Thremp is right, in every aspect, for this specific argument.

Everyone else here is cutting edges and getting into subjective matter.

We're way off base here, and while I believe that both sides of the argument are correct, Thremp is more correct then the others.

Of course, picking a fruit tree and taking the time to sell it should qualifies as work. But OP I guess never really said you couldn't perform activities that you find "fun" but yield some sort of income soo...

this has definitely been an entertaining thread though

I think there is a tangible difference between eating like 4 days a week on 10 bucks and then eating 3 days on 15-20 than eating everyday on 10 bucks. The fact that you can upgrade to cheap steaks, blah blah blah makes a big difference in quality in the prior. Like a 10 dollar a day meal plan is extremely limited and basically as frugal as possible short of what I'd consider food bank level.

Then again I guess if you're retired you can spend all day hunting for sales and clipping coupons. But that is just as pointless and quasi-work. Unless you enjoy the idea of searching for the best deal. If you don't enjoy running errands/cutting coupons, you've just shifted what you're doing for money.

Actually, many millionaires do clip coupons. I also agree that any budget should have room to splurge, I do think that is possible on $30k/year as well.

Breakfast:
-hard boiled egg (free range) $0.40
-2 whole wheat toast $0.30
-honey $0.15
-12 oz. fresh-squeezed OJ $1.00
TOTAL: $1.65
CALORIES: 600

Lunch:
Large chicken burrito
-chicken $1.00
-large flour tortilla $0.20
-beans $0.50
-salsa $0.50
-jalepenos $0.25
TOTAL: $2.45
CALORIES: 600

Snack:
-powerbar $1.00
TOTAL: $1.00
CALORIES: 200

Dinner:
-Red cabbage salad $1.50
-8 oz. USDA choice Sirloin $2.00
-Baked potato + olive oil + pepper $0.75
-Mixed fresh vegetables $1.50
-glass red wine $1.00
TOTAL: $6.75
CALORIES: 1200

TOTAL COST: $11.85
TOTAL CALORIES: 2,600

You've missed the point completely, again.

Of course you are assuming you would pick from the tree.

What about picking vegetables from your garden? Is that work? lol

It makes me sad that Roger Clemens handle is used by someone so inept when The Rocket pwns all

Breakfast was hard. I mean I can see a cold breakfast being acceptable but not a lunch or dinner.

That gives you two non-meat meals out of fourteen. I should have said meat or fish but it escaped my mind since I don't eat seafood. The point was to eliminate the possibility of having pasta and sauce or rice and veggies for the majority of meals

Where to draw the line between necessary and unnecessary is really a quality of life thing. I think having a small thing before dinner makes a major impact on quality of life and most people agree which is why they put the effort in for dinner parties and special occasions. Yeah coming home from work and doing it I wouldn't either but if you have all the time in the world then why not other than cost? If we need to cut back because of cash issues is what we are trying to measure.

I hate grocery stores and I actually managed to avoid going to one for over decade and likely closer to fourteen / fifteen years. Eating the same meal multiple times in a row though is worse which is why I prefer restaurants to cooking. That being said our individual is broke and unemployed -- he should be looking forward to going to the grocery store every other day as that is the only social contact he can afford.

I don't eat any of those things but yes. When one of the local higher end restaurants got busted for using canned peaches for one of their deserts it wasn't ok with the patrons so there must be a difference. I know for the stuff I do consume that canned versions are always inferior so I don't have any reason to suspect it would be different for stuff I don't eat.

Powerbars cost a dollar now. This is BIMO.

The best part of this thread is how those who don't get it assume that anything that returns money when doing something is prohibited. Even managing one's money has been considered "work", which is quite lol.

The poker player example illustrates this. If I am a bad poker player then I can't afford to play because I lose. If I am a good poker player and win more often than losing, then I can't play because that's "work".

Of course if I have all the time in the world I get to do whatever I want. I probably don't want to work for somebody else, and I probably don't want to start a formal business. But excluding activities that have some benefit (either monetary, "feel good", or healthful) which I either enjoy or take zero effort would always be desired.

Yeah, like growing fruit trees, and then picking the fruit and selling it. IE running a farm. Isn't work.

Good one. More lies about random bull**** though. I'm getting a kick. (PS: Powerbars through their website are >2 bucks a bar. I didn't bother to look at shipping and tax.)

lol powerbar doesn't cost $1.

How stupid are you? Do you deliberately pay the worst possible prices for stuff?

Like a garden is a farm. GTFO

lol website. Like the best prices are there.

Really, where do you shop? I get 10 powerbars for $10. And I could get them cheaper if I wanted to. I just don't like the flavors in the 24 for $18 package.

Playing poker on a random and infrequent basis is not work regardless of your expected profit / loss.

Playing poker more than once a week or having poker winnings as a requirement for a balanced budget makes it work.

So if you enjoy playing poker once a week and win $400 a month, you are saying that's ok?

I don't need poker earnings to survive, but are you saying I need to blow my winnings on overpriced dinners or amusement park rides?

You have to be a gimmick account. $1? Even internet prices when you buy them by the box are $2 for the horrible stuff and $3-4 for good ones. Grocery store and drug store prices are $3-6. Convenience store prices are $4-8.

Brand and source on $1 bars?

If your budget counts on that $400 then it is work and it violates the terms of this thought experiment. I mean otherwise I can just say I can retire on zero and live off sports betting.

He's just a liar. Like an outright ridiculous liar. The US site has 27 bucks for 12 before tax shipping for protein plus bars. You'd need to get wholesale pricing to make it doable. Maybe even below wholesale. Just ridiculous.

The university I went to for undergrad sells powerbars for $1.79 at the store where you can use cash, and $2 at the "store" where you can use cash or "campus cash" from the mealplan. However, they had a 2 for 1 sale on powerbars for about a week every month or so, during which I usually bought a whole lot of them. Most grocery stores around here sell them for $2 each, but often have 10 for $10 or 10 for $15. Maybe it depends where you live, but they don't cost $3-6 around here.

Also, costco sells the 24 packs for $25 (again, this is in columbia, MD, maybe different where you live), and amazon sells the 24 packs for $30. They only have the peanut butter and chocolate ones though, both of which taste like ****. The prices I mentioned above at local stores is good for any flavor (I like the cinnamon apple ones personally).

Of course I'm lying.

It's actually 24 for $21.22, which is $0.88 per unit.

Not even considering that they offer coupons on these things every 6 months, cost way less than $1.00.

GG, outright lie lol.

Quit tarding up the thread.

This for lolz.

Ironing.

If I had $1 million, and I was good at poker, why would I not play poker? If I was good at portrait painting, and I enjoyed it, why would I not do it and sell them? It really doesn't make any sense to do otherwise.

The assumption that I can't make money this way is lol absurd.

It's the exact same cost if you go to costco, with no shipping fee, stop being a ****ing jackass. Plus, even if you don't want to pay the membership fee, you can buy them for 1-1.50 per bar in many parts the US in grocery stores.