# Your not understanding how the world works is somehow my problem? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 6, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991 "2015-02-06T18:33:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/81 "2015-02-08T05:10:15Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > OP essentially explained this though, and if you think about it makes sense. To fill in maybe some of the blanks: the pizza business is cut throat and brutal. In any given area you’re looking at all the major chains having stores, regional chains having stores, then all the mom and pop’s having stores. Then there’s also probably random ass places selling take and bake pizzas, gas station pizzas and etc. > > This depresses the retail price of pizzas for most outlets. Yes, if you’re the brewpub/gourmet pizza sit down restaurant you can get away with charging $30 a pie. If you’re that Mom & Pop that is so iconic your customers are willing to pay big money for your pie, you can sell it for that. But for the rest of the market for pizzas has to put out pies essentially as cheaply as they can while maintaining their quality standards. > > It may not seem like a big deal, but a culture in which any free pizza giveaways are allowed is one in which at least some of those free pizza giveaways will be employees giving pizzas to friends. It’ll result in multiple pizzas per day going out the door in exchange for nothing, and on a corporate scale, with such a competitive business with razor thin margins that’s a real hit to the bottom line and your ability to compete as a pizza chain. Vinyl’s right though, you are going to have a few pizzas that never reach the customer because they are either wrong, or cancelled. And if they go out the door, it doesn’t affect the bottom line at all. You just don’t want to be advertising that you’re giving them away. So although I did give some to homeless guys or other hungry passersby who came in begging, I didn’t get “repeat business” that way. Refusing to give away pizzas though, it’s not even a principle that needs to be defended. They aren’t mine, they are the company’s. I only gave away that which would be tossed anyway. One minor nitpick though: food costs in the pizza business generally aren’t where you get in trouble. The margins on food are actually very high, at least on the pizza. Labor is where you get into trouble. As a general rule, if you’re careless with food, as in too much toppings on pizzas, too many mistakes, or letting your friends have free pizza, your food costs will be out of whack by oh, 3%. Labor, if your forecasts are wrong, can be off by as much as 50%. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/82 "2015-02-08T05:32:45Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Agreed. > > Customers do suck, but it takes two for drama. Not at all. The customer screaming and ranting can create drama all by themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/83 "2015-02-08T06:35:40Z")
Nm ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/84 "2015-02-08T06:50:25Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > To fill in maybe some of the blanks: the pizza business is cut throat and brutal. In any given area you’re looking at all the major chains having stores, regional chains having stores, then all the mom and pop’s having stores. Then there’s also probably random ass places selling take and bake pizzas, gas station pizzas and etc. > > This depresses the retail price of pizzas for most outlets. …such a competitive business with razor thin margins that’s a real hit to the bottom line and your ability to compete as a pizza chain. Assuming facts not in evidence. There are 2 hypotheses. Yours: the corporate suits are cutting costs because otherwise they will go out of business. Mine: the corporate suits are cutting costs because it boosts profits to their shareholders. Actually the business is highly profitable. Cut costs though and _it’s even better!_ Ca-ching! Dominos is making money hand over fist. Their dividend yield is 1.0%; their PE is 36. You don’t get such figures unless it’s a growth company (or they’ve suffered an earnings collapse and dividend cut, which they haven’t). Here are the profits per share: 2011 1.71 2012 1.90 2013 2.48 The point: profits are leaping forwards. Domino cuts costs _because they can_. > [@Muffin](#): > > “Sorry, Sir. We’ve tried your card repeatedly, but your bank has declined it. You will have to speak to your bank.” > > Why waste time giving a more detailed explanation? Keep it simple. Extending the explanation just provides further opportunity for the customer to bitch at you. Turn that frown upside down Muffin! There is no I in team! ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/85 "2015-02-08T06:53:35Z")
9% profit margin is about the average for the pizza industry. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/86 "2015-02-08T12:53:34Z")
I’m kind of bothered by the fact that a family has $20 to their name, and is spending almost every penny of it on pizza for dinner. From the fact that prepared food is far more expensive than food you cook yourself, to the fact that they only have $20 to spend on food. What kind of sad, stressful life are these people living? Unless the whole story is bullshit trying to scam a free pizza, in which case, what kind of sad, pathetic people try to scam a pizza? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/87 "2015-02-08T14:10:48Z")
Pizza guy, please tell me about adding extra toppings. My local pizza place insists that extra toppings will not increase the weight of the pizza because he has to cut back on the amount of each topping he uses so the pizza will cook right. Funny thing is that his competitors pizza will weigh more than double what his pizza weighs using the same toppings and they seem to cook fine. Do pizza franchises have a weight reference for a finished pizza? How much should additional toppings add to the weight. I order a lot of toppings. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/88 "2015-02-08T15:02:21Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > The machine doesn’t tell me why. In fact, here’s an update to this story: > > The reason why their card was declined, in this case? > > Because they changed their order, to a lesser amount, which meant (our computers automatically do this) the card was voided. > > But, that void DOES NOT PROCESS for a few business days. Until then, your money is in Limbo. Am I missing something? It sounds now as if the original amount was approved (and not declined) but a change to the order (for a lesser amount) was later declined? So the customer did have the $20 in the bank but your POS system fucked him over? Yeah, people like that probably shouldn’t be using banks, but I’d be pissed if that happened to me. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/89 "2015-02-08T15:38:39Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Pizza guy, please tell me about adding extra toppings. My local pizza place insists that extra toppings will not increase the weight of the pizza because he has to cut back on the amount of each topping he uses so the pizza will cook right. Funny thing is that his competitors pizza will weigh more than double what his pizza weighs using the same toppings and they seem to cook fine. > > Do pizza franchises have a weight reference for a finished pizza? How much should additional toppings add to the weight. I order a lot of toppings. At Pizza Hut, we reduced the amount used if someone ordered more toppings. If you overload a pizza, it will be undercooked under the toppings and cheese. If you ordered six toppings, you still got a heavier than someone who ordered just one, but not six times more, more like 3 times more. Depends on the crust though. Thinner crusts will still cook well with lots of toppings. Depends on the oven too. We used conveyor ovens. The brick ovens seem to get a better result when there are a lot of toppings on the pizza. ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/90 "2015-02-08T17:11:35Z")
Adaher already responded adequately. How it works “today” and it may work differently tomorrow: If you order a pizza with just pepperoni, the pepperoni is supposed to (before it’s put into the oven) completely cover the cheese, meaning, there’s overlap of the pepperoni, just barely. When you order extra pepperoni, there’s a lot more overlap. When you order pepperoni lover’s, we start with a normal pepperoni, add a layer of cheese (which obscures the bottom layer of pepperoni) and then put a layer of pepperoni on top which is more loosely spread out, but still fairly close. If you do a pizza with triple pepperoni, you’re not just going to get overlap, you’ll get a layer without cheese in between, which will, I repeat, will cause the pepperonis on top to dry out. If you like that, fine, otherwise get a pepperoni lover, so the cheese prevents that kind of dry out. Some people like the top layer of pepps to be crispy. If you order a pepperoni and one other topping pizza, the pepperonis will touch, but not overlap. If you order a pepperoni and several other topping pizza, there will be a gap between pepperoni. And when it comes to other toppings, one-topping of that will be quite generous and heavy with that one topping. Try ordering a black olive pizza and try to find a real gap between those suckers, the pizza is covered with it, if it’s made properly. Note: once it is cooked, and cut, there will now be a gap, because cutting the pizza spreads the cheese and the toppings floating on it. The bottom line is, to cook properly, more toppings means less of each kind of topping. And, there’s only so much topping a slice can hold before the stuff starts falling off anyway- and you’d have to cook it well done to make it cook properly and then parts will be overdone and parts will be underdone. You just want to have the proper amount of topping, so, if you’re doing 3 or more toppings, doing extra of every topping is a real waste. It’s better if you’re doing extra of less toppings, because they’ll be cooked right. In fact if you have any questions about whether a pizza was made properly, and want an impartial and knowledgeable opinion, snap a picture of it and PM me the link, I’ll tell you if the spacing is correct or what happened to it to make it look a certain way. I’ll also tell you if it’s acceptable or not according to the company. Sometimes lazy fucks will not bother remaking a pizza that looks bad, but was made properly. Stuff happens at the cut table- pepperoni and cheese especially get out of whack when it cooks, and starts to pool in one direction, and cutting it while the cheese is very melty will make everything slide off your slice. They’re supposed to be more careful, because the end result is a slice with less cheese on it and less pepperoni, even though we used the right amount of ingredients. If they fuck it up, they’re supposed to take the 8 minutes and remake it before giving it to you, otherwise you’re going to be dissatisfied with the product even if you don’t complain, and we’ll have to remake it and re-deliver it later if you do. So it’s better and cheaper to fix it then. If the store ever calls and says there will be a slight delay because the pizza needed to be remade, that’s a hella good sign. It means\*\* someone working there gives a shit\*\*, and you’ll be far happier with the product you’ll end up with. Trust them to be looking out for you then, give them the extra 10-15 minutes. * * * On an unrelated note, folks are pointing out I shouldn’t be explaining or answering questions customers have about their purchases when their card comes back declined, and that I should just stonewall them and direct them to their bank. Yes, that would be better, for me. I understand that much. Maybe even better for the customer, since they’ll actually believe what their bank tells them. I’ll take it under advisement. I don’t like the suggestion to be less informative, but hell, it’s not appreciated anyway. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/91 "2015-02-08T18:13:03Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > At Pizza Hut, we reduced the amount used if someone ordered more toppings. If you overload a pizza, it will be undercooked under the toppings and cheese. If you ordered six toppings, you still got a heavier than someone who ordered just one, but not six times more, more like 3 times more. > > Depends on the crust though. Thinner crusts will still cook well with lots of toppings. Depends on the oven too. We used conveyor ovens. The brick ovens seem to get a better result when there are a lot of toppings on the pizza. We had a notorious delivery customer who always ordered theirs with 5x extra sauce and 6x extra cheese. If actually made that way, it would be literally impossible for the pizza to cook properly. The outside crust would carbonize while the center remained a soupy goop of sauce and raw dough. So we made it with as much as it could take and still come out cooked— enough so that the raft of cheese sloshed around on a pool of sauce, and we’d have to take corners gently while delivering it, lest we hand them a dripping box at the door— and every time, they’d complain that they wanted more sauce and cheese. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/92 "2015-02-08T18:27:09Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > (like it would make a difference, but we’ll humor you and swipe the card again, even though it has never had a result other than “declined twice, wanna go for three?”) Just last week, for the first time ever, my debit was declined, and it was a hefty purchase, I knew I didn’t have the cash with me to cover it, and I was just starting to freak out a little, due to the amount of time this fuck up was going to cost, which the cashier seemed to notice, and the lady said, “Hang on, I’ll do it again”, and it worked. She said “it happens”, like it was nothing. So it can happen. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/93 "2015-02-08T18:38:43Z")
I didn’t read all the replies (well, any of them), but I find myself in that situation all the time. I run a card, it gets declined, customer yells at me. “Well, I don’t know why it would get declined” or “I just put money in there today” or “Try it again (for the third time)” or sometimes they blame ME for declining it. I’ve even had people call me up and ask for the cashier from yesterday because they “demand to know why she declined my card”. I usually do what I can to calm them down and tell them it’s not a decision that I make, their best bet is to call the number on the back of the card and talk to them. Every once in a while they’ll come right back in and the card works. It was just locked because of something going on with it, but usually I never hear back from them. They didn’t have money on it and they knew it…or, more likely, they were over their credit limit and didn’t know it. Oddly, sometimes when it declines, I’ll see them start to get mad and I’ll say ‘wait, it just says the PIN was wrong, let me swipe it again’ and I’ll get a “NUH UH, I typed it in right, I know I did, there must be something wrong with your machine” after some back and forth I’ll get them to do it again and it works. I swear, every time I get into that argument, it’s a EBT/Foodstamp card. That always reminds me of the pysch term “External locus of control”, that is, she made a mistake, but instead of just owning up to it, she, without even thinking about it, blames it on something else. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/94 "2015-02-08T18:52:27Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > That always reminds me of the pysch term “External locus of control”, that is, she made a mistake, but instead of just owning up to it, she, without even thinking about it, blames it on something else. The majority of people in the world, and almost every last criminal, always blame something besides themselves. Always. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/95 "2015-02-08T19:02:54Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > The majority of people in the world, and almost every last criminal, always blame something besides themselves. Always. I hate even thinking this in my head, but sometimes I wonder, to myself, ‘maybe if you didn’t blame everyone else all the time, you wouldn’t be on food stamps’. I mean, when they key in their PIN wrong and blame ME for it, I picture them getting fired (or not promoted or whatever) for something they did and running around saying ‘you don’t know me, I didn’t do that, you didn’t see me, I’m gonna sue you, this isn’t fair’ instead of just going out, getting another job and trying harder not to fuck it up. But now we’re starting to get into some of the employees I’ve had over the years and that’s a whole 'nother thread. ---
**Author:** ![HeXen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@HeXen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeXen)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/96 "2015-02-08T19:11:01Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Written like someone who has never worked retail before. > > Someone needs to do a little more lurking and reading before making stupid comments. Reality upset your feelings or something? Any job dealing with the public is going to be that way and acting like a child about it is not going to change how customers treat employees. Funny how people don’t want to hear the truth about things they have to deal with everyday. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/97 "2015-02-08T19:31:56Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > People are REALLY insistent that I should know why their card is declined. > > The machine doesn’t tell me why. In fact, here’s an update to this story: > > The reason why their card was declined, in this case? > > Because they changed their order, to a lesser amount, which meant (our computers automatically do this) the card was voided. > > But, that void DOES NOT PROCESS for a few business days. Until then, your money is in Limbo. > > Seriously, limbo. > > The money is absolutely not in our possession, it’s marked down as an irreversible cancellation on our part. > > The bank has already marked that money down as being possibly spent, it cannot be re-spent. > > And it will take the bank until tomorrow or the next day, or the next day, or up until a whopping five fucking business days to undo that void. > > Your money is actually out-of-play until they do that. I literally cannot do anything about that. > > So, the dumbassery here went super-saiyan this time. I’d say the real dumbassery is someone who apparently only has $20 to his name ordering out for dinner. How do people get by in life without learning better money management skills than this? From my local grocery store: A dozen jumbo eggs: $2.99 28-ounce jar of peanut butter: $3.29 Loaf of wheat sandwich bread: $2.39 32-ounce jar of strawberry preserves: $2.99 One pound of bologna from the deli: $2.99 Name-brand frozen pizza: $5.29 And that leaves 4¢ to throw in the cookie jar for later, while still satisfying the pizza craving, and buys food for more than one day! And this is from the _expensive_ store. Do without the pizza, and you could substitute two dozen of those instant ramen noodle packets for $4.98. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/98 "2015-02-08T19:54:35Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > We had a notorious delivery customer who always ordered theirs with 5x extra sauce and 6x extra cheese. If actually made that way, it would be literally impossible for the pizza to cook properly. The outside crust would carbonize while the center remained a soupy goop of sauce and raw dough. So we made it with as much as it could take and still come out cooked— enough so that the raft of cheese sloshed around on a pool of sauce, and we’d have to take corners gently while delivering it, lest we hand them a dripping box at the door— and every time, they’d complain that they wanted more sauce and cheese. Should’ve just made it for them that way then, and let them deal with it. Hehehehe. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/99 "2015-02-08T20:11:25Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > I’d say the real dumbassery is someone who apparently only has $20 to his name ordering out for dinner. How do people get by in life without learning better money management skills than this? > > From my local grocery store: > > A dozen jumbo eggs: $2.99 > 28-ounce jar of peanut butter: $3.29 > Loaf of wheat sandwich bread: $2.39 > 32-ounce jar of strawberry preserves: $2.99 > One pound of bologna from the deli: $2.99 > Name-brand frozen pizza: $5.29 > > And that leaves 4¢ to throw in the cookie jar for later, while still satisfying the pizza craving, and buys food for more than one day! And this is from the _expensive_ store. Do without the pizza, and you could substitute two dozen of those instant ramen noodle packets for $4.98. Unfortunately a lot of people who lived in economically depressed areas don’t have good access to full grocery stores and instead have mini-marts and convenience stores. Those stores stock more expensive and fewer fresh foods. And even when a full service store moves into the neighborhood, studies have shown that people who didn’t grow up with access to homemade, fresh foods lack the skills in preparing it themselves. Its a vicious cycle because you’re 100% right that routinely buying take out is not only bad for your health but more expensive in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991/100 "2015-02-08T20:15:31Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > I’d say the real dumbassery is someone who apparently only has $20 to his name ordering out for dinner. How do people get by in life without learning better money management skills than this? > > From my local grocery store: > > A dozen jumbo eggs: $2.99 > 28-ounce jar of peanut butter: $3.29 > Loaf of wheat sandwich bread: $2.39 > 32-ounce jar of strawberry preserves: $2.99 > One pound of bologna from the deli: $2.99 > Name-brand frozen pizza: $5.29 > > And that leaves 4¢ to throw in the cookie jar for later, while still satisfying the pizza craving, and buys food for more than one day! And this is from the _expensive_ store. Do without the pizza, and you could substitute two dozen of those instant ramen noodle packets for $4.98. Holy crap, food is cheap in America. Especially the PB, preserves and bologna. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-not-understanding-how-the-world-works-is-somehow-my-problem/711991.md?page=6)