Donate to Poor People, it's not their fault

[kiskis]

playspent.org/

I don't know where I found this. Might have been on this board. I am all for giving to charity, and I definitely empathize with people who have been through catastrophic natural disasters or have medical problems. HOWEVER, this simulation almost turns my heart to ice. Maybe I'm just rude.

First of all, why are the rent options so outrageous? Second, $7 for 3lbs. of chicken?? Stop buying wings, and buy some $0.60/lb. thighs. Jeez.

I made it with $1186 left over at the end of the month. My poor kid has no clothes, doesn't eat lunch and has no friends. Raise 'em tough is my motto!

[Gardening Grandma]

So which job did you get? And did you opt for paying the health ins premium? (I failed the typing test, and I am a pretty fast typist)

[kiskis]

May 20, 2011 10:01:33 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

So which job did you get? And did you opt for paying the health ins premium? (I failed the typing test, and I am a pretty fast typist)

Temp, and yes, I did do the health insurance, but I bailed on a dropped vase and smashed bumper. *blush* I think I also stole my kid's $10, lol!

[nalto]

"(I failed the typing test, and I am a pretty fast typist) "

So did I...wasn't entirely sure how accurate that was. Also, I'm fairly certain that I (and many others) would do well enough in the interview(s) to land the job even if our typing skills just missed the mark.

[soon2bmomof3]

I passed the typing test, stole my kid's $10 and put the pet down...I'm evil, I know...

I did pass up helping a friend move to go see my kid's starring role in the school play though...but then I ran out of money by Day 19 b/c my car broke down.

[runewell]

I made it thru the month as a waitress. Don't know home I'm going to pay for the sex change operation though since I started the game as a guy.

[kiskis]

May 20, 2011 11:38:47 GMT -5 runewell said:

I made it thru the month as a waitress. Don't know home I'm going to pay for the sex change operation though since I started the game as a guy.

LoL. Are we supposed to be calling them "waitpersons" yet?

[dragonfly7]

The rent options were perfectly normal for where I live.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I had $456 left at the end of the month but I was pretty cold hearted like not giving my mother medication, getting rid of the pet, not doing the sports team etc.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

I opted to just rely on my emergency fund and not play the game.

[Deleted]

As life would have it...I have been a waitress, just paid a big vet bill, had a fender bender a couple of months ago and just stocked up on pasta. The differance between the game and my life is that I didn't pay those bills at the same time I was a waitress. It's one or the other.

[Taxman10]

LOL - i had $300 at the end of the month. some of those questions were just BS - "you didn't think you were speeding, but got a $250 ticket - what do you do"

who get's a $250 speeding ticket every month!!

I was a factory worker with health insurance. my kid got the thrift store shoes and ate the free lunch. times are tough, he'll get over it :-)

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I opted out of insurance but I know that DD would qualify for Hawk-i in my state so her health care would be covered and I could get mind at reduced/sliding scale costs from Planned Parenthood.

In a worst case scenario I'd declare bankruptcy.

So there was some stuff left out of that question when it came to opting into/out of insurance.

I went for the free lunch as well, I figured eventually she'd get hungry enough that she would eat it. No way was I paying money I didn't have for school lunch so she could feel better.

[Taxman10]

::I went for the free lunch as well, I figured eventually she'd get hungry enough that she would eat it. No way was I paying money I didn't have for school lunch so she could feel better. ::

I know right -- damn straight the kid's getting the free lunch :-)

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

A lot of those questions were sob story types like "Your mom needs $100 for medicine". Well I need $100 too and there are ways for people to get reduced cost medication. Then same with the funeral, I get they are important to people but one of the options was to pay $350 to FLY out there? Who the hell picks that option on a waitress salary?

I drove down there, still cost me money, but it beat paying to fly.

Then I did leave the dented car. Here they don't issue tickets or even come to the scene if it is a non-injury accident during that kind of weather. So unless the driver was in the car how are they going to prove it was me?

[fuel100]

May 20, 2011 11:50:11 GMT -5 kiskis said:

May 20, 2011 11:38:47 GMT -5 runewell said:

I made it thru the month as a waitress. Don't know home I'm going to pay for the sex change operation though since I started the game as a guy.

LoL. Are we supposed to be calling them "waitpersons" yet?

They prefer to be called "dining concierge".

[Taxman10]

I went through it again, this time I ended with ~$150. However, it only lets you sell plasma 1 time!! I can donate 8 x in a month, and 2 of those 8 I can sell higher priced items like platelets.

[Cookies Galore]

I started as a waitress and I laughed right away at the supposed wages they earn. Only $1,000 take home a month? My worst month as a waitress in real life still netted me $1,200. And I've never had to pay for broken plates. This broad must work at Denny's or some other shitty place.
I opted to make my kid sit in the principal's office instead of spending $15 on a field trip, but to be fair, I shouldn't have a kid in the first place. I did, however, pay the $350 extortion to keep my cat. I have priorities.

[Malarky]

I clicked out at the beginning of the game..

In real life: I started with nothing, really. So everything else is a bonus.

Rooming house, shared bathrooms, room mates. Eventually WORKED my way up to the single family house.

Ummm...what was it that you deserve again?

[LlamaLlamaDuck]

I clicked out at the beginning of the game..

In real life: I started with nothing, really. So everything else is a bonus.

Rooming house, shared bathrooms, room mates. Eventually WORKED my way up to the single family house.

Ummm...what was it that you deserve again? - Malarky

I left the game at the typing test, cuz in real life I supported myself at temp jobs without having to be a good typist. I lived on about $300/mo right out of college - rooming house, take the bus, etc. Still paid off my college loans, sometimes worked up to four PT jobs. I have a good income now, considering the area, and can live off about half of it. Malarky's right - everything else is a bonus.

[rmtvbrooks]

I saw this game, too, and the options are severely limited. On many of the questions, there are other options available. It seemed they only listed two extreme options, when often there is a middle-of-the-road compromise. And as to the school lunch question: most schools nowadays have things set up where kids have a lunch card, so no one knows if you are free, reduced, or paid. Everyone just swipes their card without anyone knowing how it was paid for. I agree, though...eventually the kid will be hungry enough to eat! I also opted to put the pet to sleep (I love animals, but I've never been willing to spend thousands on health care for a dog--I think it's more humane to put them to sleep and out of their misery). I also felt that if "mom" needed medicine, "mom" needed to find a way to pay for it! Depending on her age, she'd be eligible for Medicare anyway.

I work at a church, and we get many requests for benevolence assistance. A tiny percentage of them have a true need (like the lady who couldn't work because she was at the hospital in Atlanta with her son, who had a stroke and is paralyzed). Most, however, can't pay their electric bill, but they reek of cigarette smoke and have fancy acrylic fingernails...kind of hard to muster any sympathy for those folks. I think the record was the guy who owed $1,057 to the electric company; he hadn't even made an attempt at payment in 4 months, and he wanted us to pay the entire thing! NOT happening...

[gailbon]

The prices for groceries were so out of line with reality. Who in the world pays $3 for a bag of carrots, or $1 for one can of beans? And $4 for a jar of peanut butter?! I don't think so....

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Wow. Those grocery prices seem way out of what we're paying.

[TheOtherMe]

I had $736 left at the end of the month.

It said I flunked the typing test, but I doubt that. I know there was one typo, but I am a fast typist. One typo does not flunk you on this type of test.

I was a waitress without health or dental insurance. My kid was on free lunches, even when he wanted not to be. I took the animal to the humane society. Sorry, but if I was in these dire straits, I wouldn't have a pet. I also took in a roommate to sleep on the couch.