# I'm so thrifty, a homeless man gave me BACK my money **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 13, 2006, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472 "2006-04-13T02:09:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrightSmite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@BrightSmite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightSmite)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/1 "2006-04-13T02:09:41Z")
I walked out of a Mighty Mike’s ‘gas station’ with a twelve pack of Icehouse beer. As I got into my vehicle… Homeless Man: Hey man, how you doin? BrightSmite: pretty good man, how you doin? HM:You need your truck washed? BS: naw man, I’m good. HM: Hey uh, I need some money for some beer. BS: (I never give to someone who I think is going to buy alcohol w/ it…but) How much does one beer cost? HM: dollar thirty seven… BS: (I pull a dollar out of my billfold and then grab 37 cents from floorboard of car) here ya go man… HM: hey thanks man, whatever whatever BS: (I start to think how much ONE of my beers cost me [.93] and I say…) Hey, how bought you give me that money back and I’ll just give you one of these cold beers… HM: OK cool BS: (I figure he will give me either the change OR the dollar bill back… He gives me ALL!) Hey I’ll keep in touch about that carwash! HM: alright man BS: (I drive away feeling a little disgusted at humanity) ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/2 "2006-04-13T02:15:33Z")
Why disgust? It sounds like this particular homeless guy was absolutely straight forward with you, offered to work for what you gave him, and was honest when you gave him the good instead. I’d have driven away feeling a little bit better about humanity. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/3 "2006-04-13T02:44:20Z")
> [@BrightSmite](#): > > BS: (I drive away feeling a little disgusted at humanity) I don’t quite see how that follows as a rational analysis of the transaction. A chronic alcoholic told you the straightforward reason why he needed money You offered him money and he accepted You then offered him (again… a chronic alcoholic) a ready beer and he gladly traded you the money for the alcohol. A fairly rational choice given the circumstances and gave you all your money back. How was he worthy of disgust? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/4 "2006-04-13T04:51:31Z")
Ditto above. I’d be a little _surprised_, delightfully so even, but disgust? ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/5 "2006-04-13T05:14:43Z")
> [@BrightSmite](#): > > BS: (I drive away feeling a little disgusted at humanity) I, too, am going to ask you to explain why disgust? Disgust at him? He was straight up about why he wanted the money, didn’t lie and say it was for his kid or anything. He refunded all your money when you gave him the beer. Maybe disgust at your self for giving beer to an alcoholic? I don’t think that was so bad. Don’t be so hard on yourself. I thought it was a great little story. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/6 "2006-04-13T08:27:37Z")
You gave him money. Once the gift was made, the money was his, and was no longer yours. You then offered to sell him a beer, and you accepted his money as payment for it, but instead of handing over the beer, you kept his money and drove away. At best, that’s breach of contract on your part, and at worst it is fraud or theft on your part. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/7 "2006-04-13T08:30:23Z")
Or perhaps I misread your post. Did you or did you not give him the beer? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/8 "2006-04-13T08:32:10Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > You then offered to sell him a beer, and you accepted his money as payment for it, but instead of handing over the beer, you kept his money and drove away. Hey, that’s some good critical reading. He said he offered the beer, but didn’t say he actually _gave_ him the beer. Are you telling us you ripped off a homeless guy? Then I would understand the disgust. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/9 "2006-04-13T09:09:29Z")
I think he’d include a bit about the homeless guy swearing at him if he had driven off without giving the beer. ---
**Author:** ![BrightSmite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@BrightSmite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightSmite)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/10 "2006-04-13T12:47:06Z")
Yeah, let me say that my disgust was not aimed at him, his homelessness, or his supposed alcoholism. Even then the word ‘disgust’ is too strong. I really just felt sorry for him for getting to the point of offering a stranger a carwash at 10pm so he could drink a beer. If anything I’m disgusted at myself for giving him a beer. That beer isn’t gonna help him at all… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/11 "2006-04-13T12:52:12Z")
> [@BrightSmite](#): > > That beer isn’t gonna help him at all… Well it isn’t going to help you at all either, but that didn’t stop you from forking over $.93 a can for it. Why does he need a better reason than you do? ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/12 "2006-04-13T12:53:48Z")
I used to think that too but really if it makes his miserable life less miserable for a few minutes then it is not all that bad. We can’t help everyone, and as much as you’d like to think denying him a beer would set him on the straight and narrow, it just won’t. The only person that is going to stop him from drinking is himself. Besides he was pretty starightforward with you. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/13 "2006-04-13T13:04:10Z")
Everyone’s missing this: You were going to get a truck wash for at most, $1.37. Even a bad truck wash is worth more than that, right? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/14 "2006-04-13T13:07:37Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Maybe disgust at your self for giving beer to an alcoholic? Well one beer does not a alcoholic make. You are assuming facts not in evidence and sterotyping. Did you even just have a craving for a certain food and drink on occation, perhaps that’s what was going on, he just wanted, seemingly, one beer. ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/15 "2006-04-13T13:32:30Z")
Why’d you buy Icehouse? Ew. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/16 "2006-04-13T13:59:58Z")
Hey! You owed him 44 cents change! 🙂 Seriously, even if he’s an alcoholic, he’s hardly getting drunk off of one beer. 'Specially Icehouse. You might as well have given him a bottle of water. ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/17 "2006-04-13T14:40:42Z")
Yeah, go charge a bum $1.37 for a bottle of water… more evil than weird if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![HeadNinja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b4bc9f/32.png) [@HeadNinja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeadNinja)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/18 "2006-04-13T17:41:02Z")
Perhaps he’s homeless because he doesn’t buy his beer in bulk? ---
**Author:** ![Keeper\_Of\_Secrets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Keeper\_Of\_Secrets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeper_Of_Secrets)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/19 "2006-04-13T20:07:49Z")
I just love this board; it never fails to give me a geniune laugh, especially when I need it most (like today). You guys are so funny. 😃 BTW, I agree that if you brightened the life of someone like that and gave him the chance to feel better for a few minutes having a beer to enjoy, you did a good thing. The more desperate your circumstances, the more the little things mean, and the more you’re struggling, the more you appreciate any tiny respite. And that beer sure wasn’t going to make things any worse at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472/20 "2006-04-13T20:22:07Z")
You should go back tomorrow with a 12 pack in hand and see what you can get him to do. You could have yourself a genuine beer slave if you play it well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-thrifty-a-homeless-man-gave-me-back-my-money/352472.md?page=2)