Re: Heartbreaking Walmart Story

NYCLatinaMe · ‎01-14-2017

@sabatini wrote:
@NYCLatinaMe, I struggled mightily as a young mother when in dire times, 'stone soup' was sometimes on the menu.
My post was about squeezing a dollar as in bygone days and I've no wish to argue about it.

Sure, a frozen dinner is convenient and saves time, but it's also part of the capitalist lie that you need that when you don't.
I stand by what I said regarding making your own food, and yes, even in challenging places. An electric skillet, toaster oven, slow cooker, microwave, etc.

I do hope you're able to find a simple cooking site or brick & mortar place to help you through, if that's what you really want.

Hi @sabatini

Quite a turn on the heartwarming OP's story.

My post wasn't complaining about my barely there kitchen. I chose to live here! Talking to my landlord about some of this though. Just mentioning it in passing because frozen meals are not just a convenience.

Maybe it is the capitalist in you that assumes that everyone has homes with large kitchens to cook full meals, which hopefully includes adequate protein to go with with those vegetables, potatoes, and legumes.

Maybe people squeeze a dollar by saving on housing because having a full kitchen and cooking a full meal can also be expensive, and the occasional TV dinner on the microwave you mention might be cheaper. Not sure what else a microwave is good for. Not everyone has a home with room for a microwave, and a slow cooker and a toaster oven and an eletric skillet. I sure don't have the counter space for all of that! That may be grounds for eviction, or risk a fire. Which happen all the time.

Your statement that "If you can microwave a frozen dinner, then you can cook potatoes, rice, beans & veggies that'd be cheaper, more filling and more bang for your buck" is just not true. Doesn't sound like a complete meal to me, and may require a larger kitchen than many have.

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@Group 5 minus 1 wrote:
And who is my neighbor?

@Group 5 minus 1

Sorry ... I don't understand your point.

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@sabatini wrote:
Yes, I do feel sorry for this woman, & the price of groceries today is awful.

But I think part of the culprit is that many people were never taught how to squeeze a dollar, and to me that's a real shame too.
Back in the old days, when payday still hadn't come, my sister's MIL would say "It's time to boil up the tablecloth!"

If you can microwave a frozen dinner, then you can cook potatoes, rice, beans & veggies that'd be cheaper, more filling and more bang for your buck.

In today's economy that's what they ought to be teaching in Home Ec...if there is such a thing anymore.
God know our mother's could've taught that class.

@sabatini

I have no idea what boiling a tablecloth does for you, but you're defintely assuming too much.

If a woman with small kids doesn't have access to a stove, just a microwave at the shelter, there is no cooking to be done. Plus, you need pots and pans to prepare most foods from scratch. Do you really think all homeless people push their shopping carts around with a full set of cookware?

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@ThinkingOutLoud wrote:
@NYCLatinaMe wrote:
@CalminHeart wrote:
Blaming schools is the easy way out. What happens at home has a direct impact on a child's ability to learn. They don't learn in a vacuum.

Indeed, parents are the #1 reason a child succeeds or fails in school. Perhaps those parents are addicts, have to work 3 jobs to barely get by so they're never home, physically abusive, lazy, se****ly abusive, verbally abusive, lock them in their rooms, can't afford food, can't afford correct sized shoes/coats, can't afford a washer/dryer or laundromat, and a whole host of reasons parents fail to parent. That's not the kid's fault.

People need to step out of their ivory, judgmental towers and look at real life.

The topic wasn't expanded. Facts matter.

I agree with some of this. Contrary to what @ThinkingOutLoud posted, family is not THE safety net. She must be fortunate to have a successful and generous family. Not everyone does.
Read my post again: Family is supposed to be the safety net - immediate and extended. Although some may not have that, most do and they need to step up.

I said it's supposed to be and I acknowledged that not everyone has that. Family is the basic unit of society and should look out for each other and help out however they can. That's what family is for.

@ThinkingOutLoud

That's a great theory, but not everyone has multiple family members who look out for others. Yes, we all "should" look out for each other, but please don't assume that's what happens most of the time.

I know several people who have no living relatives at all. It's not as uncommon as you seem to believe.

Tiarosie · ‎06-12-2020

As someone who grew up poor and raised my 5 children on limited income as I was a single mom, married twice with 3 children from first marriage and 2 from second. We struggled until I went to college and earned my degree and I was working full time and doing school full time.

If she was counting money then she wasn't using SNAP benefits (food stamps) and maybe she needs to know about them.

I think people feel this way due to what they see people spending money on while considering other factors. For example if you qualify for SNAP why are you dressed in designer clothes? Diving a nice car? Using the lastest and greatest cell phone? And why aren't you buying ANY fresh foods?

We received foodstamps because of my low income. I did not buy garbage with them! I know many people who do! In fact would you like to know what a recent study showed about food benefit usage showed?

The No. 1 purchases by SNAP households are soft drinks, which accounted for 5 percent of the dollars they spent on food.

I always viewed those benefits as GIFT to me and my children and I fed my children fresh foods and cooked from scratch!

I see SNAP receipients all the time buying NOTHING but junk food, prepacakaged foods, soda, chips and never a single fresh food. Not even meat much of the time.

All the prepackaged garbage out there is why we have OBESE CHILDREN

Childhood obesity has been a problem in the United States for decades. The rate of childhood obesity has tripled since the 1970s. As of 2023, 1 in 5 children in the US are obese, with this number rising yearly.

12.7% of 2- to 5-year-olds, 20.7% of 6- to 11-year-olds and 22.2% of 12- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. have obesity, reports the CDC.

ThinkingOutLoud · ‎05-01-2020

@Tinkrbl44 wrote:
@ThinkingOutLoud wrote:
@NYCLatinaMe wrote:
@CalminHeart wrote:
Blaming schools is the easy way out. What happens at home has a direct impact on a child's ability to learn. They don't learn in a vacuum.

Indeed, parents are the #1 reason a child succeeds or fails in school. Perhaps those parents are addicts, have to work 3 jobs to barely get by so they're never home, physically abusive, lazy, se****ly abusive, verbally abusive, lock them in their rooms, can't afford food, can't afford correct sized shoes/coats, can't afford a washer/dryer or laundromat, and a whole host of reasons parents fail to parent. That's not the kid's fault.

People need to step out of their ivory, judgmental towers and look at real life.

The topic wasn't expanded. Facts matter.

I agree with some of this. Contrary to what @ThinkingOutLoud posted, family is not THE safety net. She must be fortunate to have a successful and generous family. Not everyone does.
Read my post again: Family is supposed to be the safety net - immediate and extended. Although some may not have that, most do and they need to step up.

I said it's supposed to be and I acknowledged that not everyone has that. Family is the basic unit of society and should look out for each other and help out however they can. That's what family is for.

@ThinkingOutLoud

That's a great theory, but not everyone has multiple family members who look out for others. Yes, we all "should" look out for each other, but please don't assume that's what happens most of the time.

I know several people who have no living relatives at all. It's not as uncommon as you seem to believe.

The reading comprehension issues I see on these boards always leaves me shaking my head. I'm not going to repeat myself again and I'm not assuming anything. I'm just pointing out how things are supposed to work because too many didn't seem to get the memo.

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@Tiarosie wrote:
As someone who grew up poor and raised my 5 children on limited income as I was a single mom, married twice with 3 children from first marriage and 2 from second. We struggled until I went to college and earned my degree and I was working full time and doing school full time.
If she was counting money then she wasn't using SNAP benefits (food stamps) and maybe she needs to know about them.

I think people feel this way due to what they see people spending money on while considering other factors. For example if you qualify for SNAP why are you dressed in designer clothes? Diving a nice car? Using the lastest and greatest cell phone? And why aren't you buying ANY fresh foods?

We received foodstamps because of my low income. I did not buy garbage with them! I know many people who do! In fact would you like to know what a recent study showed about food benefit usage showed?

The No. 1 purchases by SNAP households are soft drinks, which accounted for 5 percent of the dollars they spent on food.

I always viewed those benefits as GIFT to me and my children and I fed my children fresh foods and cooked from scratch!

I see SNAP receipients all the time buying NOTHING but junk food, prepacakaged foods, soda, chips and never a single fresh food. Not even meat much of the time.

All the prepackaged garbage out there is why we have OBESE CHILDREN

Childhood obesity has been a problem in the United States for decades. The rate of childhood obesity has tripled since the 1970s. As of 2023, 1 in 5 children in the US are obese, with this number rising yearly.

12.7% of 2- to 5-year-olds, 20.7% of 6- to 11-year-olds and 22.2% of 12- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. have obesity, reports the CDC.

@Tiarosie

I'm interested in how you arrived at this conclusion.

Are you a full time cashier?

Do you hang out by checkstands just to see if you can spot the SNAP recipients .... in line, mixed in with regular people who buy junk food with their own money?

I'm curious .... just how do you tell the difference?

sabatini · ‎06-29-2015

@Tiarosie, back when my kids were young, it was a struggle for us too.

I also agree with you.

When I originally posted, it was about learning to squeeze a dollar as in earlier times.

I was speaking of a mindset that over the years has almost disappeared, though you'd never know that was my point from some of the comments.

No, @Tinkrbl44, we're not talking about eating a tablecloth, and no @NYCLatinaMe, I wasn't saying everyone should buy a slew of appliances to make up for the lack of a proper kitchen.

But as @ThinkingOutLoud mentioned, reading comprehension here is often iffy.

Awhile back I worked in a grocery store for a time and became close to a handful of young people in my department; teens as well as some in their 20s or 30s. 'Kids' to me, as I'm approaching 70.

Lots had no vehicle, so I'd often give rides if our shifts coincided.

A lot of these kids were crazy about shoes, sneakers in particular like Jordans, Nike, Travis Scott, etc. and some of those prices were nuts.

They'd talk excitedly about which ones were about to drop online & how they were hoping to snag a pair.

Some sneaker apps had raffles, some had virtual waiting rooms, inventory was limited & often there were only mere minutes when a coveted pair might be available.

Talk about marketing.

I was the old mother hen in the group, and would often talk with them about money, & what a waste it was to throw it away every month on fancy sneakers or pricey takeout food or even by ubering instead of riding the bus.

It wasn't lecturing or judging, it was just motherly advice that I would've given to my own children.

One of them said that no one had ever put it that way to them before, which was sad, & one kid said that I sounded just like his grandmother. LOL

But after awhile, believe it or not, two actually scraped enough together to buy cars for themselves, & I was so darn proud of them!

Not because of me. I'd say that their mindset had changed.

We still keep in touch.

That's all I've got to say on this subject. The baiting, negative nitpickers can continue to have at it, pointing fingers as they go.

Muddling through...

NYCLatinaMe · ‎01-14-2017

@ThinkingOutLoud wrote:
@Tinkrbl44 wrote:
@ThinkingOutLoud wrote:
@NYCLatinaMe wrote:
@CalminHeart wrote:
Blaming schools is the easy way out. What happens at home has a direct impact on a child's ability to learn. They don't learn in a vacuum.

Indeed, parents are the #1 reason a child succeeds or fails in school. Perhaps those parents are addicts, have to work 3 jobs to barely get by so they're never home, physically abusive, lazy, se****ly abusive, verbally abusive, lock them in their rooms, can't afford food, can't afford correct sized shoes/coats, can't afford a washer/dryer or laundromat, and a whole host of reasons parents fail to parent. That's not the kid's fault.

People need to step out of their ivory, judgmental towers and look at real life.

The topic wasn't expanded. Facts matter.

I agree with some of this. Contrary to what @ThinkingOutLoud posted, family is not THE safety net. She must be fortunate to have a successful and generous family. Not everyone does.
Read my post again: Family is supposed to be the safety net - immediate and extended. Although some may not have that, most do and they need to step up.

I said it's supposed to be and I acknowledged that not everyone has that. Family is the basic unit of society and should look out for each other and help out however they can. That's what family is for.

@ThinkingOutLoud

That's a great theory, but not everyone has multiple family members who look out for others. Yes, we all "should" look out for each other, but please don't assume that's what happens most of the time.

I know several people who have no living relatives at all. It's not as uncommon as you seem to believe.

The reading comprehension issues I see on these boards always leaves me shaking my head. I'm not going to repeat myself again and I'm not assuming anything. I'm just pointing out how things are supposed to work because too many didn't seem to get the memo.