I Saved "Food 4 Less" for ONLY Two Dollars!

As I was leisurely waiting for my best friend, Panther, the other day at Starbucks, I was approached by a homeless man. Of course, I knew he was going to ask for money, so immediately I tried not to make eye contact. But, unfortunately, my "turn-away" look was caught by him. He told me he swears that he only wanted money to eat and if I wanted to I can go buy him the food if I don't believe him. But, I wasn't about to be caught dead with our clashing outfits in a McDonald's of all places; I mean "Micky D's" is a classy restaurant! And before I could even reach in my purse he said, "I am so hungry, I am about to rob a Food 4 Less." With a "who the heck says that?" look on my face I handed over two dollars and said, "Here you go, get yourself a tall can, oops, I mean a hamburger." I kept watching him and he didn't walk over to any restaurants to get food, he kept hustling the parking lot. I thought, man, this guy is about to get a better meal than me and I WORK for a living!

And to think, I thought I was saving a Food 4 Less with my measly two dollars. Instead, I contributed to a guy who probably has a higher paying salary than me. It really got me thinking...maybe being homeless might just be a promising career.


So, I came up with my predicted annual salary of the average beggar:

Average amount of people a homeless person begs per day for money: 45

Average amount of people who actually give the homeless person money: 25

Average amount of money given by each person: $1

Money made per day: $25

Money made per week: $175

Money made per month: $700

Total gross income per year: $8,400

So here is the true kicker, eight grand may not be much for a year's salary, but you really have to think about where their money is going to....

So, here is my break down of a homeless person's average weekly spending habits:

Housing: $0
Transportation: $0
Alcohol and cigarettes: $45
Food: $30
Other necessities: $10
Taxes: $0
Total money spent: $75
Cash left over (if not spent on recreational drugs): $100

Anyway, I swear I haven't started drinking wine (yet), but really if homeless people really wanted to they could save more than $1,200 per year. I bet the average American only saves about $300 annually! Well, that is just some food for thought....

Just when you think you are saving a Food 4 Less...there is so much more to the equation.

*Note: Numbers and facts in this post are entirely untrue. They are merely the really bad calculations made by The Bear.