All The While She Was Proving His Point
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (102177)
United States
March 17, 2024 9:22am CST
A woman was on her way to the grocery store. She was fit to be tied about the way of the world and how expensive it is to live. I mean, she worked hard, went to her minimum wage job and did all she could to stretch every dollar.
In her mind.
As she pulled up to the Starbucks before going to the grocery store, she recalled the conversation with that rich guy she had had who told her implicitly, "Everyone can afford to save money."
"How can he say that?" she wondered angrily. "What does a rich guy know about money? He's got it way too easy."
She finished her coffee and bounded off to get her groceries. A basket full of packaged and processed foods with not a single item in her cart to cook, but rather everything to be set in a microwave or in a toaster oven. Quick and easy.
She was completely unaware her grocery bill if she had bought things to cook would have been half what she paid for the packaged and processed foods. She was still fuming over that comment. "Everyone can afford to save. Yeah right," she said under her breath as she pulled out her Visa and mortgaged her groceries.
Among her items in her cart were K-Pods. So what if automatic drip is twice the cost of just making coffee?
On her way home she felt hungry. So, she stopped off at Burger King and had some lunch.
"What an idiot," she again quipped. "Save money on my wages? What a joke."
11 people like this
10 responses
@porwest (102177)
• United States
17 Mar 24
I agree with @kareng. A Starbucks will run you way over $3. But of course the point is that money is a mindset. From income to spending to saving, it matters more how we think about it than how much we ever have to think about.
But it is a REALLY tough, and I mean, REALLY TOUGH, message to get across.
@moffittjc (124767)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Mar 24
Now this life lesson was put into terms that everyone should be able to understand. Except maybe for those who are just like this woman. I don't know how in the world she can afford to save anything at all, with all the Starbucks, fast food and expensive groceries she is buying. And don't forget she also stops to get her hair and nails done, and maybe stops to buy a new pair of shoes.Shopping always makes you feel better about things.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (124767)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Jun
@porwest I used to see examples of this all the time when I worked in city government. Parents would come in to sign their kids up for summer camp (at ridiculously low subsidized cost), and then complain they couldn't afford it, while standing there in $200 shoes, nails done up nice, tattoos, gold teeth, fancy hair-do, and the likes. Couldn't afford to take care of their kids, but they sure could afford to glamorize themselves.
2 people like this
@porwest (102177)
• United States
20 Jun
@moffittjc Yep. It's definitely a thing. You hate to say it, but when you see it, you can't NOT see it. People mostly make their own beds, and when they say, "I'm broke," it's usually not a condition. It's a result.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (47023)
• Staten Island, New York
18 Mar 24
There are people who will never give up Starbucks, even though their stuff is overpriced. If you can't afford it and don't NEED it, why spend money on it and then complain about it?
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (47023)
• Staten Island, New York
19 Mar 24
@porwest Some people live like there is no tomorrow lol. And then they suffer because of it.
1 person likes this
@porwest (102177)
• United States
20 Mar 24
@lovebuglena Yep. Because tomorrow eventually comes, and it comes fast, and then it is too late to do anything about what you did wrong yesterday.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (192882)
• United States
18 Mar 24
I am familiar with the message that you are trying to get across. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE and invest. Have a good day.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (192882)
• United States
19 Mar 24
@porwest People love buying things they can't afford and have payments that they can't make.
1 person likes this
@porwest (102177)
• United States
19 Mar 24
@LindaOHio It is part of the reason we have record credit card debt in this country right now.
1 person likes this
@porwest (102177)
• United States
18 Mar 24
Yes. Yes. Yes. And KNOW where your money is going and what's making it harder to set something aside. Everyone can save, no matter their income, because poverty is not an income problem. It's a spending problem. People simply do things they can't afford and then use it as an excuse for not being able to get ahead.
1 person likes this
@2ndchances24 (10589)
• Cloverdale, Indiana
17 Mar 24
I have been in that very same boat myself back in the day
saving $ was the TOUGHEST thing to do when it's just not
in the books to do, so not everyone can be so lucky.
1 person likes this
@porwest (102177)
• United States
18 Mar 24
I think you missed the ENTIRE point of my post. 
People do things they cannot afford and then blame the wage for the reason they can't save. Income is never the problem. Spending is. Everyone can save no matter how much money they make.
On top of that, many people like to call themselves frugal, but they think it only means, "I feel like I got a good deal." But of course, that's not at all what frugal means.
People do things they cannot afford and then blame the wage for the reason they can't save. Income is never the problem. Spending is. Everyone can save no matter how much money they make.
On top of that, many people like to call themselves frugal, but they think it only means, "I feel like I got a good deal." But of course, that's not at all what frugal means.2 people like this
@porwest (102177)
• United States
19 Mar 24
@2ndchances24 If you try to make sense of the crazy in the world, you will probably end up joining them. lol
1 person likes this
@2ndchances24 (10589)
• Cloverdale, Indiana
18 Mar 24
@porwest I'm good for that (missing the point,)
what else is new? now days it makes really no
differance 1 way or the other what other people
do cause these days everything is CRAZY . . .
1 person likes this
@pumpkinjam (8866)
• United Kingdom
17 Mar 24
The woman in this scenario is exactly the kind of person who makes rich people think poor people just make bad choices. This woman could, obviously, afford to save. I have known people who genuinely struggle and couldn't stretch any more without breaking (I've been there myself) but I do know people like the woman in your scenario. I find, however, that they are often not those on minimum wage but those who do earn more than enough to live on but decide they are poor because they can't afford a holiday abroad as well as a weekend away every month!
1 person likes this
@porwest (102177)
• United States
19 Mar 24
We have people in this country who literally make six figures and are struggling paycheck to paycheck. So, when you add it all up the fact remains, income is never the issue. Spending is, and it is as clear as day. As for saving anything, even when things are stretched very thin, there are ALWAYS ways to save, even if it is not a lot, and the key to being able to do that is knowing exactly where every penny is going and knowing how to manage the money and finding out where the wasted pennies are.
It's not easy. But it is also far from impossible under any circumstance.
@paigea (36101)
• Canada
17 Mar 24
That money guy also discourages people from staying with just their minimum wage job.
I agree the woman in your scenario is wasting a lot of money. While I was raising my children, I can count on one hand the number of times I had a fancy coffee from a coffee shop. I remember my daughter searching the fridge/pantry and shouting, "There's nothing to eat, there's only ingredients!" As a single parent, I did save money.
However, that woman would probably only stop increasing her debt by buying real food and passing by the coffee shop. At least she should be doing that.
As a single parent, I did save money.
However, that woman would probably only stop increasing her debt by buying real food and passing by the coffee shop. At least she should be doing that.1 person likes this
@Beestring (15543)
• Hong Kong
17 Mar 24
I think there is always a way to save money, depending on whether you make an effort to do it.
1 person likes this
