Spent - what's your score?

This game, recommended by Saint Vincent de Paul Society to illustrate how difficult it can be to live in poverty, is pretty intense. I made it through the month and managed to save $237! Except... Rent is due tomorrow (no way that is going to get paid), I have a toothache, my kid barely knows me, my job reduced my hours to part-time so I am basically making no money, and I am beginning to have chronic back pain from this wonderful job. Lovely.

So, what is your score?

Also, for those of you who live through this simulation in real life, if you go to your community's St. Vincent de Paul group, they may be able to help you by paying bills, getting you food, etc. It's a Catholic organization, but they don't care if you're not religious or whatever. The people that do this just want to combat poverty in their own little way. It's an international organization, so hopefully you'll be able to find them in whatever country you have.

I got to day 15. Turns out you can't put your kid up for adoption, or sell him into slavery... Had I have just turned down the after school sports, I'd be okay. Plus I wound up living too far away from work. I'm going to try again.

{You come out of your house to discover that someone has siphoned the gas from your car, and you're already running late for work. What do you do?] HUNT HIM DOWN.

Made it out with $394 on my second try, but my kid hates me.

I got $616
I don't understand this american 'tip' system.

Made it to the end of the month with $350 and no electricity.

EDIT: Made it with $527 but a super bad toothache. Thankfully it would really just mean that I can add it to my earnings and bam pay that ridiculous $400.

I also can't believe you guys get fired for talking to the union. Fair work!

Had 899 on my second last day, all ready to pay rent, and then my car breaks down. Darn!

Also got laid off for the union. So unfair.

I got through with $386 and no problems!

My best was 326 but I lost my car and job.

Duuuuuuuude. If you don't have a union and you're at the bottom, you NEVER discuss having a union, unless you want to get fired. Only the jobs that have unions are allowed to discuss their union. Having the pay increased to a livable wage by using bargaining power from the union is not good business!

Just went broke. I think I shall try again.

*How* is there not a functional union system in the States? That's appalling!

Snoink wrote:Having the pay increased to a livable wage by using bargaining power from the union is not good business!

Good business for who? I mean, the union is excellent for me as a worker - they help negotiate for reasonable and necessary pay increases and work conditions so I don't have to do it on my own. It's totally not so good for the business, cause heaven forbid their workers be happy. But the unions are a good thing, I hope you guys develop a better system of unions.

I got to day 23, but had some pretty crap things happen, like my mother being sick, breaking a vase (? I work in an office setting, why am I near vases?), my son not wanting free school lunches and such. If there was a moral decision to make, I always made the "right" one, and still got to day 23.

Whilst I can accept that these sort of things happen in the real world, I think that this simulation focuses too heavily on Murphy's Law (what can go wrong will go wrong).

Hm... I actually think that everything was too easy, actually, because only one bad thing happened per day. I mean. One thing tends to lead to another. If you have bad back problems, for instance, it just gets worse, and soon you can't even sleep very well, because the mattress hurts you, so you are having sleep deprivation and trying to do everything that you're supposed to -- which in this case would be trying to raise a kid by yourself, work full time, and do everything else that you can -- driving, shopping, cooking, cleaning, tutoring, home repairs, car repairs, whatever. So what do you do? Turn to drugs to ease the pain (not too expensive), or buy a mattress so you can sleep (expensive), or go to the doctor (expensive)? And then, how are these actions going to affect your kid and those around you? So, all these things are going on at once, yet we have only one little choice to make: go see a doctor for the back or not. But, there's a whole cause and effect here that is missing, and only ONE big decision happens per day.

After *several* times, I got $576. I just can't turn my kid down for anything. xP And accepting a roommate finally bit me. I'm having to deal with a party-er plus an extra $100 on rent.