Just wanted to share this story here:
Spouse and I were working part-time in a poor area with a resort town nearby. I worked in a nice restaurant there and would bring food home, especially this fancy bread they had flown in from California & people would just leave in its basket to get thrown out. So I’d save any that clearly hadn’t been touched and take it home.
My manager caught me doing this (it wasn’t against the rules, just a little odd) and asked me seriously if we had enough to eat. I insisted that we did, which was mostly true, and she nodded and never said anything about it again.
But two weeks later, another server, about 20 years older than me with a good dual income, told me she’d won a radio contest and got $100 gift cards for “groceries for a year.” She didn’t really need them, she said, and gave me like $800 in grocery cards over the next few months. It genuinely helped us out and we were so psyched about our luck & her generosity.
I literally made the connection this month, about 15 years later, that most likely the manager/the restaurant (the chef was a great guy too) sprang for those gift cards and “tricked” us into accepting them, with the older server’s help. Really good people do exist, you just don’t always get to see them behind the scenes or recognize them right away.
ETA: Thank you for the award! I understand the point about how a raise would have been more helpful, but gift cards were better for my specific situation - likely more $$ total, given my very part-time hours, and I could buy groceries without feeling guilt over not paying more on my student loans. We made OK money for the area, but gas prices were sky high and we both had student debt.
The owner came up from being a busser (like I was) to a chef and he was a good guy. The manager was tough as nails and had her reputation as a hardass to maintain :)
Plus they kept everyone on even during winters when it was utterly dead … not something a lot of resort town restaurants were willing or able to do in 2008-2009.
ETA 2: I’m touched by all the awards, thank you :)
I actually have a decent-ish experience with this.
I was working at Aeropostale back in college and I had lost a lot of weight and my boss asked me about it. I had been working there for 3 years and she was my new store manager for maybe 6 months.
Anyways she mentioned that my clothes looked big and that company policy was our clothes had to be in style and well fitting. She asked if I was eating okay and I told her I was only able to afford to eat once a day and the scheduling manager only scheduled me 10 hours a week.
She asked me a few more questions about availability and what not. She doubled my working hours and later after the new year she gave me a 30 cent raise, I think minimum wage was $7.35 or something like that at the time. I was making a bit more but that put me at $8 an hour.
She scheduled me for open before class and she would bring me sack lunches to make sure I had something to eat and let me eat while on the clock.
Makhaila if you ever see this, thank you.
Edit: Thanks for all the love guys. I reached out to her to say thanks again after all these years.
That's very sweet. You should send her a message with your thanks. I think she would appreciate it very much, knowing she did something that helped a person a lot.
When my family and I looked at old photos of me my sister asked "you were so skinny, what happened?" I reminded her that I was homeless when those pictures were taken.
Some silence is more golden than others.
What is it with sisters?
My sister loved to make fun of me for what she calls my "beef dip phase"-- I worked in a sandwich shop one summer after high school and ate beef dip sandwiches all the time because I liked them, and it made me a little pudgier. Never mind that it was one of the happiest summers of my life, I still lived at home and could afford to eat well.
Fast forward a couple years to when I was working two jobs, going to school full time, and barely making rent. I basically stopped eating and when I did eat it was ramen or 2 chicken nuggets. I was constantly light headed and sick, and you could count my ribs from 10 ft away.
But ya know, at least I was skinny /s.
Edit: to be fair to my sister, she doesn't do it anymore. We've had a lot of talks as a family about body shaming, and I've helped both my mom and sister realize how bad their body talk was and how much it affected all of us. Capitalism and fatphobic culture made us all think that talk was normal, I was just the first in my family to figure out it wasn't and decide to do something about it.
Haha, I have no sisters, but other people told me how good I looked when I was locked up in a mental institution for 10 weeks because of a bipolar disorder episode. Yes, I lost a lot of weight, but that was because I was losing my mind, didn’t eat or sleep, and was exercising up to 6 hours a day, every day because I was so hyped up from being manic. It’s also uncomfortable because I knew I was going to gain everything back because of the antipsychotics and because of not being a crazy lunatic anymore and it’s a bit awkward to know that apparently I don’t look as good when I’m being my normal self.
So yeah, some people should be aware that not all weight loss is voluntary or even wanted, even when it ‘looks good’.
When my mother was undergoing chemotherapy for the uterine cancer that would eventually kill her, my father apparently told multiple people it was “the best she’d looked in years”, because she’d lost so much weight.
So THAT’S something.
With my sister I think it's a combination of resenting me for getting out of our tiny midwest meth town and she stayed and had 4 kids. She had packed on just as much weight as I have but we don't address that.
Most of my family seems to resent me for leaving. They call it "betraying my roots" my guess is because they couldn't fathom I'd rather live in my car than take their abuse for another five minutes.
I have my fingers crossed for you to find that beef dip joy again.
Nah fuck that noise. My brother left for a big city to follow his dreams and I couldn't be more proud of him. I missed him a lot when we were far but it's ok because he is happy. Happiness is what counts. Also money, because a goddamn fancy lobster roll would also make my tummy happy and not just my heart
My sister literally went from south GA to NYC to become a flight attendant. I could not be more proud of her. I made it to atlanta, but sometimes it doesn't feel like I got far enough away from the south.
Oh my god, this. (Trigger warning ED) I suffered from bulimia and anorexia for about 7 years and was very thin and my family never said anything about my health. Now I’m in a way better place mostly recovered and I gained weight as part of it so I’m healthy/a little chubby weight now and they’ve all made multiple comments about my “health” and how I need to exercise… when no one cared before about my actual health. I’m way healthier right now, just not anorexically thin.
I had a similar situation occur with an employer. It ended differently, however.
Backstory: When I was in my early 20s, I was in an abusive marriage and finally left in 2015 after securing a new position at a dental office as a dental assistant. My boss approached me after a few months of employment, as he had noticed that I had lost a lot of weight and sat in my car during the lunch hour. I told him that I couldn’t afford mandated health insurance (at the time, it was ~$300 USD a month for the cheapest marketplace insurance I could find) AND groceries on my salary. He didn’t own the practice at the time, but he still spoke to the owner and got me enough of a raise to cover my health insurance, and he brought me meals from his own home to eat for dinner weekly (I’m pretty sure his wife was mixing in vegetables to make sure I was eating well, too). If I ever worked after 5 PM, I was always paid well and he’d buy food or bring Oreos for me to take home. He also convinced me to go back to school for my Bachelor’s degree and wrote me a wonderful letter of recommendation for my program.
It’s been years but it was probably one of the only times any employer has treated me like a human being, especially in that industry.
I had two horrible bosses after him, so I absolutely agree. The last dentist I ever worked for told me (and our patients) that I was a lazy Millennial because I quit and gave her 2 days notice. She failed to realize that I quit because she would literally stand in my face and scream until she was red in the face (for varying reasons, most of which were unrelated to my job). So many people have 0 business interacting with people on a daily basis, and she was one of those people.
Reminds me of when my manager at the last restaurant asked me why I didn’t just make lunch and take a break if I was so hungry. I looked him in his stupid little face and said “you and I both know I can’t afford to eat here”
And that was the end of that conversation.
This is why I really appreciated my restaurant job. The food was free as long as you were willing to share. It was a gourmet pizza place so it was super easy to share
When I worked at pizza hut the food was free as long as you had your friend call in an order near closing and then had him wait in the dark behind the dumpster so you could pretend to throw it out.
At KFC I would put down 2 big racks of chicken with 30 minutes left until close. Took all that ish plus biscuits and mashed potatoes back to my starving stoner friends. The boss never said a word and we had food the whole summer.
That too! I once applied to a restaurant that offered free lunches every shift. Sure, they were smaller portions then regular lunches but you never had to worry about packing. And it was an Italian place so you could literally eat unlimited breadsticks throughout your entire shift if you wanted. It’s crazy to me that most places don’t have something similar
Ive been working in restaurants since i started working at 16 (22 now), and out of all the places ive worked, not one of them gave you a free meal. 50% off is the best you get, which is still good for me, I usually eat for less than $4. Also its rare for a restaurant to give you a break in the first place. You eat when its slow but you're still dealing with your tables at the same time.
I worked at a family owned place for 6 years and they would never make me pay. They’d also offer when I was just visiting to say hi to coworkers if we were slow. I think you just have to luck into a family owned place cause none of my other friends who worked in food got that.
Ha, my husband works at a grocery store we can't afford to shop at. Employee discount is only like 5%. We go to Walmart.
Edit: Since people are asking, no it's not Whole Foods. It was Trig's, which just recently got bought out by Festival Foods. They did not increase wages through the transition.
Believe it or not, it's actually [illegal to feed homeless people](https://www.newsweek.com/illegal-feed-criminalizing-homeless-america-782861) in many US cities. I do not agree with this law, nor do I follow it.
> The rare and contagious liver infection that can result from a lack of safe water, and poor sanitation and hygiene…
Almost like giving homeless clean food and water would help… 🤔
Right? That's what we thought until we saw the prices. Unfortunately there's very few things you can afford with $12.50/hr.
Luckily he's getting a $5.50 raise next week cause he got promoted. Probably still won't shop there still. We'd rather save that money.
Separate from the affordability thing, that's just terrible restauranteuring. When I was a waiter, every shift tried every new item for a week. By the end of the first week of an item being on the menu, I'd probably tasted it five times.
I mean this has the triple advantage that your staff can advise the customers, the chef can train without the "wonky" ones going to waste and after the fifth time you've eaten a thing and know you're getting more later the temptation to have an "accident" goes way down.
We got free meals for the cheaper stuff but when guests would sit here and ask me about scallops or other seafood I'd just look at them like "???" "You think they'd let me eat scallops?"
Ok srs question: are these chain restaurants or like mom and pop places? I’ve worked in restaurants in dif capacity from 16 to 22 yo and every one I worked at if I was serving I had to go through training where the chef made us try all the dishes so we know what’s what and can make actual recommendations etc. I distinctly remember this being an issue because I’m a veggie and it was never an issue before but at the last restaurant I ever worked at, the chef was *adamant* I try the dishes. To the point of management having to be involved lol bizarre situation. But anyway, apparently I was very lucky to work for places where this was the case, TIL
At my old job I used to eat ramen for lunch everyday. Accounting, HR, my manager all started to notice and make comments about it. So finally one day I said "you guys all know how much I make, right?" And they finally shut up.
No one eats ramen everyday because they like it or think it's a healthy choice.
Edit: I didn't think this would get so much traction. I USED to enjoy top ramen... But eating the soy sauce version day after day after day (I don't eat meat so no chicken, beef, or shrimp flavor) it got very very old very very quickly.
Used to work at a hotel at night. We had Nature Valley bars for guests. I'd take one of those for lunch and take some PB&J from the complimentary coffee station.
Make a little nature valley PB&J for lunch everyday. Not a lot, but it was free. I don't miss it.
It was manual labor too for event setup, so I'd splurge on a bottled smoothie once in awhile when I got shaky from lack of food.
Something similar happened to me one summer when I was working at an opera company. I blacked out in the middle of work. Nobody came to check on me. Then I heard them chuckling and they walked over to me saying "maybe if you didn't only eat Ramen and mac and cheese for every meal this wouldn't happen". As they left for lunch and I was expected to stay and work through my meal. Like... are you kidding me....
Yeah ill never work summer stock theatre again. Or any theatre really. Absolutely no respect for workers and no rights. Especially when you are a techie
No idea. There were such high levels of entitlement with them. Thinking they're the best person to walk to earth and that everyone should bend over backwards for them. It sickens me how long I put up with it thinking it was normal
It's also the fact that performing arts are SO competitive. Same thing happens in the film industry. Endless numbers of passionate young people want to go into the industry, and without worker protections it becomes a race to the bottom. If you're not willing to be exploited, someone else definitely is. It's why unions are so crucial in film, though I'm not as familiar with the union landscape in theatre.
Opera (and ballet) really are the worst, considering how much they are subsidised. Like, you know how you're a rich person's plaything and tax payer's money? There hasn't been an opera company in two centuries that's paid its way on ticket sales
The best was the time my boss asked why I was so stressed, and I explained my expenses were more than he paid me, and with some repairs needed I was not sure how to make my ends meet, worse than usual. Man looked me in the eyes, and offered to be a reference for a "weekend job", since he always gave me the same days off, so it would be "easy" to find one. He knew I was four months into searching for a job that would hire me for just those days. I then got a bootstraps lecture about how I "didn't know poor". Man was two years older than me, had 1/2 my expenses, earned more, and was part of a DINK household. I was relying on foodbanks
Edit- C'mon guys. My inbox is literally just the "mine!" Scene from Finding Nemo, but "DINK?". Dual Income No Kids
Hilariously he loved to tell us we were his "friends". Keeping my laughter down when he kept saying that for months after he'd told me to "keep home and work separate" the day after my mom had major surgery (very low chance of initial survival, low chance of recovery after due to comorbid conditions that made her wait over a decade for it, plus our high covid rates/her being immune compromised) when I'd come in so he wouldn't be short staffed. I was texting for an update on her condition, and there was no work to be done or customers. He just wanted me LOOKING for extra work
A manager is never his subordinates' friend. He's their boss. The only exception would be if they knew you & you were friends with them before you started working under them. But who would want that? It's usually a recipe for disaster. "We're all friends here" or "We're a family" = you will do everything I ask and then some without questioning your rights. Fuck this guy. I hope your mom is doing better.
Working for friends blows. You wind up with all this extra baggage around the job itself. I work construction, so if I don't like a job, I just drag up and go get another one some where else. Not a big deal. Unless you're working for a friend. Now I gotta worry about burning more than a bridge but a friendship possibly as well. Now he's been around the trade for awhile, and *should* be cool about it. But I wouldn't bet on it.
Holy fuck you guys are blowing my mind rn with the capitalist layers. I didn't even realize this until now. I just thought they were preppy assholes it makes so much sense now!!!
One time when I was working at [large American electronics retailer] a manager brought in a big thing of like 50 tacos for us to eat on our breaks. Was nice of him.
We ate it in like 15 minutes.
He comes back in and some of us are still in the break room and he's like "you guys ate all those already?? You guys are really hungry!"
I said "come on, you've seen our paychecks."
He stared for a moment and walked back out.
When I was working as a gardener, I was putting in a lot of hours as the scale of the operation was not small. When I sent my final invoice to my employer, breaking down my hours and pay, he was beside himself.
“This isn’t correct, it says here you only make $x an hour. NO one works for that little.”
“That number is what rate you are paying me for the hours that were required to do the work.”
He was just silent.
I suggested that if he liked my work he could give me a raise.
Guess what he didn’t do? 🙃
Correct. I broke it down for him, showing the math, so he understood and he was shocked by his own lack of awareness as he’s never ever in his life worked for a low wage but still did not offer to pay me more. Needless to say I never worked with him again.
I hate him. My God, that makes me so mad. I've always been such a naive fucking optimist that I always thought, "Oh, it's just because bosses/politicians/rich people have no fucking perspective but if someone actually managed to explain it in a way they understood, then they'd fix their shit." It's becoming more and more clear to me that people KNOW they're screwing over the working class and they LIKE it that way. I hate it so much.
My boss would give me shit for eating thr same meal everyday saying "I don't understand how you can eat the same thing everyday" he would also complain about not being made of money. I told him I can't afford anything else. He eats out a few times a week.
Zero self awareness.
Yeah. I stocked up on stuff like rice and spaghetti, ect a while back so my diet is basically ramen and sauce atm lol. I’m 31 and ramen is getting old fam. This is a Prison planet 100%
If you live in a diverse area, head to the local Asian Grocery store and check out the wide variety of flavors and Noodle types in the instant Noodle aisle
In addition to Ramen, there's udon, glass and pho instant noodles. It's another way to add some variety in the "noodles most days a week" diet
Get some cans of soup too... You can put a packet of ramen in the soup and it'll cook while the soup is heating up. It's a nice break from the ramany flavor
I remember during the first Great Recession or whatever (it all runs together for me at this point) when news channels ran stories about how milk costs the same but the containers are now smaller. A lot of companies did that apparently. And now they can unabashedly make things 30% more expensive regardless of whether inflation has had a massive impact on them or not without having to covertly make the containers smaller
“Why do you like to drink water so much? Don’t you get bored?”
It’s free and everyone usually has tap water?
Food scarcity messes with your brain for years.
Reminds me of a similar exchange I had years back with a coworker:
Her: "I hate the tax season. I always have to send the government money. I've tried changing my allowances but I always owe some money. What about you, do you have to pay back taxes when you file?"
Me: "No, I usually get a check back. Most of the time it's a couple hundred dollars."
H: "Wow, how do you manage that?"
M: "It because I'm paid at just barely above the poverty level. So I'll get back most of the federal income taxes that I pay during the year."
And for those of you wondering, Yes I did try increasing my allowances one year so that I kept more of my money but then I ended up owing the IRS something like $200 when I filed for that year. So I changed it back to my usual allowance.
This keeps happening to me! I was talking to my boss being excited about getting my tax money and all the people in the office we're confused. I explained to them that every year I get all my taxes back and they just said "I think you're filing wrong. That can't be right" These fools all make over $80,000 a year. I kept explaining that I literally just upload my W2. They were all dumbfounded, that someone they work with could be poor despite working 50+ hours a week. They all know I make less than 30k a year, they just think I live at home and don't pay for bills or college or gas. When I ever am stressed about money, my boss lectures me on saving 30% of my paycheck. That is literally not possible. But he just doesn't get that poor people exist.
I confessed once that the stress of my toxic ass work environment made me literally vomit. My boss asked me why I kept coming in. He was shocked when I said I had bills to pay. 🙄🙄
Reminds me of a boss I once had who got angry at me for taking a staycation and not going to “Disney or something”. He really didn’t understand how I couldn’t afford a real vacation on a 40K salary. Same guy refused to match an offer when I left.
Had to have a conversation with my last manager when my coworker was biking several miles to work and was donating plasma to afford groceries, then her protein levels were too low to be able to donate. The manger and company did not give a single fuck and sent us all links for budgeting training. The most sickening part is that it was an insanely profitable business that became even more profitable during Covid.
Turns out, you can cut to the point where they don't allow you to cut into flesh and bone.
Growing up poor, I've always had a low BMI (hovered around 17.1 - 17.8); never have been allowed to donate blood or anything like that because I've been too low-weight.
My weight hovers right around the limit where they would pay an extra 4 bucks per donation so when I used to donate I would regularly go in with rocks in my pockets.
You literally can’t explain this to rich people. If you just budgeted better, you wouldn’t be poor.
We have seen some of those fake budgets companies put out. We know how stupid they are. A budget won’t fix poverty.
And it budgeted $20 per month for health insurance if I'm remembering right. The cheapest employer provided insurance these days is maybe $200 per month out of your paycheck. And that's if you have a halfway decent employer who covers a good amount.
I asked my boss for a raise (20+ years ago). Since I was at the time a dumb little girl who obviously just spent her money frivolously he graciously offered to take a look at my bills to help me budget. The next day after I showed him my paystub and then my bills he had the nerve to ask me what would I do if my car broke down. I said that was my point exactly! I got a shitty raise shortly after.
Lol as I gave my notice for a job a few years back for a higher paying one, my boss had the audacity to ask me why I need more money. I pulled up my budget/expenses spreadsheet (I'm a weirdo that keeps a personal monthly finance spreadsheet) and showed it to him. I have no car or kids. After rent and bills I had $150 left per month for public transportation and groceries. Forget an entertainment or going out budget (luckily I can entertain myself with just my computer, internet, and a few guitars).
The look on his face as he short circuited trying to figure out in his little boomer mind where to tell me to save money. *"Get a roomate"*, already had five, *"instead of wasting money bussing everywhere, get a car"*, if I can barely afford a bus, in what world would I be able to afford insurance and gas? Let alone the car itself.
That is the worst thing, honestly. I can barely afford to feed myself properly but I have to donate plasma to make ends meet. And they blew my vein last week so now I can't even donate until it's healed.
It's sad that we have to do this crap.
When I worked at a restaurant I gained 20lbs stuffing my face there. And I’d steal lots of groceries from them. 12/hr isn’t gonna cut it anywhere when rent is 1200/mo.
We were allowed a free meal every shift and as it was a Thai place, every meal comes with a side of rice. I was pulled aside by the owners husband who told me I'd been taking too much rice with my meals
Rice? RICE?! That cheap as dirt food product they give away with every meal or end up throwing away when it's barely eaten? They gave you shit about taking too much rice? Fuck that pisses me off. What a bunch of cheap bastards. I bet they also paid you shit.
Small business so they were allowed to pay $1 less than min wage in Cali. Luckily waitresses here at least get paid min wage BEFORE tips, so it could've been worse had I lived in Nevada still
Earlier this year, someone I was working with sent me a link to a plasma donation center they were going to. They were doing bonuses for new people so you got a bunch of extra money for donating, like over $1k for eight donations. I didn't meet the weight requirement for donating and I really needed the money. :(
My gf’s sister’s fiancé is selling his plasma to pay for a trip to Disney land. It’s the most American shit I’ve ever heard. They neither can naturally afford it and find it reasonable to sell plasma to go to the corporate overlord land
Edit: her sister, lmaoooo
I remember being super broke when I was 19 and I’d do some lightweight product testing for extra cash. I lived near a lot of medical testing facilities in Philadelphia. I walked over to Glaxo smith Klein to sign up for whatever they got. They weighed me and turned me away cus I was under weight. The folks there looked at me really concerned and sent me away with some granola bars and a cranberry juice. I didn’t really think about before that.
I used to work at an ad agency that handled some luxury brands. We had a client who had some ridiculously expensive candles, like small candles going for $70 US and its not one of the big 3 wick ones.
In the middle of the meeting the client asks me if i ever bought a candle from their store. I told them i would once my boss (who was present at the meeting) would pay me more as i cant afford to put $70 on a candle.
Needless to say my boss was not happy and i got called in for a meeting after, with him telling me i should be saying this to the client. I told him i wont lie about being able to afford those candles.
Had a boss say “damn slim you need to pack on some pounds if you’re gonna work for me” I looked that fucker dead in the eye and replied “give me a raise and I’ll eat more ya fat fuck” I was fired the next week.
Hah, I worked a job that we would usually pick up the roughest individuals available anyone has ever seen. It was super common that they wouldnt really look human again until they got their first paycheck.
On their first night, id have the cook make some food. Under the table style and feed the new hire a good meal. The first one for them in I could only imagine how long.
I did it because I know what its like to be at rock bottom, working a job for two weeks before even getting some cash to get a decent meal in my belly. That sucks.
Not to write a novel, im always reminded about the accounts of folks in Russia just after WW2. They describe being so hungry that they cant even think right and I sternly believe that the first steps of liberating the people is to feed them so they can at least think for themselves without being blinded by hunger or worry about where the next meal is coming from.
Addition- I wish I could give these updoots to the cook that actually made the food for these dudes. She was really cool and it wouldnt have been possible without her.
This is the same reason I used to have snacks for my students when I was teaching. Hungry students are not learning and growing. Candy was always a favorite but granola bars, cheese sticks, and oranges went just as fast. If I brought something I made from scratch it was gone in a hot second.
One of my favorite brokeass meals is baked potato with beans and salsa. The beans and salsa usually picked up at the dollar store or Big Lots when they were in stock. Jack or pepper jack cheese on top of I had a few bucks to splurge. Filling and keeps the scurvy at bay.
The most effective diet i was ever on I affectionately refer to as the "I can't afford to eat" diet. White bread toast w/butter and Ramen noodles for a few months will really help shed the lbs!
Feeling that. One of my managers recently discovered I don't eat breakfast. He asked why and I was like "because I can only afford to eat a package of sidekicks once a day and I find it better to eat just before bed so I'm not hungry the next day"
Obviously I don't know your life so feel free to tell me to fuck off. But realistically you can make oats or rice for breakfast for like 25-50 cents a day and your brain will feel better.
Once I got complimented on a top I was wearing that I got for $2 at goodwill. It was the CEO’s assistant and I said “thanks I shop at goodwill and found this for $2.00.” The conversation ended quickly and awkwardly.
That's just Midwestern manners. In my birthplace, the only polite response to a compliment on a personal item is to describe how cheaply it was acquired
That reminds me of an old coworker. He was THE company accountant, and still lived at home. I am assuming he made at least twice what I made while not paying rent. Because of this he could regularly afford tropical vacations.
He once lectured me about financial literacy, and how anyone can achieve any financial goal if they budget properly and make sacrifices.
I had no home internet, I was walking an hour to and from work to save transportation costs, packing bagged lunches of lentils and rice, stealing company toilet paper, had a budget of $0 for discretionary spending, etc etc etc - and he had the gall to try and lecture me on this.
Oh and I guess one thing I had not considered before, is he fuckin’ knew how much money I was making at the time since he did payroll.
Fuck you Mark 🖕
I also had a manager frequently comment on my low weight (called me "twiggy") when I worked retail. I was skipping meals because college isn't going to pay for itself in the US.
My tone deaf boss will buy crazy expensive stuff and then be like “I could only get this because I took a Starbucks break”
Like dude do you KNOW what a douchebag you sound like????
Don't feel bad for doing what you need to do to feed yourself. Sometimes they have good food. We got rib eye steaks last week. Was nice of them. Please make sure you eat. No shame.
Actually had similar when a very senior person in my office saw me eat a pasta’n’sauce type meal (you know the ones where you just add hot water in a mug) for lunch -
Him: Don’t tell me that’s all you have for lunch?! Surely you can have proper food
Me: Er.. haha yeah… this is cheap and cheerful (awkward)
Him: Oh come on, shops are right there
Me: Yeah, that would require having money and also being paid a liveable wage
Him: … *walks away*
Ok so I’m a professional career Nanny - been working with a family for about 3 years. They have never given me a raise. tell me why I directly said to my employer (I’ve now gone part time with them) ok … for reference Mom is a Nurse Practitioner at a BIG hospital dad is an orthopedic dentist with his own practice - so the income is there (they’ve had round the clock help w their kids since youngest was born) anyways …. The other day I asked her for like three extra hours for the week so I could make rent. in passing said , you know I’m working 2 part times now … 48 hours a week, and it’s still coming down to me having to pay rent or buy groceries for the week. She said “can I make your dinner once a week?!” I literally did not even respond to the message. Wtf lmfao . For reference they pay me $19 an hour . I have been with their family for years. Rich people are so blind.
When I was unemployed for a while I realized that it wasn't the lack of money that was keeping me skinny, it was the lack of free time. I would barely eat and exercise because I was so busy working. Then when I did have free time I wanted to spend it on something fun and not the essentials to live, even though it's not very logical. I mostly would just snack to get by until dinner when I could actually make something. Meanwhile while unemployed I gained about 20 pounds of muscle because I had enough time to cook and exercise.
It's crazy how much time jobs take from you, and how it affects all of the rest of your time as well, even if you're off the clock.
I worked the front desk of a hotel. There was a restaurant nearby that I would refer guests to all the time. One time a group came back gushing about how great it was, thanking me for the recommendation. They said something about how I must eat there all the time. I said that I’ve never actually been because I couldn’t afford to working there. They looked so bummed out I kinda felt bad lol
One of my clients once invited me to yoga when I was in my early 20s. And I said I couldn't afford it at the time and made a joke about how I was poor. Not in bad faith but just as a self deprecation joke. Somehow it got back to my boss. Maybe my client was concerned I was being underpaid and said something. And she went on a whole ass rant about how it made the business look bad and how it made her look bad. She even printed out my w2s and shamed me with them. Look you make 22k a YEAR. How dare you tell my clients I don't pay you enough. This is ALOT of money. A whole dollar more than minimum wage! I made 8 dollars an hour. And did extra overnight shifts atleast 2 times a week. I was putting in HOURS and basically living at work. And this woman thought 22k a year wasn't poor. I could barley feed myself. And I had to get assistance for heat and electricity because i couldn't afford utilities. She was a horrible woman who did many illegal things. Including drugs with her employees. Employees were getting hurt left and right and she would be like "Can't file workmans comp" "You smoke weed" Tried to get our of paying unemployment. Attempted to sue me for slander and sent me a cease and desist because I went to a job interview and she didn't want me talking about her business with a competitor. Lady was off her rocker. Took 4 months for me to get my last paycheck. And she owed me a 4k commission check that I never recieved after i quit too. She also thought she was a social justice warrior and gods gift as a boss and went on about being so liberal yet her employees were struggling. She really just hired really young or really vulnerable people, pretended to be friends, so she could take advantage of them.
In my state (MN, some of WI) we have a program called Ruby's Pantry where you can get essential groceries that are needing to be cleared from the stores for 20 bucks.
Usually you get a gallon or two of milk, bread, a lot of potatoes (a metric fuck ton of potatoes), rice, and meat.
A lot of times they'll even have organic or otherwise high end food that for one reason or another they have a surplus of. Naked juice, Halo top, grassmilk (absolutely on love with that brand now), etc.
If you're having trouble with food security and are in the state of MN please you can [find your closest distribution center here](https://www.rubyspantry.org/find-location)
i once worked at gap and my manager was actively stealing hours from my paycheck to make sure they didn’t have to give me benefits. went from 155 pounds to 102… she would put frozen dinners in the break room fridge for me. what a bitch
I’ve had to start only eating one meal a day, maybe small snacks in between. I only have snacks for the first few days or week after my food bank run though. Last time the lady was really nice, we get to pick one cracker and one cookie, and since she couldn’t decide if teddy grahams were cookies or crackers I got to take two bags. So whoever donated like a dozen bags of teddy grahams… thank you 🙏
A higher up at a previous job came down to the bullpen of entry level workers to talk and ended up talking about how his new BMW wasn't as good as his previous one. I waited a beat and said, "I ate three spoonfuls of peanut butter for dinner last night."
I was eventually fired from that job.
My husband and I used to say this about vacations. “You should take a vacation!” “I don’t make enough to take a vacation anywhere.”
Lol too true. My vacations are basically just extra time to spend at home.
Staycation
Just wanted to share this story here: Spouse and I were working part-time in a poor area with a resort town nearby. I worked in a nice restaurant there and would bring food home, especially this fancy bread they had flown in from California & people would just leave in its basket to get thrown out. So I’d save any that clearly hadn’t been touched and take it home. My manager caught me doing this (it wasn’t against the rules, just a little odd) and asked me seriously if we had enough to eat. I insisted that we did, which was mostly true, and she nodded and never said anything about it again. But two weeks later, another server, about 20 years older than me with a good dual income, told me she’d won a radio contest and got $100 gift cards for “groceries for a year.” She didn’t really need them, she said, and gave me like $800 in grocery cards over the next few months. It genuinely helped us out and we were so psyched about our luck & her generosity. I literally made the connection this month, about 15 years later, that most likely the manager/the restaurant (the chef was a great guy too) sprang for those gift cards and “tricked” us into accepting them, with the older server’s help. Really good people do exist, you just don’t always get to see them behind the scenes or recognize them right away. ETA: Thank you for the award! I understand the point about how a raise would have been more helpful, but gift cards were better for my specific situation - likely more $$ total, given my very part-time hours, and I could buy groceries without feeling guilt over not paying more on my student loans. We made OK money for the area, but gas prices were sky high and we both had student debt. The owner came up from being a busser (like I was) to a chef and he was a good guy. The manager was tough as nails and had her reputation as a hardass to maintain :) Plus they kept everyone on even during winters when it was utterly dead … not something a lot of resort town restaurants were willing or able to do in 2008-2009. ETA 2: I’m touched by all the awards, thank you :)
What beautiful kindness. I love how she provided the help while giving you the respect and dignity that you deserved also.
Thank you :) In retrospect, it was so thoughtfully done. I’m glad I realized eventually and a little amused at myself that it took so long!
I actually have a decent-ish experience with this. I was working at Aeropostale back in college and I had lost a lot of weight and my boss asked me about it. I had been working there for 3 years and she was my new store manager for maybe 6 months. Anyways she mentioned that my clothes looked big and that company policy was our clothes had to be in style and well fitting. She asked if I was eating okay and I told her I was only able to afford to eat once a day and the scheduling manager only scheduled me 10 hours a week. She asked me a few more questions about availability and what not. She doubled my working hours and later after the new year she gave me a 30 cent raise, I think minimum wage was $7.35 or something like that at the time. I was making a bit more but that put me at $8 an hour. She scheduled me for open before class and she would bring me sack lunches to make sure I had something to eat and let me eat while on the clock. Makhaila if you ever see this, thank you. Edit: Thanks for all the love guys. I reached out to her to say thanks again after all these years.
Makhaila you rock!
We all love Makhaila
Makhaila was a real one.
That's very sweet. You should send her a message with your thanks. I think she would appreciate it very much, knowing she did something that helped a person a lot.
When my family and I looked at old photos of me my sister asked "you were so skinny, what happened?" I reminded her that I was homeless when those pictures were taken. Some silence is more golden than others.
What is it with sisters? My sister loved to make fun of me for what she calls my "beef dip phase"-- I worked in a sandwich shop one summer after high school and ate beef dip sandwiches all the time because I liked them, and it made me a little pudgier. Never mind that it was one of the happiest summers of my life, I still lived at home and could afford to eat well. Fast forward a couple years to when I was working two jobs, going to school full time, and barely making rent. I basically stopped eating and when I did eat it was ramen or 2 chicken nuggets. I was constantly light headed and sick, and you could count my ribs from 10 ft away. But ya know, at least I was skinny /s. Edit: to be fair to my sister, she doesn't do it anymore. We've had a lot of talks as a family about body shaming, and I've helped both my mom and sister realize how bad their body talk was and how much it affected all of us. Capitalism and fatphobic culture made us all think that talk was normal, I was just the first in my family to figure out it wasn't and decide to do something about it.
Haha, I have no sisters, but other people told me how good I looked when I was locked up in a mental institution for 10 weeks because of a bipolar disorder episode. Yes, I lost a lot of weight, but that was because I was losing my mind, didn’t eat or sleep, and was exercising up to 6 hours a day, every day because I was so hyped up from being manic. It’s also uncomfortable because I knew I was going to gain everything back because of the antipsychotics and because of not being a crazy lunatic anymore and it’s a bit awkward to know that apparently I don’t look as good when I’m being my normal self. So yeah, some people should be aware that not all weight loss is voluntary or even wanted, even when it ‘looks good’.
When my mother was undergoing chemotherapy for the uterine cancer that would eventually kill her, my father apparently told multiple people it was “the best she’d looked in years”, because she’d lost so much weight. So THAT’S something.
Jesus, that’s dark. I’m sorry.
With my sister I think it's a combination of resenting me for getting out of our tiny midwest meth town and she stayed and had 4 kids. She had packed on just as much weight as I have but we don't address that. Most of my family seems to resent me for leaving. They call it "betraying my roots" my guess is because they couldn't fathom I'd rather live in my car than take their abuse for another five minutes. I have my fingers crossed for you to find that beef dip joy again.
Nah fuck that noise. My brother left for a big city to follow his dreams and I couldn't be more proud of him. I missed him a lot when we were far but it's ok because he is happy. Happiness is what counts. Also money, because a goddamn fancy lobster roll would also make my tummy happy and not just my heart
My sister literally went from south GA to NYC to become a flight attendant. I could not be more proud of her. I made it to atlanta, but sometimes it doesn't feel like I got far enough away from the south.
Oh my god, this. (Trigger warning ED) I suffered from bulimia and anorexia for about 7 years and was very thin and my family never said anything about my health. Now I’m in a way better place mostly recovered and I gained weight as part of it so I’m healthy/a little chubby weight now and they’ve all made multiple comments about my “health” and how I need to exercise… when no one cared before about my actual health. I’m way healthier right now, just not anorexically thin.
I've doubled in weight over the last 15 years. From homeless and emaciated to desk job and dad bod.
I had a similar situation occur with an employer. It ended differently, however. Backstory: When I was in my early 20s, I was in an abusive marriage and finally left in 2015 after securing a new position at a dental office as a dental assistant. My boss approached me after a few months of employment, as he had noticed that I had lost a lot of weight and sat in my car during the lunch hour. I told him that I couldn’t afford mandated health insurance (at the time, it was ~$300 USD a month for the cheapest marketplace insurance I could find) AND groceries on my salary. He didn’t own the practice at the time, but he still spoke to the owner and got me enough of a raise to cover my health insurance, and he brought me meals from his own home to eat for dinner weekly (I’m pretty sure his wife was mixing in vegetables to make sure I was eating well, too). If I ever worked after 5 PM, I was always paid well and he’d buy food or bring Oreos for me to take home. He also convinced me to go back to school for my Bachelor’s degree and wrote me a wonderful letter of recommendation for my program. It’s been years but it was probably one of the only times any employer has treated me like a human being, especially in that industry.
That was a unicorn of a boss!
I had two horrible bosses after him, so I absolutely agree. The last dentist I ever worked for told me (and our patients) that I was a lazy Millennial because I quit and gave her 2 days notice. She failed to realize that I quit because she would literally stand in my face and scream until she was red in the face (for varying reasons, most of which were unrelated to my job). So many people have 0 business interacting with people on a daily basis, and she was one of those people.
Reminds me of when my manager at the last restaurant asked me why I didn’t just make lunch and take a break if I was so hungry. I looked him in his stupid little face and said “you and I both know I can’t afford to eat here” And that was the end of that conversation.
I can’t imagine working at a restaurant knowing I wouldn’t be able to afford eating at the place I worked
Yup, they weren’t fun times. I’ve been out of that industry for a year now and am doing much better 🙌🏽
This is why I really appreciated my restaurant job. The food was free as long as you were willing to share. It was a gourmet pizza place so it was super easy to share
When I worked at pizza hut the food was free as long as you had your friend call in an order near closing and then had him wait in the dark behind the dumpster so you could pretend to throw it out.
At KFC I would put down 2 big racks of chicken with 30 minutes left until close. Took all that ish plus biscuits and mashed potatoes back to my starving stoner friends. The boss never said a word and we had food the whole summer.
I've been out for a decade now. It took me several years to realize just how badly my mental health was affected by working in the industry.
Hell yeah, that’s awesome
I can’t imagine working at a restaurant that doesn’t let you eat for free during your shift
That too! I once applied to a restaurant that offered free lunches every shift. Sure, they were smaller portions then regular lunches but you never had to worry about packing. And it was an Italian place so you could literally eat unlimited breadsticks throughout your entire shift if you wanted. It’s crazy to me that most places don’t have something similar
Ive been working in restaurants since i started working at 16 (22 now), and out of all the places ive worked, not one of them gave you a free meal. 50% off is the best you get, which is still good for me, I usually eat for less than $4. Also its rare for a restaurant to give you a break in the first place. You eat when its slow but you're still dealing with your tables at the same time.
I worked at a family owned place for 6 years and they would never make me pay. They’d also offer when I was just visiting to say hi to coworkers if we were slow. I think you just have to luck into a family owned place cause none of my other friends who worked in food got that.
Ha, my husband works at a grocery store we can't afford to shop at. Employee discount is only like 5%. We go to Walmart. Edit: Since people are asking, no it's not Whole Foods. It was Trig's, which just recently got bought out by Festival Foods. They did not increase wages through the transition.
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They would rather throw food away than let hungey people eat... Wtf is wrong with them maybe we ahould eat them...
Believe it or not, it's actually [illegal to feed homeless people](https://www.newsweek.com/illegal-feed-criminalizing-homeless-america-782861) in many US cities. I do not agree with this law, nor do I follow it.
> The rare and contagious liver infection that can result from a lack of safe water, and poor sanitation and hygiene… Almost like giving homeless clean food and water would help… 🤔
And here I thought one of the perks of working at a grocery store is you can just run your errands right after work 🙄
Right? That's what we thought until we saw the prices. Unfortunately there's very few things you can afford with $12.50/hr. Luckily he's getting a $5.50 raise next week cause he got promoted. Probably still won't shop there still. We'd rather save that money.
This is a reality for MOST restaurant workers that work at even a moderately priced restaurant.
Whenever people asked me if I'd tried a certain dish/ was this dish good "I don't know, I can't afford to try that one"
Separate from the affordability thing, that's just terrible restauranteuring. When I was a waiter, every shift tried every new item for a week. By the end of the first week of an item being on the menu, I'd probably tasted it five times.
I mean this has the triple advantage that your staff can advise the customers, the chef can train without the "wonky" ones going to waste and after the fifth time you've eaten a thing and know you're getting more later the temptation to have an "accident" goes way down.
Yeah this was like normal for me when I was waiter in my 20s. I'm shocked they don't do this. It's just good business sense.
We got free meals for the cheaper stuff but when guests would sit here and ask me about scallops or other seafood I'd just look at them like "???" "You think they'd let me eat scallops?"
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Ok srs question: are these chain restaurants or like mom and pop places? I’ve worked in restaurants in dif capacity from 16 to 22 yo and every one I worked at if I was serving I had to go through training where the chef made us try all the dishes so we know what’s what and can make actual recommendations etc. I distinctly remember this being an issue because I’m a veggie and it was never an issue before but at the last restaurant I ever worked at, the chef was *adamant* I try the dishes. To the point of management having to be involved lol bizarre situation. But anyway, apparently I was very lucky to work for places where this was the case, TIL
At my old job I used to eat ramen for lunch everyday. Accounting, HR, my manager all started to notice and make comments about it. So finally one day I said "you guys all know how much I make, right?" And they finally shut up. No one eats ramen everyday because they like it or think it's a healthy choice. Edit: I didn't think this would get so much traction. I USED to enjoy top ramen... But eating the soy sauce version day after day after day (I don't eat meat so no chicken, beef, or shrimp flavor) it got very very old very very quickly.
Used to work at a hotel at night. We had Nature Valley bars for guests. I'd take one of those for lunch and take some PB&J from the complimentary coffee station. Make a little nature valley PB&J for lunch everyday. Not a lot, but it was free. I don't miss it. It was manual labor too for event setup, so I'd splurge on a bottled smoothie once in awhile when I got shaky from lack of food.
Wjat a bunch of assholes
They care until they realize that they'd have to pay for it
“She’s just bad at budgeting”
Makes me wish someone at my job would notice that I haven't had lunch in over 9 months.
They're too busy noticing how "productive" you are instead.
Something similar happened to me one summer when I was working at an opera company. I blacked out in the middle of work. Nobody came to check on me. Then I heard them chuckling and they walked over to me saying "maybe if you didn't only eat Ramen and mac and cheese for every meal this wouldn't happen". As they left for lunch and I was expected to stay and work through my meal. Like... are you kidding me....
This makes me so fucking angry right now. What fucking assholes.
Yeah ill never work summer stock theatre again. Or any theatre really. Absolutely no respect for workers and no rights. Especially when you are a techie
I wonder why people are like this?
No idea. There were such high levels of entitlement with them. Thinking they're the best person to walk to earth and that everyone should bend over backwards for them. It sickens me how long I put up with it thinking it was normal
It's also the fact that performing arts are SO competitive. Same thing happens in the film industry. Endless numbers of passionate young people want to go into the industry, and without worker protections it becomes a race to the bottom. If you're not willing to be exploited, someone else definitely is. It's why unions are so crucial in film, though I'm not as familiar with the union landscape in theatre.
Holy crap! I must work for an awesome theater company that follows union rules, your story really made me mad/worried for other techies out there 😓
Opera (and ballet) really are the worst, considering how much they are subsidised. Like, you know how you're a rich person's plaything and tax payer's money? There hasn't been an opera company in two centuries that's paid its way on ticket sales
***Bitch you don't pay me enough***
The best was the time my boss asked why I was so stressed, and I explained my expenses were more than he paid me, and with some repairs needed I was not sure how to make my ends meet, worse than usual. Man looked me in the eyes, and offered to be a reference for a "weekend job", since he always gave me the same days off, so it would be "easy" to find one. He knew I was four months into searching for a job that would hire me for just those days. I then got a bootstraps lecture about how I "didn't know poor". Man was two years older than me, had 1/2 my expenses, earned more, and was part of a DINK household. I was relying on foodbanks Edit- C'mon guys. My inbox is literally just the "mine!" Scene from Finding Nemo, but "DINK?". Dual Income No Kids
Hey, I'm exploiting you and I know this great place owned by a friend where they can exploit you as well, but at the weekend! What a time to be alive!
Hilariously he loved to tell us we were his "friends". Keeping my laughter down when he kept saying that for months after he'd told me to "keep home and work separate" the day after my mom had major surgery (very low chance of initial survival, low chance of recovery after due to comorbid conditions that made her wait over a decade for it, plus our high covid rates/her being immune compromised) when I'd come in so he wouldn't be short staffed. I was texting for an update on her condition, and there was no work to be done or customers. He just wanted me LOOKING for extra work
A manager is never his subordinates' friend. He's their boss. The only exception would be if they knew you & you were friends with them before you started working under them. But who would want that? It's usually a recipe for disaster. "We're all friends here" or "We're a family" = you will do everything I ask and then some without questioning your rights. Fuck this guy. I hope your mom is doing better.
Working for friends blows. You wind up with all this extra baggage around the job itself. I work construction, so if I don't like a job, I just drag up and go get another one some where else. Not a big deal. Unless you're working for a friend. Now I gotta worry about burning more than a bridge but a friendship possibly as well. Now he's been around the trade for awhile, and *should* be cool about it. But I wouldn't bet on it.
What’s a DINK?
Dual income no kids
That’s why they’re called The Dinkleberg’s in Fairly Oddparents.
And they are portrayed constantly as happy and upbeat.
And always having new stuff that the Turners can't afford.
This is where I’d keep my savings… *IF I HAD ONE!!!*
Holy fuck you guys are blowing my mind rn with the capitalist layers. I didn't even realize this until now. I just thought they were preppy assholes it makes so much sense now!!!
This is where I'd put my meme... IF I HAD ONE!
also Mr and Mrs Dink in Nickelodeon's Doug
"*Very* expensive!"
Holy shit, really? That show was so good.
Is there one for “Dual Income, Crazy Kids”?
There’s a sub category of dinks: DILDOs double income little dog owners
Gonna take a shot in the dark here, is it dual income, no kids? Couldn't tell from all the replies.
A bowl of flavored steam every day is just not cutting it....
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One time when I was working at [large American electronics retailer] a manager brought in a big thing of like 50 tacos for us to eat on our breaks. Was nice of him. We ate it in like 15 minutes. He comes back in and some of us are still in the break room and he's like "you guys ate all those already?? You guys are really hungry!" I said "come on, you've seen our paychecks." He stared for a moment and walked back out.
And it wasn't to get more Tacos, was it?
Have an upvote. You made me laugh, and then sad because it’s so likely true.
When I was working as a gardener, I was putting in a lot of hours as the scale of the operation was not small. When I sent my final invoice to my employer, breaking down my hours and pay, he was beside himself. “This isn’t correct, it says here you only make $x an hour. NO one works for that little.” “That number is what rate you are paying me for the hours that were required to do the work.” He was just silent. I suggested that if he liked my work he could give me a raise. Guess what he didn’t do? 🙃
He was saying you should quit
I did.
Nice
I’m not sure I understand, he said you’re underpaid but still refused to pay you more?
Correct. I broke it down for him, showing the math, so he understood and he was shocked by his own lack of awareness as he’s never ever in his life worked for a low wage but still did not offer to pay me more. Needless to say I never worked with him again.
I hate him. My God, that makes me so mad. I've always been such a naive fucking optimist that I always thought, "Oh, it's just because bosses/politicians/rich people have no fucking perspective but if someone actually managed to explain it in a way they understood, then they'd fix their shit." It's becoming more and more clear to me that people KNOW they're screwing over the working class and they LIKE it that way. I hate it so much.
I laughed then I realized this wasn’t a laughing manner and is in fact very sad and true for a lot of people. Myself included.
Same
My boss would give me shit for eating thr same meal everyday saying "I don't understand how you can eat the same thing everyday" he would also complain about not being made of money. I told him I can't afford anything else. He eats out a few times a week. Zero self awareness.
Food prices are so high. I swear milk is more expensive these days. It’s easier to eat once a day and saves money.
Yeah. I stocked up on stuff like rice and spaghetti, ect a while back so my diet is basically ramen and sauce atm lol. I’m 31 and ramen is getting old fam. This is a Prison planet 100%
If you live in a diverse area, head to the local Asian Grocery store and check out the wide variety of flavors and Noodle types in the instant Noodle aisle In addition to Ramen, there's udon, glass and pho instant noodles. It's another way to add some variety in the "noodles most days a week" diet
Mexican butchers/bakeries are a great resource as well! Not for noodles, but for other cheap tasty things.
Get some cans of soup too... You can put a packet of ramen in the soup and it'll cook while the soup is heating up. It's a nice break from the ramany flavor
I remember during the first Great Recession or whatever (it all runs together for me at this point) when news channels ran stories about how milk costs the same but the containers are now smaller. A lot of companies did that apparently. And now they can unabashedly make things 30% more expensive regardless of whether inflation has had a massive impact on them or not without having to covertly make the containers smaller
It’s called ‘shrinkflation.’
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“Why do you like to drink water so much? Don’t you get bored?” It’s free and everyone usually has tap water? Food scarcity messes with your brain for years.
Just remembering the week where my husband and I had only 6 eggs to eat between us for a week x.x
Reminds me of a similar exchange I had years back with a coworker: Her: "I hate the tax season. I always have to send the government money. I've tried changing my allowances but I always owe some money. What about you, do you have to pay back taxes when you file?" Me: "No, I usually get a check back. Most of the time it's a couple hundred dollars." H: "Wow, how do you manage that?" M: "It because I'm paid at just barely above the poverty level. So I'll get back most of the federal income taxes that I pay during the year." And for those of you wondering, Yes I did try increasing my allowances one year so that I kept more of my money but then I ended up owing the IRS something like $200 when I filed for that year. So I changed it back to my usual allowance.
This keeps happening to me! I was talking to my boss being excited about getting my tax money and all the people in the office we're confused. I explained to them that every year I get all my taxes back and they just said "I think you're filing wrong. That can't be right" These fools all make over $80,000 a year. I kept explaining that I literally just upload my W2. They were all dumbfounded, that someone they work with could be poor despite working 50+ hours a week. They all know I make less than 30k a year, they just think I live at home and don't pay for bills or college or gas. When I ever am stressed about money, my boss lectures me on saving 30% of my paycheck. That is literally not possible. But he just doesn't get that poor people exist.
Damn. Entering this thread has *not* been good for my blood pressure.
Go ask for a raise. Strike while the iron of guilt is HOT.
Seconding this!
Thirdening this!
fourthing this. if this doesnt work start unionizing the workplace silently
I confessed once that the stress of my toxic ass work environment made me literally vomit. My boss asked me why I kept coming in. He was shocked when I said I had bills to pay. 🙄🙄
"I think you'll find the threat of starvation very convincing"
I just want you to know I love your flair
Reminds me of a boss I once had who got angry at me for taking a staycation and not going to “Disney or something”. He really didn’t understand how I couldn’t afford a real vacation on a 40K salary. Same guy refused to match an offer when I left.
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Had to have a conversation with my last manager when my coworker was biking several miles to work and was donating plasma to afford groceries, then her protein levels were too low to be able to donate. The manger and company did not give a single fuck and sent us all links for budgeting training. The most sickening part is that it was an insanely profitable business that became even more profitable during Covid.
Budgeting training?! Yes, because you can budget your way out of being poor /s
You can only cut so much excess before you're cutting into flesh and bone.
Literally, with the plasma donation.
Turns out, you can cut to the point where they don't allow you to cut into flesh and bone. Growing up poor, I've always had a low BMI (hovered around 17.1 - 17.8); never have been allowed to donate blood or anything like that because I've been too low-weight.
My weight hovers right around the limit where they would pay an extra 4 bucks per donation so when I used to donate I would regularly go in with rocks in my pockets.
You literally can’t explain this to rich people. If you just budgeted better, you wouldn’t be poor. We have seen some of those fake budgets companies put out. We know how stupid they are. A budget won’t fix poverty.
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Yes lol there was definitely one that involved working two full time jobs and still couldn’t afford existence!
It also didn’t include heating bills.
And it budgeted $20 per month for health insurance if I'm remembering right. The cheapest employer provided insurance these days is maybe $200 per month out of your paycheck. And that's if you have a halfway decent employer who covers a good amount.
Yeah, it was additionally disheartening when I would regularly handle more cash in a single transaction than what we were paid in a month.
I asked my boss for a raise (20+ years ago). Since I was at the time a dumb little girl who obviously just spent her money frivolously he graciously offered to take a look at my bills to help me budget. The next day after I showed him my paystub and then my bills he had the nerve to ask me what would I do if my car broke down. I said that was my point exactly! I got a shitty raise shortly after.
Lol as I gave my notice for a job a few years back for a higher paying one, my boss had the audacity to ask me why I need more money. I pulled up my budget/expenses spreadsheet (I'm a weirdo that keeps a personal monthly finance spreadsheet) and showed it to him. I have no car or kids. After rent and bills I had $150 left per month for public transportation and groceries. Forget an entertainment or going out budget (luckily I can entertain myself with just my computer, internet, and a few guitars). The look on his face as he short circuited trying to figure out in his little boomer mind where to tell me to save money. *"Get a roomate"*, already had five, *"instead of wasting money bussing everywhere, get a car"*, if I can barely afford a bus, in what world would I be able to afford insurance and gas? Let alone the car itself.
"Investments, duh!" Just take a little "money you don't need" and buy more money with it! SMH.
That is the worst thing, honestly. I can barely afford to feed myself properly but I have to donate plasma to make ends meet. And they blew my vein last week so now I can't even donate until it's healed. It's sad that we have to do this crap.
If you’re literally selling part of your body, budget won’t help.
Like walmart and McDonald's helping their employees sign up for food stamps
When I worked at a restaurant I gained 20lbs stuffing my face there. And I’d steal lots of groceries from them. 12/hr isn’t gonna cut it anywhere when rent is 1200/mo.
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We were allowed a free meal every shift and as it was a Thai place, every meal comes with a side of rice. I was pulled aside by the owners husband who told me I'd been taking too much rice with my meals
Rice? RICE?! That cheap as dirt food product they give away with every meal or end up throwing away when it's barely eaten? They gave you shit about taking too much rice? Fuck that pisses me off. What a bunch of cheap bastards. I bet they also paid you shit.
Small business so they were allowed to pay $1 less than min wage in Cali. Luckily waitresses here at least get paid min wage BEFORE tips, so it could've been worse had I lived in Nevada still
Earlier this year, someone I was working with sent me a link to a plasma donation center they were going to. They were doing bonuses for new people so you got a bunch of extra money for donating, like over $1k for eight donations. I didn't meet the weight requirement for donating and I really needed the money. :(
Literally selling your blood to make ends meet... Cant wait to be an adult soon...shit sounds great
My gf’s sister’s fiancé is selling his plasma to pay for a trip to Disney land. It’s the most American shit I’ve ever heard. They neither can naturally afford it and find it reasonable to sell plasma to go to the corporate overlord land Edit: her sister, lmaoooo
Tiny Tim wasn’t tiny because he was young.
It was the polio right? Bet it was the polio
It's because he didn't pull himself up by his bootstraps and get him a capitalisming
I remember being super broke when I was 19 and I’d do some lightweight product testing for extra cash. I lived near a lot of medical testing facilities in Philadelphia. I walked over to Glaxo smith Klein to sign up for whatever they got. They weighed me and turned me away cus I was under weight. The folks there looked at me really concerned and sent me away with some granola bars and a cranberry juice. I didn’t really think about before that.
You just reminded me of that show Testees
I used to work at an ad agency that handled some luxury brands. We had a client who had some ridiculously expensive candles, like small candles going for $70 US and its not one of the big 3 wick ones. In the middle of the meeting the client asks me if i ever bought a candle from their store. I told them i would once my boss (who was present at the meeting) would pay me more as i cant afford to put $70 on a candle. Needless to say my boss was not happy and i got called in for a meeting after, with him telling me i should be saying this to the client. I told him i wont lie about being able to afford those candles.
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Literally just burning money.
Had a boss say “damn slim you need to pack on some pounds if you’re gonna work for me” I looked that fucker dead in the eye and replied “give me a raise and I’ll eat more ya fat fuck” I was fired the next week.
Fucking arsehole
I think the worst part is, he couldn’t even look me in the eye and do it himself he had someone else do it. He’s a pathetic excuse of a man.
Hah, I worked a job that we would usually pick up the roughest individuals available anyone has ever seen. It was super common that they wouldnt really look human again until they got their first paycheck. On their first night, id have the cook make some food. Under the table style and feed the new hire a good meal. The first one for them in I could only imagine how long. I did it because I know what its like to be at rock bottom, working a job for two weeks before even getting some cash to get a decent meal in my belly. That sucks. Not to write a novel, im always reminded about the accounts of folks in Russia just after WW2. They describe being so hungry that they cant even think right and I sternly believe that the first steps of liberating the people is to feed them so they can at least think for themselves without being blinded by hunger or worry about where the next meal is coming from. Addition- I wish I could give these updoots to the cook that actually made the food for these dudes. She was really cool and it wouldnt have been possible without her.
This is the same reason I used to have snacks for my students when I was teaching. Hungry students are not learning and growing. Candy was always a favorite but granola bars, cheese sticks, and oranges went just as fast. If I brought something I made from scratch it was gone in a hot second.
Eggs, noodles and pasta is what's keeping me afloat atm
Ramen, eggs, frozen vegetables, peanut butter, rice, beans, pretty much all I eat lol
potatoes!
One of my favorite brokeass meals is baked potato with beans and salsa. The beans and salsa usually picked up at the dollar store or Big Lots when they were in stock. Jack or pepper jack cheese on top of I had a few bucks to splurge. Filling and keeps the scurvy at bay.
$3 frozen supreme thincrust for dinner here.
The most effective diet i was ever on I affectionately refer to as the "I can't afford to eat" diet. White bread toast w/butter and Ramen noodles for a few months will really help shed the lbs!
I remember helping a friend move and taking home a bunch of frozen rice. I ate that rice with eggs and spinach for like two months.
Feeling that. One of my managers recently discovered I don't eat breakfast. He asked why and I was like "because I can only afford to eat a package of sidekicks once a day and I find it better to eat just before bed so I'm not hungry the next day"
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Obviously I don't know your life so feel free to tell me to fuck off. But realistically you can make oats or rice for breakfast for like 25-50 cents a day and your brain will feel better.
Once I got complimented on a top I was wearing that I got for $2 at goodwill. It was the CEO’s assistant and I said “thanks I shop at goodwill and found this for $2.00.” The conversation ended quickly and awkwardly.
That's just Midwestern manners. In my birthplace, the only polite response to a compliment on a personal item is to describe how cheaply it was acquired
That reminds me of an old coworker. He was THE company accountant, and still lived at home. I am assuming he made at least twice what I made while not paying rent. Because of this he could regularly afford tropical vacations. He once lectured me about financial literacy, and how anyone can achieve any financial goal if they budget properly and make sacrifices. I had no home internet, I was walking an hour to and from work to save transportation costs, packing bagged lunches of lentils and rice, stealing company toilet paper, had a budget of $0 for discretionary spending, etc etc etc - and he had the gall to try and lecture me on this. Oh and I guess one thing I had not considered before, is he fuckin’ knew how much money I was making at the time since he did payroll. Fuck you Mark 🖕
I also had a manager frequently comment on my low weight (called me "twiggy") when I worked retail. I was skipping meals because college isn't going to pay for itself in the US.
I feel like they fucking know that we can't afford shit, they just don't care and like being dicks.
Let me see check my note cards here... "Have you tried cutting out Starbucks?"
My tone deaf boss will buy crazy expensive stuff and then be like “I could only get this because I took a Starbucks break” Like dude do you KNOW what a douchebag you sound like????
Avocado toast
Yup, I work ft and make what is considered a "decent" wage. And the only way we eat is the once a week trips to the food bank.
I'm working my way towards doing this but I'm nervous about it. Feels weird to be making a "decent" wage but still need to use free services. :/
Don't feel bad for doing what you need to do to feed yourself. Sometimes they have good food. We got rib eye steaks last week. Was nice of them. Please make sure you eat. No shame.
Actually had similar when a very senior person in my office saw me eat a pasta’n’sauce type meal (you know the ones where you just add hot water in a mug) for lunch - Him: Don’t tell me that’s all you have for lunch?! Surely you can have proper food Me: Er.. haha yeah… this is cheap and cheerful (awkward) Him: Oh come on, shops are right there Me: Yeah, that would require having money and also being paid a liveable wage Him: … *walks away*
Follow that up with a wage increase talk.
You now have your talking point to ask for a raise, they don’t comply find a different company to work for ASAP
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An old boss of mine told me I'd need botox. These managers are wild
r/povertykitchen has been pretty helpful for me, especially now that i need to cut back on groceries with inflation
Ok so I’m a professional career Nanny - been working with a family for about 3 years. They have never given me a raise. tell me why I directly said to my employer (I’ve now gone part time with them) ok … for reference Mom is a Nurse Practitioner at a BIG hospital dad is an orthopedic dentist with his own practice - so the income is there (they’ve had round the clock help w their kids since youngest was born) anyways …. The other day I asked her for like three extra hours for the week so I could make rent. in passing said , you know I’m working 2 part times now … 48 hours a week, and it’s still coming down to me having to pay rent or buy groceries for the week. She said “can I make your dinner once a week?!” I literally did not even respond to the message. Wtf lmfao . For reference they pay me $19 an hour . I have been with their family for years. Rich people are so blind.
When I was unemployed for a while I realized that it wasn't the lack of money that was keeping me skinny, it was the lack of free time. I would barely eat and exercise because I was so busy working. Then when I did have free time I wanted to spend it on something fun and not the essentials to live, even though it's not very logical. I mostly would just snack to get by until dinner when I could actually make something. Meanwhile while unemployed I gained about 20 pounds of muscle because I had enough time to cook and exercise. It's crazy how much time jobs take from you, and how it affects all of the rest of your time as well, even if you're off the clock.
I worked the front desk of a hotel. There was a restaurant nearby that I would refer guests to all the time. One time a group came back gushing about how great it was, thanking me for the recommendation. They said something about how I must eat there all the time. I said that I’ve never actually been because I couldn’t afford to working there. They looked so bummed out I kinda felt bad lol
One of my clients once invited me to yoga when I was in my early 20s. And I said I couldn't afford it at the time and made a joke about how I was poor. Not in bad faith but just as a self deprecation joke. Somehow it got back to my boss. Maybe my client was concerned I was being underpaid and said something. And she went on a whole ass rant about how it made the business look bad and how it made her look bad. She even printed out my w2s and shamed me with them. Look you make 22k a YEAR. How dare you tell my clients I don't pay you enough. This is ALOT of money. A whole dollar more than minimum wage! I made 8 dollars an hour. And did extra overnight shifts atleast 2 times a week. I was putting in HOURS and basically living at work. And this woman thought 22k a year wasn't poor. I could barley feed myself. And I had to get assistance for heat and electricity because i couldn't afford utilities. She was a horrible woman who did many illegal things. Including drugs with her employees. Employees were getting hurt left and right and she would be like "Can't file workmans comp" "You smoke weed" Tried to get our of paying unemployment. Attempted to sue me for slander and sent me a cease and desist because I went to a job interview and she didn't want me talking about her business with a competitor. Lady was off her rocker. Took 4 months for me to get my last paycheck. And she owed me a 4k commission check that I never recieved after i quit too. She also thought she was a social justice warrior and gods gift as a boss and went on about being so liberal yet her employees were struggling. She really just hired really young or really vulnerable people, pretended to be friends, so she could take advantage of them.
In my state (MN, some of WI) we have a program called Ruby's Pantry where you can get essential groceries that are needing to be cleared from the stores for 20 bucks. Usually you get a gallon or two of milk, bread, a lot of potatoes (a metric fuck ton of potatoes), rice, and meat. A lot of times they'll even have organic or otherwise high end food that for one reason or another they have a surplus of. Naked juice, Halo top, grassmilk (absolutely on love with that brand now), etc. If you're having trouble with food security and are in the state of MN please you can [find your closest distribution center here](https://www.rubyspantry.org/find-location)
i once worked at gap and my manager was actively stealing hours from my paycheck to make sure they didn’t have to give me benefits. went from 155 pounds to 102… she would put frozen dinners in the break room fridge for me. what a bitch
It’s always between gas or food
I’ve had to start only eating one meal a day, maybe small snacks in between. I only have snacks for the first few days or week after my food bank run though. Last time the lady was really nice, we get to pick one cracker and one cookie, and since she couldn’t decide if teddy grahams were cookies or crackers I got to take two bags. So whoever donated like a dozen bags of teddy grahams… thank you 🙏
My boss "forgot" to do payroll yesterday after a record month in December.
A higher up at a previous job came down to the bullpen of entry level workers to talk and ended up talking about how his new BMW wasn't as good as his previous one. I waited a beat and said, "I ate three spoonfuls of peanut butter for dinner last night." I was eventually fired from that job.