You possess nothing except the clothes on your back. Operating under these constraints, what is the best way to spend this money, to get the most bang for your buck?
Not enough information- I possess nothing, but where am I? Is it cold, is it hot? Do I have somewhere regular to sleep- a shelter I can get a bed in most/all nights? A regular rough sleeping spot where I have friends? Do I have access to somewhere with any kind of cooking facilities, somewhere to store things, or somewhere to wash on a regular basis? Is there a soup kitchen or something that I can rely on to stop me from starving?
I’m assuming this is in relation to to other thread, and you’re just thinking of food, but really, there’s not enough info to answer. The most sensible thing to buy could be anything from a sleeping bag and a backpack to a coach ticket out of there, or a room for the night where I can wash myself and my clothes, to a sack of rice, or just enough calories to get me through the day.
Also, is this 50 the only chance of money I'll get for a while, or can I panhandle for a couple of , enough to get food tomorrow? Is someone else relying on me? Is someone else likely to rob me?
There’s a bridge you can sleep under. The weather is “good” enough that you won’t freeze to death. At least, not this time of year.
No cooking facilities whatsoever. No hotplate, no oven, no refrigerator. Nor is there any place to safely store anything.
This $50 seems to be a one time windfall. You can attempt to panhandle, of course, but you can’t be certain how successful you will be.
Do any other homeless see me receive this windfall?
Am I alone, or do I have children with me?
So, it doesn’t look like I have any kind of a network, there’s no help available, and I’ll maybe freeze to death if I’m still here come winter? Sounds like the ‘try and get out of there’ option is the only one with any long term prospects.
Go to the library, research my options- see if I can find anything like fruit picking work (assuming I’m fit enough) that has basic accommodation included and isn’t going to be picky who they hire, or anywhere else that looks legit that I can get to that may possibly hire me.
Also, see if there’s anywhere that either has some actual assistance programmes to help people in my situation, or at least is warmer year round, and get a coach ticket to as close to that place as I can. That’s assuming I can actually get hold of a ticket, and I don’t have to have a credit card to buy online or something.
If I can’t, well, $50 isn’t enough to materially change my situation; I’d be best off thinking of the now. Cheap fast food and maybe a beer sounds like a pretty good option. I’ll check out the local thrift shops too (if I don’t stink too bad yet, and they’ll let me in) try get a cheap bag and a change of clothes. Keep the change in my sock and hope I don’t get mugged.
I’ll try and deal with winter when it happens, possibly by getting so drunk I don’t care if I’m freezing to death.
Since I only have the clothes on my back and there are probably very gnarly, I’d be looking for a Goodwill and a Walgreens (for socks and underwear). Not only would I feel much better being in clean clothes, but perhaps people would be more likely to help me.
But this assumes that I’ve eaten a full meal within the last 8 hours and have access to food in the near future (soup kitchens, dumpsters, etc.). If this assumption isn’t met, then food would be on the top of my list, followed by underwear and clothes.
I’d put that money to work for me on the street, making small loans of 1-5 dollars to other indigent folk. Then, I’d spend a part of each day collecting the vig from the loans. Week 17 (by my back of the envelope calculations) I’d invest a portion of the proceeds hiring muscle and taking a much needed break, maybe doing a little traveling.
Been there.
Burgers or pizza-cheap carbs and protein.
Skip Goodwill-it’s not as cheap as you think it is.
50€ = 50 liters of beer.
That should be enough to make me feel less depressed about being homeless for a week.
Bus fare to the food shelf. In my area, that is also the entry point to social services. See what they got for some kind of employment - I have various kinds of experience that mean I won’t have to stick with day labor or minimum wage. I’m not alcoholic or schizophrenic, so I won’t be homeless for long.
Are we going to keep changing the parameters so that whatever a regular person would do isn’t available?
Regards,
Shodan
Not changing the parameters-establishing the parameters.
Which is exactly what a schizophrenic alcoholic would say, so how do you know?
How did you become homeless? And why do you keep talking to that clothespin?
What you will be is malnourished, tired, smelly, susceptible to illness more than you are now, deprived of most medications you now rely on and, if you wish to make use of any homeless shelters available, you will be standing in line from one or two o’clock on instead of looking for day jobs.
We’ve already established the parameters by asking what I would do if I were homeless and got $50.
Now we are heading down the rabbit hole of “what if you weren’t who you are”, but somebody who has no friends and no family and no skills and is alcoholic and schizophrenic and lives where there are no social services and no matter what you do the parameters change so you can’t do that.
What do I do with $50 if I am homeless and destitute? I spend it to start getting not-homeless and not-destitute.
What do I do if there is a magic genie who frustrates me at every turn? It’s pointless to ask, since by definition there’s nothing I can do.
Regards,
Shodan
You’re talking to the clothespin again.
I bet it all on the funny looking horse…sure it’s 1000:1 odds but if it comes through, I’ll have $50,000.
Then when the horse wins again, I’ll have $50,000,000, then I’ll buy a mansion and work tirelessly to have gambling places shut down so none of the other homeless people can use the same method.
I believe the question involved being homeless. If you have family, friends, skills to depend on, and are mentally and physically healthy, under what circumstances could you become homeless? People are homeless when they don’t have as much to fall back on as you do.
Consider it a jumpstart on a plan to get enough smack for a guaranteed OD, not sure it’d be enough on its own. Commence panhandling vigorously to scrounge up the rest.
Why didn’t you do that before reaching the point laid out in the OP?
When you’ve got friends, family, marketable skills and good mental and physical health, you aren’t homeless. You’re camping out.