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Sketch a day - day 7 |
I went to the grocery store for two reasons... lunch, and cash-back. Cash back is awesome because I don't have to pay atm fees to spend my money, and since I had to pay the dude repairing the woodpecker holes in my house today, I needed cash. (I probably won't use him again, with one of the reasons being he doesn't take checks. Who wants to go to get cash two days in a row to get enough money to pay someone?)
Anyway, I said to the cashier I need $100 cash back, is that possible? She replied, the max is $50, but I can split your bill. Cool.. Cool. So she rang up my bill with a few things left on the conveyor belt.
As I went fishing in my wallet for my debit card she got annoyed. I was trying to find the right debit card, for our joint account, since I didn't want to take it from my main shopping account because most of the money was for house repairs.
She replied in an annoyed voice... "that's a lot of cards". I apologized. "They are all for different things", I said. "Well, I don't know what anyone needs all those cards for". I was so caught off guard, I started explaining. "Well, I have joint cards for each kids account, they are in college. And I have a joint account with my husband. And I have the card I use for most purchases, groceries and stuff, and then I have one credit card", I explained, feeling flushed.... as if it were any of her business. "Well" she huffed", I only have one card, I don't have enough money for all those cards, but a little is better than nothing!" I started to explain again, and then realized how ridiculous I was being, I paid for my second half of the purchase, got my other $50 cash back and left.
It is nobody's business how many debit or credit cards I have. It is nobody's business how much money I do or don't have. And I should not feel guilty or ashamed for what I have or how it works for me. It is my money and it is my system. It works for me.
This isn't the first time I have felt attacked by this particular cashier. Over the summer I purchased pre-cubed watermelon. Sure I could have purchased a whole watermelon, but I didn't want to deal with it. She chastised me for not making the more economical choice and that the pre-cut watermelon was a lot more per pound. I felt so convicted (bad) that I purchased a whole watermelon the next time... and guess what, most of it was yucky... unevenly ripe. I would have gotten a much better bargain buying it pre-cut, seeing how much I tossed out.
I will be avoiding this cashier from now on.
Before her, and when my kids were younger, there was another such cashier. She would tell me that I needed to get a job every time I saw her. "The manager is here, she would say, you'd be a great cashier". "I'm good", I would reply, but she would keep insisting. It bothered her that I clearly did not have a job and was spending what she though was a lot of money at the grocery store. Surely, I needed a job, right?
So what gives?
I am being made to feel just like those people others shame for using a EBT (food stamps) card for buying what they think is excessive, only I don't use any of those cards, and my husband makes good money which I manage well, and I can afford to feed us well, most of the time. Still, I am being treated the exact same as those people.
Maybe it is because I don't dress up and look rich. I look like the average joe-schmo always dressing casually, and when I go to the grocery, I often dress like I'm homeless! (I don't really know how a homeless person dresses) If I am cooking or cleaning, or just took a nap, I just roll out in whatever I had on.. so is that why they are judging me? Do they think that there is no way I am getting this money I am spending honestly? Do they think they need to remind me to be more careful with money, because they don't think I have any or should have any?
I don't know, but it befuddles me.
I'm going to have to be rude and put a stop to it.