Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[shelivesthedream]

I am slightly scatty about invoicing people promptly because I don’t absolutely need the money literally right now or else I will starve to death/be evicted. I just realised while invoicing for the second payment that I never actually invoiced for the first payment on a long-term project at the time. Oopsie…

[Fomerly known as something]

Today I was setting up my electricity for the new place I'm moving into in 4 days on Friday.  Setting up the account was easy as I already had a relationship with the company having previously had them as a natural gas supplier.  My MPP, having to sit through the hard sell for the $30 a month insurance on 9 major appliances (not including the HVAC) and explaining no I don't want it and no it is not because I have a better deal somewhere.  It's because I freaking self insure on that.  (Especially at $360 a year).  Followed by explaining that no I don't need you to arrange for cable/internet for me, it's just not something I need to have immediately.  I didn't say thanks can I hang up now because I want power I don't want anything else you are selling, but it was close.   

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I want to try out my new Instant Pot but I have a bunch of stuff in my freezer already,

[Sibley]

I am slightly scatty about invoicing people promptly because I don’t absolutely need the money literally right now or else I will starve to death/be evicted. I just realised while invoicing for the second payment that I never actually invoiced for the first payment on a long-term project at the time. Oopsie…

You realize that you're giving some poor accountant nightmares, right? There are those of us who freak out about that sort of thing.

[PhrugalPhan]

Had a MPP today.  On my travels last week I picked up 4 coupons for Aldis.  For this week and the next 3 I can get $5 off a $30 purchase.  My average bill for myself is around $30.  Today I went in as it was the next to last day for the first week's coupon although I didn't need much.  I got everything I felt I could use, and only had $18.  Sheesh.  Went around a second time and said ok, I can buy a few more just because.  Only $25.  OK... stop and think... ummm, lets get a large bag of trail mix for the Labor day weekend so I am ready now.  Whew, finally had $30.

My bigger concern is... 3 more weeks of this???  I don't buy meat usually, and the rest is so cheap... what am I going to buy?

[Sibley]

Had a MPP today.  On my travels last week I picked up 4 coupons for Aldis.  For this week and the next 3 I can get $5 off a $30 purchase.  My average bill for myself is around $30.  Today I went in as it was the next to last day for the first week's coupon although I didn't need much.  I got everything I felt I could use, and only had $18.  Sheesh.  Went around a second time and said ok, I can buy a few more just because.  Only $25.  OK... stop and think... ummm, lets get a large bag of trail mix for the Labor day weekend so I am ready now.  Whew, finally had $30.

My bigger concern is... 3 more weeks of this???  I don't buy meat usually, and the rest is so cheap... what am I going to buy?

Stock up on nonperishables that you will use.

[Bracken_Joy]

Had a MPP today.  On my travels last week I picked up 4 coupons for Aldis.  For this week and the next 3 I can get $5 off a $30 purchase.  My average bill for myself is around $30.  Today I went in as it was the next to last day for the first week's coupon although I didn't need much.  I got everything I felt I could use, and only had $18.  Sheesh.  Went around a second time and said ok, I can buy a few more just because.  Only $25.  OK... stop and think... ummm, lets get a large bag of trail mix for the Labor day weekend so I am ready now.  Whew, finally had $30.

My bigger concern is... 3 more weeks of this???  I don't buy meat usually, and the rest is so cheap... what am I going to buy?

Stock up on nonperishables that you will use.

Yeah okay I never get these ones. Even when I lived in 500sq ft with then-fiance+dog. You can still get like, a bunch of bottles of ketchup or frozen veggies or something, lol. You'll eat stuff eventually, just... buy more than you need, knowing you'll use it?

(This, from the woman with 4 bottles of mustard in her pantry, haha).

[dezharrington]

So this is going to be my first blog post ever... I just listened to the Tim Ferriss podcast where he interviewed Mr. MM... And Mr. MM talked at length about the benefits of walking and biking most of the time. I currently live 1.5 hours away from my job. I live in an area in CA where the cost of living is lower, and work in an area where the pay and benefits are much better than the jobs where I live. I'm just wondering what I should do here... Should I find a job closer to home with a gigantic pay cut? I just don't like that idea because I will be saving less money towards Financial Independence, and it will take much longer to get there. Hoping I can get some good feedback on here. I don't really want to move closer to work because the cost of living in that area is waaaay too high.

[With This Herring]

So this is going to be my first blog post ever... I just listened to the Tim Ferriss podcast where he interviewed Mr. MM... And Mr. MM talked at length about the benefits of walking and biking most of the time. I currently live 1.5 hours away from my job. I live in an area in CA where the cost of living is lower, and work in an area where the pay and benefits are much better than the jobs where I live. I'm just wondering what I should do here... Should I find a job closer to home with a gigantic pay cut? I just don't like that idea because I will be saving less money towards Financial Independence, and it will take much longer to get there. Hoping I can get some good feedback on here. I don't really want to move closer to work because the cost of living in that area is waaaay too high.

You'd probably do better posting a new topic, but I would guess that most answers would tell you to look at getting a cheap place (shared apartment?) really close to your current job; consider that you are extending your working week an extra 15 hours a week (commute time) for no pay, extra stress, and huge miles on your vehicle.  How much are the current transportation costs compared to change in COL, and how are you valuing the loss of time + stress that comes with your commute?

[Bracken_Joy]

So this is going to be my first blog post ever... I just listened to the Tim Ferriss podcast where he interviewed Mr. MM... And Mr. MM talked at length about the benefits of walking and biking most of the time. I currently live 1.5 hours away from my job. I live in an area in CA where the cost of living is lower, and work in an area where the pay and benefits are much better than the jobs where I live. I'm just wondering what I should do here... Should I find a job closer to home with a gigantic pay cut? I just don't like that idea because I will be saving less money towards Financial Independence, and it will take much longer to get there. Hoping I can get some good feedback on here. I don't really want to move closer to work because the cost of living in that area is waaaay too high.

I highly recommend going and doing up a case study (link here: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/how-to-write-a-'case-study'-topic/), or post a specific question on a new topic under "ask a mustachian".

[PhrugalPhan]

Had a MPP today.  On my travels last week I picked up 4 coupons for Aldis.  For this week and the next 3 I can get $5 off a $30 purchase.  My average bill for myself is around $30.  Today I went in as it was the next to last day for the first week's coupon although I didn't need much.  I got everything I felt I could use, and only had $18.  Sheesh.  Went around a second time and said ok, I can buy a few more just because.  Only $25.  OK... stop and think... ummm, lets get a large bag of trail mix for the Labor day weekend so I am ready now.  Whew, finally had $30.

My bigger concern is... 3 more weeks of this???  I don't buy meat usually, and the rest is so cheap... what am I going to buy?

Stock up on nonperishables that you will use.

Yeah okay I never get these ones. Even when I lived in 500sq ft with then-fiance+dog. You can still get like, a bunch of bottles of ketchup or frozen veggies or something, lol. You'll eat stuff eventually, just... buy more than you need, knowing you'll use it?

(This, from the woman with 4 bottles of mustard in her pantry, haha).

I agree, you would think it was easy.  But I just came from visiting my mother and within a mile is a food outlet store where I stocked up on those types of things really cheap (ketchup for $.50, extra large rolls of toilet paper for $.40, jars of mayonnaise for $.25, bottles of salad dressing for $.20, protein bars for $.05 each, and so on) that I need to use up in the coming months.  Its crazy but now I don't need much at Aldis and I never thought I would say that. I have stocks of soap & shampoo to last me years.  I dunno... I gotta think on this over the weekend.

[Financial Ascensionist]

Hoping I can get some good feedback on here. I don't really want to move closer to work because the cost of living in that area is waaaay too high.

I only had a car for the last three months of living 4+ years in the SF Bay Area.  I also lived with roommates and accepted housing options that were far from my ideal, but I was OK with it because I knew this was only temporary and that I was on the fast track to escape the madness.  How much do you value the three hours that you spend commuting everyday?  Is living closer to the office still more expensive when you factor your personal time in?  What if you factor in the two years of extra life expectancy that biking daily will give you?

[Bracken_Joy]

Had a MPP today.  On my travels last week I picked up 4 coupons for Aldis.  For this week and the next 3 I can get $5 off a $30 purchase.  My average bill for myself is around $30.  Today I went in as it was the next to last day for the first week's coupon although I didn't need much.  I got everything I felt I could use, and only had $18.  Sheesh.  Went around a second time and said ok, I can buy a few more just because.  Only $25.  OK... stop and think... ummm, lets get a large bag of trail mix for the Labor day weekend so I am ready now.  Whew, finally had $30.

My bigger concern is... 3 more weeks of this???  I don't buy meat usually, and the rest is so cheap... what am I going to buy?

Stock up on nonperishables that you will use.

Yeah okay I never get these ones. Even when I lived in 500sq ft with then-fiance+dog. You can still get like, a bunch of bottles of ketchup or frozen veggies or something, lol. You'll eat stuff eventually, just... buy more than you need, knowing you'll use it?

(This, from the woman with 4 bottles of mustard in her pantry, haha).

I agree, you would think it was easy.  But I just came from visiting my mother and within a mile is a food outlet store where I stocked up on those types of things really cheap (ketchup for $.50, extra large rolls of toilet paper for $.40, jars of mayonnaise for $.25, bottles of salad dressing for $.20, protein bars for $.05 each, and so on) that I need to use up in the coming months.  Its crazy but now I don't need much at Aldis and I never thought I would say that. I have stocks of soap & shampoo to last me years.  I dunno... I gotta think on this over the weekend.

Okay, on the heels of another massive stock up is understandable =) That would be harder.

Do you have a freezer? Stock up on butter or something? I feel like it's a good cost/density/utility combination. You'll definitely need to plan out your next trips! =P

[theadvicist]

Laundry stuff? Foil, wrap, sandwich bags?

Just make sure you don't buy stuff you wouldn't otherwise just to hit the minimum. That isn't saving any money.

[Raenia]

Had a MPP today.  On my travels last week I picked up 4 coupons for Aldis.  For this week and the next 3 I can get $5 off a $30 purchase.  My average bill for myself is around $30.  Today I went in as it was the next to last day for the first week's coupon although I didn't need much.  I got everything I felt I could use, and only had $18.  Sheesh.  Went around a second time and said ok, I can buy a few more just because.  Only $25.  OK... stop and think... ummm, lets get a large bag of trail mix for the Labor day weekend so I am ready now.  Whew, finally had $30.

My bigger concern is... 3 more weeks of this???  I don't buy meat usually, and the rest is so cheap... what am I going to buy?

Mail the coupons to me ;)

[Playing with Fire UK]

Do your Aldi's not sell wine? I basically only buy wine when I need to hit a coupon threshold (and because it is amazing).

[Sibley]

Had a MPP today.  On my travels last week I picked up 4 coupons for Aldis.  For this week and the next 3 I can get $5 off a $30 purchase.  My average bill for myself is around $30.  Today I went in as it was the next to last day for the first week's coupon although I didn't need much.  I got everything I felt I could use, and only had $18.  Sheesh.  Went around a second time and said ok, I can buy a few more just because.  Only $25.  OK... stop and think... ummm, lets get a large bag of trail mix for the Labor day weekend so I am ready now.  Whew, finally had $30.

My bigger concern is... 3 more weeks of this???  I don't buy meat usually, and the rest is so cheap... what am I going to buy?

Stock up on nonperishables that you will use.

Yeah okay I never get these ones. Even when I lived in 500sq ft with then-fiance+dog. You can still get like, a bunch of bottles of ketchup or frozen veggies or something, lol. You'll eat stuff eventually, just... buy more than you need, knowing you'll use it?

(This, from the woman with 4 bottles of mustard in her pantry, haha).

I agree, you would think it was easy.  But I just came from visiting my mother and within a mile is a food outlet store where I stocked up on those types of things really cheap (ketchup for $.50, extra large rolls of toilet paper for $.40, jars of mayonnaise for $.25, bottles of salad dressing for $.20, protein bars for $.05 each, and so on) that I need to use up in the coming months.  Its crazy but now I don't need much at Aldis and I never thought I would say that. I have stocks of soap & shampoo to last me years.  I dunno... I gotta think on this over the weekend.

Toilet paper, paper towels (I go through a ton b/c of working on the house, normally very little), hygiene products. However, if you already have a stash, then pass the coupons to someone else.

[momcpa]

Pick up a couple staples and donate them to the local food pantry or women's shelter.

[edmundblackadder]

+1

Feminine hygiene products and bath stuff for a domestic violence shelter, they always need it.

[Dollar Slice]

I was googling info on something and ended up at an article on PBS.org. The site pops up a window asking what my local station is.

I haven't had a TV since before I moved to this city/state, so I really have no idea... :-/

[MBot]

Brought a can of soup to work as a backup lunch option.

But the kitchen at my work doesn't have a regular can opener. 500,000 sugar packets and a pound of pepper and 38 mugs. But no can opener.

.... so I used the kind of juice can opener that you use to pierce a tomato juice can and just sawtooth-hacked it open.

[Hedge_87]

Brought a can of soup to work as a backup lunch option.

But the kitchen at my work doesn't have a regular can opener. 500,000 sugar packets and a pound of pepper and 38 mugs. But no can opener.

.... so I used the kind of juice can opener that you use to pierce a tomato juice can and just sawtooth-hacked it open.

Been their! Do you also have 15 boxes of plastic silverware but not a single fork anywhere? seems like I forget to pack a fork about once a month or so and I spend half my lunch break digging for what feels like the LAST fork.

[With This Herring]

Brought a can of soup to work as a backup lunch option.

But the kitchen at my work doesn't have a regular can opener. 500,000 sugar packets and a pound of pepper and 38 mugs. But no can opener.

.... so I used the kind of juice can opener that you use to pierce a tomato juice can and just sawtooth-hacked it open.

Been their! Do you also have 15 boxes of plastic silverware but not a single fork anywhere? seems like I forget to pack a fork about once a month or so and I spend half my lunch break digging for what feels like the LAST fork.

Oh darn.  Maybe you could pick up basic cutlery and a can opener at a thrift store to keep at your desk.  I've always kept condiments at work.

[Hedge_87]

Brought a can of soup to work as a backup lunch option.

But the kitchen at my work doesn't have a regular can opener. 500,000 sugar packets and a pound of pepper and 38 mugs. But no can opener.

.... so I used the kind of juice can opener that you use to pierce a tomato juice can and just sawtooth-hacked it open.

Been their! Do you also have 15 boxes of plastic silverware but not a single fork anywhere? seems like I forget to pack a fork about once a month or so and I spend half my lunch break digging for what feels like the LAST fork.

Oh darn.  Maybe you could pick up basic cutlery and a can opener at a thrift store to keep at your desk.  I've always kept condiments at work.

I would but I am weird about washing my dishes in the bathroom sink at work. That's all we got. I did get a can opener just for work though that lives in the front pocket of my lunch cooler

[LennStar]

Had a MPP today.  On my travels last week I picked up 4 coupons for Aldis.  For this week and the next 3 I can get $5 off a $30 purchase.  My average bill for myself is around $30.  Today I went in as it was the next to last day for the first week's coupon although I didn't need much.  I got everything I felt I could use, and only had $18.  Sheesh.  Went around a second time and said ok, I can buy a few more just because.  Only $25.  OK... stop and think... ummm, lets get a large bag of trail mix for the Labor day weekend so I am ready now.  Whew, finally had $30.

My bigger concern is... 3 more weeks of this???  I don't buy meat usually, and the rest is so cheap... what am I going to buy?

Chocolade and Ice? Of course that would be a huge stash lol. I go there once or twice a month for basically just chocolade, ice and chips and one type of cheese, which probably gives the cashier a wrong picture. But I get all other stuff 50m at Kaufland mostly (Germany).

[shelivesthedream]

My preferred online supermarket does not stock bin liners small enough for our bin.

[MBot]

Brought a can of soup to work as a backup lunch option.

But the kitchen at my work doesn't have a regular can opener. 500,000 sugar packets and a pound of pepper and 38 mugs. But no can opener.

.... so I used the kind of juice can opener that you use to pierce a tomato juice can and just sawtooth-hacked it open.

Been their! Do you also have 15 boxes of plastic silverware but not a single fork anywhere? seems like I forget to pack a fork about once a month or so and I spend half my lunch break digging for what feels like the LAST fork.

Oh darn.  Maybe you could pick up basic cutlery and a can opener at a thrift store to keep at your desk.  I've always kept condiments at work.

I would but I am weird about washing my dishes in the bathroom sink at work. That's all we got. I did get a can opener just for work though that lives in the front pocket of my lunch cooler

We DID have the no fork problem till I picked up a half dozen of each.  They go missing slowly but I'd rather have some utensils there than none. Although someone else brought in a giant pack of plastic forks so I guess we have the opposite issue.

At another workplace it was a "wash dishes in the bathroom sink" situation. Kinda icky. I also remember that typically people who worked there and lived nearby would mostly purchase lunch... except me (who was paid to travel in from out of town and stay for a few days, and would buy groceries and prep them in my hotel room).... and the doctor who owned the practice that  would bring in Tupperwares of soup.

[GreenSheep]

Regarding utensils... why not just take your own from home each day and wash them with your containers when you get home, thereby avoiding the waste of plastic and the gross work sink? That's what I've been doing. I leave the utensil in the container so it doesn't get goo all over the inside of my bag. (Or if it falls out, I just wipe down the inside of the bag.) On the occasional day when I forget to pack a fork or whatever, either there's a plastic one available or I am quickly reminded of why it's important never to forget!

[Hedge_87]

Regarding utensils... why not just take your own from home each day and wash them with your containers when you get home, thereby avoiding the waste of plastic and the gross work sink? That's what I've been doing. I leave the utensil in the container so it doesn't get goo all over the inside of my bag. (Or if it falls out, I just wipe down the inside of the bag.) On the occasional day when I forget to pack a fork or whatever, either there's a plastic one available or I am quickly reminded of why it's important never to forget!

This is what I do 95% of time but I am a forgetful and imperfect human.  It's kind of funny though that they always buy the fork, knife, spoon combo kit so we have boxes full of spoons and knifes but not a single fork.

[Alfred J Quack]

I had a very nice thermos which kept my lunch (as in soup or leftovers) hot from 7 until 12:30 but I lost it somehow. Now I'm stuck eating either dehydrated bread with peanut butter or overpriced items from our cafeteria. Unfortunatly, the lunch tasts better then the not so fresh bread in our current 30C weather :(

[pbkmaine]

I had a very nice thermos which kept my lunch (as in soup or leftovers) hot from 7 until 12:30 but I lost it somehow. Now I'm stuck eating either dehydrated bread with peanut butter or overpriced items from our cafeteria. Unfortunatly, the lunch tasts better then the not so fresh bread in our current 30C weather :(

Buy a new thermos! There are usually nice ones at Goodwill, but even if you pay full retail, it will pay for itself in less than a week.

[pbkmaine]

I had a very nice thermos which kept my lunch (as in soup or leftovers) hot from 7 until 12:30 but I lost it somehow. Now I'm stuck eating either dehydrated bread with peanut butter or overpriced items from our cafeteria. Unfortunatly, the lunch tasts better then the not so fresh bread in our current 30C weather :(

Buy a new thermos! There are usually nice ones at Goodwill, but even if you pay full retail, it will pay for itself in less than a week.

[Threshkin]

My ongoing MPP:  Too much stuff!  We have three households worth of stuff packed into our house, mine, DW's, and my mom's.  All of us were or are frugal so we dislike discarding things.  We also wind up collecting things from friends and neighbors.  Even though we don't buy much after a combined >100 person/years the stuff adds up.

We are trying to lighten up but our frugality makes it hard.  All of that stuff might be useful someday after all.  We rarely need to buy thins because whatever we need is usually available in the basement or garage.  If we sell things we will not get anything close to the replacement value so if we need it later, we will have to spend much more to replace it.  Dilemma!!!!

(All joking aside, we are slowly lightening up but is does take time and effort.)

[merula]

My ongoing MPP:  Too much stuff!  We have three households worth of stuff packed into our house, mine, DW's, and my mom's.  All of us were or are frugal so we dislike discarding things.  We also wind up collecting things from friends and neighbors.  Even though we don't buy much after a combined >100 person/years the stuff adds up.

We are trying to lighten up but our frugality makes it hard.  All of that stuff might be useful someday after all.  We rarely need to buy thins because whatever we need is usually available in the basement or garage.  If we sell things we will not get anything close to the replacement value so if we need it later, we will have to spend much more to replace it.  Dilemma!!!!

(All joking aside, we are slowly lightening up but is does take time and effort.)

Have you thought about joining a local Buy Nothing group? I'm on one, and sometimes people post asking for something that I have tucked away "just in case" but never actually use. I give it to them, knowing that if I ever do need it, I can post myself and someone will probably help me out.

[K-ice]

I was recently over paid.  I was expecting a raise but I kind of thought it was too good to be true.

I asked a colleague if they noticed something fishy on their latest pay-stub and they said no. 

A recent promotion, coupled with tax deductions usually being less in the second half of the year, and I figured it was maybe OK.

When it happened for 2 months I figured great, I like this.   

So June and July were about 150% what they should have been.  Last week I got a letter saying they would need to correct, so basically I will get two 50% pay cheques to compensate, and I had the choice of deductions is August/Sept or Sept/October.

I opted for the Sept/October because I might as well let the extra cash sit against my LoC as long as possible.

HR called in a panic after hours last night saying they applied it to August/Sept in error, will I be OK?

Yes I'll be fine...  I kinda wish I was more mad about the error and forced them to recover it slowly because I had obviously spent every extra penny already. 

[Goldielocks]

Brought a can of soup to work as a backup lunch option.

But the kitchen at my work doesn't have a regular can opener. 500,000 sugar packets and a pound of pepper and 38 mugs. But no can opener.

.... so I used the kind of juice can opener that you use to pierce a tomato juice can and just sawtooth-hacked it open.

This made me laugh!  I have been there  (I think I used scissors?).  And I bought a can opener AND a bowl that the soup would fit into the following week..   Those quick pop top soup cans cost 40 cents more each around here...

[nouveauRiche]

Yes I'll be fine...  I kinda wish I was more mad about the error and forced them to recover it slowly because I had obviously spent every extra penny already.

Ha ha.  This reminded me of a recent conversation.  I said to DH "You got paid yesterday, right?" and he said "I guess so."  I laughed out loud.  He didn't know for sure - he doesn't check.

[plainjane]

Skype sent me a note saying that I won't be able to log in unless I upgrade my version.

I can't upgrade my version on my laptop because it was too old to upgrade the Windows OS. So software & websites are gradually not being supported.  I also can't upgrade Chrome, so LinkedIn won't let me on, etc.

[BDWW]

Skype sent me a note saying that I won't be able to log in unless I upgrade my version.

I can't upgrade my version on my laptop because it was too old to upgrade the Windows OS. So software & websites are gradually not being supported.  I also can't upgrade Chrome, so LinkedIn won't let me on, etc.

Install Ubuntu...

[plainjane]

Skype sent me a note saying that I won't be able to log in unless I upgrade my version.
I can't upgrade my version on my laptop because it was too old to upgrade the Windows OS. So software & websites are gradually not being supported.  I also can't upgrade Chrome, so LinkedIn won't let me on, etc.

Install Ubuntu...

This is an exceptionally good suggestion.

[rdaneel0]

There's a great deal on ground beef at my local shop but my freezer is already full of food.  :(

[Paul der Krake]

Skype sent me a note saying that I won't be able to log in unless I upgrade my version.
I can't upgrade my version on my laptop because it was too old to upgrade the Windows OS. So software & websites are gradually not being supported.  I also can't upgrade Chrome, so LinkedIn won't let me on, etc.

Install Ubuntu...

This is an exceptionally good suggestion.

No kidding. Don't run unsupported software that stopped receiving updates.

[Fresh Bread]

My husband's company is having a restructure. He was invited to an important meeting this morning and he didn't know whether he'd still have a job at the end of it. I totally forgot about it and didn't ask him how it went :( He still has a job :)

[SwordGuy]

There will be a 2 week gap between our current government contract ending and our new contract starting.

I'm looking forward to 2 weeks of unpaid leave.

Everyone else wants the contract extended to close the 2 week gap so they don't lose the pay.

[theadvicist]

My husband's company is having a restructure. He was invited to an important meeting this morning and he didn't know whether he'd still have a job at the end of it. I totally forgot about it and didn't ask him how it went :( He still has a job :)

Ha ha! My husband was notified of impending redundancy a couple of weeks after we announced we were expecting twins. Our mustachian problem was trying to appear devastated so they would take pity and increase the payout offer. They did, but man it was hard not to be like, "more cash? And time off whilst we have the babies? YES PLEASE!"

[mustachepungoeshere]

Brought a can of soup to work as a backup lunch option.

But the kitchen at my work doesn't have a regular can opener. 500,000 sugar packets and a pound of pepper and 38 mugs. But no can opener.

.... so I used the kind of juice can opener that you use to pierce a tomato juice can and just sawtooth-hacked it open.

Been their! Do you also have 15 boxes of plastic silverware but not a single fork anywhere? seems like I forget to pack a fork about once a month or so and I spend half my lunch break digging for what feels like the LAST fork.

My office has no cutlery (plastic or otherwise) and no mugs, but a dozen glass champagne flutes and 5000 plastic coffee cup lids.

Now those are useful!

ಠ_ಠ

[marty998]

Brought a can of soup to work as a backup lunch option.

But the kitchen at my work doesn't have a regular can opener. 500,000 sugar packets and a pound of pepper and 38 mugs. But no can opener.

.... so I used the kind of juice can opener that you use to pierce a tomato juice can and just sawtooth-hacked it open.

Been their! Do you also have 15 boxes of plastic silverware but not a single fork anywhere? seems like I forget to pack a fork about once a month or so and I spend half my lunch break digging for what feels like the LAST fork.

My office has no cutlery (plastic or otherwise) and no mugs, but a dozen glass champagne flutes and 5000 plastic coffee cup lids.

Now those are useful!

ಠ_ಠ

Just the lids? Wow... odd. I know you're office is weird but that confirms it :)

I'm about to off and go google "what can you do with 5000 coffee cup lids".

[mustachepungoeshere]

Brought a can of soup to work as a backup lunch option.

But the kitchen at my work doesn't have a regular can opener. 500,000 sugar packets and a pound of pepper and 38 mugs. But no can opener.

.... so I used the kind of juice can opener that you use to pierce a tomato juice can and just sawtooth-hacked it open.

Been their! Do you also have 15 boxes of plastic silverware but not a single fork anywhere? seems like I forget to pack a fork about once a month or so and I spend half my lunch break digging for what feels like the LAST fork.

My office has no cutlery (plastic or otherwise) and no mugs, but a dozen glass champagne flutes and 5000 plastic coffee cup lids.

Now those are useful!

ಠ_ಠ

Just the lids? Wow... odd. I know you're office is weird but that confirms it :)

I'm about to off and go google "what can you do with 5000 coffee cup lids".

I assume that, at some point, many years ago, when the company had a budget for such things, they supplied the cups too.

[RWD]

My office has no cutlery (plastic or otherwise) and no mugs, but a dozen glass champagne flutes and 5000 plastic coffee cup lids.

Now those are useful!

ಠ_ಠ

Just the lids? Wow... odd. I know you're office is weird but that confirms it :)

I'm about to off and go google "what can you do with 5000 coffee cup lids".

I assume that, at some point, many years ago, when the company had a budget for such things, they supplied the cups too.

We were looking at disposable coffee cup options at the store a while back and a lot of them come with an equal number of lids bundled in the package. And there was not an equivalent version without the lids. Since the lids are essentially guaranteed to be used at a slower rate than the cups I can see how a company could end up with a stockpile over time.

[SwordGuy]

I'm about to off and go google "what can you do with 5000 coffee cup lids".

Donate them to a college art department for their students.

They might even make something worth seeing out of them.  Or not.  It's a crapshoot.