Extreme Pay It Forward: Home Edition

A couple friends of mine just moved out together after living with a friend of a friend whose relationship with them had deteriorated over time. When they moved out, they realized they’d mostly been using their former roommates household items, and only had very few themselves.

After helping them move into their new apartment, which has depleted almost all their combined checking and savings, I take them to a big box store so they can buy their most necessary necessities. They grab a cart for themselves, but I also grab one as well. As we go up and down the aisles, I ask them things like, ‘do you have a trash can? Paper towels? A broom?’ and when they reply no, I grab one and put it in my cart. We also go by the grocery section, and I pick up a bunch of boxes of mac and cheese and some large packages of chicken breasts, a jug of milk, and a few other grocery items.

When we get to the checkout stand, I take a separate aisle, and as they wonder what I’m doing, I tell them I’m paying for all the things in my cart. They look at me like they can’t believe it. They try to refuse, but I tell them I am just paying it forward, after my mother helped me out the same way when I moved out on my own, and that they should do the same someday in their future when an opportunity arose.

They gave me a big hug and promised me lots of future home-baked treats, which I couldn’t refuse.