Panhandling and Dumpster Diving

Sigh... 

Panhandling is sometimes a necessary evil.  Cash is the best asset of all at this point, because it allows us to buy the basic things we need.  How we spend our money, however, will affect the speed with which we will obtain further assets in our dynamic Homeless Portfolios.

But what if we only get one meal a day at our local soup kitchen?  You could follow our path and go from 190 pounds to 125, or you could lose some of your dignity by panhandling.

Dignity is the most important asset we can add to our Homeless Portfolios at this point.

There are other reasons that we shouldn't panhandle:

It's illegal just about everywhere.  Most American cities have criminalized panhandling in public places.  Our only alternative is to"hit people up" on private property.  Once they ask us to leave (and they will), we're trespassing unless we go immediately.  Getting arrested is a huge debit to our Homeless Portfolios.

There's competition for prime panhandling spots as well.  We're begging for a street fight if we encroach on someone else's turf. 

And we've never met a "professional" panhandler who saved his or her money to get off of the streets.  Most spend their money immediately.  You'd be shocked by the number of people who live in shelters or missions who have vehicles, cell phones, laptops and portable DVD players.  Certainly most people didn't accumulate these assets via panhandling, but buying "things" at this juncture is foolhardy.  We must save some of that money to get an apartment or motel room and get off the streets as soon as possible. 

And panhandling leads to stagnation.  The money goes to unnecessary "things," often alcohol or drugs.  Panhandlers can sustain themselves, even without a mission or shelter, but they'll never get ahead.  If you're content to live day-to-day in miserable conditions, more power to you.  But the cash that goes to day-to-day living is wasted if the money is spent on alcohol or drugs, or unessesary luxuries.

Don't panhandle unless it's absolutely necessary...it takes us in the wrong direction by interrupting the natural progression of our Homeless Portlfolios.  You'll get off of the streets faster and more permanently if you follow our suggestions.  Trust us.

Some words on dumpster diving.  If you're really really hungry, try the alleys behind grocery stores or restaurants after closing.  Use common sense.  Unless it's completely sealed, don't even bother.  Check for expiration dates as well. 

Dumpster diving for food really sucks, but there are a lot of potential assets that get dumped in alleys.  Here at The Homeless Portfolio we have a lovely dresser and TV stand that we spruced up, both discarded in alleys.  They look great and saved us a ton of money.  Of course, fixed assets such as furniture are worthless if we don't have our own place to put them, and we're still a long way from that stage.

Keep the faith.  We are building our Homeless Portfolios step-by-step, with each asset building upon the next.

ADDENDUM:

You'll notice that we didn't offer you tips on successful panhandling.  It wouldn't be in keeping with our Homeless Portfolio philosophy to encourage an ultimately counterproductive effort.  As always, never panhandle anywhere it's illegal. 
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