Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Money at the Deli

I never seem to tire of the weird money-related things that happen in delis. Yesterday when I was getting my lunch, the woman in front of me was complaining about the prices at the deli. She said to the cashier "I know it's not you, it's the owner, but your prices are ridiculous!" He just laughed and rattled off a response that included "shukran" (thank you in Arabic), "shalom" (peace in Hebrew) and "adios" (goodbye in Spanish). Typical New York dialogue!

Then the guy behind me asked for a pack of Camel Lights, and the cashier told him it would be $11. The customer didn't bat an eye, so I guess he's used to it, but no one else in line seemed to be! Last I'd heard, cigarettes were still under $10, so my jaw dropped, and someone further back in line said "ELEVEN DOLLARS! HOLY SH*T!" The cashier was laughing again, and this time his response, all in English, was "yeah, people come in, they complain, five dollars too much for a sandwich, but cigarettes eleven dollars, they don't care!"

For $4.60, I got a tuna sandwich and a little entertainment...

12 comments:

Smokes & a Brew said...

Yeah, I learned this lesson first hand living in a fraternity. No one ever had any money, but come the weekend, six packs always seemed to be plenty on hand! Go figure!

petunia said...

Thank GOD my college "social smoking while drinking" days are long behind me!

I think I used to pay $2.25 a pack.

I do feel bad for smokers, you have to really be addicted these days to put up with the high prices and not being able to smoke in bars, restaurants etc.

I have to make an unrelated side comment, why aren't you brown bagging it!? I know under $5 is not much, but it can add up over the week. I was one of those people who loved my lunch break trips to the "deli" (one of those NY places that has *everything* under the sun). Now I am a dedicated lunch packer (probably for more dietary reasons than financial reasons)and I've never looked back.

Anonymous said...

Where can you get a tuna sandwich for $4.60 in Manhattan? i can't find one for under $6. Details please....

Anonymous said...

I guess the thing about cigarette is that they are universally recognized as UN-necessity. If you smoke, better sock away for medical as well.

Anonymous said...

Cigarettes are still way too cheap. For the pollution and health care burden, they should be $120.

Kate@LivingTheFrugalLife said...

Wow! $11 for a pack of ciggies?!? I had no idea. Just today I saw someone smoking a cigarette, and I wondered whether I should blog the obvious frugal recommendaiton to give up smoking, or just never start. But I thought, nah, that's far too obvious, and some random blogger's post isn't going to mean squat to anyone anyhow. But $11? Really, I had not a clue it was that expensive a habit.

I remember my fifth grade math teacher making us calculate how much we would save in ten years and then in our lifetimes if we never started smoking. We figured we could take a world class vacation after ten years, and more or less retire comfortably just on the savings (with interest) at age 65. And I know we didn't estimate that the price would reach $11/pack.

Anonymous said...

I'm an ex-smoker. As a true addict, I'd pay anything they would charge. I got out before $11/pack though, thankfully.

note: if I was paying $11/pack, that means nothing leftover to help the economy past barebones groceries. People will give up luxuries and necessities to feed their addiction,regardless of what that addiction is.

suzi said...

I quit smoking when cigarettes were going to be $.25 (yes, twenty-five cents) a pack. I thought that was outrageous. Long time ago, obviously.

Single Ma said...

Apparently I've been under a rock for the past 10 years. When did cigs go up to $11/pack? Wow! Can you imagine the monthly costs for people who smoke a pack per day? That's a car payment!

modena604 said...

i was just in nyc last week and when i was buying a drink at a corner store, i did notice the price of cigs. i was quite surprised!
at duty free at jfk, cigs were about $30 per carton (which works out to be 3 bucks a pack).
smoking is an expensive BAD habit.

oh, when i was in nyc. i notice there is no tax on clothing, but food you get charged tax. it's really weird. i bought a bottle of water and i get charged tax. when i bought a bag of chips, no tax was charged. i had a hard time figuring out what you get taxed on. modena604@yahoo.ca

Hill said...

I've followed your blog for over a year. Full of insights and very entertaining to boot. Thanks so much. I come from a place called Singapore. It's very near Thailand. We're famous for not allowing chewing gum, and cigarettes cost SGD$11 (USD$1 is about SGD1.50) a pack of 20. Didn't know there were places on earth where cigs cost more. It's good to know. Do go to http://stopsavingmoney.blogspot.com/ if you'd like to read some confused ramblings on how people in Singapore spend or DON'T spend their money. Some money saving tips buried in there somewhere too.

MEG said...

@ Anon - Actually if health care costs were the main priority, then the government should incent people TO smoke. Smokers die younger and cost the taxpayer FAR less in medical costs over their lifetime as a result.

They might have cancer for a year or so, but they generally avoid all the more more expensive costs of long term care and hip replacements and multiple heart bypasses etc. of some non-smokers who live 20+ years longer.