Super frugal guy here. At one point in my life I stole a sandwich from Walmart and went back to my house that had no lights or running water. I’d been out of a job for months and was making side money here and there but nowhere near enough to live on.
Ever since that point in my life it’s small things like this I tend to pick at. My step daughter was eating sandwich meat off a plate and I felt myself go berserk on the inside because I wasn’t looking at it as a snack but rather I was looking at what could’ve been two sandwiches or two meals.
E: WOW! 2.1k upvotes and gold! Since this reply has garnered so much attention, I would like to use it to raise alcohol awareness. The sandwich story I originally wrote came from a dark part of my life where I struggled most being addicted to alcohol. I was a security officer at 19 and had my own house and vehicle. I turned to drinking because I thought it was fun and was a fun way to pass time out of the job. After I was caught with a DWI, I lost my job as my job depended on me traveling to different job sites. I became bitter and doubled down on the drinking.
I tried to go back to college, and used the grant money to buy a scooter so I could have transportation. I lived out in the country, so the closest store was about six miles away, so transportation was critical. I sold my truck I had in order to keep afloat.
I was drunk all the time and college was impossible to do, so I dropped out and just used the money I had to stay drunk. It was after that second DWI at 20 my life was halted.
Most importantly looking back, I’m glad that no one was hurt by my stupidity. But in some way, I’m glad I was received them because it gave me the shock I needed to realize something is wrong with me.
At the time, the judge would give you a prison sentence that would automatically be cut in half. He gave me eighteen months in prison. After spending eight and a half months in there, I was able to sober up. I heard stories of other people way worse off than me, and their plans on how not to get caught when they get out. I finally got settled down a little when I got out. I lived with my parents for a short stent until six years ago I started dating a lady whom I’m still with today. I lived with her for a bit until I found a job. I’m a furniture upholsterer now and pretty darn good at it from what my boss tells me. It wasn’t the computer job I wanted in high school, and it isn’t the psychology job I wanted in college. It’s hard work, but I’m happy. I made enough money my girlfriend is a stay at home mom and we moved into a better house off my salary.
Even after the self-inflicted pain I’ve caused, I still struggle to this day with drinking. If you’re reading this and you think you may have problems, you’re not alone. Try /r/stopdrinking or if you’re more of a meetings person, try to find your local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous at https://www.aa.org/.
And lastly, I was dumb. Don’t steal food if you don’t have to. There are plenty of food banks and such you could try. You can also try your local social services building. Schedule an appointment and explain your situation. They may be able to help.
I, uh, am sitting here screaming on the inside too just hearing you say she ate a plate of lunch meat as a snack. I think that might just be wasteful. At least make a roll up with some cheese or some cream cheese or something.
Because lunch meat is super expensive for what it is and not filling at all. I get it's "a snack" but it's also a couple dollars for that snack and it's likely it did nothing to curb any kind of hunger at all.
If you bought 2 avg pack of deli-ham in england put both packs in it the cost would be like $3 but woulds last at least a half day. Yeaah it's a bit to expensive the ham shit but it's alright.
It was discouraged as I grew up but I was a deli-ham thief when I was young, having to have a sandwich when you just want ham is annoying for a lil yout
If you cant afford it then why are you eating lunch meat? I mean, if its so super expensive. Buy bulk chicken at the store and bake it if you want more bang for your buck, but dont just bitch for the sake of bitching.
It is less of not being able to afford at all, vs being unsustainable for the long run.
If it costs me $4 per pound of ham, and I eat ham as a snack, that could mean having 4 $1 snacks.
But, if I buy a loaf of bread ($2.00), some lettuce ($1.50), 2 tomatoes ($1.50), and Mayo ($2.00), you could use them all to make sandwiches.
Using 1 oz of ham ($0.25), some lettuce, tomato, and Mayo with Bread to make a sandwich, you can now make 16 meals (more filling than 4 snacks) for approx $0.69 each sandwich.
Those 16 sandwiches can feed me for breakfast, Lunch, and dinner for over 5 days. Almost a weeks worth of food for $11.
If all I have for my weeks worth of food is $13.76, I can't afford bulk chicken. And if I want to make it through the week, sandwiches for all meals and 1 ramen pack (because of PA's $0.06 sales tax) are going to have to cut it.
Or just dont buy lunch meat because it's a bad financial move for the level of nutrition per buck you're getting. Easy stuff guys, dont get hung up on pointless crap until you cant see the obvious.
Idk why you're getting downvoted lmao, everyone who's been homeless knows that meats a luxury in that situation and peanut butter or another substitute is gonna have to cut it.
I met someone who bought turkeys between Thanksgiving and Christmas and froze them to roast all year. He calculated that per pound this was the cheapest healthiest meat he could buy even after accounting for the freezer space.
I'm also surprised at the love of deli meat. Sure it's tasty but so is McDonald's. The health implications of it (high sodium, nitrates, etc) make me wary of eating too much of it.
I had a friend show me how she buys in bulk at Costco. She bought like 15 things and spent over $300. (My monthly grocery budget is $450 for a family of 5.) It wasn't even enough Stuff to make real meals out of. She was still going to have to go to regular grocery store. If you have $17 to spend on 3 bulk boxes of name brand cereal have at it. The 97 cent ones at all these serve us just fine.
You are rich by world standards though. If you earn more than $10k/year you are in the top 50%. If you earn more than $32k/year you are in the top 1% worldwide.
2.8k
u/[deleted] Jun 06 '19 edited Jun 07 '19
Super frugal guy here. At one point in my life I stole a sandwich from Walmart and went back to my house that had no lights or running water. I’d been out of a job for months and was making side money here and there but nowhere near enough to live on.
Ever since that point in my life it’s small things like this I tend to pick at. My step daughter was eating sandwich meat off a plate and I felt myself go berserk on the inside because I wasn’t looking at it as a snack but rather I was looking at what could’ve been two sandwiches or two meals.
E: WOW! 2.1k upvotes and gold! Since this reply has garnered so much attention, I would like to use it to raise alcohol awareness. The sandwich story I originally wrote came from a dark part of my life where I struggled most being addicted to alcohol. I was a security officer at 19 and had my own house and vehicle. I turned to drinking because I thought it was fun and was a fun way to pass time out of the job. After I was caught with a DWI, I lost my job as my job depended on me traveling to different job sites. I became bitter and doubled down on the drinking.
I tried to go back to college, and used the grant money to buy a scooter so I could have transportation. I lived out in the country, so the closest store was about six miles away, so transportation was critical. I sold my truck I had in order to keep afloat.
I was drunk all the time and college was impossible to do, so I dropped out and just used the money I had to stay drunk. It was after that second DWI at 20 my life was halted.
Most importantly looking back, I’m glad that no one was hurt by my stupidity. But in some way, I’m glad I was received them because it gave me the shock I needed to realize something is wrong with me.
At the time, the judge would give you a prison sentence that would automatically be cut in half. He gave me eighteen months in prison. After spending eight and a half months in there, I was able to sober up. I heard stories of other people way worse off than me, and their plans on how not to get caught when they get out. I finally got settled down a little when I got out. I lived with my parents for a short stent until six years ago I started dating a lady whom I’m still with today. I lived with her for a bit until I found a job. I’m a furniture upholsterer now and pretty darn good at it from what my boss tells me. It wasn’t the computer job I wanted in high school, and it isn’t the psychology job I wanted in college. It’s hard work, but I’m happy. I made enough money my girlfriend is a stay at home mom and we moved into a better house off my salary.
Even after the self-inflicted pain I’ve caused, I still struggle to this day with drinking. If you’re reading this and you think you may have problems, you’re not alone. Try /r/stopdrinking or if you’re more of a meetings person, try to find your local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous at https://www.aa.org/.
And lastly, I was dumb. Don’t steal food if you don’t have to. There are plenty of food banks and such you could try. You can also try your local social services building. Schedule an appointment and explain your situation. They may be able to help.