My friend lives in a small town up north and her butcher still does the same thing, writes the date right on the paper with a marker that's basically glued to his hand. She said he even draws a little smiley face next to it if you're a regular, which she loves. Last time she went in he wrote the wrong month though and had to scribble it out. Made her laugh more than a sticker ever would.

Wait, your car died and you only had $23 total? That part is blowing my mind. Like, not even $23 for food, just $23 for everything until Friday. I've been broke before but that is a whole different level of stress, especially in Modesto where you kind of need a car to get anywhere. Did you have to walk to get the beans or did you already have them in the cupboard? I feel like I would've panicked and just not eaten at all, so the fact that you figured out the fried egg thing on night two is honestly impressive.