The First Episode Of 30 Days

[thatonethere]

OMFG!!!! These people get on my nerves. IF anybody has seen this show, the couple tries living on minimum wage for 30 days. Here is my beef with how they handle it:

I understand being broke and I have been there myself, but they are doing everything so wrong it's killing me:

1. purchasing bottled water.
Nobody NEEDS to buy water!!!! If the water tastes that bad, try boiling it over the stove, letting it sit and putting it in a container for the fridge. Figi water costs a lot of money. Water is free!, C'mon people!!!! Geez

2. Easter baskets for kids:
I am not against having fun with kids and spending some extra money for it, but try having an Easter egg hunt with real eggs. Real eggs are cheap, sure the kids are old, but they must understand that people aren't made of money.

3. Going to the movie theater:
I love dollar movies, but buying snacks????? Movie snacks cost a lot of money, Try eating before you go, or sneaking some candy in. Sure, it takes away some revenue from the movie theater, but I'm sure they make some money from the ticket purchases. Sneek in a container of something to drink if you must have it for the movie. They should have done that instead of spending all of that money for drinks at the movies. And who says you have to go to the movies. If you have a tv, you can watch it. If you have a dvd player or a VCR, you can rent Redbox movies. Hell, if you can't afford that, then get a library card. They have free movies to check out. Don't be ashamed to go there.

4. Staying out too late to the point where buses no longer run.
When you're poor and don't have a car, your life revolves around the bus schedule. Never, ever allow yourself to miss the bus. Your job, school schedule, etc, has to revolve around it if you don't want to pay extra to take a cab.

5. Getting injured on the job when you don't have health insurance. Sure, hard labor will cause injuries such as sprained wrists. A sprained or fatigued wrist needs to be soaked in warm water, and iced periodically. Hot water and ice don't cost a lot. A little ibuprofen or asprin will help ease the pain, coupled with some stretches. It works. Also, over the counter medicine works well for UTIs. Cranberry juice is expensive, but it's a lot less expensive than a hosptal bill.

6. Food purchases. When you are broke, buying food can be a bit daunting at times especially with the fluctuating prices. Top Ramen coupled with some leftover cuts of meat and maybe a can of vegetables can make a good meal.

I know I probably sound quite arrogant regarding their experiment, and I'm sorry for that. It was a really good idea and I applaud him for that. I just couldn't help but point out how they were handling the situation. In fact, I paused the episode to type this because it was bothering me so much. But will say this. They did a lot of things correctly, like utilizing all of the free services in their neighborhood, and going to the Temp agency to find work. Going to the park instead of paying a lot of money for entertainment is a wise choice. Does anyboy have any input on the subject?

[/rant]
I'm feeling better now. Back to the show.

[Charley]

I am going to see if I can watch it on hulu tomorrow night. so I can give a better reply.

But from what you said they would not survive on minimum wage for very long.

[bellydancerakn]

I luckliy have well water at my house so I've never bought bottled water, except the kind that is fizzy and is flavored. I've seen poor people buy bottled water, but since a case of 24 bttles is 4 bucks and they have food stamps it isn't that expensive. But yeah a britta costs 20 if you don't wanna boil it. I just don't get buying bottled water at all.

Easter baskets, I can't really speak here but my parents did managed to get me a fully loaded easter basket with candy and toys every year from about 3 to 10 eventhough we were poverty level. Also, reusing plastic eggs, both my church and my parents did that. I didn't even know some people threw them away until I started working at walmart. And reusing the plastic grass and baskets themselves. Kid's don't give a shit as long as they get chocolate.

I never really went to a movie theatre because we have only full price ones. But if we did go to a movie, my parents saved up and it as for a special occasion like a birthday or something. The only thing we wuld buy at a movie theatre was a medium diet coke, light ice, that ll 3 of us would share. We would sneak in candy and maybe even popcorn in mom's purse and dad's jacket. Everyone does, I was introduced to buying candy at a movie theatre with my 2nd boyfriend who bought it, I was so suprised and like WTF you don't sneak it in? He didn't even get the concept of sneaking it in.

We always had 2 vehicles left over from when my dad was rich, but yeah I remember my life revolving around the bus scheduale. You wake up fricking early so you can walk the 2 miles to the bus station and then wait. And thats how life is. Now if you have a friend who has a car, you ask him to drive you and you give him gas money.

The only time you go to a doctor is if something is bleeding that isn't supposed to, producing weird liquids, or is broken. If you physically cannot do your job you go to the doctor too. I sprained my ankle tons of times, we never went to the doctor. my mom wrapped my ankle and I layed in bed and read.

And for food. There is a certain thing called the food bank. Yes you have to wake up at the crack of dawn to get a good place in line, but they have good stuff there, sometimes even fresh produce. Also, EBT card, what others know as food stamps. And there is WIC and SNAP. No one judges you for having these. If they do, they have never been poor and suffering before and should try it sometimes. Some people are actually jealous, like my parents, because they make too much for food stamps.

So yeah I get your rant and these people have never been poor in their life.