Day 33- $1 a day

There was an intriguing article in the San Francisco Chronicle today about how some people are waiting in great anticipation for the Chronicle's Top 100 Restaurants mini-magazine to come out this Sunday. It is what it sounds like-- the Chronicle food staff compiles a list of what they think are the top 100 places to eat in the San Francisco Bay Area.

But the interesting part is that some people have a contest with their friends to see who can visit the most of these top 100 restaurants in one year.

Most of the people hit the more affordable restaurants first, and they make reservations far in advance for special occasions at the higher end dining establishments. One man gamely ate at all 100 restaurants last year and printed t-shirts to commemorate the experience. He also admits to spending $18,000 on dining that year, which according to my calculations is an average of $180 per meal. I'm sure some of the restaurants cost far less than that and some--like French Laundry (prix fixe meal $240 without wine)-- cost much more than that.

Needless to say, online readers posted plenty of comments on this article.

Readers highly in favor of this quest:
"I'd rather eat out and keep a business alive, than add more people to your beloved food banks and dumpsters. Some people actually know how to spread the wealth around productively."

"The people featured here who are doing this are doing their part to stimulate the economy."

Readers moderate on this quest:
"Even though I can't afford going out to eat anymore, I'm glad others can."

"Some people like to accumulate stuff (cars, DVDs, electronics, clothes, knickknacks, books, art, shoes) and others appreciate things like good restaurants and travel more than things."

Readers highly opposed to this quest:
"As they're eating their way through these 100 restaurants do they ever wander around the back to see the truly hungry digging through the dumpsters looking for their scraps?"

"I can't help but look at the article and picture and feel angry. I work 3 jobs, and I'm lucky as I am paying the mortgage and my children aren't experiencing any real hardship."

"I do not see what kind of achievement it is to spend tons of money in high class restaurants. If this is your claim to fame, you might want to rethink your priorities. Like, donate that money to charity and no, do not brag about it."

"Insensitive and outrageous in these hard times. Don't these people have anything better to do than stuff their faces? Maybe volunteer at St Anthony's soup kitchen?!"

Gee, does anyone detect any judgmentalism in these comments? Careful readers will notice that the writer of the article casually mentioned that the fellow who spent $18,000 on dining that year also spends quite a bit of time volunteering in New Orleans. She was no doubt neutralizing the venom that was to come from judgmental people intent on telling other people how to live their lives and spend their money.

Who among us hasn't dropped pretty penny on a meal, sports equipment, a vacation- and asked themselves afterwards how many people they could have fed with that Prime Rib, or their ski equipment, or the money that went *poof* at the blackjack tables in Vegas? The people featured in this article will spend more on dining than I will spend on rent this year. But I harbor no judgement towards them for their decision. I'm more focused on what I am supposed to do with my money, and how I can be a good steward of the resources I have been blessed with.