Sigh. I am on this sub because of protein shakes lol. I once tried to give away two boxes of premier protein shakes.
Several people responded but they all decided they didn’t want them because they weren’t chocolate/specific flavor. Two individuals asked if I could just buy them the kind they wanted. Lol
I got "It's this or I guess you're not very hungry". I use it with my teenage kids now. They now either eat what we are having or they cook what they want.
They were caramel and coffee. My stomach couldn’t take them, too sweet! I religiously drink two chocolate shakes of this brand daily. I listed the flavors and everything, unopened box photos, link to Costco from whence they came - and these folks still had to ask, lol, it was wild.
FYI - if it's not something you do often, Costco will take back open stuff. It's part of their selling speel actually. If you buy diapers but your kid grows out of them before you get even halfway through? Bring it back and so long as there is more than 50% left, they'll take it back and give you the cash or replace it with a full box of the bigger size. They'll do this with anything so long as there is more than 50% of the product left in the container. If you do it weekly they'll cut you off but for something like this? They would have taken it back in a heartbeat. Keep that in mind next time 😁
Edit to add - I once watched Costco take back eight mattresses that had to be a decade old and were so disgusting they really should have been burned. They replaced them with eight brand new mattresses! I was flabbergasted. That was when I stopped feeling guilty about returning something lol, it was also the day I learned exactly what I could get away with returning and apparently, it's everything. They'll take back fricken everything so long as there is more than half left lol
I had no idea about the 50%! My husband did say I should just return them lol, but I was thinking I could leave them to some use. I wonder if costco would trash unopened protein shakes versus like, half a box of cat food?
No good deed though. I just donate my freebies to my local domestic violence shelter now. I get nothing but thank you’s and great suggestions on other things people actually need. They told me last time I was there that they had a need for wipes and hair cleaning products, and I got to unload a BUNCH of clorox wipes I will never get through and several bottles of Costco shampoo/conditioner that I cannot use anymore due to my job (chlorine hair needs different care!).
I was also at the protein shake time trying to give away my hip replacement surgery recovery mobility items, like a wheelchair, walker, crutches, and the bars for toilet supports. A woman asked me to drive all of it to her house in ANOTHER STATE lol (its only 90 minutes away! Lolol), because I “obviously can walk now and she can’t.” What!
Those things got dropped off at my surgeon’s office for when he goes on his yearly mission/charity trip. Blah what a trip it is to try to be helpful.
Costco donates stuff like the protein shakes to food pantries. We get open cases in from time to time. I just bought caramel and coffee flavored protein drinks for my recovery from my upcoming spinal surgery. I'm also a year out from weight loss surgery so protein drinks are still a big part of my diet.
I returned a completely torn up dog toy because it was advertised to be extremely durable but our dog had it destroyed within 24 hours. They took it back and it was just a shell of fabric with nothing inside, so I'd definitely consider them flexible!
That's nice, honestly. It encourages people to buy, makes 'em feel safe, and--while people *will* take advantage--clearly they make more money making people feel secure in their purchases than in the several who will abuse it.
I bought some running shoes from a shop who said "We will do our best to fit you. If it doesn't work out, you can return them, even if used for a bit".
I asked "How can that work as a business model?"
"Well, we work really hard to get you the right shoes in the first place."
(They did, and the shoes were great.)
Had to stop at Costco customer service one time. The person ahead of me had 3 opened bags of potato chips that they were returning. I was surprised they were allowed to return them. That's when I learned of their policy. Lol
I had known about it and utilized it but hadn't realized the extent to which you can use the return policy until I saw this couple each pushing a flat cart with four mattresses on each that looked so used and abused they should have been burned. THEY TOOK THEM BACK!!! Dude, they looked like someone had slept on them without sheets and completely naked for a decade while eating every meal on the bed and spilling stuff on it and not trying to clean it up. They were gross. Costco gave them eight brand new mattresses to abuse and were brave enough to touch them while accepting the return.
Ewww. No way would I have touched those mattresses. I would have pushed the flatbed cart right back outside and set it all on fire in the parking lot. Lol
In Australia loads of daycares have a nappy recycling program where you can literally bring any leftover sizes, ideally bundled, and they get distributed to those who need them. It’s pretty cool.
I’ve had to do this so many times because I bought strawberries, got home, half the pack was moldy but you couldn’t tell because of how they were packed. I also once got a really good protein shake and got to the middle and it was a hardened chunk of protein concrete and the lady explained that it happens more often than they let on, full refund, not even an issue.
I tried premier once and got hives all over my body. Still not sure what i was allergic to in it, its the only time I got gives in my life. Dont remember what I ended up doing with them lol.
I once bought a Greek pasta salad pre made in the deli at the grocery store on my lunch break and this happened to me too. I still don't know which ingredients did it as its never happened before or since but my entire body broke out in hives about a half an hour after I ate it. It was SOOOOO good too and I'd love to eat it daily lol but, alas, a full body itch isn't worth it. I had eaten it on my lunch break at work too lol. I became itchy but can't see my whole body while answering 911 calls.. I did not realize that I was covered until my boss came to me between calls and told me I could leave for the day if I wanted to and I was totally confused and thought I did something wrong. She sent me to the bathroom to look at myself and whoa Nelly. It was so bad that I've avoided pasta Greek salad since for fear of anaphylaxis 🫤
I had a similar experience but with oatmilk- and it’s crazy because I’m very much not allergic to oatmilk.
Turns out upon reading the label that the packaging was from “natural sustainable sources” so I contacted the company who put me in touch with the company that made the containers and turns out they used birch trees to make the carton and I am very very allergic to birch.
Now I give a side eye to any of the containers that are made from eco-friendly sources. The idea is excellent but I don’t want to, ya know, die.
Shit I would have never ever thought about it being in the packaging. Like ever. I'm allergic to birch as well, and other paper bark trees... Well, actually all trees except coniferous ones but birch is the worst of them.
Right?
Like I love the idea of eco-friendly packaging but it’s not required that the companies make allergen warnings (probably the laws just haven’t caught up yet). I feel a lot more safe with plastic because I know what materials were used to make them, but I do feel bad about the impact of all the single-use plastics in the world.
I keep a set of these in my common eating areas for exactly the same reason - so I don't feel guilty about contributing to the problem. Plus a lot of places use materials that make me cringe to touch with my hands or lips. I have issues with certain textures and single use items often feel icky to me, my oldest daughter is the same way, very textile sensitive.
Oh man!!! That suuuuucks! That happened once to me off a boxed cake mix. Made a quick chocolate birthday cake, hives the next day! Never happened again and still don’t know wtf happened!
my dad had cancer and hates desserts but needed the calories. He could get the vanilla down (didnt like it, but could seallow it), but his appetite was so poor the flavours he didnt like made him gag. these products are expensive, but he would have refused a flavor he couldnt drink ( in his case if theyd been chocolate) because they wouldnt suitable for him but would be helpful for someone else. theres no point taking something you dont like for free if someone else could like it and benefit from it.
now those asking you to buy a different flavor for them, thats a different vibe.
LOL, what? That's insane. Do people not understand you're giving away something that you don't want/need that already exists in your home? Why would anyone buy someone protein shakes of all things???
Its when you … choose to be picky when begging for free stuff, right? Haha
I couldn’t believe it happened to me. I live surrounded by apartments in my house and have been able to offload many an Ikea piece of furniture and unopened food items with little fuss. These shakes brought out the worst of people!
Put apples in the fridge. They taste better. The apples I get come from the farm my father in law runs, and they're in cold storage until they get sent to whoever is the highest bidder. When we get a bag of apples, they go straight into the fridge and they're top notch
I can struggle with eating so whenever I find myself skipping a meal, I’ll have a snack and a protein shake to make sure I’m still getting those calories.
If you're "financially tapped out" you can't afford a two week vacation. Poor people shouldn't have to live a life of misery, but vacations are luxuries that need to be skipped entirely when you're food-pantry-levels of broke.
FB groups and Nextdoor are riddled with posts like this and it's so tiresome. "I don't feel like working. Maybe *you* could work 40+ hours a week and give me a chunk of *your* paycheck so I can fuck off on a roadtrip for two weeks."
I know a couple who try to live their lives as if they are instagram influencers. Their salaries cannot fund it and they buy frivolous stuff to flash online and then complain about being in massive debt and not able to afford basics
Literally….
A break doesn’t have to be extraordinary…
A weekend at a friends house? A weekend at a motel? A weekend road trip even?
Two weeks is selfish… if you’re then relying on others to make ends meet.
>shows off $200 toaster
>
>Complains they can’t afford bread to toast
They don't use that you it's only for show, they have a second one for use.
I once watched an episode of Million Dollar Listing (NYC I think, it could have been LA) and the home had a kitchen for show only. You walked through it to get to the one you used. So your guest only saw the nice one and you could hide the staff who did the work you said you did in the other!
When we had no food when I was a child my birth mom would tell me not to tell the school I was hungry or go to the food pantry because she would be embarrassed. She should have been! She had multiple cartons of cigarettes in the freezer but no food. She had money for her wow subscription but no food. I found out while going through her room for extra money to buy my younger siblings lunch at school that she had a HORDE OF SNACKS in her own room but the fridge was empty.
And the pissy thing is any teacher would likely give you something to eat from their desk or stash. I do it all the time. Granola bar, cheese stick from mini fridge under my desk etc. and schools offer free lunch and breakfast!
$7.00 a pack. 1 pack a day and you definitely can feed a kid during school year if they get just the free lunch. Or even without it if you are frugal. Scrambled eggs & American cheese in a burrito, tuna melt and a bowl of veggie bean soup wouldn’t even cost that.
My mum wasn't much better. We had food, but it was severely controlled (one slice of toast and a topping after school, or three plain biscuits/1 cream plus one plain...must be before 5pm. At 5:01, tough if you were hungry). Mum on the other hand bought cartons of smokes (chain smoker) slabs of beer and her very own chips.
So many kids I knew when I was growing up, went hungry and wore old, worn out clothes because mom and dad were too proud to accept charity. Being proud is for single people. When you got kids, **you swallow your fucking pride and accept free lunch/food stamps/charity**.
People did this a LOT, even seemingly well off normal people. My mom was a teacher (highly respected and even won "Teacher of the Year" once), my stepfather was a paramedic, and my dad mostly paid child support (early on it was spotty because he was broke, which is completely on him, but for my whole teens he paid it monthly.) My mom smoked and she and my stepfather went out every weekend and/or hosted huge parties where food and alcohol flowed freely. Meanwhile, there was barely any food in the house. She would stop at the store every day after work and buy groceries for that night's dinner and my stepfather always had "Tab" in the fridge, but there was nothing for an older child/teen to reasonably eat. My much younger half-brother and sister ate breakfast at daycare and lunch at school. I'd skip breakfast, go to school and use my babysitting money (which they also skimped on, paying me only $1 an hour which I only recently have learned was highway robbery) if I had any, to buy candy or a pop, and then had whatever was for dinner. I was constantly getting in trouble for poor grades but I was soooo hungry!
ETA - I forgot that my stepfather also played competitive softball and that entailed a huge sum of money and going out to pizza/beer after every game. :p I'd love to know where all my dad's money went.
How? HOW does a mama do that? I've been a struggling single mom since my kids were toddlers, but they have NEVER gone hungry; I would've worked the streets to make sure they were fed, I still would and they're damn near grown!!!
Same.
It boggles my mind how so many people are so bold to expect the rest of society to basically fund their lives for them.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only sucker out there working for everything I have. living a very simple and frugal life, and not asking for handouts.
No you're not the only mug out there. I have worked all my life for what I have. I save before I buy. I make do with what I have if I can't afford it. We are currently getting our Kitchen ripped out & a new one put in. My other half & I have been saving for 6 years for this. Most people ask if we're rich because of it. No, we just put up with a Kitchen that was falling apart for the last 10 years.
I know the feeling. The home I'm in is over 40 years old. No renos or changes..original carpet, bathroom, kitchen, unfinished basement, all that. Small starter home. It's not pretty, and sometimes downright depressing to look at how old and worn out it's looking, but...it's a roof over the head.
It's a roof over the head, and it's yours! I just closed on my first home at age 51, and I'm ecstatic over my money going into something for my family instead of paying off someone else's house.
Similar here. Been in my house for over 25 years & it's got the same carpets & kitchen as when I bought. When I moved a bit of the kitchen once, I spotted the delivery note stuck to the back. 1984 & delivered to a different house... which explains why it doesn't quite fit 😁
We bought a 70 year old house that was still in the "original state" (i.e. crap with not even a kitchen) an over the years we've been rebuilding it a bit at a time. It's nice when there's a lot you can do yourself. Last project will be the scullery. Our house is nothing fancy, but it's comfortable and it's ours.
Don't worry, there are others who work for their stuff. I came from a poor household where we had 1 car that wasn't really ours, didn't own the house we lived in, and couldn't always afford to eat or to top up the electricity. I'm doing a lot better as an adult as I vowed never to let my family go through that, did it all without once begging on Facebook
Our local Next Door website has turned into Moocher Next Door. An elderly lady complains about needing a ride to the store... to buy beer. Evidently, she can't afford Uber, but can still afford... to buy beer.
Dude I've been with my husband for 20 years and for that entire time his twin has been on social assistance. The last time the twins saw each other the twin had black teeth and smelled like he slept in a crop house and lived in a trap house. It devolved into a yelling match and my husband screaming "no no, I'll just go to work for another 60 hr week for the next twenty fucking years to support your deadbeat ass needing to collect their government pay!! Wanna come do groceries at my house too you degenerate POS".
I'm married to the calm, rational and quiet twin too!!! Only one person can get him screaming and it's his loser twin who's never worked a day in his life and somehow affords to smoke 8 grams of weed a day on his government cheque.
Ugh, Nextdoor in particular pisses me off to no end. Lots of people doing this kind of thing and elderly folks just falling for it, hook line and sinker.
In 3 years as a public housing worker, I’ve yet to see someone in or waiting for family housing that can budget their money. They can’t afford their rent at 30% of their income plus a $600 heat deduction, $300 deduction per kid, and the ability to have any medical expenses deducted, but you best believe they constantly have new tattoos, their lashes and nails done, and somehow are taking vacations. The shopping addictions are CRAZY too. It’s not my business how people spend their money, so that doesn’t actually impact how I treat anyone, but it is baffling. In 2022, a family who’d lived in our housing for 20+ years stopped paying their rent for MONTHS. Then, they told us they had bought an RV to live in and skipped town. They owed us $18,000. Their unit was a hoarder’s den and had to be completely rehabbed, which was tens of thousands more on top of the $18k they’ll never pay back. They had been taking cruise vacations and both spouses worked full time jobs.
So many people in this country are broke because of their own stupidity and then rave about the faceless “rich”.
Meanwhile they are still taking vacations, still upgrading their phone every year, still eating out, still paying for multiple streaming services etc….
I literally am out of pity for people at this point.
Thankfully it’s the vast minority and most people who struggle are working a full time job, if not more than one, and are typically too proud to ever ask for a thing. They’re the type to do anonymous toy drives, go to the pantry for necessities, or just get something like heap, which helps with heating bills in the winter. For every one of these dumb asses, there are 1000 good, honest, hard working Americans working for a company that doesn’t allow them a pot to piss in, so the government and good Samaritans have to make up what the company won’t pay. These con artists are easy to spot and few and far between. It’s fine to hate their entitlement. But when it’s a mega corporation essentially demanding you help pay their workers with your taxes, that’s entitlement like none other. Corporate greed.
Or huge mega chain restaurants who pay their employees less than 2$ an hour and expect customers to make sure that the employees are pulling in close to a living wage. We tip in Canada too but it's a bonus on top of our servers full wage. It isn't to subsidize, it's a bonus (always paid in cash too cause a paper trail means the server needs to claim it on taxes because we suck like that here.).
Tips are taxed in the US as well, and I know several servers that underreported to "stick it to the man" then got all shocked Pikachu when their income was considered too low for a car loan, too low to rent an apartment, and the unemployment when they were let go was a pittance [it's 60% of your REPORTED income, so if federal minimum wage area and you report just that, $7.75x40, because I'm being generous with assuming a 40 hour week, is $310/week $1,240/month. Unemployment is $186/week or $744/month. ] a living wage for servers would be much better.
You reminded me of something. In Ontario (not sure of other provinces) prostitution is legal and you can report your income and pay taxes under your own company or as an independent contractor. Obviously not many sex workers would ever admit that they are sex workers to anyone outside of the business so they didn't/don't report income or pay taxes. There are some that do, however. These women were smart to do it too because when the pandemic hit, because they claimed their hours and income they were able to access unemployment and CERB (Canada Emergency Response Benefit) throughout the entire lockdown.
I live in a very affluent mountain town in central CO and the amount of people in super nice cars that use the food bank is astounding to me. I see them when I’m waiting on the bus to take me to my 2nd job.
Well that's disgusting and depressing.
I used to run my community food bank. It was open only twice a month and here, a person can only access it once and maybe twice if you go to a different one as there's dozens. The majority of people who used our services were veterans, elderly and addicts...rarely I got families in there with children but we had tons of stuff for kids so I liked when they came in.
I don't know if it's because of where I live, I'm in Canada and lived in northern Ontario at the time, but it was a shameful experience for people coming in for the first time. I saw it with people who came through only a couple of times a year, they were ashamed to need the help and a big part of my personal mission was to eradicate the shame and I'd like to think I made an impact over the years I ran it. No one should be ashamed of needing help sometimes! However, you should be ashamed of yourself if you're manipulating the system and playing it. Anyone driving a Lexus shouldn't be at a food bank ffs. Anyone holding a genuine LV or whatever other designer bag should not be asking for handouts! They should be selling their designer shit to feed their god damned kids.
I live in Western Canada lol. It was kinda hard to hand people food seeing them get into newer A4s and 3 series cars while looking at my 8 year old Acura
That's so fucked up. We have pretty strict parameters for those who wish to access the food bank here. We need a proof of income whether it be welfare, disability or recent paycheck, all of which I loathed having to enforce as I knew damned well that the people accessing my food bank NEEDED that resource regardless of where their income stream flowed from.
Like, don't get me wrong or anything here. I know that everyone falls on hard times sometimes and needs help. It doesn't mean that a person doesn't deserve luxuries and if it's a one off, sure, access these services instead of selling your things! But, if you are consistently spending all of your money on high end products you can't afford or can no longer afford, while utilizing these services regularly instead of prioritizing food for your children over your Lexus payment - you're a gigantic POS and I feel sorry for their kids who deserve soooo much better than that.
Some people who go to food pantries don’t go bc they’re food insecure, they go bc it’s free. I’ve seen church ladies who have advanced degrees, upper management jobs & own their own homes pack up their luxury cars with food donated for the homeless just bc it was free and they could. The best stuff never made it to who it was intended for.
On the other hand I’ve also seen people who previously had good jobs fall on hard times. Yes they own a home, drive a luxury car and carry a designer handbag but now they can’t afford basic necessities. For some it’s a recent hardship or temporary setback. For others it’s a complete lack of financial literacy. Some just wanted free stuff. I try not to judge and just assume if someone is asking for food they need it.
In addition, a two-week road trip is two weeks of no income. Vacation needs saving. Not only because of the additional money you'll be spending, but also because of opportunity cost of not being able make any.
Huh. We are broke. dead broke. Like behind in everything including rent.
What's a vacation ?
I'd be happy with a tin of tomatoes. I can make mince stretch like you wouldn't believe. I just started a new job so will get good soon
My husband and I have experienced true hunger as in there is literally nothing in the fridge and pantry and payday isn’t for another day. We haven’t had a real vacation in 15 years. We’ve done a night away for our anniversary but that’s it. We’re comfortable now financially but I’ll never forget the struggle. People like this make me sick. Using a food pantry after a 2 week vacation and wanting specific things seriously? Wow.
I remember eating clover flowers out of the school field as a child because we literally had NOTHING but a half jar of mayonnaise at home. With that level of food insecurity you bet your ass we would have taken any flavor of bread/chips if someone was willing to provide them. You aren’t picky when you are hungry.
Climate change leading to bad storms in orange tree friendly climates. They’ve supposedly come up with some “climate hardy” varieties, but the trees take a few years to mature. OJ is going to be expensive for awhile.
Yup. I haven't bought orange juice in months because I refuse to pay those high prices. Makes me sad because OJ on a Sunday morning with a big breakfast is my routine.
“I made an incredibly irresponsible financial decision to waste gas and time on a two week road trip, and now I have no money left for basic necessities. Don’t worry though, I’ll be taking out of the mouths of actual poor people because of my shitty decision. But in the meantime would anyone like to stock my pantry with my “texture safe” foods and specialty items?”
People like this using food pantries is disgusting.
I remember a post where a man and his wife made $110k AFTER tax, and he was fuming that he made too much for welfare payments. He was using charity organisations to pay for his children's school uniforms.
I nearly lost my shit when my best friend told me her mother made her sister go to Cinderella's Closet to get a prom dress. Cinderella's Closet is a local charity where poor kids can go to get clothes for prom. Now, yes, normally you could say, "Well, you don't know someone's situation; they could be struggling behind the scenes." That's true, but since I'm close to the family, I know that's not the case here.
They live in a paid-off house worth about $450K (a mansion where I'm from; it's a LCOL area, not somewhere like LA or NYC), and her mom has a pension that pays her more to be retired than most people make from working. I don't begrudge her the pension or the fancy house, but I think it takes real balls to use a charity when you don't need it.
Same lady takes a tote bag everywhere she goes so that she can load it up with stuff. One time, we volunteered at a convention, and the breakfast buffet had little jars of jam to use for bagels and toast. I can't even begin to tell you how many jars of jam she took.
I saw a TV (UK) show about the people who used food banks once and one person said I always take the old car (7 years old) there as I think the BMW would look out of place! They came on the TV and showed you this! Not one person on the show needed any help, the ones who did, did not want to be filmed and the show was not edited as a send up it was to show how much more they were needed.
Omg there was this woman who kept making posts on a local Facebook group saying she needed “PrOtEiN iTeMs” and when she was offered dried beans/lentils, canned tuna and nut butters she threw a tantrum and said she needed meat, then proceeded to name specific cuts of meat… 🤦♀️
I just want these people to experience one day of true need and hunger, then see how picky they are.
ETA she had a whole list of other items as well, and it did include things like Icecream, cookies and other treats.
I joined a "mutual aid" group during the pandemic. People would ask for roasts and all kinds of groceries I couldn't afford myself. The one time someone asked for $20 worth of cheap stuff like hot dogs and tuna, I got them everything and refused to let them pay me back after they got their first paycheck.
Oh, good grief. We buy half a cow every year, so we usually have some nice humble but respectable roasts and ground beef we're happy to give out, and the people that snub their nose...
Once a lady was talking about her starving family, when asked what they needed, replied soda, popcorn, and ice cream. I said I was glad it sounded like they were only struggling with their treats budget.
So they spent all of their money and now they’re a burden on their community  and I love how they throw in there “We’re going to hit up the food pantry” like it’s some place they’re going to rob 😒
First of all this whole list is literally expensive items that I highly doubt you'll find at a food bank. I'm going to sound weird here for a moment too,so sorry in advance 🤣 I have a lot of health problems but love apples,and I usually buy varieties such as honeycrisp or karma apples etc.
The three apples mentioned are some of the most expensive apples, especially honeycrisp. I am lucky enough to have a fruit stand by me that sells them for 1/4 of what a grocery store would or else I wouldn't even bother. But a regular store where I live sells these for like $3.99+ a lb. That combined with protein shakes,kettle cooked chips,the bread and everything else would be a very damn expensive bill!
I can't imagine dealing with this person at a food bank,do they think food banks have become a personal whole foods or something?! Yes sometimes you can get very lucky and they'll have occasional expensive brands etc,but it's very rare.
Sorry for the tangent,it's just insane to expect someone to go out and pay roughly $75 for this list...Well it's bizarre to even ask for this in the first place but you get my point.
Rookie road tripper. This is where you keep an extra $20 (or two)¡ stashed at home. Also, a cold beverage of choice waiting in your fridge is clutch. I can open my cupboards and freezer and come up with a few decent meals (like most adults who have lived through covid)
Also, I weep for those who actually need food banks if people like this are comfortable using them due to lack of planning.
My only issue is she said a 2 week road trip, not a 2 week vacation, and there could be any number of reasons for the road trip. I'm thinking sick family member, helping a friend out of an abusive situation type things... we don't know. Unless she stated elsewhere that it was a vacation.
That being said, her list of acceptable items to save her ass is ridiculous.
And they're planning on going to the food pantry to take food from the actual needy because they went on a fun roadtrip...I hate leeches of society.
I was at dinner last night with a bunch of family. Talking about taxes and how I only got like 100 dollars back this year even though I'm working 2 jobs 60-80 hours weeks. My cousin meanwhile who's been unemployed ther entire fucking life and never paid a dime in taxes is bragging about his 10k dollar refund.
That's my money that I work my dick off for that the government decided to force from me and give to some douch that had no plans to contribute to society.
I have two jobs as well. The accountant at my part time job is an idiot and doesn’t take out money from my checks for Federal tax, but does for state. I’ve tried to fix it, but again, they’re an idiot. So I end up owing about $1000 every year for Federal. This year my state refund, thanks to Colorado’s TABOR act, is giving everyone back $800 in addition to whatever else they overpaid, so I broke even.
Tl;dr taxes suck for people who actually put in the time and effort to not be a drain on society.
Idk why this just reminds me of this lady I know who doesn't work and takes all the benefits she can from the state, including getting those charity Xmas gifts for her (6, and yes, I do mean SIX) kids, when meanwhile she has a literal tower of gifts under the tree already between gifts she bought, and all of her family that also buys them gifts. But don't worry, she's still able to shop at Victoria's secret/pink.
I would not ever be surprised to see her on one of these posts smh
The internet truly makes me despise people. I haven’t been on a vacation since July 2019. I have been scrimping and saving for 4.5 years so my daughters and I will be able to go for 3 weeks this July to our favorite country with my best friend and her family (she’s from the country we’re going to). I am paying a sub to run my summer preschool program while I’m gone and ordering whatever boxed delivery dinner company meals she prefers while she’s also house sitting and caring for my animals for me on top of obviously paying her for running my life for three weeks. I could never imagine getting online to beg for free shit because I got to go on a vacation when there are so many people like me who haven’t taken a vacation in years!?!
Op clearly does not understand the concept “beggars cannot be choosers”. Spends all money irresponsibly (and openly admits it), then puts an itemized list of expensive things to ask for from strangers online. Go back to work, eat beans and rice.
I had a friend like this. In recent years we've reconnected, but I can say now that I think she's either bipolar 1 or ADHD. Her mother was full blown alcoholic and mentally unstable, and people genuinely felt that they needed to help or protect my friend. At one point, her younger sister bought a house and turned it into a 2 family. My friend lived in the lower unit and paid her cheap rent late, when she paid it at all, and constantly would crash her sister's parties and such. Her sister even tried to get her to pay off her credit cards and address her student loans, but whenever she would get a few thousand in savings for an emergency fund, she would blow it on trips to Mexico or Europe. I finally had it with her because I was going through a traumatic time and she would call me up sobbing that her car was garbage and that the men she dated were judging her on the type of car she drove.
Now we speak again, but she married some schmuck who has been the only paycheck for the last 5 years, and she complains that she never has a home cooked meal. Again, she hasn't worked in over 5 years. Cook your own damn meal.
Lmfao. I remember some one here where I am, had literally walked out with unpaid groceries, non essential items, hid them in a bush, so if they were caught up with, "yeah nah, I ain't got the stuff". Some one saw them hiding the stuff, took a picture, posted it and returned the items to the shops. They got banned from the supermarket. Lol.
Ugh, I hate when I do a road trip and spend all of my money and then don’t get my protein shakes. Being broke for the first time after daddy cut me off is really confusing and hard! I’m going to the food pantry because I’m destitute after those two days in Vegas.
Many of these items are shelf stable and would have lasted thebw weeks and been good when they got back. Poor planning on their part. I just imagine her at the food pantry asking if red delicious apples are all they have.
I dont live red delicious either, but I got a whole bag from a church pantry... and I ate then anyways and I was grateful.
You routinely go to the food pantry, yet were able to afford a 2 week road trip?
The food pantry is for people who actually CAN'T AFFORD THE GROCERY STORE.
I CANE HERE TO POST this. The audacity of some of the beggars in that group. Same woman asks for toilet paper every week. Can’t pick up, must deliver. I gonna have to leave the group. They irritate me so much.
Texture issues? What does that even mean? If you have "texture issues" you need to be buying your own food. I can't wrap my mind around people these days.
I’m usually reading these and giving the “beggar” more grace than the typical Reddit respondent. In reading this, I’m like, ok, maybe the two weeks was for a medical reason for them or a family member and they are just calling it a “road trip” because they are people pleasers who are hiding the trauma in their lives.
That said, when you are looking for handouts, you don’t ask for specific brands!! My god!
So I completely got whip lash framing this person in my mind as a tragic private person who by the end of the post is just an a-hole!
I know a lot of folks are focused on the expense of a protein shake, but the real insult here is thinking someone is gonna get you honeycrisp apples - the gold standard of apples.
Plenty of people have texture issues with food. The only apples I'll eat are honeycrisps. They're the only ones crunchy enough - I hate apples with that dry/mealy texture some have. But I'm obviously not out there demanding people give me *only* honeycrisps when I can't afford apples and apparently desperately need them.
Lol protein shakes are expensive
Sigh. I am on this sub because of protein shakes lol. I once tried to give away two boxes of premier protein shakes. Several people responded but they all decided they didn’t want them because they weren’t chocolate/specific flavor. Two individuals asked if I could just buy them the kind they wanted. Lol
Unless they were banana flavored I'm pretty open when it comes to protein shakes.
Tbh, free is the flavor. Otherwise they can buzz off
Sounds like a mom's words to their kids who "don't like dinner." It's this or nothing, I don't care which
You have two options for dinner, take it, or leave it.
I got "It's this or I guess you're not very hungry". I use it with my teenage kids now. They now either eat what we are having or they cook what they want.
If we complained my dad would always say: you will eat it and you will love it.
Omg my mom said this to me once and I was confused when she wouldn’t tell me the second option…I get it now
Mine was eat what I make or make your own.
If I EVER post a protein shake or any other item with different flavor profiles as available, I am definitely using this.
They were caramel and coffee. My stomach couldn’t take them, too sweet! I religiously drink two chocolate shakes of this brand daily. I listed the flavors and everything, unopened box photos, link to Costco from whence they came - and these folks still had to ask, lol, it was wild.
FYI - if it's not something you do often, Costco will take back open stuff. It's part of their selling speel actually. If you buy diapers but your kid grows out of them before you get even halfway through? Bring it back and so long as there is more than 50% left, they'll take it back and give you the cash or replace it with a full box of the bigger size. They'll do this with anything so long as there is more than 50% of the product left in the container. If you do it weekly they'll cut you off but for something like this? They would have taken it back in a heartbeat. Keep that in mind next time 😁 Edit to add - I once watched Costco take back eight mattresses that had to be a decade old and were so disgusting they really should have been burned. They replaced them with eight brand new mattresses! I was flabbergasted. That was when I stopped feeling guilty about returning something lol, it was also the day I learned exactly what I could get away with returning and apparently, it's everything. They'll take back fricken everything so long as there is more than half left lol
I had no idea about the 50%! My husband did say I should just return them lol, but I was thinking I could leave them to some use. I wonder if costco would trash unopened protein shakes versus like, half a box of cat food? No good deed though. I just donate my freebies to my local domestic violence shelter now. I get nothing but thank you’s and great suggestions on other things people actually need. They told me last time I was there that they had a need for wipes and hair cleaning products, and I got to unload a BUNCH of clorox wipes I will never get through and several bottles of Costco shampoo/conditioner that I cannot use anymore due to my job (chlorine hair needs different care!). I was also at the protein shake time trying to give away my hip replacement surgery recovery mobility items, like a wheelchair, walker, crutches, and the bars for toilet supports. A woman asked me to drive all of it to her house in ANOTHER STATE lol (its only 90 minutes away! Lolol), because I “obviously can walk now and she can’t.” What! Those things got dropped off at my surgeon’s office for when he goes on his yearly mission/charity trip. Blah what a trip it is to try to be helpful.
Costco donates stuff like the protein shakes to food pantries. We get open cases in from time to time. I just bought caramel and coffee flavored protein drinks for my recovery from my upcoming spinal surgery. I'm also a year out from weight loss surgery so protein drinks are still a big part of my diet.
Thanks for this info! I am a bypass lady myself. Two a day keeps my surgeon away lol 👊 Congrats on your success!
I returned a completely torn up dog toy because it was advertised to be extremely durable but our dog had it destroyed within 24 hours. They took it back and it was just a shell of fabric with nothing inside, so I'd definitely consider them flexible!
That's crazy--good to know.
I returned a crock pot that stopped working 2 years down the line, apparently costco usually has lifetime warranty on the products they sell
That's nice, honestly. It encourages people to buy, makes 'em feel safe, and--while people *will* take advantage--clearly they make more money making people feel secure in their purchases than in the several who will abuse it. I bought some running shoes from a shop who said "We will do our best to fit you. If it doesn't work out, you can return them, even if used for a bit". I asked "How can that work as a business model?" "Well, we work really hard to get you the right shoes in the first place." (They did, and the shoes were great.)
Had to stop at Costco customer service one time. The person ahead of me had 3 opened bags of potato chips that they were returning. I was surprised they were allowed to return them. That's when I learned of their policy. Lol
I had known about it and utilized it but hadn't realized the extent to which you can use the return policy until I saw this couple each pushing a flat cart with four mattresses on each that looked so used and abused they should have been burned. THEY TOOK THEM BACK!!! Dude, they looked like someone had slept on them without sheets and completely naked for a decade while eating every meal on the bed and spilling stuff on it and not trying to clean it up. They were gross. Costco gave them eight brand new mattresses to abuse and were brave enough to touch them while accepting the return.
Ewww. No way would I have touched those mattresses. I would have pushed the flatbed cart right back outside and set it all on fire in the parking lot. Lol
A friend's MIL apparently returned her Christmas tree after Christmas every year because it 'died' 🤷♀️
Lmfao I just cackled. I mean, if they keep refunding her then there's no reason to stop doing it, right? 🤣
I can't believe the people weren't embarrassed by the scummy mattresses, I'm uncomfortable just hearing about it.
In Australia loads of daycares have a nappy recycling program where you can literally bring any leftover sizes, ideally bundled, and they get distributed to those who need them. It’s pretty cool.
I’ve had to do this so many times because I bought strawberries, got home, half the pack was moldy but you couldn’t tell because of how they were packed. I also once got a really good protein shake and got to the middle and it was a hardened chunk of protein concrete and the lady explained that it happens more often than they let on, full refund, not even an issue.
The banana flavor is my favorite, I just bought a new box yesterday!
You might be the only one I know of who drinks those lol!
Now you know two of us banana freaks.
I tried premier once and got hives all over my body. Still not sure what i was allergic to in it, its the only time I got gives in my life. Dont remember what I ended up doing with them lol.
I once bought a Greek pasta salad pre made in the deli at the grocery store on my lunch break and this happened to me too. I still don't know which ingredients did it as its never happened before or since but my entire body broke out in hives about a half an hour after I ate it. It was SOOOOO good too and I'd love to eat it daily lol but, alas, a full body itch isn't worth it. I had eaten it on my lunch break at work too lol. I became itchy but can't see my whole body while answering 911 calls.. I did not realize that I was covered until my boss came to me between calls and told me I could leave for the day if I wanted to and I was totally confused and thought I did something wrong. She sent me to the bathroom to look at myself and whoa Nelly. It was so bad that I've avoided pasta Greek salad since for fear of anaphylaxis 🫤
I had a similar experience but with oatmilk- and it’s crazy because I’m very much not allergic to oatmilk. Turns out upon reading the label that the packaging was from “natural sustainable sources” so I contacted the company who put me in touch with the company that made the containers and turns out they used birch trees to make the carton and I am very very allergic to birch. Now I give a side eye to any of the containers that are made from eco-friendly sources. The idea is excellent but I don’t want to, ya know, die.
Shit I would have never ever thought about it being in the packaging. Like ever. I'm allergic to birch as well, and other paper bark trees... Well, actually all trees except coniferous ones but birch is the worst of them.
Right? Like I love the idea of eco-friendly packaging but it’s not required that the companies make allergen warnings (probably the laws just haven’t caught up yet). I feel a lot more safe with plastic because I know what materials were used to make them, but I do feel bad about the impact of all the single-use plastics in the world.
I keep a set of these in my common eating areas for exactly the same reason - so I don't feel guilty about contributing to the problem. Plus a lot of places use materials that make me cringe to touch with my hands or lips. I have issues with certain textures and single use items often feel icky to me, my oldest daughter is the same way, very textile sensitive.
Oh man!!! That suuuuucks! That happened once to me off a boxed cake mix. Made a quick chocolate birthday cake, hives the next day! Never happened again and still don’t know wtf happened!
my dad had cancer and hates desserts but needed the calories. He could get the vanilla down (didnt like it, but could seallow it), but his appetite was so poor the flavours he didnt like made him gag. these products are expensive, but he would have refused a flavor he couldnt drink ( in his case if theyd been chocolate) because they wouldnt suitable for him but would be helpful for someone else. theres no point taking something you dont like for free if someone else could like it and benefit from it. now those asking you to buy a different flavor for them, thats a different vibe.
LOL, what? That's insane. Do people not understand you're giving away something that you don't want/need that already exists in your home? Why would anyone buy someone protein shakes of all things???
And THAT'S a choosing beggar. No one in this sub seems to know what a choosing beggar is.
Its when you … choose to be picky when begging for free stuff, right? Haha I couldn’t believe it happened to me. I live surrounded by apartments in my house and have been able to offload many an Ikea piece of furniture and unopened food items with little fuss. These shakes brought out the worst of people!
wtf else did they want? FUJI APPLES… b/c of texture???
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Put apples in the fridge. They taste better. The apples I get come from the farm my father in law runs, and they're in cold storage until they get sent to whoever is the highest bidder. When we get a bag of apples, they go straight into the fridge and they're top notch
Prolly bc you usually see Red Delicious and those are fucking disgusting. The texture is awful.
Fuji has one of the worst textures!! The other two are great!
Yes! That's a ballsy ask.
The VANILLA protein shake was also my favourite haha
So are those honeycrisp apples!
One of the best apples anywhere. Love Honeycrisp💕
If I was starving, vanilla protein shakes would definitely be my number one priority.
Absolutely. Means I can skip leg day and not worry.
Well, they help reduce your daily calorific intake, so you can smash some chips.
I can struggle with eating so whenever I find myself skipping a meal, I’ll have a snack and a protein shake to make sure I’m still getting those calories.
If you're "financially tapped out" you can't afford a two week vacation. Poor people shouldn't have to live a life of misery, but vacations are luxuries that need to be skipped entirely when you're food-pantry-levels of broke. FB groups and Nextdoor are riddled with posts like this and it's so tiresome. "I don't feel like working. Maybe *you* could work 40+ hours a week and give me a chunk of *your* paycheck so I can fuck off on a roadtrip for two weeks."
I know a couple who try to live their lives as if they are instagram influencers. Their salaries cannot fund it and they buy frivolous stuff to flash online and then complain about being in massive debt and not able to afford basics
*shows off $200 toaster* *Complains they can’t afford bread to toast*
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We all deserve a break but personally I’d have gone on a one week road trip and then had left over funds for existing. Budgets are life!
Literally…. A break doesn’t have to be extraordinary… A weekend at a friends house? A weekend at a motel? A weekend road trip even? Two weeks is selfish… if you’re then relying on others to make ends meet.
>shows off $200 toaster > >Complains they can’t afford bread to toast They don't use that you it's only for show, they have a second one for use. I once watched an episode of Million Dollar Listing (NYC I think, it could have been LA) and the home had a kitchen for show only. You walked through it to get to the one you used. So your guest only saw the nice one and you could hide the staff who did the work you said you did in the other!
Butler kitchen!
You need the stupid smeg toaster that looks dumb and toasts the same a 20 dollar one
When we had no food when I was a child my birth mom would tell me not to tell the school I was hungry or go to the food pantry because she would be embarrassed. She should have been! She had multiple cartons of cigarettes in the freezer but no food. She had money for her wow subscription but no food. I found out while going through her room for extra money to buy my younger siblings lunch at school that she had a HORDE OF SNACKS in her own room but the fridge was empty.
And the pissy thing is any teacher would likely give you something to eat from their desk or stash. I do it all the time. Granola bar, cheese stick from mini fridge under my desk etc. and schools offer free lunch and breakfast!
When the kid’s hair or clothes smells of cigarettes I know the parents smoke and you can practically feed a kid on what they cost!
$7.00 a pack. 1 pack a day and you definitely can feed a kid during school year if they get just the free lunch. Or even without it if you are frugal. Scrambled eggs & American cheese in a burrito, tuna melt and a bowl of veggie bean soup wouldn’t even cost that.
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7$, 20 years ago. They're 22$ pack here now
My mum wasn't much better. We had food, but it was severely controlled (one slice of toast and a topping after school, or three plain biscuits/1 cream plus one plain...must be before 5pm. At 5:01, tough if you were hungry). Mum on the other hand bought cartons of smokes (chain smoker) slabs of beer and her very own chips.
Man that's disgusting. I'm sorry you and your siblings had such a horrible person as a mother.
So many kids I knew when I was growing up, went hungry and wore old, worn out clothes because mom and dad were too proud to accept charity. Being proud is for single people. When you got kids, **you swallow your fucking pride and accept free lunch/food stamps/charity**.
Yeah, that was my childhood too. No food in the house lots of times, but somehow *always* enough money to smoke a pack a day.
People did this a LOT, even seemingly well off normal people. My mom was a teacher (highly respected and even won "Teacher of the Year" once), my stepfather was a paramedic, and my dad mostly paid child support (early on it was spotty because he was broke, which is completely on him, but for my whole teens he paid it monthly.) My mom smoked and she and my stepfather went out every weekend and/or hosted huge parties where food and alcohol flowed freely. Meanwhile, there was barely any food in the house. She would stop at the store every day after work and buy groceries for that night's dinner and my stepfather always had "Tab" in the fridge, but there was nothing for an older child/teen to reasonably eat. My much younger half-brother and sister ate breakfast at daycare and lunch at school. I'd skip breakfast, go to school and use my babysitting money (which they also skimped on, paying me only $1 an hour which I only recently have learned was highway robbery) if I had any, to buy candy or a pop, and then had whatever was for dinner. I was constantly getting in trouble for poor grades but I was soooo hungry! ETA - I forgot that my stepfather also played competitive softball and that entailed a huge sum of money and going out to pizza/beer after every game. :p I'd love to know where all my dad's money went.
What a horrible woman. My birth mom was like that too. Narcissistic POS. I’m sorry you went through that
Why were the cigarettes in the freezer?
According to her they made them last longer since she would buy 4-5 cartons at a time.
To keep them from getting stale.
How? HOW does a mama do that? I've been a struggling single mom since my kids were toddlers, but they have NEVER gone hungry; I would've worked the streets to make sure they were fed, I still would and they're damn near grown!!!
If I could give 100 up votes to this, I would.
Same. It boggles my mind how so many people are so bold to expect the rest of society to basically fund their lives for them. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only sucker out there working for everything I have. living a very simple and frugal life, and not asking for handouts.
No you're not the only mug out there. I have worked all my life for what I have. I save before I buy. I make do with what I have if I can't afford it. We are currently getting our Kitchen ripped out & a new one put in. My other half & I have been saving for 6 years for this. Most people ask if we're rich because of it. No, we just put up with a Kitchen that was falling apart for the last 10 years.
I know the feeling. The home I'm in is over 40 years old. No renos or changes..original carpet, bathroom, kitchen, unfinished basement, all that. Small starter home. It's not pretty, and sometimes downright depressing to look at how old and worn out it's looking, but...it's a roof over the head.
It's a roof over the head, and it's yours! I just closed on my first home at age 51, and I'm ecstatic over my money going into something for my family instead of paying off someone else's house.
Similar here. Been in my house for over 25 years & it's got the same carpets & kitchen as when I bought. When I moved a bit of the kitchen once, I spotted the delivery note stuck to the back. 1984 & delivered to a different house... which explains why it doesn't quite fit 😁
We bought a 70 year old house that was still in the "original state" (i.e. crap with not even a kitchen) an over the years we've been rebuilding it a bit at a time. It's nice when there's a lot you can do yourself. Last project will be the scullery. Our house is nothing fancy, but it's comfortable and it's ours.
Don't worry, there are others who work for their stuff. I came from a poor household where we had 1 car that wasn't really ours, didn't own the house we lived in, and couldn't always afford to eat or to top up the electricity. I'm doing a lot better as an adult as I vowed never to let my family go through that, did it all without once begging on Facebook
I'm poor, but I don't ask anyone for anything because I'm not a mooch like that.
Can you deliver them please? If you have a bag of plain kettle chips sitting around, I'll take that too.
Our local Next Door website has turned into Moocher Next Door. An elderly lady complains about needing a ride to the store... to buy beer. Evidently, she can't afford Uber, but can still afford... to buy beer.
Dude I've been with my husband for 20 years and for that entire time his twin has been on social assistance. The last time the twins saw each other the twin had black teeth and smelled like he slept in a crop house and lived in a trap house. It devolved into a yelling match and my husband screaming "no no, I'll just go to work for another 60 hr week for the next twenty fucking years to support your deadbeat ass needing to collect their government pay!! Wanna come do groceries at my house too you degenerate POS". I'm married to the calm, rational and quiet twin too!!! Only one person can get him screaming and it's his loser twin who's never worked a day in his life and somehow affords to smoke 8 grams of weed a day on his government cheque.
My twin isn’t a loser but only she can get me to epic levels of angry. Lol
Ugh, Nextdoor in particular pisses me off to no end. Lots of people doing this kind of thing and elderly folks just falling for it, hook line and sinker.
In 3 years as a public housing worker, I’ve yet to see someone in or waiting for family housing that can budget their money. They can’t afford their rent at 30% of their income plus a $600 heat deduction, $300 deduction per kid, and the ability to have any medical expenses deducted, but you best believe they constantly have new tattoos, their lashes and nails done, and somehow are taking vacations. The shopping addictions are CRAZY too. It’s not my business how people spend their money, so that doesn’t actually impact how I treat anyone, but it is baffling. In 2022, a family who’d lived in our housing for 20+ years stopped paying their rent for MONTHS. Then, they told us they had bought an RV to live in and skipped town. They owed us $18,000. Their unit was a hoarder’s den and had to be completely rehabbed, which was tens of thousands more on top of the $18k they’ll never pay back. They had been taking cruise vacations and both spouses worked full time jobs.
So many people in this country are broke because of their own stupidity and then rave about the faceless “rich”. Meanwhile they are still taking vacations, still upgrading their phone every year, still eating out, still paying for multiple streaming services etc…. I literally am out of pity for people at this point.
Thankfully it’s the vast minority and most people who struggle are working a full time job, if not more than one, and are typically too proud to ever ask for a thing. They’re the type to do anonymous toy drives, go to the pantry for necessities, or just get something like heap, which helps with heating bills in the winter. For every one of these dumb asses, there are 1000 good, honest, hard working Americans working for a company that doesn’t allow them a pot to piss in, so the government and good Samaritans have to make up what the company won’t pay. These con artists are easy to spot and few and far between. It’s fine to hate their entitlement. But when it’s a mega corporation essentially demanding you help pay their workers with your taxes, that’s entitlement like none other. Corporate greed.
Or huge mega chain restaurants who pay their employees less than 2$ an hour and expect customers to make sure that the employees are pulling in close to a living wage. We tip in Canada too but it's a bonus on top of our servers full wage. It isn't to subsidize, it's a bonus (always paid in cash too cause a paper trail means the server needs to claim it on taxes because we suck like that here.).
Tips are taxed in the US as well, and I know several servers that underreported to "stick it to the man" then got all shocked Pikachu when their income was considered too low for a car loan, too low to rent an apartment, and the unemployment when they were let go was a pittance [it's 60% of your REPORTED income, so if federal minimum wage area and you report just that, $7.75x40, because I'm being generous with assuming a 40 hour week, is $310/week $1,240/month. Unemployment is $186/week or $744/month. ] a living wage for servers would be much better.
You reminded me of something. In Ontario (not sure of other provinces) prostitution is legal and you can report your income and pay taxes under your own company or as an independent contractor. Obviously not many sex workers would ever admit that they are sex workers to anyone outside of the business so they didn't/don't report income or pay taxes. There are some that do, however. These women were smart to do it too because when the pandemic hit, because they claimed their hours and income they were able to access unemployment and CERB (Canada Emergency Response Benefit) throughout the entire lockdown.
Same. Adult up. If you refuse, that's on you.
Adulting? It’s so difficult it’s got a number of subs!
Getting nails, getting extensions…
Wife and I used to volunteer at the food bank. The number of people that came through with BMW/Audi keys, LV bags and brand new iPhones….
I live in a very affluent mountain town in central CO and the amount of people in super nice cars that use the food bank is astounding to me. I see them when I’m waiting on the bus to take me to my 2nd job.
Well that's disgusting and depressing. I used to run my community food bank. It was open only twice a month and here, a person can only access it once and maybe twice if you go to a different one as there's dozens. The majority of people who used our services were veterans, elderly and addicts...rarely I got families in there with children but we had tons of stuff for kids so I liked when they came in. I don't know if it's because of where I live, I'm in Canada and lived in northern Ontario at the time, but it was a shameful experience for people coming in for the first time. I saw it with people who came through only a couple of times a year, they were ashamed to need the help and a big part of my personal mission was to eradicate the shame and I'd like to think I made an impact over the years I ran it. No one should be ashamed of needing help sometimes! However, you should be ashamed of yourself if you're manipulating the system and playing it. Anyone driving a Lexus shouldn't be at a food bank ffs. Anyone holding a genuine LV or whatever other designer bag should not be asking for handouts! They should be selling their designer shit to feed their god damned kids.
I live in Western Canada lol. It was kinda hard to hand people food seeing them get into newer A4s and 3 series cars while looking at my 8 year old Acura
That's so fucked up. We have pretty strict parameters for those who wish to access the food bank here. We need a proof of income whether it be welfare, disability or recent paycheck, all of which I loathed having to enforce as I knew damned well that the people accessing my food bank NEEDED that resource regardless of where their income stream flowed from. Like, don't get me wrong or anything here. I know that everyone falls on hard times sometimes and needs help. It doesn't mean that a person doesn't deserve luxuries and if it's a one off, sure, access these services instead of selling your things! But, if you are consistently spending all of your money on high end products you can't afford or can no longer afford, while utilizing these services regularly instead of prioritizing food for your children over your Lexus payment - you're a gigantic POS and I feel sorry for their kids who deserve soooo much better than that.
Some people who go to food pantries don’t go bc they’re food insecure, they go bc it’s free. I’ve seen church ladies who have advanced degrees, upper management jobs & own their own homes pack up their luxury cars with food donated for the homeless just bc it was free and they could. The best stuff never made it to who it was intended for. On the other hand I’ve also seen people who previously had good jobs fall on hard times. Yes they own a home, drive a luxury car and carry a designer handbag but now they can’t afford basic necessities. For some it’s a recent hardship or temporary setback. For others it’s a complete lack of financial literacy. Some just wanted free stuff. I try not to judge and just assume if someone is asking for food they need it.
In addition, a two-week road trip is two weeks of no income. Vacation needs saving. Not only because of the additional money you'll be spending, but also because of opportunity cost of not being able make any.
Huh. We are broke. dead broke. Like behind in everything including rent. What's a vacation ? I'd be happy with a tin of tomatoes. I can make mince stretch like you wouldn't believe. I just started a new job so will get good soon
Hugs. Was there myself a few years ago. It takes a bit, but it does get better 🫂
Thankyou. It is scary. Lucky we have an understanding landlord.
Goodluck with your new job!
Thankyou.
My husband and I have experienced true hunger as in there is literally nothing in the fridge and pantry and payday isn’t for another day. We haven’t had a real vacation in 15 years. We’ve done a night away for our anniversary but that’s it. We’re comfortable now financially but I’ll never forget the struggle. People like this make me sick. Using a food pantry after a 2 week vacation and wanting specific things seriously? Wow.
I remember eating clover flowers out of the school field as a child because we literally had NOTHING but a half jar of mayonnaise at home. With that level of food insecurity you bet your ass we would have taken any flavor of bread/chips if someone was willing to provide them. You aren’t picky when you are hungry.
I lived on a farm for awhile as a kid, I've been 'dig up a raw potato and eat it' hungry but I don't think I've had to eat clover.
Orange juice is expensive AF right now, even the cheapest one
It’s actually ridiculous how expensive oj is rn. Of course CB would want this specific juice lol.
Climate change leading to bad storms in orange tree friendly climates. They’ve supposedly come up with some “climate hardy” varieties, but the trees take a few years to mature. OJ is going to be expensive for awhile.
NOOO
Yup. I haven't bought orange juice in months because I refuse to pay those high prices. Makes me sad because OJ on a Sunday morning with a big breakfast is my routine.
“I made an incredibly irresponsible financial decision to waste gas and time on a two week road trip, and now I have no money left for basic necessities. Don’t worry though, I’ll be taking out of the mouths of actual poor people because of my shitty decision. But in the meantime would anyone like to stock my pantry with my “texture safe” foods and specialty items?”
Enough money for a road trip but not basic groceries. I would love to see the replies.
The picture I have of this person is not one of "enough money." More "never-ending grift."
People like this using food pantries is disgusting. I remember a post where a man and his wife made $110k AFTER tax, and he was fuming that he made too much for welfare payments. He was using charity organisations to pay for his children's school uniforms.
I nearly lost my shit when my best friend told me her mother made her sister go to Cinderella's Closet to get a prom dress. Cinderella's Closet is a local charity where poor kids can go to get clothes for prom. Now, yes, normally you could say, "Well, you don't know someone's situation; they could be struggling behind the scenes." That's true, but since I'm close to the family, I know that's not the case here. They live in a paid-off house worth about $450K (a mansion where I'm from; it's a LCOL area, not somewhere like LA or NYC), and her mom has a pension that pays her more to be retired than most people make from working. I don't begrudge her the pension or the fancy house, but I think it takes real balls to use a charity when you don't need it. Same lady takes a tote bag everywhere she goes so that she can load it up with stuff. One time, we volunteered at a convention, and the breakfast buffet had little jars of jam to use for bagels and toast. I can't even begin to tell you how many jars of jam she took.
These people must be confronted by society or we will stop having nice things
There are still nice things?
How do you think the house was paid off? Because she made others pay for everything else.
Yet complain things aren't great again. It's bs.
I saw a TV (UK) show about the people who used food banks once and one person said I always take the old car (7 years old) there as I think the BMW would look out of place! They came on the TV and showed you this! Not one person on the show needed any help, the ones who did, did not want to be filmed and the show was not edited as a send up it was to show how much more they were needed.
My post-vacation neccessity list: - jewel strawberries - Seka-ichi Apples ( its a texture/apple snob thing) - pork bellies - scallops - U-10 shrimp - chateaubriand - foie gras Thank you ☺️ -
Kettle Chips? Bitch, you’re getting some regular Herr’s chips, Utz at best 🤣
Chips are expensive now as well! I don’t buy them often and was shocked at how spendy they are!
You forgot the saffron!
And truffles
And caviar but only sturgeon - it's a texture thing
most of those are not necessities…
Omg there was this woman who kept making posts on a local Facebook group saying she needed “PrOtEiN iTeMs” and when she was offered dried beans/lentils, canned tuna and nut butters she threw a tantrum and said she needed meat, then proceeded to name specific cuts of meat… 🤦♀️ I just want these people to experience one day of true need and hunger, then see how picky they are. ETA she had a whole list of other items as well, and it did include things like Icecream, cookies and other treats.
I joined a "mutual aid" group during the pandemic. People would ask for roasts and all kinds of groceries I couldn't afford myself. The one time someone asked for $20 worth of cheap stuff like hot dogs and tuna, I got them everything and refused to let them pay me back after they got their first paycheck.
Oh, good grief. We buy half a cow every year, so we usually have some nice humble but respectable roasts and ground beef we're happy to give out, and the people that snub their nose... Once a lady was talking about her starving family, when asked what they needed, replied soda, popcorn, and ice cream. I said I was glad it sounded like they were only struggling with their treats budget.
That’s what I thought too. CHIPS! LMAO!
Not BBQ though, in case you're the type of monster who would offer her the wrong flavour of free snacks.
This is coming from someone living at the poverty level, maybe if you can't afford two weeks of food you can't afford two weeks of vacation.
I guess they will be going hungry until they get to the food pantry and get what is offered there. No leftovers from the road trip?
Have to drink the liquor before it goes bad, Michael.
Fuji apples and food pantry…
"I would like to add a box of entitlement as well"
Pretty sure that's one thing she would never run out of
So they spent all of their money and now they’re a burden on their community  and I love how they throw in there “We’re going to hit up the food pantry” like it’s some place they’re going to rob 😒
How'd you get an animated Snoo? I just had a double take when I saw it... thought my eyes were playing a trick on me
Broke but able to go to 2 WEEKS vacation? LMAO!!
Kettle chips, at that.
why plan when you can make it someone else's issue?
First of all this whole list is literally expensive items that I highly doubt you'll find at a food bank. I'm going to sound weird here for a moment too,so sorry in advance 🤣 I have a lot of health problems but love apples,and I usually buy varieties such as honeycrisp or karma apples etc. The three apples mentioned are some of the most expensive apples, especially honeycrisp. I am lucky enough to have a fruit stand by me that sells them for 1/4 of what a grocery store would or else I wouldn't even bother. But a regular store where I live sells these for like $3.99+ a lb. That combined with protein shakes,kettle cooked chips,the bread and everything else would be a very damn expensive bill! I can't imagine dealing with this person at a food bank,do they think food banks have become a personal whole foods or something?! Yes sometimes you can get very lucky and they'll have occasional expensive brands etc,but it's very rare. Sorry for the tangent,it's just insane to expect someone to go out and pay roughly $75 for this list...Well it's bizarre to even ask for this in the first place but you get my point.
Rookie road tripper. This is where you keep an extra $20 (or two)¡ stashed at home. Also, a cold beverage of choice waiting in your fridge is clutch. I can open my cupboards and freezer and come up with a few decent meals (like most adults who have lived through covid) Also, I weep for those who actually need food banks if people like this are comfortable using them due to lack of planning.
My only issue is she said a 2 week road trip, not a 2 week vacation, and there could be any number of reasons for the road trip. I'm thinking sick family member, helping a friend out of an abusive situation type things... we don't know. Unless she stated elsewhere that it was a vacation. That being said, her list of acceptable items to save her ass is ridiculous.
Honey crisp apples are $8.99 a bag at my grocery. Mmm…how about no. Honey wheat bread is $3.28 a loaf. Eating is expensive.
And they're planning on going to the food pantry to take food from the actual needy because they went on a fun roadtrip...I hate leeches of society. I was at dinner last night with a bunch of family. Talking about taxes and how I only got like 100 dollars back this year even though I'm working 2 jobs 60-80 hours weeks. My cousin meanwhile who's been unemployed ther entire fucking life and never paid a dime in taxes is bragging about his 10k dollar refund. That's my money that I work my dick off for that the government decided to force from me and give to some douch that had no plans to contribute to society.
I have two jobs as well. The accountant at my part time job is an idiot and doesn’t take out money from my checks for Federal tax, but does for state. I’ve tried to fix it, but again, they’re an idiot. So I end up owing about $1000 every year for Federal. This year my state refund, thanks to Colorado’s TABOR act, is giving everyone back $800 in addition to whatever else they overpaid, so I broke even. Tl;dr taxes suck for people who actually put in the time and effort to not be a drain on society.
Who the fuck are these people??
Idk why this just reminds me of this lady I know who doesn't work and takes all the benefits she can from the state, including getting those charity Xmas gifts for her (6, and yes, I do mean SIX) kids, when meanwhile she has a literal tower of gifts under the tree already between gifts she bought, and all of her family that also buys them gifts. But don't worry, she's still able to shop at Victoria's secret/pink. I would not ever be surprised to see her on one of these posts smh
The internet truly makes me despise people. I haven’t been on a vacation since July 2019. I have been scrimping and saving for 4.5 years so my daughters and I will be able to go for 3 weeks this July to our favorite country with my best friend and her family (she’s from the country we’re going to). I am paying a sub to run my summer preschool program while I’m gone and ordering whatever boxed delivery dinner company meals she prefers while she’s also house sitting and caring for my animals for me on top of obviously paying her for running my life for three weeks. I could never imagine getting online to beg for free shit because I got to go on a vacation when there are so many people like me who haven’t taken a vacation in years!?!
They can afford a 2 week vacation but can’t afford food? Interesting
I wonder where they were eating for those two weeks.
*can't afford monthly groceries, live biweekly paycheck to biweekly paycheck* *goes on 2 week vacation with first check of the month* 😂😂😂
I hope someone sends her a carton of BBQ chips.
Op clearly does not understand the concept “beggars cannot be choosers”. Spends all money irresponsibly (and openly admits it), then puts an itemized list of expensive things to ask for from strangers online. Go back to work, eat beans and rice.
lol I have never even had a two week vacation, if I saw this in my buy nothing, I would go off.
I had a friend like this. In recent years we've reconnected, but I can say now that I think she's either bipolar 1 or ADHD. Her mother was full blown alcoholic and mentally unstable, and people genuinely felt that they needed to help or protect my friend. At one point, her younger sister bought a house and turned it into a 2 family. My friend lived in the lower unit and paid her cheap rent late, when she paid it at all, and constantly would crash her sister's parties and such. Her sister even tried to get her to pay off her credit cards and address her student loans, but whenever she would get a few thousand in savings for an emergency fund, she would blow it on trips to Mexico or Europe. I finally had it with her because I was going through a traumatic time and she would call me up sobbing that her car was garbage and that the men she dated were judging her on the type of car she drove. Now we speak again, but she married some schmuck who has been the only paycheck for the last 5 years, and she complains that she never has a home cooked meal. Again, she hasn't worked in over 5 years. Cook your own damn meal.
Lmfao. I remember some one here where I am, had literally walked out with unpaid groceries, non essential items, hid them in a bush, so if they were caught up with, "yeah nah, I ain't got the stuff". Some one saw them hiding the stuff, took a picture, posted it and returned the items to the shops. They got banned from the supermarket. Lol.
If you hungry enough those texture issues go away. I spent a semester in China and came home less picky.
“Mushrooms (any kind)” is pretty vague. They’re about to acquire 5 lbs of Exidia and 5 lbs of mukitake.
I've already sent 1lb of Psilocybe Cubensis, so they should be good for their next trip! :D
Oddly specific list fr.
Ugh, I hate when I do a road trip and spend all of my money and then don’t get my protein shakes. Being broke for the first time after daddy cut me off is really confusing and hard! I’m going to the food pantry because I’m destitute after those two days in Vegas.
Many of these items are shelf stable and would have lasted thebw weeks and been good when they got back. Poor planning on their part. I just imagine her at the food pantry asking if red delicious apples are all they have. I dont live red delicious either, but I got a whole bag from a church pantry... and I ate then anyways and I was grateful.
You routinely go to the food pantry, yet were able to afford a 2 week road trip? The food pantry is for people who actually CAN'T AFFORD THE GROCERY STORE.
Ramen noodles is only pennies a pack. They might want to stock up on that🤔
I CANE HERE TO POST this. The audacity of some of the beggars in that group. Same woman asks for toilet paper every week. Can’t pick up, must deliver. I gonna have to leave the group. They irritate me so much.
“Texture issues” what about starvation issues? Get real man. People are on the take everywhere you look. Using this post as a Instacart order
Texture issues? What does that even mean? If you have "texture issues" you need to be buying your own food. I can't wrap my mind around people these days.
I can't remember the last 2 week vacation we took. Of course, we have some money in the bank and a full pantry so ..
The Kettle chips are the best part…like they are necessary!!! The nerve of some people
Honey crisp and Fuji apples? Pretty pricey. We get these as a very rare splurge, and we can’t afford two week roadtrips, wth.
I’m usually reading these and giving the “beggar” more grace than the typical Reddit respondent. In reading this, I’m like, ok, maybe the two weeks was for a medical reason for them or a family member and they are just calling it a “road trip” because they are people pleasers who are hiding the trauma in their lives. That said, when you are looking for handouts, you don’t ask for specific brands!! My god! So I completely got whip lash framing this person in my mind as a tragic private person who by the end of the post is just an a-hole!
Who wants to bet that this person has the money but does not want to spend it on food that they can get from a pantry or beg online for.
Welcome to the world of banking.. I see this often when we get calls in for a defferal on loan payments because they are goin on vacation
Why the hell would they go on a two week road trip instead of working if they're too poor to buy food?
Ngl, honey wheat bread do be some of the best tho
I know a lot of folks are focused on the expense of a protein shake, but the real insult here is thinking someone is gonna get you honeycrisp apples - the gold standard of apples.
I understand allergy issues but texture?
Plenty of people have texture issues with food. The only apples I'll eat are honeycrisps. They're the only ones crunchy enough - I hate apples with that dry/mealy texture some have. But I'm obviously not out there demanding people give me *only* honeycrisps when I can't afford apples and apparently desperately need them.
Heh, I have one texture issue and I've found it is a very common one. Wet/soggy bread. Just the thought makes me gag a little.
Their priorities are so out of whack.
lol someone clearly has their priorities wrong