For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for November 23, 2023

Everyone has their own definition of wasting money

I’m with Liz on this one. That’s unfair to make a kid pay for school lunch with their own money.

That reminds me of this soccer star who made a fortune but ended up broke. He said “I spent half my money on booze, women and fast cars. The rest I squandered!”

This puts Elizabeth between a rock and hard place. Her choices are: Starve, eat Elly food, or pay for a cafeteria lunch. The cafeteria food probably has to meet some kind of health standard and tastes good enough so that other students can tolerate eating it, so it is probably the best choice. As we know from earlier comic strips, even Farley turns down Elly food.

Who was it that said, “I spent most of my money on fast women and slow horses. The rest I spent foolishly.”?

When I was a kid, my lunches consisted primarily of Swiss cheese sandwiches. Man, did I get sick of them!!

It’s a sign of responsibility.

All my mother would provide was a bologna & butter sandwich, nothing else, I was expected to drink water at school. I started working as a Nanny after school, in order to be able to buy something better.

Didn’t have that option when I was in school, or money for that matter. Mom’s lunch or cafeteria.

When I was Liz’s age I never spent money on anything here and gone like food or candy. I bought records (45’s which you younger people would not recognize) and albums of my favorite groups. Also makeup, costume jewelry and clothing if I could find it on sale. I didn’t need to spend it on movies since I saw enough movies when I had visitations with my dad and he paid.

Elizabeth is such a whiney little brat!

Honestly, that makes sense. Better to eat free food that you’re sick of and get money for pleasures, than to spend money on food when you could have eaten for free.

We were on a tight budget when raising kids, so fixed lunches but the kids could pick a school lunch once a week, they were usually disappointed in it! Just talking to my 41 year old daughter Saturday and she said how bad the school lunches were! And my two kids and I took turns fixing their lunches so they had a say in them. Tried to be creative.

I wonder if Lynn played favo(u)rites with her own kids like she always shows Elly doing with Michael and Elizabeth?

Not food, but clothing. Our Middle Daughter was frequently referred to as “Princess Clothes Horse”. She just couldn’t put her fancy backside into anything but Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, which cost $35 back in the day (late 70s, early 80s). And buy something on sale? Heaven forbid!

We finally decided to give the girls a clothing allowance of $30 a month. Now that she wa spending her own money, instead of Poppa’s, she discovered the wonders of Lee Jeans and clothing sales.

Let Elizabeth figure out for herself that Mom’s cooking will be just fine.

How do they learn fiscal responsibility then?

Have a male friend with 4 brothers whose mom made a pot of green pea soup each week and made them a green pea soup, dried out of course, sandwiches through their whole school years- and they were nowhere near poor. Just busy. This was in the ’60’s.

Pop huh? I say a ‘coke’, generic for any kind of drink.

Liz was born way ahead of her time… She is Gen Z for sure.

Because priorties!

Really, Liz?

Back when I went to school, if the school had a cafeteria (the school was big enough), the meals were free to all students. That was in two different school systems, one rural and one urban, in two different states. However, from kindergarten to 4th grade — in four different school buildings, — there was no cafeteria, and everyone brought their own lunch.

Oh the irony

I’m glad that my mother had us pack lunches for school. It’s really helped me as an adult save money by bringing in leftovers. My ex would spend $20 to $40 (90’s money) on lunches. Money that we really couldn’t afford. But he refused to pack a lunch because he always got lunch money for school.

Didn’t know they said Pop up thereThought that was a midwestern thang

Garbage-headed teenager.

Like wanting a cake and eat it too…….

Teens in 2023.

It’s not like school cafeteria’s serve fine dining – or even decent food. My school served a “pizza” that consisted of a slice of toast with a piece of American cheese and a spoonful of spaghetti sauce on it.

A Very Happy & Blessed Thanksgiving to all

Yeah, I totally get it! I’m with Lizzy on this one.

Talk about self-involved. She’s blaming her mom because she has to spend her allowance (which is given to her by her mom).

She doesn’t have to have sandwiches. She could cook something to take to school for lunch.

Let’s see, I started working at 13 and also had to buy my own clothes, all toiletries (and my brother would always use my shampoo), gas for my car (when I turned 16, and yes, I bought my own car), and any and all entertainment. Liz, you are just too shallow to know how good you have it.

probably not the first time you’ve been wrong

Always liked my brought from home lunch. Everything I likes and the right amount.

They must not subsidize lunches as much in Canada. I don’t think a packed lunch is much cheaper than a school lunch here. Of course there’s so much poverty where I live they had free lunches for everyone for several years when my daughter was in school. She wouldn’t eat them, because they were gross, but they were free.

Easy one for Elizabeth. Take the price of the school lunch and multiply it by 5 and add that to her current allowance, explaining to John about the egg sandwich. John had eaten Elly food before. He will understand that audit.

Ah,but is Liz’s school cafeteria decent or indecent?