4 ms·

Some destitute-college-student friends were telling me that they lived on a $20/week of rice + beans + canned tomatoes; I suggested that I take them out to Cost

Some destitute-college-student friends were telling me that they lived on a $20/week of rice + beans + canned tomatoes; I suggested that I take them out to Costco and for $100 stuff their pantries with ~3 months of supplies. They patiently explained to idiot me that the reason they ate so poorly was because finding $100 was effectively impossible.

gohrt 11y ago
You could lend them $100 at 20% APR, and they could pay you back with costco savings.
- newjersey 11y ago
  I was a college student within the last decade and I wouldn't trust college students with $5. I'd much rather give that money to someone who says he wants money for drugs. Or I'd give them money but I'd not have any expectation of getting it back. A loan that is not. Also if they're friends, loaning money to friends is one of the easiest way to lose friends. Unrelated, but I seriously doubt you could eat for three months for $100 at Costco unless you subsist on bulk oatmeal and other dry food.
  - MBCook 11y ago
    > Unrelated, but I seriously doubt you could eat for three months for $100 at Costco unless you subsist on bulk oatmeal and other dry food. That's supposedly what they're doing now. You could just buy the rice/beans in much larger bulk than normal grocery stores so the money lasts longer. 'Normal' meals with fresh veggies and some meat/etc? You're right.
bcheung 11y ago
Credit or loans would allow them to take advantage of that scenario... if they could get access to credit.
ars 11y ago
This is why immigrants with strong community support rapidly get out of poverty while the exact same people (ie. same skill, environment, ability) without a strong community don't. With community support you can pool your money, then split the goods and the savings. But you have to be able to implicitly trust your community. Do your friends have other friends in similar situations? Do they trust them enough to make pooled purchases? (Also, you start with pooled purchases simply to help your community. Eventually that transitions into making a bit extra, and before you know it you opened a store. If you are a good person, then you continue to quietly help people in your community with discounts or credit.)
- fleitz 11y ago
  I did a startup in SF a few years ago, totally fucking broke, and never ate healthier in my life thanks to cheap produce from the mission groceries that catered to latinos. Maybe not everyone can buy bulk but you can buy expired goods, grade b veg, etc.
harryh 11y ago
None of these college friends have any access to credit at all? I find that very hard to believe. How are they paying for college?
- zelcon5 11y ago
  Of course they truly have access to funds but already blew it all on frivolities by the time they realized they needed to buy groceries.
- jethro_tell 11y ago
  Funny that the assumption is you must have credit if you are going to school. That's just a given now I guess.
SilasX 11y ago
Why not loan them the money in return for paying back a portion of the savings? And then reinvest the savings in other modes of greater efficiency, which enables more, etc.
- Lawtonfogle 11y ago
  Because the general rule is that you can't loan money to friends. Either it is a gift which may be repaid back, or the friendship gets put under extreme stress. It may not be logical, but I accept it as one of the quirks of human behavior. Similar to how pointing out the economic nature of some relationships and interactions is often considered creepy and anti-social (for example, pointing out how certain commonly assumed altruistic behaviors are not altruistic).
  - SilasX 11y ago
    The legal structuring of the loan isn't relevant to the criticism -- as you note, even treating it as a gift which may be repaid would start the friend on an upward spiral, if that $100 is really is what's holding them back. But that just proves the broader point: it's not the mere $100 that's holding them up; it rarely is. Rather, it's the practice of not thinking long term, and not accumulating savings even when you have clear opportunities.
    - cableshaft 11y ago
      There's more people than you think that would be put on edge accepting that money. Either they're too proud to accept help from their friends, or they constantly feel guilty whenever they see their friend for not paying it back already (hell, I get that way just for forgetting to bring back my friend's DVD each time I go to an event he attends). Regardless of the terms of repayment (even if there are no terms), it adds stress to future encounters, and they may outright refuse it out of principle anyway.

gohrt 11y ago

You could lend them $100 at 20% APR, and they could pay you back with costco savings.

newjersey 11y ago
I was a college student within the last decade and I wouldn't trust college students with $5. I'd much rather give that money to someone who says he wants money for drugs. Or I'd give them money but I'd not have any expectation of getting it back. A loan that is not. Also if they're friends, loaning money to friends is one of the easiest way to lose friends. Unrelated, but I seriously doubt you could eat for three months for $100 at Costco unless you subsist on bulk oatmeal and other dry food.
- MBCook 11y ago
  > Unrelated, but I seriously doubt you could eat for three months for $100 at Costco unless you subsist on bulk oatmeal and other dry food. That's supposedly what they're doing now. You could just buy the rice/beans in much larger bulk than normal grocery stores so the money lasts longer. 'Normal' meals with fresh veggies and some meat/etc? You're right.

bcheung 11y ago

Credit or loans would allow them to take advantage of that scenario... if they could get access to credit.

ars 11y ago

This is why immigrants with strong community support rapidly get out of poverty while the exact same people (ie. same skill, environment, ability) without a strong community don't. With community support you can pool your money, then split the goods and the savings. But you have to be able to implicitly trust your community. Do your friends have other friends in similar situations? Do they trust them enough to make pooled purchases? (Also, you start with pooled purchases simply to help your community. Eventually that transitions into making a bit extra, and before you know it you opened a store. If you are a good person, then you continue to quietly help people in your community with discounts or credit.)

fleitz 11y ago
I did a startup in SF a few years ago, totally fucking broke, and never ate healthier in my life thanks to cheap produce from the mission groceries that catered to latinos. Maybe not everyone can buy bulk but you can buy expired goods, grade b veg, etc.

harryh 11y ago

None of these college friends have any access to credit at all? I find that very hard to believe. How are they paying for college?

zelcon5 11y ago
Of course they truly have access to funds but already blew it all on frivolities by the time they realized they needed to buy groceries.
jethro_tell 11y ago
Funny that the assumption is you must have credit if you are going to school. That's just a given now I guess.

SilasX 11y ago

Why not loan them the money in return for paying back a portion of the savings? And then reinvest the savings in other modes of greater efficiency, which enables more, etc.

Lawtonfogle 11y ago
Because the general rule is that you can't loan money to friends. Either it is a gift which may be repaid back, or the friendship gets put under extreme stress. It may not be logical, but I accept it as one of the quirks of human behavior. Similar to how pointing out the economic nature of some relationships and interactions is often considered creepy and anti-social (for example, pointing out how certain commonly assumed altruistic behaviors are not altruistic).
- SilasX 11y ago
  The legal structuring of the loan isn't relevant to the criticism -- as you note, even treating it as a gift which may be repaid would start the friend on an upward spiral, if that $100 is really is what's holding them back. But that just proves the broader point: it's not the mere $100 that's holding them up; it rarely is. Rather, it's the practice of not thinking long term, and not accumulating savings even when you have clear opportunities.
  - cableshaft 11y ago
    There's more people than you think that would be put on edge accepting that money. Either they're too proud to accept help from their friends, or they constantly feel guilty whenever they see their friend for not paying it back already (hell, I get that way just for forgetting to bring back my friend's DVD each time I go to an event he attends). Regardless of the terms of repayment (even if there are no terms), it adds stress to future encounters, and they may outright refuse it out of principle anyway.