Moaning About Money

lupus.cheezburger.com
(No, this is not Mr Bumpy - who uses home brand
cat litter, and does not have to make his own.
When he shreds paper, it's for fun.)

Every now and then something circulates on email or social media about how someone who is well-dressed, have make-up on etc, asks for a pensioner discount. The self-righteous people who pen these missives then claim that this proves our pensions are too high, or that we're helping people who are wasting money and using it badly.

I'd like to answer these things - (feel free to copy and paste freely as needed.)

Dear person who thinks pensions are too high,

I would like to suggest to you that if you can't tell the difference between:

• Your $30 a time professional manicure that lasts two weeks if you're lucky, and my $5 bottle of no-name brand nail polish that lasts me six months or even more,
• Your $150 hair style, and my home hair cut done with a $20 pair of hair cutting scissors that has lasted me five years, (and my six-monthly treat of a $15 home hair dye),
• Your $50 per 200ml bottle of expensive moisturiser and my $5 per litre (or less) bottle of sorbolene,
• Your $20 make-up remover, and my same bottle of sorbolene,
• Your clothes that are discarded and replaced every season or so, and my clothes that were bought on special (I try not to spend more than half the original price), and then cared for so they last,
• Your $25 eyeshadow and my $5 eyeshadow (and prices are similar for foundation, lipstick, etc),
• Your expensive shoes, and mine, bought on sale and repaired numerous times,
• Your $5 shower gel and my $1 cake of soap,
• The home-made snacks I carry in my handbag, and the ones you buy at a coffee shop,
• Your dog's professional grooming, and my dog's home bath, hair cut and nail clip,
• Your name-brand everything, and my no-name brand everything,
• Your things that are thrown out when damaged and mine that are repaired, reused, recycled wherever possible,
• The things you bought new, and the things I was given second-hand,

...then I really have to agree with you. One of us definitely has too much money, and is clearly wasting it.

Kindest regards,

A disabled pensioner.