The Crazy Crew

The Crazy Crew

Monday, December 28, 2009

Poor Folk Fun

It is my opinion that being broke is not fun. There are weird and deranged people out there that will tell you that lack of money brings the family closer together and makes you really see what the important things are in life, builds character even . . . and then there is me saying that these are the things other people tell you when you are broke in hopes that you feel less crappy in the current situation. When faced with being broke and bored it is my opinion that the tough have to get creative.

These days there are very few activities that one can do without an associated cost. Think about it . . . what can you actually do with no money? Something to do that does not cost admission or gas in the car to get there. In my current situation, no money and half my crap still in storage in Idaho I have two equally thrilling free choices. I can stay home or I can go for a walk. This is it for the no cost options. Now, staying home means I can watch TV or movies, play video games, read, maybe craft (if the right stuff made it to Arizona) or I can creatively cook and bake with what is in the pantry. Option two; going for a walk . . . well I live in the middle of nowhere. The only thing within walking distance is a grocery store. This brings me to what I consider poor folk fun. Fun you can have for very little money or incorporate into the things that are necessities.

Too broke to do things does not equal too broke to eat or wash clothes. I just want to make sure you understand the level of broke so you don’t worry that I am melting away into nothingness or smell bad. No worries at all, this is not happening! When you have only enough money for the necessities creativity is crucial. Thank my (broken and tarnished) lucky stars that I got that marketing degree so I am officially smart in the creative category. I am a lover of a bargain and enjoy the feeling of pushing a cart around a store filling it up with things to purchase. This means my new favorite thing to do is grocery shop. It is a trip out of the house, which honestly (and you can verify with the daughter and husband) is a luxury these days.

I believe there is a direct correlation between the amount of money you have for a grocery shopping trip and the healthfulness of the food purchased. I think this is a conspiracy by some government agency to weed out poor people slowly through high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes, driving everyone with a single income directly to heart attacks! Seriously, why is it I can afford the fattiest meat available, a starchy boxed meal, two bottles of soda and chips for the price of one 8oz bag of salad mix and a single lean chicken breast? Regardless grocery shopping is the one joy my family now clings to. It is our time to interact with other people, peruse all the options available, carefully select what best fits our needs and the budget for that trip, it has become a game to get the most for the least. I now get the same thrill from getting the $1.98 pint of Bryers ice cream as I used to from buying $40 new shoes.

The other low cost fun option is to rent Redbox movies. For those of you who have no knowledge of Redbox (rich bastards!) Redbox is a machine where for one dollar you can rent a movie for a day. With just a few dollars a week we supplement our TV viewing and the movies we already own with some newer releases. We have the excitement of a drive to the Redbox as well as the actual watching of the movies. For a few hours, we can pretend we are the same as the people who rent movies for $3.95 each at fancy places like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video.

Now I don’t know if you noticed but poor folk fun (and even the free “staying home option”) is comprised of two main portions . . . eating (grocery shopping) and sitting (watching movies). Another government plot to weed out me and my kind I fear . . . I grow bigger with every one of my lacking paychecks! I suppose when I feel my arteries start clogging I could always go on a walk . . . it’s free. Maybe I will . . . after I wash these nachos down with Diet Pepsi and my movie ends.

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