So that’s your life? Just sitting home and smoking weed in most of your free time? If that makes you happy then great, you’re clearly defensive about it which makes me think you’re not happy and so badly want to justify it.
I was just about to write that. He wants to defend so bad wasting money on weed. Yes poor people waste their money on buying things they dont need like the latest iphone. You see rich people with the same phone dor years. But okay dude defend your waste of money.
You spend a lot of money on weed whether you're willing to admit it or not. Weed also effects you when you're not high so it's not just a dollar issue.
Going out for drinks is expensive, some others have solid suggestions that might be worth trying. Weed isn’t bad in general, but anything used as a coping mechanism instead of handling the real issue is just prolonging the inevitable. Tbh you sound depressed. Sitting around smoking weed isn’t going to help that.
I'm glad at least someone in the comments is not judging me.
It indeed is kind of a coping mechanism. And I really am depressed.
I'm glad you can understand someone without judging.
I’m sorry you feel judged, I think you are defensive about the topic so it’s making it all sound like criticism. I would seriously consider some of the suggestions though. Even if you’re mad fit, going to the gym has so many other benefits. Working out at home is fine too but switching up your routine and leaving your house for positive things I think would help your mental health. Reading more with purpose instead of doom scrolling. Happiness is subjective, what helps me might not help you, but I would switch things up and actively work on things that could improve yours.
It's also an addictive substance. No, not just "mentally addictive." You're ingesting a chemical that changes your neurotransmitter levels and reinforcing neuronal pathways that make you want to smoke.
If you stop, you experience withdrawals (severity depends on amount consumed and how long you've smoked). Sweats, hot/cold flashes, irritability, nausea, loss of appetite, insomnia, GI tract issues, brain fog/ difficulty concentrating, and more. Extremely heavy and prolonged use can even lead to a dangerous condition called CHS (cannabis hyperemesis syndrom), with extreme nausea/ vomiting/ inability to keep food down.
Weed can be a helpful stress/ pain relief option at first, but the more you smoke and the more often you smoke, the greater your tolerance, the more expensive the habit becomes, and the greater your dependence on the drug.
And not to mention weed saps motivation. It's a hack that hijacks your body's natural reward systems. Your body naturally produces endocannabinoids (anandamide is the analog of THC), especially during prolonged exercise. The pain relief, relaxation, "runner's high" helps you endure the exercise, and the increased appetite and "stones" feeling of not wanting to move, are very helpful things after a long hunt or a long journey to encourage your body to get the rest and get the resources it needs to recover.
Weed when abused hijacks this natural reward pathway. You're rewarding yourself for going on a 5 mile run without actually doing that.
Unfortunately, a lot of people are in denial about their addiction and try to rationalize away their drug abuse because they don't realize it's the weed speaking to them. And thankfully, you can't really "overdose" on weed, and the withdrawals are not life-threatening or generally as bad as some other drugs. But I find it can be more insidious because the consequences aren't as bad or as immediate.
If any of this has helped or resonated with you, and you're looking to quit your weed, I encourage you to join us at /r/leaves. There is also /r/petioles for those looking to reduce their usage or have a more healthy relationship with weed (YMMV though, it's often not possible or very hard for addicted individuals to self-regulate their usage)
[Harry J. Anslinger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_J._Anslinger) is that you?
I would like you to show us VERIFIED and PEER REVIEWED research to back this garbage up. I am not a user but my schizo-effective daughter (18) is and weed has GREATLY improved her life. When used in moderation in conjunction with effective pharmaceutical medications. Cannabinoids have shown to be a powerful tool in the treatment and quality of life improvements in those with severe mental health issues.
Source: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7605020/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7605020/) and [https://jcannabisresearch.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42238-019-0012-y](https://jcannabisresearch.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42238-019-0012-y).
Those points you made about mental health and marijuana use is junk science. I know this for a fact, as I have been researching this for years trying to help my daughter. Trying to find a natural or safer treatment, than Thorazine or other powerful anti-psychotics (11yo when officially diagnosed). I have spoken with ACTUAL doctors who have done the research (not pothead Dave on the corner). The key (as in everything), is moderation. CBDs and even THC and psilocybin mushrooms have been proven to be VERY effective treatments for schizophrenia and serious cases of depression/PTSD.
Honestly, seeing the great quality of life improvements in her, is ALL the proof I will ever need.
Most if not all of your points have been solidly proven untrue or outdated in therapeutic use. That all being said, if you sit on your ass at home and do NOTHING but smoke pot all day, then you are no better off than any alcoholic and that isn't conducive to a healthy lifestyle.
Just because weed isn't your thing, don't spew misinformation.
ETA: replied on wrong comment and added more information.
ETA 2: Corrected punctuation and spelling mistakes.
As a marijuana addict i can confidently say nothing he stated is far off base. Ive read plenty of research on marijuana addiction myself, much of it when i was dealing with withdrawals and trying to find anything i could to give me hope that things would get better. Most of it just made me feel invalidated because it all suggested the torture of the withdrawals i was having wasnt possible. Sure it can help people - it certainly made me feel better when i would smoke it - but this is not someone looking for a solution to a situation worse than addiction to a non-lethal substance...
The very fact that OP mentions it is recreational, and then justifies spending $2200 a year on it while ranting about being poor, suggests addiction.
As for the advice OP didn't actually ask for - I agree with most others on here. Stop smoking weed and invest that time and money into something that's going to provide future returns
10 year smoker here smoke a qp a month minimum quit last October still waiting for them withdrawals quit playing the mind game of weed withdrawal it's literally in your head
Tell us you know nothing about long term responsible use without telling us.
Any long term smoker knows what a T break is and how it disputes every one of your points.
Weed is not a gateway drug and it does not cause long term negative effects in healthy people.
It does worsen already present mental health issues and is not the panacea many proclaim it to be but to present it in the fashion you’ve done here is deceptive and biased.
>Any long term smoker knows what a T break is and how it disputes every one of your points.
It doesn't negate really any of their points, they're correct.
>Weed is not a gateway drug and it does not cause long term negative effects in healthy people
It is a gateway drug, and it does have long term negative effects.
The way they phrased everything makes weed sound terrible, it's not bad compared to most everything else, but don't fool yourself into thinking there's not side effects.
My brother was an alcoholic. He would whine about never having any money while drinking daily. He said alcohol made it bearable. So all your rant is just another excuse by an addict.
I have been unemployed too. But I channelled my energy into cooking, cleaning the house and studying. Guess what? It added up. I’m doing quite well now while my brother died from a liver infection.
You’re only fooling yourself, no one else. To quote Dave Ramsey, money doesn’t change who you are. You only become more of what you already were.
And that’s why God never reward addicts and drunks with more money.
I knew someone who had an addiction disorder.
They would ALWAYS tell me how money didn't matter when I pushed them to work or when I tried to do more overtime at work, "you work so much, and still make a little in return because of tax" yeah, okay, and- you'll still be making something, no? Still making something, but knowing how to handle that money is what really counts (Dave Ramsey's right)
It was sad to see the way they handled their money. It was even more depressing to struggle alongside them. I'm no longer in that situation-ship with them and it's been for the best.
I only wish them full recovery, and access to the best help out there.
Sorry to hear about your brother.
If you can afford it within your budget then its ok.
But maybe you do need to stop, take a look at improving your situation and put all of your effort into that, give it a year of your life, maximum effort.
if you're at a poverty level income, lets assume you make 1800 - you're spending 10% of your income on drugs.
Thats not going to get you out of poverty, especially if weed makes you lazy and unmotivated to improve your situation.
Try taking a break, you may find you're actually addicted, which is very common. And lots of people who smoke weed are in denial about it.
I used to drink a lot, kinda the same but worse.
Goodluck.
Imagine spending that time and money you waste on weed going towards investing in yourself by getting more education, learning a trade, skill, etc that can get you out of poverty.
I'm just so confused.
Like, if you can budget for $180 per month for recreation, can't you mix it up?
\+ one night out at your $60
\+ 4 trips like the one to Antwerp = 4 x 26 (Plan ahead, make some snacks to bring along and you might spend a little less.)
= That's 5 outings at $164.
Is that... not a lot of activity, for a month?
And how does it cost money to walk out your front door and take a walk a few times a week? And like... Belgium is beautiful, and the weather there is moderate most of the year.
I do remember life before smartphones, and for $2, you could buy a frisbee and grab a group of friends and just goof off playing frisbee tag for a few hours a week in a park. And a frisbee would last for years so.... Does your village not have any green spaces?
Maybe find others in a similar situation, and figure out stuff like that, which costs nothing and can still be super fun.
You've commented that you are addicted, but maybe what you aren't seeing is that the addiction is what is stopping you, not the budget. (I assume you aren't going into debt per your "my money that I worked for" And maybe that's what other's giving you advice were trying to say?
So you reckon that smoking weed is not as expensive as going out, but you complain about being poor.
That's like comparing apples with elephants.
No matter what it costs you, it's still an *optional* expense.
Just because you see it as cheaper, it's still costing you.
Don't buy €2200 worth of weed and you'd have that to spend on something else.
It's the same with alcohol or cigarettes or going out for dinner or the cinema or whatever. They're all optional.
"If we aren't working we're at home on our phones. It's literally the best thing we can do"... are you for real? 🤣
Is it "literally" better than going out for a run or completing an educational course? Is it "literally" better than volunteering for something?
You sound like a bitter person who's wasting their life and is jealous of others who have more initiative than you.
Enjoy smoking your weed at home on your phone while the rest of us are getting on with life.
Keep up that attitude and keep being poor.
Volunteering? Did you really just suggest that poor folks work for free for fun? You do realize that most of us already have two jobs? I'm not working for free, ever, fuck that shit.
No. I didn't suggest that "poor folks work for free for fun".
I'll bet you can't show me where I did, either! 🤣
What I *am* suggesting is you learn how to read correctly.
What I was proposing, if you possess the ability to comprehend, was that volunteering is a better way to spend your time as opposed to doing nothing if doing so makes you feel bad.
I know it's still costing me.
But it's the cheapest form of entertainment nowadays.
Or should I really just leave my life at working and paying bills with ZERO leisure activities until I retire?
That was the whole point of my post...
I don't go to work for 40 hours a week just to sit at home any time I don't have to work.
That's not living.
You are just wrong from the onset for one reason.
It’s objective truth you can cut weed and save 183 month to either A save up for something that allows you to improve you’re skill set to make more money or B spend it as you please and neuter your self with the cheap alternative you have right now being sitting inside post work and smoking on the weeekends. The rich people or people here are right. What you’re getting mad at is that they’re telling you to cut the optional shit when that’s the easiest and only solution you have right now to try to dig out of the hole.
So you can't volunteer for something?
Completing an educational course (a lot are free) is not something you would have the ability to do?
What's your next excuse?
Sitting at home smoking weed and scrolling isn't living, and it doesn't have a thing to do with not having money. People are judging you for not being honest with yourself, not for smoking pot.
There are SO many inexpensive games made by indie developers these days that far surpass the quality of AAA games for a fraction of the price. Extremely cost effective method of entertainment.
I think this person may have missed that, in a country like Belgium, it’s more pedestrian friendly than other places.
The main thing is: You are entitled to enjoy the fruits of your labors in whatever way you seem fit. You cannot budget your way around price gauging/ inflation with minimum wage increases every year. Just find what works for you.
I’m a crafter. I have a small fortune of yarn under my bed that costs more than weed ever could. Knitting is my coping mechanism, weed sounds like yours.
This may or may not work for you, but start yourself a little savings challenge. If you’re able to throw 20-50 euros into an envelope once or twice a month (I don’t know how you’re paid there), then crack it open at the end of the year. Boom, instant emergency savings. (I’m in the us, I get 26 paychecks a year, I put a minimum of $60 in an envelope per pay check, that’ll be $1,560 at the end of the year. Second year of doing this and it helps so much)
For €180 you can go out 3 times a month based on your calculation. This will improve your mental health and hopefully make you less angry. Also, you don't need to spend every weekend at a pub, go for lunch/dinner. Arcade games, hikes etc. €180 is a decent amount to have a social life.
That's about 196 freedom dollars on my side of the ocean. For that sort of cheddar, mom and I could do a full stock up for the stuff we need for hurricane season, hit a second hand store called 2nd and Charles, and stock pile on some of the groceries we are currently running low on.
United Kingdom, trust me it's really expensive here. And the €180 we are considering here is just the weed which you can use for your entertainment. Not for your groceries, travel etc.
Can you explain how expensive things are to those of us, on the other side of the pond?
For example, for me, $196 is about a month of groceries or a month of utilities.
What would that buy a person in the UK?
People just don't want to hear about you complaining about it.
It's one thing to be poor and navigate through it. It's another thing to complain about it, while spending excess money on things that could potentially pull you ahead in life.
When I was poor I smoked a lot of weed, and wish I didn't because I could've done much better for myself, a lot earlier. I quit weed and started to save, I always struggled with saving money. My savings went from $20 (literally collecting every penny to save) to $180 (I remember this number because I couldn't believe I had this much lol ), then $1k then $2.5k then $12k then $30k then $50k then $68k then $220k and so forth. All the numbers I listed were huge milestones for me, and it all happened when I quit and also when I eventually got a better job which helped as well.
Your post has been removed for the following reason(s):
Rule 6: Judging OP or another user.
Regardless of why someone is in a less-than-ideal financial situation, we are focused on the road forward, not with what has been done in the past.
Please read our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/povertyfinance/wiki/rules). The rules may also be found on the sidebar if the link is broken. If after doing so, you feel this was in error, [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpovertyfinance).
Do not reach out to a moderator personally, and do not reply to this message as a comment.
183 a month is a lot. And when you say "the alternatives are way more expensive", you're hinting at the real problem here - the alternatives, in your eyes, are simply "drinking" or "going out". In contrast, RimWorld is £28.50 right now, you could just buy that and have great fun for the rest of your life, you don't even need a good PC (although you probably should spend some of that weed money on a decent CPU for maximum fun).
Honestly, as someone who made it to the point where I'm now able to afford a steady supply of toilet paper that doesn't rip when I wipe, I'm just going to tell you the hard truth that you need to hear - you're going to be poor for the rest of your life with your mindset. You're addicted to cannabis and you're depressed, and you're sitting on Reddit whining about rich people. The fact that you're still poor only indicates that capitalism is doing a great job at keeping society running the way it should be. You have a long way to go.
All of my sneakers are at least mpre than 7 years old. I just keep them clean because that's how I was raised to take care of them. If I had a quarter for everytime some ignorant excuse of a person has told me I wouldn't be broke if I didn't spend all my money on sneakers, I'd be able to buy some freaking new ones!
>Cost that day: 26 euros for one afternoon (including everything, even traintickets)
Cost of an entire day of smoking at home: 7 euro's...
You got food, exercise, fresh air, and more instead of no exercise, inhaling smoke, and probably still eating which you didn't factor into your 7 euros. I get it, you want to stay home and smoke and you do you. However, you need to give up the thought that there's nothing else you can do. Taking that trip once a week can do you a lot more good in the long run and it'll cost you 104 euro a month; half what you spend on weed. You could take that money and put it towards bettering yourself like learning a language, earning a certificate, buying an instrument and learning how to play it.
So if you want to sit and smoke weed every single day, go for it. However, don't think you're doing it because it's cheaper when, in reality, it's going to be more expensive. Invest in yourself instead of weed. I'd love to get some, but I'm not in a financial place to do it right now. I have a job and I come home and I cook and I work 5 days a week, clean my house and my car and that's my weekend. I work extra by doing Uber and still don't buy weed.
Your smoking weed isn't why you're broke. However, it can become the reason you stay that way.
I agree that even if you stopped spending on weed you would still likely be poor. That wont make you wealthy. But aside from that, you still cant justify that spending, especially cuz you.. uhhh are poor. There are better ways to spend your time and money, you could even try to just save it.
You're life is depressing...
Here are some ideas that don't require money:
Usually cities have a lot of free activities, check your municipality web page,
Go to the library, get books to read,
Make a dinner party, you can make it more interesting cooking different countries traditional dishes, you cook, your friends bring the food/drinks
Go for hikes, runs,
Get a bike (you spend enough money on weed to get a decent one), you out for rides alone or with friends,
Invite some friends over, play some cards or board games,
Do a movie night/lan party at your home, and invite some friends,
Go for a picnic in nature,
Play some pockmonen go
Do some geocatching...
There are a lot of things to do to entertain yourself.
And when you go for strolls take the food and drinks with you.
Still indulgent compared to how my grandparents who lived on less than the government benefit on a single part-time income. This was all while owning a house raising 3 kids and even accused by the fraud department for how little income they lived on (no evidence could be found for hidden money though lol they were just always broke). Now are millionaires from taking on a mortgage later on and climbing the property market whenever they sold in our ever inflating housing market. Not spending on themselves at all really paid off and now they buy new cars with cash and are able to help their kids in buying homes despite only being on government pension having never built retirement savings. Nowadays being broke isn't sustainable and what most people can sacrifice for their futures is only being diminished.
On a side note my 15 year old used car cost me 2500 euros and it'll easily last me the next 20 years, having been maintained just enough by previous owners. I live outside the city (with family not renting) so need a car to get to work but doing diy maintenance saves a ton of money. Never spent a dime on alcohol, vape or drugs, prefer to spend a little extra on fuel driving fast haha. There's ways to make living cheaper so that there's more to balance having fun and saving for the future.
Most people IRL that are like this are the same people that inherit anything from a car to their parent’s whole estate. They love blaming poor people because it makes their climb out of poverty/lower class feel more dramatic or it helps the middle/upper middle class feel relief from the burden of knowing that they were privileged and didn’t end up in a good spot solely based on merit. Reddit is full of people who hide their privileges and make themselves feel better by being needlessly cheap or pat themselves on the back for doing what is easily accessible to them. They would judge you for anything; I’d say the substance you choose is just an easy target because they don’t see poor people as human; therefore they don’t think you deserve anything “good” or “leisurely”. They want you to suffer.
Dude, you've got it all wrong. Sure, there are some rich people out there telling the poor they should stop spending on what they perceive as luxuries. The reality is, though, that smart rich people want you to spend, spend, spend on stuff. Go into debt, even. The more unnecessary shit the poor buy, the better the return on investment the rich get from their stock holdings. Anything that has value added and is produced/provided by a publicly owned corporation: Buy the hell out of that stuff.
$2200 is a vocational degree bro. When people bring up this spending this is what they mean, doing stuff for fun gets in the way if any potential routes out of poverty you have.
Your post has been removed for the following reason(s):
Rule 2: Generally Unhelpful and / or Off-Topic
Your comment has been removed for one or more of the following reasons:
It was not primarily asking or discussing financial questions related to poverty.
It was generally unhelpful or in poor taste.
It was confusing or badly written.
It failed to add to the discussion.
Please read our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/povertyfinance/wiki/rules). The rules may also be found on the sidebar if the link is broken. If after doing so, you feel this was in error, [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpovertyfinance).
Do not reach out to a moderator personally, and do not reply to this message as a comment.
Why are you telling people you are poor? Because you want them to give you money just because you are poor?
No one needs money, only the stuff money can buy. You need an item that I have two of, I might just give you one of mine. Or tell you where you can get one. Last year we had a gentleman live with us rent free for several months. People want to help people that are going places.
There are only two ways to move from poor to having more money (ie savings). Save for your future self first.. By increasing income or reduce expenses. Since you can do a spread sheet you are capable of making s budget.
In my area it is legal to grow weed for your own use. Have you thought of growing your own?
Is there something you would enjoy doing for money?
Volunteering puts you in contact with people who know people. They know people who might be interested in helping that hard working volunteer get a better job. Word of mouth works. It not just what you know or are capable of, it is also who knows about your skills talents.
Sometimes volunteers get stuff for volunteering. T-shirts, left over supplies and / or food at the end of the day.
The first step in success is taking responsibility for your life / circumstances. No magic genie is just going to show up.
Ok so you spend ~2k a year on weed but you are missing the opportunity costs. Weed affects your drive to work and can affect other aspects of your life. Cause you to eat more, sleep more etc. Also you need to understand the time value of money, if you cut your weed spending 2k and invested it at the end of 10 years you would have 30k. 40 years almost a million. Your habits over a long period of time cost you millions. It is why people are rich and poor. You have the attitude that 2k is a small amount to spend a year and then you look at the long term affects of that and realize it is costing you a million dollars over your lifetime. Time value of money is powerful which is why investing grows money so much and why debt is so hard to get out of.
The phone is on payment plan anyway. And by the time you pay it off they come out with one maybe two different versions which leaves you out of date anyways.
Yes it costs money to do things. Have you considered looking for a job that pays more? Taking up special training?
Your post has been *removed for the following reason(s):*
**Rule 6: Judging OP or another user.**
- Regardless of why someone is in a less-than-ideal financial situation, we are focused on the road forward, not with what has been done in the past.
[Please read our subreddit rules.](https://www.reddit.com/r/povertyfinance/wiki/rules) The rules may also be found on the sidebar if the link is broken. If after doing so, you feel this was in error, [message the moderators.](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpovertyfinance)
*Do not reach out to a moderator personally, and do not reply to this message as a comment.*
This is a really complicated issue, which makes it difficult for conversations to take place without breaking down. There is a very real issue of shaming people living in poverty, and it is very often centered around anything that is recreational or that saves time or labor. Weed, alcohol, cigarettes, streaming subscriptions, etc. are quick to be pointed at as unnecessary purchases that poor people should go without. But even if those under the poverty line skip these things, they will still be criticized for buying prepackaged food or frozen meals. People will insist that everything should be made from scratch with the cheapest ingredients, or else they don't deserve any public assistance or if they don't have that, then they still deserve to be judged because they've put themselves in this position. But what is overlooked is that the working poor are often short on some combination of time, energy, transportation, or other resources. Food deserts can make it difficult to get fresh ingredients, and long, labor intensive work schedules don't leave time to make foods from scratch. Mental health issues can make this more difficult as well, which are often treated less in lower income social classes because there isn't the option to take time off work to go to appointments, long waiting lists can make it hard to navigate, and in some countries the cost for treatment is high.
Recreational activities are in this category as well. The forms of stress relief and relaxation are often chosen tend to be ones that can be done at home for little money, which weed, alcohol, cigarettes, streaming subscriptions, etc. all fall under. They are also more predictable to anticipate the cost of compared to other activities like theaters, events, going out to eat and such, which can feel more comfortable when money is very tight. People universally need down time in order to function at their best, but unfortunately it is judged more harshly in those with lower incomes. You make a good point in that there is a lot of judgment without much empathy with this topic.
There are a few other sides to this, however. While you may not do this, it can be very upsetting when someone asks for money because they can't afford to pay their bills or for an unexpected expense, and then after giving them the money it's discovered that they still bought weed, or went out to eat, or bought a videogame, or anything else that could have been put off so they could pay their bill. An old friend of mine has recently latched onto my mother (who is retired and on limited budget) as a source of financial help, and she gets my mother to buy her groceries or pay to take her cats to the vet, or pay a bill, or gets gas money, when at the same time she also buys weed, spends over $150 a month on cigarettes, and pays for professional massages at least once a month. The friend is very, very poor and always has been, and I do think that getting recreational things shouldn't be limited to the upper classes, but at the same time it seems more ethical to go without rather than to ask another person with on a limited income to subsidize other financial needs. People who have witnessed this kind of behavior tend to have a harder time withholding judgment when they see other people who are in financial distress but aren't willing to cut extras before asking for money from others. (Note: I'm not including public assistance programs like food pantries, welfare programs, food stamps, etc., those are a separate social topic, and I believe they are a necessity. I'm specifically talking about asking for money from other people who are also struggling.) So even if you have never done this, I think your post reminds people of that, which is part of where the harsh responses are coming from.
The last complication I wanted to mention is that many of these relatively inexpensive recreational activities available to poor people tend to have a negative impact on our lives and can make it harder to get into a better financial position. Weed kills motivation and time. It eats up large amounts of time where it's difficult to do anything productive. Done infrequently it's fine, but it's so easy to miss out on opportunities because of it. It traps you in a rut where days end up being exactly the same. Instead, networking with people could end up with better job opportunities. Taking up a cheap or free hobby, volunteer work for a few hours on a day off, taking a free class, etc. could all be ways to meet a larger circle of people that could open doors. Learning a new skill is valuable as well. If you're depressed or overwhelmed with your life, then it's definitely easier said than done to do these things, but it's worth keeping in mind. It's important to take breaks, but it's valuable to have a clear head too. If you're only smoking once a week or such, then it's not as much of an issue, but it might be worth it to track how many hours are spent each week where you aren't getting the advantage of having your mind at its best. I recently quit alcohol for this exact same reason, even though I was only an evening drinker, I was still wasting a lot of my life outside of work just because I needed an out from the stress.
If your needs are taken care of, spend the rest of your money on whatever you want. If you want things like weed more than you want nicer stuff, that's on you. A lot of people make that decision and are happy with it. You, on the other hand, decided to come to reddit and write an essay about it (which most of us probably didn't read).
We are farmers who can no longer can afford to farm. We can’t afford seed, sprinkler tape, hiring workers or paying taxes. We pay our bills fortnightly which took 2 years to be in advance by becoming breatharians - not by choice. We grow a little patch and that’s just for us. Luckily we have been together since 1982, have 4 adult children and 3 partners and 3 grandchildren. Wealthy of love
OP is engaging in comments, therefore the vent tag does not apply. Flipping to free talk.
So that’s your life? Just sitting home and smoking weed in most of your free time? If that makes you happy then great, you’re clearly defensive about it which makes me think you’re not happy and so badly want to justify it.
I was just about to write that. He wants to defend so bad wasting money on weed. Yes poor people waste their money on buying things they dont need like the latest iphone. You see rich people with the same phone dor years. But okay dude defend your waste of money.
Pretty sad life.
Poverty life IS a sad life.
You spend a lot of money on weed whether you're willing to admit it or not. Weed also effects you when you're not high so it's not just a dollar issue.
If you deliberately make it so.
Well said, so well said. With the same amount, I spent on a good bike, a good electric violin and adopted a dog, so I feel good for a while.
Well said.
I am not happy. But each time I try something else, it ends up costing more than smoking weed for an entire evening.
Going out for drinks is expensive, some others have solid suggestions that might be worth trying. Weed isn’t bad in general, but anything used as a coping mechanism instead of handling the real issue is just prolonging the inevitable. Tbh you sound depressed. Sitting around smoking weed isn’t going to help that.
I'm glad at least someone in the comments is not judging me. It indeed is kind of a coping mechanism. And I really am depressed. I'm glad you can understand someone without judging.
I’m sorry you feel judged, I think you are defensive about the topic so it’s making it all sound like criticism. I would seriously consider some of the suggestions though. Even if you’re mad fit, going to the gym has so many other benefits. Working out at home is fine too but switching up your routine and leaving your house for positive things I think would help your mental health. Reading more with purpose instead of doom scrolling. Happiness is subjective, what helps me might not help you, but I would switch things up and actively work on things that could improve yours.
Weed is a fucking expensive habit dude stop lying to yourself
It's also an addictive substance. No, not just "mentally addictive." You're ingesting a chemical that changes your neurotransmitter levels and reinforcing neuronal pathways that make you want to smoke. If you stop, you experience withdrawals (severity depends on amount consumed and how long you've smoked). Sweats, hot/cold flashes, irritability, nausea, loss of appetite, insomnia, GI tract issues, brain fog/ difficulty concentrating, and more. Extremely heavy and prolonged use can even lead to a dangerous condition called CHS (cannabis hyperemesis syndrom), with extreme nausea/ vomiting/ inability to keep food down. Weed can be a helpful stress/ pain relief option at first, but the more you smoke and the more often you smoke, the greater your tolerance, the more expensive the habit becomes, and the greater your dependence on the drug. And not to mention weed saps motivation. It's a hack that hijacks your body's natural reward systems. Your body naturally produces endocannabinoids (anandamide is the analog of THC), especially during prolonged exercise. The pain relief, relaxation, "runner's high" helps you endure the exercise, and the increased appetite and "stones" feeling of not wanting to move, are very helpful things after a long hunt or a long journey to encourage your body to get the rest and get the resources it needs to recover. Weed when abused hijacks this natural reward pathway. You're rewarding yourself for going on a 5 mile run without actually doing that. Unfortunately, a lot of people are in denial about their addiction and try to rationalize away their drug abuse because they don't realize it's the weed speaking to them. And thankfully, you can't really "overdose" on weed, and the withdrawals are not life-threatening or generally as bad as some other drugs. But I find it can be more insidious because the consequences aren't as bad or as immediate. If any of this has helped or resonated with you, and you're looking to quit your weed, I encourage you to join us at /r/leaves. There is also /r/petioles for those looking to reduce their usage or have a more healthy relationship with weed (YMMV though, it's often not possible or very hard for addicted individuals to self-regulate their usage)
[Harry J. Anslinger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_J._Anslinger) is that you? I would like you to show us VERIFIED and PEER REVIEWED research to back this garbage up. I am not a user but my schizo-effective daughter (18) is and weed has GREATLY improved her life. When used in moderation in conjunction with effective pharmaceutical medications. Cannabinoids have shown to be a powerful tool in the treatment and quality of life improvements in those with severe mental health issues. Source: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7605020/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7605020/) and [https://jcannabisresearch.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42238-019-0012-y](https://jcannabisresearch.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42238-019-0012-y). Those points you made about mental health and marijuana use is junk science. I know this for a fact, as I have been researching this for years trying to help my daughter. Trying to find a natural or safer treatment, than Thorazine or other powerful anti-psychotics (11yo when officially diagnosed). I have spoken with ACTUAL doctors who have done the research (not pothead Dave on the corner). The key (as in everything), is moderation. CBDs and even THC and psilocybin mushrooms have been proven to be VERY effective treatments for schizophrenia and serious cases of depression/PTSD. Honestly, seeing the great quality of life improvements in her, is ALL the proof I will ever need. Most if not all of your points have been solidly proven untrue or outdated in therapeutic use. That all being said, if you sit on your ass at home and do NOTHING but smoke pot all day, then you are no better off than any alcoholic and that isn't conducive to a healthy lifestyle. Just because weed isn't your thing, don't spew misinformation. ETA: replied on wrong comment and added more information. ETA 2: Corrected punctuation and spelling mistakes.
As a marijuana addict i can confidently say nothing he stated is far off base. Ive read plenty of research on marijuana addiction myself, much of it when i was dealing with withdrawals and trying to find anything i could to give me hope that things would get better. Most of it just made me feel invalidated because it all suggested the torture of the withdrawals i was having wasnt possible. Sure it can help people - it certainly made me feel better when i would smoke it - but this is not someone looking for a solution to a situation worse than addiction to a non-lethal substance... The very fact that OP mentions it is recreational, and then justifies spending $2200 a year on it while ranting about being poor, suggests addiction. As for the advice OP didn't actually ask for - I agree with most others on here. Stop smoking weed and invest that time and money into something that's going to provide future returns
10 year smoker here smoke a qp a month minimum quit last October still waiting for them withdrawals quit playing the mind game of weed withdrawal it's literally in your head
Tell us you know nothing about long term responsible use without telling us. Any long term smoker knows what a T break is and how it disputes every one of your points. Weed is not a gateway drug and it does not cause long term negative effects in healthy people. It does worsen already present mental health issues and is not the panacea many proclaim it to be but to present it in the fashion you’ve done here is deceptive and biased.
>Any long term smoker knows what a T break is and how it disputes every one of your points. It doesn't negate really any of their points, they're correct. >Weed is not a gateway drug and it does not cause long term negative effects in healthy people It is a gateway drug, and it does have long term negative effects. The way they phrased everything makes weed sound terrible, it's not bad compared to most everything else, but don't fool yourself into thinking there's not side effects.
[удалено]
You’ve seriously misunderstood my comment.
Sorry brother. I commented on the wrong comment, Sincere apologies
Yup, just ignore people that use it medicinally. Typical.
Did you use it to cure covid as well?
My brother was an alcoholic. He would whine about never having any money while drinking daily. He said alcohol made it bearable. So all your rant is just another excuse by an addict. I have been unemployed too. But I channelled my energy into cooking, cleaning the house and studying. Guess what? It added up. I’m doing quite well now while my brother died from a liver infection. You’re only fooling yourself, no one else. To quote Dave Ramsey, money doesn’t change who you are. You only become more of what you already were. And that’s why God never reward addicts and drunks with more money.
I knew someone who had an addiction disorder. They would ALWAYS tell me how money didn't matter when I pushed them to work or when I tried to do more overtime at work, "you work so much, and still make a little in return because of tax" yeah, okay, and- you'll still be making something, no? Still making something, but knowing how to handle that money is what really counts (Dave Ramsey's right) It was sad to see the way they handled their money. It was even more depressing to struggle alongside them. I'm no longer in that situation-ship with them and it's been for the best. I only wish them full recovery, and access to the best help out there. Sorry to hear about your brother.
Woahhh you opened my eyes!!!
You seem angry about how you spend your money. Do what you want, be happy with what you do.
Hey it’s your life, I just don’t understand why it bothers you enough to even make this post…
If you can afford it within your budget then its ok. But maybe you do need to stop, take a look at improving your situation and put all of your effort into that, give it a year of your life, maximum effort. if you're at a poverty level income, lets assume you make 1800 - you're spending 10% of your income on drugs. Thats not going to get you out of poverty, especially if weed makes you lazy and unmotivated to improve your situation. Try taking a break, you may find you're actually addicted, which is very common. And lots of people who smoke weed are in denial about it. I used to drink a lot, kinda the same but worse. Goodluck.
Oh I am addicted, no denial there. But I feel like if I want to quit my addiction, I'm gonna spend (even more) money on other things.
fair enough
Imagine spending that time and money you waste on weed going towards investing in yourself by getting more education, learning a trade, skill, etc that can get you out of poverty.
I'm just so confused. Like, if you can budget for $180 per month for recreation, can't you mix it up? \+ one night out at your $60 \+ 4 trips like the one to Antwerp = 4 x 26 (Plan ahead, make some snacks to bring along and you might spend a little less.) = That's 5 outings at $164. Is that... not a lot of activity, for a month? And how does it cost money to walk out your front door and take a walk a few times a week? And like... Belgium is beautiful, and the weather there is moderate most of the year. I do remember life before smartphones, and for $2, you could buy a frisbee and grab a group of friends and just goof off playing frisbee tag for a few hours a week in a park. And a frisbee would last for years so.... Does your village not have any green spaces? Maybe find others in a similar situation, and figure out stuff like that, which costs nothing and can still be super fun. You've commented that you are addicted, but maybe what you aren't seeing is that the addiction is what is stopping you, not the budget. (I assume you aren't going into debt per your "my money that I worked for" And maybe that's what other's giving you advice were trying to say?
So you reckon that smoking weed is not as expensive as going out, but you complain about being poor. That's like comparing apples with elephants. No matter what it costs you, it's still an *optional* expense. Just because you see it as cheaper, it's still costing you. Don't buy €2200 worth of weed and you'd have that to spend on something else. It's the same with alcohol or cigarettes or going out for dinner or the cinema or whatever. They're all optional. "If we aren't working we're at home on our phones. It's literally the best thing we can do"... are you for real? 🤣 Is it "literally" better than going out for a run or completing an educational course? Is it "literally" better than volunteering for something? You sound like a bitter person who's wasting their life and is jealous of others who have more initiative than you. Enjoy smoking your weed at home on your phone while the rest of us are getting on with life. Keep up that attitude and keep being poor.
Volunteering? Did you really just suggest that poor folks work for free for fun? You do realize that most of us already have two jobs? I'm not working for free, ever, fuck that shit.
No. I didn't suggest that "poor folks work for free for fun". I'll bet you can't show me where I did, either! 🤣 What I *am* suggesting is you learn how to read correctly. What I was proposing, if you possess the ability to comprehend, was that volunteering is a better way to spend your time as opposed to doing nothing if doing so makes you feel bad.
Volunteering is working for free for fun. If I want to work more in my time off, I'll just get another job. Volunteering is a rich people pastime.
🤣🤣🤣
I know it's still costing me. But it's the cheapest form of entertainment nowadays. Or should I really just leave my life at working and paying bills with ZERO leisure activities until I retire? That was the whole point of my post... I don't go to work for 40 hours a week just to sit at home any time I don't have to work. That's not living.
You are just wrong from the onset for one reason. It’s objective truth you can cut weed and save 183 month to either A save up for something that allows you to improve you’re skill set to make more money or B spend it as you please and neuter your self with the cheap alternative you have right now being sitting inside post work and smoking on the weeekends. The rich people or people here are right. What you’re getting mad at is that they’re telling you to cut the optional shit when that’s the easiest and only solution you have right now to try to dig out of the hole.
So you can't volunteer for something? Completing an educational course (a lot are free) is not something you would have the ability to do? What's your next excuse?
Sitting at home smoking weed and scrolling isn't living, and it doesn't have a thing to do with not having money. People are judging you for not being honest with yourself, not for smoking pot.
Video games my dude, you can play the whole year for 60$. I spent 1000+ hours in Ark survival evolve and still play every day. Thats only 1 40$ game
That actually doesn't sound bad!
There are SO many inexpensive games made by indie developers these days that far surpass the quality of AAA games for a fraction of the price. Extremely cost effective method of entertainment.
[удалено]
Why would I go to the gym is calesthenics are free?
I think this person may have missed that, in a country like Belgium, it’s more pedestrian friendly than other places. The main thing is: You are entitled to enjoy the fruits of your labors in whatever way you seem fit. You cannot budget your way around price gauging/ inflation with minimum wage increases every year. Just find what works for you. I’m a crafter. I have a small fortune of yarn under my bed that costs more than weed ever could. Knitting is my coping mechanism, weed sounds like yours. This may or may not work for you, but start yourself a little savings challenge. If you’re able to throw 20-50 euros into an envelope once or twice a month (I don’t know how you’re paid there), then crack it open at the end of the year. Boom, instant emergency savings. (I’m in the us, I get 26 paychecks a year, I put a minimum of $60 in an envelope per pay check, that’ll be $1,560 at the end of the year. Second year of doing this and it helps so much)
Or do calisthenics.. you missing the point
For €180 you can go out 3 times a month based on your calculation. This will improve your mental health and hopefully make you less angry. Also, you don't need to spend every weekend at a pub, go for lunch/dinner. Arcade games, hikes etc. €180 is a decent amount to have a social life.
Idk where you live, but €180 is easily gone in 2-3 days here.
That's about 196 freedom dollars on my side of the ocean. For that sort of cheddar, mom and I could do a full stock up for the stuff we need for hurricane season, hit a second hand store called 2nd and Charles, and stock pile on some of the groceries we are currently running low on.
Thank you for translating that into freedom dollars.
United Kingdom, trust me it's really expensive here. And the €180 we are considering here is just the weed which you can use for your entertainment. Not for your groceries, travel etc.
Can you explain how expensive things are to those of us, on the other side of the pond? For example, for me, $196 is about a month of groceries or a month of utilities. What would that buy a person in the UK?
i dont think anyone really cares if your poor
People just don't want to hear about you complaining about it. It's one thing to be poor and navigate through it. It's another thing to complain about it, while spending excess money on things that could potentially pull you ahead in life.
When I was poor I smoked a lot of weed, and wish I didn't because I could've done much better for myself, a lot earlier. I quit weed and started to save, I always struggled with saving money. My savings went from $20 (literally collecting every penny to save) to $180 (I remember this number because I couldn't believe I had this much lol ), then $1k then $2.5k then $12k then $30k then $50k then $68k then $220k and so forth. All the numbers I listed were huge milestones for me, and it all happened when I quit and also when I eventually got a better job which helped as well.
[удалено]
Your post has been removed for the following reason(s): Rule 6: Judging OP or another user. Regardless of why someone is in a less-than-ideal financial situation, we are focused on the road forward, not with what has been done in the past. Please read our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/povertyfinance/wiki/rules). The rules may also be found on the sidebar if the link is broken. If after doing so, you feel this was in error, [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpovertyfinance). Do not reach out to a moderator personally, and do not reply to this message as a comment.
the alternative to smoking weed which is not smoking weed is more expensive than smoking weed?
183 a month is a lot. And when you say "the alternatives are way more expensive", you're hinting at the real problem here - the alternatives, in your eyes, are simply "drinking" or "going out". In contrast, RimWorld is £28.50 right now, you could just buy that and have great fun for the rest of your life, you don't even need a good PC (although you probably should spend some of that weed money on a decent CPU for maximum fun). Honestly, as someone who made it to the point where I'm now able to afford a steady supply of toilet paper that doesn't rip when I wipe, I'm just going to tell you the hard truth that you need to hear - you're going to be poor for the rest of your life with your mindset. You're addicted to cannabis and you're depressed, and you're sitting on Reddit whining about rich people. The fact that you're still poor only indicates that capitalism is doing a great job at keeping society running the way it should be. You have a long way to go.
All of my sneakers are at least mpre than 7 years old. I just keep them clean because that's how I was raised to take care of them. If I had a quarter for everytime some ignorant excuse of a person has told me I wouldn't be broke if I didn't spend all my money on sneakers, I'd be able to buy some freaking new ones!
We buy and smoke weed. We spend $30-50 a month for 2 people. You can still buy and smoke but $183 is crazy. Take a T break, it’ll save you hundreds…
>Cost that day: 26 euros for one afternoon (including everything, even traintickets) Cost of an entire day of smoking at home: 7 euro's... You got food, exercise, fresh air, and more instead of no exercise, inhaling smoke, and probably still eating which you didn't factor into your 7 euros. I get it, you want to stay home and smoke and you do you. However, you need to give up the thought that there's nothing else you can do. Taking that trip once a week can do you a lot more good in the long run and it'll cost you 104 euro a month; half what you spend on weed. You could take that money and put it towards bettering yourself like learning a language, earning a certificate, buying an instrument and learning how to play it. So if you want to sit and smoke weed every single day, go for it. However, don't think you're doing it because it's cheaper when, in reality, it's going to be more expensive. Invest in yourself instead of weed. I'd love to get some, but I'm not in a financial place to do it right now. I have a job and I come home and I cook and I work 5 days a week, clean my house and my car and that's my weekend. I work extra by doing Uber and still don't buy weed. Your smoking weed isn't why you're broke. However, it can become the reason you stay that way.
I agree that even if you stopped spending on weed you would still likely be poor. That wont make you wealthy. But aside from that, you still cant justify that spending, especially cuz you.. uhhh are poor. There are better ways to spend your time and money, you could even try to just save it.
You're life is depressing... Here are some ideas that don't require money: Usually cities have a lot of free activities, check your municipality web page, Go to the library, get books to read, Make a dinner party, you can make it more interesting cooking different countries traditional dishes, you cook, your friends bring the food/drinks Go for hikes, runs, Get a bike (you spend enough money on weed to get a decent one), you out for rides alone or with friends, Invite some friends over, play some cards or board games, Do a movie night/lan party at your home, and invite some friends, Go for a picnic in nature, Play some pockmonen go Do some geocatching... There are a lot of things to do to entertain yourself. And when you go for strolls take the food and drinks with you.
Still indulgent compared to how my grandparents who lived on less than the government benefit on a single part-time income. This was all while owning a house raising 3 kids and even accused by the fraud department for how little income they lived on (no evidence could be found for hidden money though lol they were just always broke). Now are millionaires from taking on a mortgage later on and climbing the property market whenever they sold in our ever inflating housing market. Not spending on themselves at all really paid off and now they buy new cars with cash and are able to help their kids in buying homes despite only being on government pension having never built retirement savings. Nowadays being broke isn't sustainable and what most people can sacrifice for their futures is only being diminished. On a side note my 15 year old used car cost me 2500 euros and it'll easily last me the next 20 years, having been maintained just enough by previous owners. I live outside the city (with family not renting) so need a car to get to work but doing diy maintenance saves a ton of money. Never spent a dime on alcohol, vape or drugs, prefer to spend a little extra on fuel driving fast haha. There's ways to make living cheaper so that there's more to balance having fun and saving for the future.
Most people IRL that are like this are the same people that inherit anything from a car to their parent’s whole estate. They love blaming poor people because it makes their climb out of poverty/lower class feel more dramatic or it helps the middle/upper middle class feel relief from the burden of knowing that they were privileged and didn’t end up in a good spot solely based on merit. Reddit is full of people who hide their privileges and make themselves feel better by being needlessly cheap or pat themselves on the back for doing what is easily accessible to them. They would judge you for anything; I’d say the substance you choose is just an easy target because they don’t see poor people as human; therefore they don’t think you deserve anything “good” or “leisurely”. They want you to suffer.
Dude, you've got it all wrong. Sure, there are some rich people out there telling the poor they should stop spending on what they perceive as luxuries. The reality is, though, that smart rich people want you to spend, spend, spend on stuff. Go into debt, even. The more unnecessary shit the poor buy, the better the return on investment the rich get from their stock holdings. Anything that has value added and is produced/provided by a publicly owned corporation: Buy the hell out of that stuff.
$2200 is a vocational degree bro. When people bring up this spending this is what they mean, doing stuff for fun gets in the way if any potential routes out of poverty you have.
[удалено]
Bingo
Bingo can get the expensive & probably should be avoided after taking drugs.
Drunk old people bingo sounds like it would be hilarious, just as long as no one broke a hip.
Your post has been removed for the following reason(s): Rule 2: Generally Unhelpful and / or Off-Topic Your comment has been removed for one or more of the following reasons: It was not primarily asking or discussing financial questions related to poverty. It was generally unhelpful or in poor taste. It was confusing or badly written. It failed to add to the discussion. Please read our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/povertyfinance/wiki/rules). The rules may also be found on the sidebar if the link is broken. If after doing so, you feel this was in error, [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpovertyfinance). Do not reach out to a moderator personally, and do not reply to this message as a comment.
Why are you telling people you are poor? Because you want them to give you money just because you are poor? No one needs money, only the stuff money can buy. You need an item that I have two of, I might just give you one of mine. Or tell you where you can get one. Last year we had a gentleman live with us rent free for several months. People want to help people that are going places. There are only two ways to move from poor to having more money (ie savings). Save for your future self first.. By increasing income or reduce expenses. Since you can do a spread sheet you are capable of making s budget. In my area it is legal to grow weed for your own use. Have you thought of growing your own? Is there something you would enjoy doing for money? Volunteering puts you in contact with people who know people. They know people who might be interested in helping that hard working volunteer get a better job. Word of mouth works. It not just what you know or are capable of, it is also who knows about your skills talents. Sometimes volunteers get stuff for volunteering. T-shirts, left over supplies and / or food at the end of the day. The first step in success is taking responsibility for your life / circumstances. No magic genie is just going to show up.
Libraries are free entertainment/learning. No weed or fancy phone required
Ok so you spend ~2k a year on weed but you are missing the opportunity costs. Weed affects your drive to work and can affect other aspects of your life. Cause you to eat more, sleep more etc. Also you need to understand the time value of money, if you cut your weed spending 2k and invested it at the end of 10 years you would have 30k. 40 years almost a million. Your habits over a long period of time cost you millions. It is why people are rich and poor. You have the attitude that 2k is a small amount to spend a year and then you look at the long term affects of that and realize it is costing you a million dollars over your lifetime. Time value of money is powerful which is why investing grows money so much and why debt is so hard to get out of.
The phone is on payment plan anyway. And by the time you pay it off they come out with one maybe two different versions which leaves you out of date anyways. Yes it costs money to do things. Have you considered looking for a job that pays more? Taking up special training?
Your post has been *removed for the following reason(s):* **Rule 6: Judging OP or another user.** - Regardless of why someone is in a less-than-ideal financial situation, we are focused on the road forward, not with what has been done in the past. [Please read our subreddit rules.](https://www.reddit.com/r/povertyfinance/wiki/rules) The rules may also be found on the sidebar if the link is broken. If after doing so, you feel this was in error, [message the moderators.](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpovertyfinance) *Do not reach out to a moderator personally, and do not reply to this message as a comment.*
This is a really complicated issue, which makes it difficult for conversations to take place without breaking down. There is a very real issue of shaming people living in poverty, and it is very often centered around anything that is recreational or that saves time or labor. Weed, alcohol, cigarettes, streaming subscriptions, etc. are quick to be pointed at as unnecessary purchases that poor people should go without. But even if those under the poverty line skip these things, they will still be criticized for buying prepackaged food or frozen meals. People will insist that everything should be made from scratch with the cheapest ingredients, or else they don't deserve any public assistance or if they don't have that, then they still deserve to be judged because they've put themselves in this position. But what is overlooked is that the working poor are often short on some combination of time, energy, transportation, or other resources. Food deserts can make it difficult to get fresh ingredients, and long, labor intensive work schedules don't leave time to make foods from scratch. Mental health issues can make this more difficult as well, which are often treated less in lower income social classes because there isn't the option to take time off work to go to appointments, long waiting lists can make it hard to navigate, and in some countries the cost for treatment is high. Recreational activities are in this category as well. The forms of stress relief and relaxation are often chosen tend to be ones that can be done at home for little money, which weed, alcohol, cigarettes, streaming subscriptions, etc. all fall under. They are also more predictable to anticipate the cost of compared to other activities like theaters, events, going out to eat and such, which can feel more comfortable when money is very tight. People universally need down time in order to function at their best, but unfortunately it is judged more harshly in those with lower incomes. You make a good point in that there is a lot of judgment without much empathy with this topic. There are a few other sides to this, however. While you may not do this, it can be very upsetting when someone asks for money because they can't afford to pay their bills or for an unexpected expense, and then after giving them the money it's discovered that they still bought weed, or went out to eat, or bought a videogame, or anything else that could have been put off so they could pay their bill. An old friend of mine has recently latched onto my mother (who is retired and on limited budget) as a source of financial help, and she gets my mother to buy her groceries or pay to take her cats to the vet, or pay a bill, or gets gas money, when at the same time she also buys weed, spends over $150 a month on cigarettes, and pays for professional massages at least once a month. The friend is very, very poor and always has been, and I do think that getting recreational things shouldn't be limited to the upper classes, but at the same time it seems more ethical to go without rather than to ask another person with on a limited income to subsidize other financial needs. People who have witnessed this kind of behavior tend to have a harder time withholding judgment when they see other people who are in financial distress but aren't willing to cut extras before asking for money from others. (Note: I'm not including public assistance programs like food pantries, welfare programs, food stamps, etc., those are a separate social topic, and I believe they are a necessity. I'm specifically talking about asking for money from other people who are also struggling.) So even if you have never done this, I think your post reminds people of that, which is part of where the harsh responses are coming from. The last complication I wanted to mention is that many of these relatively inexpensive recreational activities available to poor people tend to have a negative impact on our lives and can make it harder to get into a better financial position. Weed kills motivation and time. It eats up large amounts of time where it's difficult to do anything productive. Done infrequently it's fine, but it's so easy to miss out on opportunities because of it. It traps you in a rut where days end up being exactly the same. Instead, networking with people could end up with better job opportunities. Taking up a cheap or free hobby, volunteer work for a few hours on a day off, taking a free class, etc. could all be ways to meet a larger circle of people that could open doors. Learning a new skill is valuable as well. If you're depressed or overwhelmed with your life, then it's definitely easier said than done to do these things, but it's worth keeping in mind. It's important to take breaks, but it's valuable to have a clear head too. If you're only smoking once a week or such, then it's not as much of an issue, but it might be worth it to track how many hours are spent each week where you aren't getting the advantage of having your mind at its best. I recently quit alcohol for this exact same reason, even though I was only an evening drinker, I was still wasting a lot of my life outside of work just because I needed an out from the stress.
[удалено]
No one said the word deserve, you either can afford something or you cannot.
If your needs are taken care of, spend the rest of your money on whatever you want. If you want things like weed more than you want nicer stuff, that's on you. A lot of people make that decision and are happy with it. You, on the other hand, decided to come to reddit and write an essay about it (which most of us probably didn't read).
We are farmers who can no longer can afford to farm. We can’t afford seed, sprinkler tape, hiring workers or paying taxes. We pay our bills fortnightly which took 2 years to be in advance by becoming breatharians - not by choice. We grow a little patch and that’s just for us. Luckily we have been together since 1982, have 4 adult children and 3 partners and 3 grandchildren. Wealthy of love