5 ms·

I agree this is a troll, but I'd like to point out a few things: > - Not going far from home, but using ~23 liters of gas($50 @ 210/L) just to get there? Abso

I agree this is a troll, but I'd like to point out a few things: > - Not going far from home, but using ~23 liters of gas($50 @ 210/L) just to get there? Absolutely could see this. I live in the US, but the nearest spot I'd like to go camping is probably a $50 round trip. And I'd like to camp in different places, so we're starting to look at $50 being entirely reasonable if I made a list of places I'd like to camp. Not every trip, but certainly within the realm of possibility. > - Paying for firewood instead of just collecting it? For what it's worth, this is not allowed in many parks. > - Spending $25/person/day on food? This doesn't sound insane in the context of a trip, even a camping trip. You'll probably buy some special meat to grill, marshmallows to roast, some trail mix and maybe stop for food on the way out or back. $25 isn't really that crazy when you're traveling.

googlryas 4y ago
Even spending $50 in one direction on gas isn't insane for a weekend camping trip, a couple hours of highway driving at current prices, but I don't think anyone would consider that "not far from home" as OP stated. > For what it's worth, this is not allowed in many parks. Sure, but you don't need to camp in parks. That helps save on the $60/night fee as well. > You'll probably buy some special meat to grill, marshmallows to roast, some trail mix and maybe stop for food on the way out or back. According to OP it is just a "basic sausage", not even a special meat. I end up spending about $15/day on food and I just pack what I want with no thought to cost. I guess my point is...none of what OP described is completely unreasonable for a random person's camping trip. But it is completely unreasonable when using this camping trip as an example as to how a person making minimum wage can't even go camping without saving up for weeks. To me, this post reminds me exactly of things you see on reddit's antiwork sub, where people say something like "You can't live on minimum wage", and to prove it provide a breakdown of how much it would cost to rent a 2BR apartment downtown, $500/month clothing allowance, $400/mo car lease, things like that. Stuff that I don't even do for myself despite making closer to 7 figures than 5. I've never camped at a AA fee schedule spot, never spent $25/day on food(while camping), never drank $25 of beer per day(while camping), never bought cigarettes, etc...
- thaumasiotes 4y ago
  > never drank $25 of beer per day(while camping), never bought cigarettes A bigger problem with the itemization of cigarettes is that listing them as a camping expense implies that you smoke more while camping than you would otherwise, which makes no sense.
  - ithkuil 4y ago
    While camping the air is too clean, so you need some cigarettes to fill your lungs with your normal city air.
  - dukeofdoom 4y ago
    I listed beer and cigarettes, because its a common vice of lower class working people. Less so than it used to be. But $15 dollars is just for one pack in Ontario. So the guy is rationing his cigarette pack over 2 days.
    - thaumasiotes 4y ago
      > But $15 dollars is just for one pack in Ontario. So the guy is rationing his cigarette pack over 2 days. That means camping is cheaper than the alternative. It's insane to list saving money as if it were a cost of camping.
- dukeofdoom 4y ago
  I see your point. But the flip side is how better off people do these silly calculations how they can penny pinch a 10% cheaper price on something the poor person should buy instead of what they want. What they neglect to consider is the experience of trying to penny pinch. And the decreased value of what they end up getting. I can penny pinch and buy a really crappy loaf of bread for $3.5 or pay $6 for sourdough bread with walnuts. Sure one loaf is much cheaper than the other, but you really do get less for less. Same with campsites. Sure I can penny pinch and get a budget campsite, but it won't be in a provincial park with nature. And I wasn't quoting some exuberant travel experience. Just a simple outing, a place a father my want to take his kid camping and fishing one day. The food prices are very realistic for actual real food. Sure you can do it for 10% cheaper, and 30% less of experience, and eating crappy food. But this is someone's vacation. Shouldn't they at least be able to splurge once in a while.

googlryas 4y ago

Even spending $50 in one direction on gas isn't insane for a weekend camping trip, a couple hours of highway driving at current prices, but I don't think anyone would consider that "not far from home" as OP stated. > For what it's worth, this is not allowed in many parks. Sure, but you don't need to camp in parks. That helps save on the $60/night fee as well. > You'll probably buy some special meat to grill, marshmallows to roast, some trail mix and maybe stop for food on the way out or back. According to OP it is just a "basic sausage", not even a special meat. I end up spending about $15/day on food and I just pack what I want with no thought to cost. I guess my point is...none of what OP described is completely unreasonable for a random person's camping trip. But it is completely unreasonable when using this camping trip as an example as to how a person making minimum wage can't even go camping without saving up for weeks. To me, this post reminds me exactly of things you see on reddit's antiwork sub, where people say something like "You can't live on minimum wage", and to prove it provide a breakdown of how much it would cost to rent a 2BR apartment downtown, $500/month clothing allowance, $400/mo car lease, things like that. Stuff that I don't even do for myself despite making closer to 7 figures than 5. I've never camped at a AA fee schedule spot, never spent $25/day on food(while camping), never drank $25 of beer per day(while camping), never bought cigarettes, etc...

thaumasiotes 4y ago
> never drank $25 of beer per day(while camping), never bought cigarettes A bigger problem with the itemization of cigarettes is that listing them as a camping expense implies that you smoke more while camping than you would otherwise, which makes no sense.
- ithkuil 4y ago
  While camping the air is too clean, so you need some cigarettes to fill your lungs with your normal city air.
- dukeofdoom 4y ago
  I listed beer and cigarettes, because its a common vice of lower class working people. Less so than it used to be. But $15 dollars is just for one pack in Ontario. So the guy is rationing his cigarette pack over 2 days.
  - thaumasiotes 4y ago
    > But $15 dollars is just for one pack in Ontario. So the guy is rationing his cigarette pack over 2 days. That means camping is cheaper than the alternative. It's insane to list saving money as if it were a cost of camping.
dukeofdoom 4y ago
I see your point. But the flip side is how better off people do these silly calculations how they can penny pinch a 10% cheaper price on something the poor person should buy instead of what they want. What they neglect to consider is the experience of trying to penny pinch. And the decreased value of what they end up getting. I can penny pinch and buy a really crappy loaf of bread for $3.5 or pay $6 for sourdough bread with walnuts. Sure one loaf is much cheaper than the other, but you really do get less for less. Same with campsites. Sure I can penny pinch and get a budget campsite, but it won't be in a provincial park with nature. And I wasn't quoting some exuberant travel experience. Just a simple outing, a place a father my want to take his kid camping and fishing one day. The food prices are very realistic for actual real food. Sure you can do it for 10% cheaper, and 30% less of experience, and eating crappy food. But this is someone's vacation. Shouldn't they at least be able to splurge once in a while.