Some People Have No Clue

[mac60]

I was at Walmart this weekend and ended up spending $117. It was steel toes shoes and a few shirts for hubby, plus a few groceries. I did not think I spent that much. When the lady told me what the bill was I was like "I didn't think I spent that much". She said "Oh that is nothing", most people spend double that in here each week on groceries". I said I do daycare and there is no way I could spend $200 per week on groceries. She said "YOU PROBABLY MAKE REALLY GOOD MONEY THEN". I said "What do you think is really good money?" and she said "Oh $1.00 or $1.25 per hour". I looked at her and laughed and said "I don't think so, my utilities have doubled since I started doing this job, I feed the kids 2 meals and 2 snacks per day, I buy supplies weekly, and you think $1 per hour is good? I just kind of walked away.

Some people have no clue what it takes to run a business. No clue at all.

[QualiTcare]

i'm a little bit confused (maybe i'm one of those people that doesn't have a clue) but you said she told you people spend appx 200 bucks on groceries, and you said there's no way you could do that.

to which she responded that you must make really good money?

i would think she would assume you made really good money if you spent MORE than 200 a week on groceries instead of less.

i'm not following.

[actaktmdt]

the assumptions are interesting...

Yes people assume weird things. I went into our local bread store company's site, where essentially they sell hostess type of stuff and bread on discount. I walked out of there ready to scream at the checkout person, she was very rude.

Now let me preface this and say my husband eats 2 sandwiches’s a day for lunch every day, and has once he left home and had "real world" job when he graduated from college. (His choice I hate them, in general)

Bread was $2.59 for 4 loves. I bought 8 loves. I then also bought 6 (8/pkg) hamburger buns for when we cook out on the grill (about once a week in the summer at least) Paid 1.00 per pgk of buns. Did the same with hot dog buns. And I bought a few other things, muffins for the kids and bagles.

So as I am loading things up for her to add in her ancient cash register machine, she starts a conversation:
Lady: Are you having a party?
Me: No I own a daycare, and I have my family that this is for. It’s on sale, so I am stocking up and willl freeze most....cuts me off
Lady: Are you licensed by the State? How many kids do you have, there on weekends too.......as she’s looking at purchase that I am trying to make.
Me: Yes, 6 and no weekends...
Lady: This is a lot....Do you have a college degree....verry snotty tone
ME: Yes I have my Bachelors from Grand Valley State Univ.
Lady: You have a degree in nutrition; you have to be a dietician to a daycare provider. Her tone is getting worse.....
Me: No you don’t have to be a dietician; anyone can have a daycare license as long as they meet the standards the state has set forth.
Lady: Well the state monitors you food right, you turn in menus to them...
Me: No you don’t have to. I choose to be part of the food program so I do send in menus and get paid for feeding the kids healthy balanced meals.
But each provider decides if they want to have menus monitored. (Total Shocked look on her face)
Lady: Well the state has rules you have to follow right? They are really tight and difficult for providers to follow through with.
Me: No, it’s not difficult, it’s just common sense.
She continued to talk about menus and needing to be dietician to run a daycare...I finally asked her to just ring up my bill and stop talking my family was waiting at home for their hamburger buns....

Anyways I paid $28 and walked out with a ton items, and it was all promptly placed in my deep freeze, waiting for consumption as we go through the summer months.....

[mac60]

Like all those questions are any of her business. I would of cut her off after about the 2nd question.
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"i'm a little bit confused (maybe i'm one of those people that doesn't have a clue) but you said she told you people spend appx 200 bucks on groceries, and you said there's no way you could do that.

to which she responded that you must make really good money?

i would think she would assume you made really good money if you spent MORE than 200 a week on groceries instead of less.

i'm not following"
*****************************************************

There is really nothing to follow. The cashier simply stated that most people spend $200 on groceries. I simply said I do daycare and there is no way I could afford to do that......to which the cashier said I probably make really good money......to which the cashier said $1 to $1.25 was "good" money when I asked her what she "thought" was good money. Obviously she has no clue about what it cost to operate a home daycare. And I actually live in one of the lowest paid daycare areas in the country.

[DBug]

the cashier said $1 to $1.25 was "good" money when I asked her what she "thought" was good money.

I wonder if the cashier would be happy with making that much .

It always surprises me how little people think of child care providers. They give us about the same status as a stay at home parent that sits on the couch all day while their kids are off doing who-knows-what.

I guess that's why it drives me nuts when the kids occasionally call me their "babysitter" (cuz you know they've heard it from their parents) ...

[tymaboy]

I'd like to see her spend $200 on groceries while making what she thinks is good money.

[boysx5]

I always get annoyed at what people think of us as providers like we do nothing all day because we work out of our home

[judytrickett]

Mac,

She said that because most people, as you say, really DON'T have a clue. First off, many of them have NO idea that we have limits to the number of kids we can care for. They think that if we want more money we just take more kids. And we all know that is not the case at all.

Most people also have no idea of what we spend ON daycare. They assume that since we already pay for your house we can just plop some of our own kids' toys down in the living room and call ourselves a daycare. They don't realize that things need to be replaces, we need all different age appropriate activities etc.

Most people who say things like that are doing the math in their head for a box of KD and some hotdogs every day for lunch. And most providers I know serve very healthy meals and snacks - often better than the child is eating at home.

It all goes back to the misconception that we are just "babysitters" sitting at home with two TVs - one for the kids to watch all day and one for us to watch our soap operas. I'm sure there ARE those types out there but for the most part the majority of providers I encounter spend A LOT of money to offer quality care and environment.

It makes me wonder, if she has a child in care, and what she assumes to be standard care at $1.25 an hour per child.

Oh, and just because people are spending $200 a week at Walmart doesn't mean they really can afford to. It astounds me how many people who have all the bells and whistles are in debt to their eyeballs. What you have and what you spend is NO reflection on how much money you make or save.

[originalkat]

I was at lowes yesterday buying some things. They offer a 10% Military discount. I had already purchased my items, but I decided to let my daughter get a book that was 11.99. I told him I wanted to use my discount and he just stared at me and said "Are you serious? Just for a book?". I just told him that every penny counts.
He was probably annoyed that he had to call over a manager to get the approval, but I couldn't believe that.

I also can't belive all the rude comments from people at stores you guys have had. I often have people ask if I am having a party. LOL! I have never had a person be SO rude though.

[mamajennleigh]

Kat, did you tell his manager what he said to you? I have no idea why stores offer a discount and then berate you for taking them up on it. What a jerk.

[originalkat]

Kat, did you tell his manager what he said to you? I have no idea why stores offer a discount and then berate you for taking them up on it. What a jerk.

No, I just blew it off. The cashier was a little strange anyway...dusting the cash register with a paintbrush...so I figured I had bigger fish to fry.

[mamajennleigh]

LOL, well he certainly has bigger fish to fry if he's dusting the cash register with a paintbrush. Wow.

[Chickenhauler]

I was at Walmart this weekend and ended up spending $117. It was steel toes shoes and a few shirts for hubby, plus a few groceries. I did not think I spent that much. When the lady told me what the bill was I was like "I didn't think I spent that much". She said "Oh that is nothing", most people spend double that in here each week on groceries". I said I do daycare and there is no way I could spend $200 per week on groceries. She said "YOU PROBABLY MAKE REALLY GOOD MONEY THEN". I said "What do you think is really good money?" and she said "Oh $1.00 or $1.25 per hour". I looked at her and laughed and said "I don't think so, my utilities have doubled since I started doing this job, I feed the kids 2 meals and 2 snacks per day, I buy supplies weekly, and you think $1 per hour is good? I just kind of walked away.

Some people have no clue what it takes to run a business. No clue at all.

$117 at Walmart for the weeks groceries AND you got a other stuff like shoes and shirts?

I wish we had that kind of grocery bill, and we are still eating veggies from last years garden.

I hit wal-mart last Friday night for a two week supply, and the grocery portion alone was over $250. This doesn't include milk, which is easily a gallon and a half per day at our house.

[mac60]

$117 at Walmart for the weeks groceries AND you got a other stuff like shoes and shirts?

I wish we had that kind of grocery bill, and we are still eating veggies from last years garden.

I hit wal-mart last Friday night for a two week supply, and the grocery portion alone was over $250. This doesn't include milk, which is easily a gallon and a half per day at our house.

Oh no, it only included a few grocery items maybe $40 worth of grocery items. Other than that, I didn't buy groceries. My husband has been laid off for 7 months, then the last 2 months being denied unemployment. I only have money to buy groceries maybe 1 or 2 times per month, and then I only buy the necessities. When you have no income coming in, you learn to live a different lifestyle. Also, I have never ever spent the kind of money on groceries that some do. I think people simply get in the habit of buying groceries every week whether they need them or not. We do buy bread and milk each week. We have 3 turkeys in the freezer right now from when they were on sale and then my neighbor gave me 2. I have never spent average over $80 per week, just can't see wasting my money on it.

[Chickenhauler]

Oh no, it only included a few grocery items maybe $40 worth of grocery items. Other than that, I didn't buy groceries. My husband has been laid off for 7 months, then the last 2 months being denied unemployment. I only have money to buy groceries maybe 1 or 2 times per month, and then I only buy the necessities. When you have no income coming in, you learn to live a different lifestyle. Also, I have never ever spent the kind of money on groceries that some do. I think people simply get in the habit of buying groceries every week whether they need them or not. We do buy bread and milk each week. We have 3 turkeys in the freezer right now from when they were on sale and then my neighbor gave me 2. I have never spent average over $80 per week, just can't see wasting my money on it.

My one weakness is I like to eat (I'm not fat), but I like to eat good. We rarely if ever go out to eat, but it's not uncommon for us to eat ribs, chops, roasts, home made stews, spaghetti from scratch, etc on a nightly basis.

I do keep my costs down by buying whole steers, pigs, and hunting & fishing (too bad I can't feed the DC kids wild game, we'd never buy meat).

Also, when something is on sale, I'll buy a 6 month supply-I only buy canned goods by the case for example.

When we first got married, the wife went shopping and came home with "Corn King" hotdogs. I took them out of the bag and said "Thanks for remembering dog treats, the pooch is going to love you"....I won't eat that processed crap, and don't expect anyone else to either. There's so much preservatives and salt in there, you're probably better off eating cigarettes. Heck, the dog isn't even really enthused about it, since she's not sure what it is....that stuff isn't even meat after all.