information must but directly inside the brain to avoid any physical effort….

[@Starry_Night_Sky7455]

Well movies are in your brain. Use your imagination. But that will need to be branded iMagine 1.0. It will be a subscription service. You won't own anything. This sounds rather dystopian, yikes!

[@busterbluesun]

I have to buy organic greens, like kale and spinach. One time I bought the regular non-organic for my smoothies, omg it set my allergies off big time. I can do regular apples, bananas, etc. for my smoothies but I have to get organic leafy greens.

[@TheBargainista101]

Greens are pretty easy to grow so you might want to consider that option. You can grow them in a pot and for many varieties, you cut off the leaves you need at the time and they grow back. Spinach dies if it gets too hot, but kale is especially hardy and easy to grow so it can be grown year round.

[@smartypants1980]

The latest scam I heard about was the new X Credit card. Elon is jumping into the debt game. One day people will say "Remember when Grandma used Cash."

[@colleenmarin8907]

20 years ago, when I worked at a supermarket, we all thought cash and checks would be nearly extinct by 2023 - it's strange how slowly some things progress compared to our expectations

[@johnathin0061892]

All credit cards are a scam. Debt is a scam. Merchants having to pay a percentage to a third party just to accept money from someone is a scam. Credit card "rewards" are a huge scam. Always pay with cash when you can, stop participating in a system that is nothing but a scam.

[@chrism8180]

That's funny. It seems this is the direction companies when they are on their last leg. And then there will be some "information breach" that leaks everyone's personal info

[@onegreenev]

You do realize that Elon created PayPal don’t you? X Credit wouldn’t be a new thing for him. He’s been in the money game for a long time. Good on him for making money. You too can do that. He just has more to start with than you. You are free to do the same. Heck, maybe your’s would be better.

[@VideoGameStarChannelSupreme]

Some operations are going fully cashless if not forcing you to do everything online. I'm starting to miss the good old days of pre-pandemic

[@cotch40]

There whole zero emmisions, low/no carbon scam is the scariest (and cruel to planet, animals and humans) and biggest concern for me. And only three years ago I was an insufferable green warrior. My god, how wrong I was.

[@Starry_Night_Sky7455]

All that futile lying cheating greenwashing. Expose the truth.

[@TylerG7777]

Regarding wearable tech, i totally agree. I bought a Fitbit watch 4 years ago. It’s a ridiculous source of mild anxiety. I feel lament when my steps for the day are low. I’m always aware when I might be losing steps on the counter, like if I’m using that hand to push the shopping cart. When it’s cold outside and I’m walking the dog, I literally don’t put my hand in my pocket, because then I’m “losing steps”. I have to remember to put it back on the charger every other day. I have a mental debate each night about taking it off before I go to sleep, because it’s more comfortable, but then I’m losing my sleep data. It’s ridiculous. It’s insane. I can’t wait for it to die. But I can’t bring myself to just throw it away because it works perfectly. And who’s going to buy a 4 yr old used Fitbit? Help. Help.

[@krystiesolfyre5340]

You could try. You never know. Or give it away as a gift to someone who may need it for medical reasons. But if it’s a net negative for you, cut the cord! 😊 your peace is more important than what you spent.

[@AccordingtoNicole]

Someone will definitely buy it.

[@learningisfun2108]

I’d buy a four year old Fitbit! Is it a Surge?

[@TylerG7777]

@@learningisfun2108 It’s a Versa.

[@KathyBlixrud]

My fitnus started shocking my wrist. I bought a different watch and it won't connect. I will try again. I need to know my sleep so I don't get put on a cpap. I have a $1200 one packed away on my closet already.

[@233kosta]

The techiest wearable I have is a heart rate monitor. I use it on the rare occasions when I muster the will power to go to the gym. It's been a great help with not overdoing cardio. No app, no "tracking", no other creepy nonsense the tech industry would have us believe is "totally nit creepy, we promise!", just a semi-reliable number I can glance at to make sure I'm not overdoing the treadmill.

[@ericstropicalparadise1935]

We’ve got to talk about the organic thing. Use of synthetic fertilizers isn’t inherently bad for humans but the product produced from it is inferior in 2 major ways. 1, synthetic fertilizers make soils salty, strip them of their carbon, and kill beneficial soil life in the process. Over time this degrades the land and makes farmers more reliant on the synthetic stuff to the point where they’re using huge amounts that ends up causing harmful algae blooms somewhere far away and the farmers crops keep getting worse year after year. All this while the big chemical companies keep consolidating power in an area that we shouldn’t have given them our power. Also there is the talk of trace minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc etc. As a negative byproduct of killing off the soil life, plants can’t form the beneficial connections they usually do with soil life that helps them obtain these trace element. Instead they only eat the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium found in synthetic fertilizers. This lack of holistic nutrition of the plant results in pest susceptible plant that are more reliant on pesticides that aren’t the best to consume. This reliance on pesticides also consolidates power in the hands of the few mega corps. Organic foods while having their flaws are holistically the lesser of two evil. These practices over time build up or maintain soil health and crops have more of those other trace minerals. However before signing off I’d like to inform you of a style of farming that is basically organic farming on steroids. It’s called permaculture. Heavily simplifying its especially when you create a self sustaining, self replicating forest that produces food and over time as it establishes more requires less input from the human until it’s totally hands off. It’s a huge rabbit hole to go down and definitely one that us “f the system” type of people would appreciate. And that’s why conventional crops are a scam.

[@dianawilde417]

well explained.

[@Ciara116]

Permaculture FTW

[@lailja21]

Yes ... and yet another form of farming beyond organic is called regenerative farming. It's progress.

[@ericstropicalparadise1935]

@@lailja21 correct, permaculture is a form of regenerative agriculture.👍🏻

[@virginiav.1172]

you explained his so well, thanks.

[@hivyfalou1393]

being paid a salary seems to be another way of people trying to take advantage of you and rip you off and making sure you're not noticing that it's happening is just the essence of what a job truely is.

[@duanethompson8770]

The payday loan scam is so over the top that I’ve wished for many years that it would be made illegal. Thanks for your continuing series on scams.

[@resourcedragon]

It is illegal in some countries. It has sort of re-emerged here in Australia and I believe they re going to clamp down on it - as they absolutely shouldn'

[@StillthatguyJake]

Years ago, I started noticing the trend toward buying things in thrift stores and reselling. Beyond that, I worked for a non-profit school for almost a decade. There are so many ways to donate your things! Give to PEOPLE.

[@SoulFire9001]

Yep, middle men are a stain on charities.

[@catherinesmitko]

hi nicole! i think buying organic food is less about what fertilizer is used and more about eliminating the myriad of carcinogenic pesticides used in farming…the ones that are proven to cause cancer, adhd, and autism. thanks for the great content and your fierce opinions ❤

[@stephenjohn904]

paying extra for certain organic food is certainly worth it- eggs come to mind. more nutrients vs caged. and tubers are better organic so are blueberries

[@skylarsartnphotography3450]

Grow your own and start up a garden....less you have to buy from a grocery, the better you do and better health a bonus....or if you don't want to garden, find a poor, struggling farmer and work out a deal for buying food from them-a win-win situation

[@gordonpi8674]

Also, there is always water and baking soda to wash your produce well from the manure. 😊

[@stuffthatijustsay5523]

This. I get anaphylaxis when I eat certain fruits, but this doesn't happen when I buy the organic varieties. And yes, I wash tf outta the non-organic first.

[@JonMartinYXD]

Misinformation alert! We do not know what causes ADHD or autism. There are hypotheses but nothing that has risen to the level of a theory. For ADHD there does seem to be a strong - as in 70-80% - genetic link.

[@NybergCarl]

The "organic" conversation is probably enough material for multiple KZbin channels.

[@CassieDavis613]

My favorite part of Sunday morning is watching your video while drinking a delicious cup of buttered coffee. Life is good. Nicole, Happy New Year.

[@AccordingtoNicole]

These comments always feel so wild to receive, because for years I’ve done the exact same thing with other people’s videos. It’s cool to know that I’m that creator for some people now. Thank you ☺️☺️☺️

[@gwarlow]

5:01 I bought organic brocolli recently - compared to the standard version. Yes, it was more expensive, but it was green all the way through (instead of yellow or white in the interior - the part you don’t see until you get it home) and it tasted like brocolli, instead of having very little if any taste at all. Taste seems to have been genetically modified out of many of the standard fruits and vegetables we buy, in order to guarantee a longer shelf life - sadly. I still buy the standard versions of many vegetables and fruit but splurge occassionally - when I want to taste the “food” that I am already paying grossly inflated prices for.

[@TheSuperTeacherStudent]

Produce in Europe tastes so much better than in the US. GMOs are illegal there.

[@Christina-sf4py]

@gwarlow..to be fair, I do same as you, I notice organic varies alot in flavour and value, so it's kinda of a lucky dip. Organic is more at the mercy of weather and various conditions. When it's good it's very good.

[@onegreenev]

@@Christina-sf4py If you buy organic and it still tastes like the cardboard stuff it is likely NOT organic but has had an organic label attached. Not likely the supermarket is going to go out of their way to investigate if your claim of organic is true or not. So the companies just continue until they get caught and pay a slight fine when caught and continue after over and over again. Its a thing.

[@patriciarouse16]

So poison corporation glob brainwashed organic food is refered to as a " speciality food". The one without the poison " specialty".

[@Teney1994]

@@TheSuperTeacherStudent Eastern Europe is one level higher than western Europe, try eating food there. Especially balkans, where the big food companies have yet to arrive en grande.

[@jennyschmidt7157]

Love this discussion. As a mother, I need to stay in contact with the school. I bought my Apple Watch when I worked in a factory when I was unable to bring my phone onto the factory floor. Since then I have used the watch for health reasons. I tracked my heart rate after getting Covid the third time.

[@stephenadams6455]

Keep ‘em coming! Glad people are recognizing these things

[@susanbelrose2767]

I worked at valu village for 6 weeks. Most disgusting job ever. Items are hung up right out of bags they are donated in. This stuff is not washed as some people believe!! The gross or unsellable clothing are packed up and shipped to third world countries, this is absolutely not helping them. You can watch videos on how their shores are piled high with this garage from richer countries trying to cheap out on getting rid of it. Definitely big scam. Thanks Nicole for another eye opening , educating video.

[@coriemulvey2580]

Everyone knows you have to wash stuff. It stinks in those kinds of stores.

[@johnross2924]

Is that why charity shops always stink?

[@TheBigdog868]

I never understood why dumping unsellable junk upon the third world was considered help. 😂

[@BonerGrowingPains]

@@johnross2924 yes, but it's also the people that shop in them tend to stink.

[@junejunejuniejune]

thrifted or not you should ALWAYS wash clothes from the store omg. Even if you got a brand new shirt from Nordstrom, that shirt is full of chemicals from the factory that keep the shirt looking crisp and soft before washing, and then at the actual store sweaty strangers try that shit on, sometimes it's purchased and returned, sometimes people are gross and leave their try-ons balled up on the dirty floor. Stores do not wash clothes period, so its silly to assume a thrift store would wash it.

[@Starryeyed353]

Love this series! Would love to hear you talk about how diets are a scam. Anti Diet by Christy Harrison is a great resource for this. She also covers a bunch of health and wellness scams.

[@jvnd2785]

I don't think such a talk would ever see the light on this channel. Nicole would have to admit to following the biggest diet scam there is...

[@Kliban1234]

@@jvnd2785 What do you mean?

[@skylarsartnphotography3450]

I see nothing wrong with educating yourself on health and wellness(excluding those fad diet scams) but one of the biggest scams ever is any mlm or network marketing company! To me, they almost even come close to being very cultlike

[@Christina-sf4py]

​@@jvnd2785really which one. Genuine question

[@kennixox262]

Keto has been ruined. I just call it low carb but what I really do is avoid ALL ultra processed foods. If one wants to talk about scams, research the food industry and the crap that they add and then ask why the majority of people are overweight.

[@dalelittlefield57]

Love you rants... I'm a 66 year old dumb guy with a smart phone, I've had my phone for 4years and still don't know half of what it does.

[@macforme]

You are spot on every one of your points. So glad I found your channel.... I have a lot of homework to catch up on your past videos and am looking forwards to them. 👍

[@Van-zf9iw]

10K steps are pretty easy to figure out for me - about an hour and a half walking at a normal gait. Two hours if I am walking both dogs at the same time.

[@AccordingtoNicole]

This might blow your mind, but 10k steps is a scam too. It’s a completely arbitrary number picked by the companies that made the original pedometers.

[@shawnaford5540]

The 10,000 was a marketing tool, and. It necessarily relates to your individual needs. My mom with severe foot arthritis and before the knee replacement would feel so bad for not getting 10,000 steps.

[@Van-zf9iw]

I used to be able to walk all day, in army boots. Forty years ago lol.@@AccordingtoNicole

[@brucemorris3830]

It might be redundant to the “wearable tech” point, but I think “smart appliances” are the dopiest thing I ever heard of. I don’t need a text message from my refrigerator telling me to buy groceries, or a push notification from my washing machine to tell me the cycle is done 😂

[@JG-di8oi]

Also you should make a "meat and dairy" is a scam video. Definitely might ruffle some feathers but it is so so true. Thanks girl! ❤❤❤

[@sylviaodhner]

If the only main difference between a thrift shop and a normal retail store is that a thrift store sells used clothes, I'd still rather buy from a thrift shop. It's much more environmentally friendly.

[@seltzermint5]

I agree with this and shop at all thrift stores. But when it comes to donating my good used items I am pickier about which ones I'll support. I know Salvation Army gets a bad rap for a lot of reasons too but I know in my city they donate a huge amount of clothes and toiletry items directly to those in need so I feel good about donating to them. I also like getting rid of (for example) an old sofa and seeing it right there in the store for 50 or 75 bucks so people needing furniture could potentially afford that much better than new.

[@theeclectic2919]

"How is there a mosquito flying around my house right now? It's the middle of December. What the fuck?" LOL! Love it!

[@user-xi7xb6yq8z]

I was in management, paid hourly. The amount of hours I put in at home (unpaid).... Took it's toll. After several years caring too much... I left.Best decision I ever made....

[@tomhancock8184]

Great video! Keep up the good work.

[@glodechdocorimach1871]

I didn’t know payday loans were still a thing. I got caught up with this in the 90s. Yes I was one of those persons who really needed the money. Too proud to go to family. Realized it was a scam because they were quick to offer refinancing the loan. On the due date - not even the day after - the phone would start ringing. They wanted to know at what time I would be in to pay, reminding me of their late evening hours. Whenever I was there I heard them on the phone with customers. They were very condescending. I remember paying off the loan after about 3 months. That was 6 paychecks. The woman admitted that it was a scam without actually using the word.

[@sallyprzybil2404]

So agreed especially about organic food. I’m old enough to remember when it first cam out. There was a lot of advertising. I thought , ‘great. They use less expensive stuff to grow this food so it should be cheaper. Boy was I surprised when the Organic stuff, which was less expensive to grow, cost more! Yes, salaries are bad. I did it once, had to work so many hours, never got paid overtime, I ended up making about $5 an hour! They said I could take time off for extra hours worked, but it never worked out that way, because the time off had to be within a 2 week period, and we were usually so busy during those two weeks that I couldn’t be spared to take time off. Yep, a scam.

[@ra567]

Happy New Year :)

[@martinez9643]

your content is always fun to listen to

[@lukearthurherbert4419]

Love that you are shining the light on these. Fantastic and artful work. Please keep it coming!

[@occamsshavecream4541]

Great video! It is really refreshing to hear someone call out these scams, I've been saying this too for years-huge money wasters! And, you have a great sense of humor.

[@tabeabauchspeck600]

Just stumbled upon this series, now I'm gonna binge watch all of it. Love it, thanks for doing this!

[@klf153]

Nicole, your posts are a breath of fresh air! Thx!

[@suseanneegoulet1033]

Goodwill in the US takes the more valuable items donated for charity and auctions/lists them on eBay to make more money. Last time I went, you could sometimes find items in their store that you could buy cheaper at the dollar store up the street. Buyer beware.

[@jnharton]

To be fair, Goodwill is at least a non-profit organization. So in principle none of the money earned is going into a shareholders' pocket or to anyone else aside from their and any employee benefits. Corruption is still a problem just like with anything operated by people. I would tend to see the issue more as people not actually knowing how Goodwill operates, what their objective and focus is, etc. They may also be unaware that the Goodwill stores in one state may not be operated by the same non-profit entity as those that are in another state.

[@alexanderlarsen3569]

It’s nice to see and hear a real person on KZbin. Cheers.

[@ThundaStrack]

Holy crap! Thanks. I’m off to binge watch more of your vids. Yup, my first time and I subbed immediately.

[@karmageddon9136]

The wearable electronics segment was interesting. People buy similar gadgets so that they can track their pets or their little ones. People these days enjoy paying to give away their privacy.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

I HATE Goodwill! Being inside one just feels gross and icky like failure. Also, I hate how they have billboards that simply say, "Goodwill provides jobs!" That is idiotic for multiple reasons, including: 1) ALL businesses provide jobs!, so this doesn't make them special, 2) these jobs all have terrible pay and benefits, 3) they don't even provide that many jobs in the first place, and 4) if that is all they have to say regarding why you should shop there, then what they sell must really suck (but that goes without saying, I guess).

[@andreabellini6796]

I can afford brand new but would much rather buy used and save my money.

[@H2R5GSXR]

Enjoyed the rant. Very informative.

[@magikmycology6660]

Also, the people who work at the thrift stores steal all the good stuff before it ever hits the shelves.

[@jayumble8390]

This was fantastic Nicole! Thank you!! Oh, I had to make an edit-- I love your humor! Don't take it out of your videos!!

[@rdmineer1]

In most workplaces using a Smartwatch won't get you fired, where looking at a cell phone likely will. That's why they are so popular.

[@johnvanderploeg6707]

The Goodwill's in my area are asking people if they want to round their sales total up to the next dollar, "to help with the jobs program for the disabled". I told them, "Not until the CEO starts donating a healthy portion of his salary, and I get credit for the"donation " of that round up amount for my taxes. As it stands, Goodwill gets to claim all those rounded up $$ on their write offs. What a scam.

[@robsexton9247]

They get everything for FREE that they sell = mostly profit . Tell them to take it out of the sale of things you just purchased.

[@ClairenParkerontheRoad]

I loved this one!

[@dianemayberry1291]

Totally agree about thrift stores and organic things. I was so naive and proud to donate clothing only to be shocked with the information that more times than not the employees pick through everything and take the really good stuff home for themselves! Plus having a friend who used to work for certain growers tell me that the water and soil from the non organic veggies runs right into the so called organic soil, go figure!

[@Wingedshadowwolf]

Goodwill doesn't let employees take stuff. They don't even let them buy stuff unless it's been on the shelf for a certain amount of time! Which I don't really agree with.

[@pablodelsegundo9502]

Yes, nothing is truly organic. PFAS chemicals and microplastics (at the very least) are literally everywhere and already inside of us.

[@resourcedragon]

Employees/volunteers snaffling the best donations for themselves is an oldie - I first heard about that one at least 45 years ago. However, as @Wingedshadowwolf points out, some "thrift" stores don't let employees do that.

[@rc2276]

So good. Love your content.

[@Tah-V-ah]

Another home run Nicole! I'm right with ya, on the organic stuff. Sad, to think how many actually fall into the loop of these scams...try to be one step ahead of the game.

[@Chuck_vs._The_Comment_Section]

The sight makes you realize why beauty filters are a thing.

[@nclare7]

Retired elementary school teacher here. Salaried. You wouldn't believe how many unpaid hours I worked, and my salary was a pittance to begin with.

[@donaldduck830]

Ok, this was on my yt startpage and I already got lots of subscribed channels... but this was really good and interesting that was presented in a quick, smart and funny way. So I now got yet another subscribed channel. Thumbs up.

[@kwokweng76]

Great video Nicole

[@deanaderrick3474]

Quiet hiring is another employee scam that I fell for in my last job. It tooke a year to figure out that my boss basically tricked me into being the manager with no intentions of delivering promised raises etc. When she fired me, she found another gullible new employee to take my place. Is calling him a supervisor 😂

[@cmcordoYT]

As always, great job!

[@mavman0131]

Love your vids, love your advice. Keep Em coming. 😎

[@rdmineer1]

You explain things so well. I attended school 1965-1977. The definition of organic was a molecule based on carbon. By that definition, all life forms, petroleum, and plastics made from it, are all organic. Also, uranium is as "all natural" as strawberries.

[@AgapeLove878]

The definition conflation was intentional so that they could get people confused and create indifference about ingesting their carcinogenic, life long medically dependent producing " food". Exactly what you just said ... Is exactly what was intended by that " education".

[@gingerstrait836]

Thank you for the information!

[@kennedymeow]

Love this video series ❤

[@Angell_Lee]

Thank you so much Nicole, you are a Gem! ❤

[@doctork1708]

“…everything is smart, except us.” Preach it girl!😂😅😂😅😂😅😂😅

[@jjjones4982]

I worked in payroll & would argue with the payday loan employees who would phone to confirm employment. I would refuse & tell them to tell the person to go directly to our bank to cash their pay check or to come to payroll to ask for an advance.

[@girldavis291]

I volunteered at a non profit donation center. They started asking us volunteers for cash donations...then they cut out our discount on all items they resold except for crappy worn no name brand clothing. I got injured and they filled my sport while I was out. It was a wake up call as I most of us were over 66 and were working 5 hours days 3-4 days a week. Funny how when actual paid positions arose none of us were ever qualified, but employees friends were. I wised up and did not go back.

[@sandrabryan9106]

It was aggravating getting calls (as early as 6 am) about my broken computer even though I kept telling them I didn't have one. Now I am not as polite and I am sure they think I have tourettes by now. Even though I've registered to stop those calls (another scam) It didn't help. I might look into that Aura. If Canada Revenue calls me because of "arrears" owing, I ask them their id # and then tell them to send me the information via mail since they already have my address. Then I report the call to revenue Canada=scam. I was told that the seeds themselves were being saturated in pesticide and yet grown organically-this info came from agriculture researchers. it sure gave me something to think about.

[@jennkattz]

Have you talked yet about new car dealer add on where they will do things like tint windows or add an anti theft device and add the cost onto the window sticker so that it gets added to the MSRP. If you aren’t paying attention, you can line the dealerships pocket with thousands in stuff you don’t want and didn’t even come with the car.

[@kellyknight551]

I love these I watch all of them and agree to almost everything you say keep them coming!!!

[@JoeBLOWFHB]

Scam #2 related I watched a "Market Place" YT video by the CBC about farmer's markets where many of the vendors were selling regular foods as "organic". They were paying a fraction of the price for factory farmed produce and selling it for huge markups. The big give away was the size uniformity and lack of flaws. Along with nonogranic labling. (The reporter pointed out the label barcodes returned non organic product descriptions). Most of the customers that were interviewed assumed the market vetted their vendors. Or the veracity of the Organic vendor signs were regulated by law. (They are but it is weakly enforced). So even if you think organic food is better there are people willing to cheat the unwary.

[@klmjtr]

Love this series 👍

[@orthoplex64]

A few months ago, my dad's fitbit (or whatever it is) detected his heart rate was too low and woke him up. So he went in for a checkup, and they found extensive blockage in his heart and put in a stint. Those things may be scams in general, but in this case it arguably saved my dad's life.

[@jeromehenen8256]

GREAT VIDEO , VERY INFORMATIVE! THANK YOU!

[@Pemulis1]

The organic thing is yes and no. The word 'organic' has been adulterated to death. Like 'love', 'beautiful'. 'genius'... it means almost nothing, However, veggies with pesticide residue are less healthy than veggies without. Glyphosate (which is everywhere, especially grains) is such a probable carcinogen that Monsanto (now Bayer) is losing lawsuits. Giant monocrops destroy soil, insects, birds and rodents (etc,) and again, are ALWAYS soused in pesticides. The hormones and antibiotics in animals are being passed along to people who eat them (which is a probable reason why little girls are getting breasts in grade school and for the rise in antibiotic resistant bacteria). But your point holds in that governing bodies have been bribed to allow the word 'organic' on products that are not. Also, 'organic' is also attached to things that the word is irrelevant to, like garlic - bugs don't bother garlic so there's no need for an organic label, but they stick one on, anyway, As far as I know, artificial fertilizer is as good as manure, though manure can be so much cheaper (especially for organic farmers) that it's worth it. Just wash your veggies (which you should be doing anyway). As for the land area thing, I believe that you are wrong on that (though I could be wrong about your being wrong). My understanding from multiple sources is that small organic farms are far, far more productive than corporate monocrops, and can be grown so as to fortify the land rather than strip it of topsoil and nutrients. To the point where with just a couple of acres a smart organic farmer can make a good living. The problem with real organic farming is it's labor-intensive, so the profit-margin is far smaller than with giant tracts of land worked by giant machines. There's no extra money to pay executives stupid wages and shareholders dividends for doing squat. SO corporations don't do it, and then claim (honestly) that there's no way that organic farms can feed the world. Which is true, insofar as there are not enough organic farmers to grow on x acres what corporations grow on 1000x acres, though those corporate operations are destroying soil and sucking up groundwater to a degree that they are not sustainable (but they don't care - more than eight quarters out means 'never' in the corporate mind).

[@pennyzee5975]

Exactly! I don't think she understands she's referencing corporate "organic" foods which have very much co-opted this term. I'd also surmise she may not have been exposed to or live near an area that has stores or small farms that mainly offer food from smaller producers that typically have to be more transparent and educate the customer while forging a long term relationship. The label organic at a large supermarket is going to mean something different than one working directly with consumers. I've seen so many get out of farming because it doesn't pay. Having seen this firsthand and also worked with small but "nonorganic" farmers, I'm really amazed that the public still thinks of food as just a matter of what is it going to cost me vs the other factors on their health.

[@magnetismexplained5590]

There is no limit to the extras they can add to a car, like heated seats, heated drinks holder, heated wing mirrors, unsecure keyless fob, every single window having a de-mister, all to add extra money to the cost and something else that can go wrong.

[@mortanicus5871]

Not all salaried positions take advantage of their employees. I'm a salaried employee, but I make great money, have great benefits, and they never ask me to work more than 40 hours. If I call in sick, they don't give me a hard time about it; I get paid for that day AND I don't have to make it up. I'm just expected to keep my desk current, and that is all. Of course this is a salaried position for local government, which is probably much much different from one in private industry.

[@seltzermint5]

I agree, I think there are positions like that especially in local government and non-profits. I had a similar job and it was very fair. We received comp time for any hours worked over 40. It also included great benefits and ample time off for sickness and vacation. But I do think there are WAY more salaried positions out there taking major advantage of their employees. My friend used to work 60+ hours at a machine shop salaried and he did all right financially with a pretty high salary - but when you broke down the hourly wage it was still low.

[@mortanicus5871]

Yes and from what I hear, organizations that take advantage are the rule and not the exception. They are usually looking out for the shareholders and not the employees. Some of Nicole's content sure makes me grateful for my job @@seltzermint5

[@paul_domici]

So true about the salary thing! I got a promotion a few years ago and they made me go from hourly to salary! I never brought home what I used to when hourly!!! Thank God I'm no longer working at that place!!! Great video again Nicole!!! And when I see organic stuff for sale I just laugh and get the regular stuff!

[@user-ky9qn4pg3w]

i used to be a chef and was salaried. then i decided to go to uni and switched to part-time hours on an hourly rate. i was still making same money working weekends and a couple of evenings during the week compared to doing 50-60 hours before on average. manager was well pissed :D

[@paul_domici]

It's amazing that as soon as they promote you they give you a raise and figure out a way to cut your pay!!! @@user-ky9qn4pg3w

[@onegreenev]

I sell our own home grown organic walnuts at lower than super market prices for regular non-organic that are sprayed with deadly chemicals which gets into the food. People still buy supermarket garbage and pay the high prices. Go figure. Can’t beat our walnuts for quality either.

[@paul_domici]

I prefer cashews @@onegreenev

[@kimberlyowen7600]

as I often say - Show my not organic food .... all food is organic!!! LOL

[@mikedenham5882]

That was a good one!

[@Madmark50484]

In the Uk we have charity shops. When you see what the charity gets from the shop it’s a joke.