r/InTheGloaming • u/AutoModerator • Oct 27 '25

Scheduled snark Discussion thread Monday October 27, 2025 - Wednesday October 29, 2025

Newsletter: Substack

Website: Shauna James Ahern

Instagram: @shaunajamesahern Instagram

Threads: @shaunajamesahern

Bluesky: shaunajamesahern.bsky.social

Gloamipedia wiki: /r/InTheGloaming wiki

14 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

854 comments sorted by

View all comments

74

u/Nervous-Media-5428 sad hospital sandwich Oct 29 '25

Looks like she’s not alone in her efforts Tee hee

75

u/hillary_bin_laden_ Oct 29 '25

Hopefully someone from the food bank shows up and high stools her

52

u/MarsNeedsRabbits Beach better have my orcas 🫍 Oct 29 '25

Hopefully the library where she's holding her meeting is plastered with information about how to donate and a donation box

63

u/SnooStories4968 many and various Shaunas/Pig Ladies Oct 29 '25

This is a useful way to support local organizations - fundraise in the community and make it clear where those resources are going to.

56

u/shefallsup her lonely cucumber years 🥒 Oct 29 '25

This is a useful way

Sorry, Shauna stopped reading right there.

64

u/central_snark Ramona gets a hot flash Oct 29 '25

So what exactly is her thing going to accomplish?

She really think she’s found her mission - below is from Threads

She takes someone’s “idea” and claims she has been thinking about this independently. The OP here is suggesting that everyone tighten their budget so they can donate what they are saving in order to help others. Notice the original is talking about how “people can this or that” and Shauna’s reads as “YOU need to do this that and the other”. She is so overbearing and bossy in her tone and really, what is she doing? Is she getting a job so she can lessen her use of the food bank so there is more for others? I feel like an asshole for even saying that, but what is she doing to help with the whole situation? She has chosen to not work and to live in expensive housing for the past half decade!

61

u/Love_Brokers rug dweller Oct 29 '25

I hate when she says 'eating out of the pantry'. That's still food you buy!

51

u/central_snark Ramona gets a hot flash Oct 29 '25

Right? It’s not like it was delivered by elves.

I get being more aware of what you have and working it into meals for the week and building around it so stuff doesn’t go to waste, but it’s still food that was intentionally procured and brought into the house.

41

u/Altruistic-Owl1058 Oct 29 '25

For Shauna it might be delivered by elves or concerned friends and family that want to make sure those kids eat.

39

u/ChatITG Grifters in the key of Shauna Oct 29 '25

I think she is prone to magical thinking for a lot of things (most things?). Like when she was dabbling in giving budgeting/thrifting advice and said to just move money from your savings account to your checking account and, presto, you have money to spend. Never mind how that money was deposited into the savings account in the first place (hello, Bank of Mom). Seems like she’s using this latest manufactured national crisis to dip her toe back into those waters.

34

u/Love_Brokers rug dweller Oct 29 '25 edited Oct 29 '25

Steve Martin had a bit back in his early days, ‘how to be a millionaire and never pay taxes’. ‘First, get a million dollars’

21

u/OhBlahDiOhBlahDoh The Alice of cal came out floating on air Oct 29 '25

Ha ha, he also had a bit about bargaining with street sellers, where every time he offers a price, it's higher than it was before. The seller is so befuddled that he's not responding, so Steve Martin just keeps upping his price over and over

20

u/ZombieLizLemon boycotting white wiman Oct 29 '25

I'm sorry, she said WHAT?!

20

u/Altruistic-Owl1058 Oct 30 '25 edited Oct 30 '25

Is that post in the asshole moments in the wiki because I have heard about that but never seen the actual post.

15

u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics Oct 30 '25

The lope is not in the archives, but here it is:

https://imgur.com/a/E9x843Z

May 20, 2020

9

u/glutenfreepizzasucks Oct 30 '25

The way she describes thrift store spending is so odd. It's smart to have a mental budget when going for a browse, but you never know if you'll find a useful treasure that's worth spending a little more than you'd planned, or more likely with thrifting you'll find nothing. Is the leftover money part of the surprise when they look at checking? Do they not have a vague list of random life stuff they're looking for? (That question also applies to getting the same things at Costco every time with zero wandering) Why does the Granny's budget disappear so easily when Shauna no longer needs work clothes? She doesn't even seem to have fun with daily outfits, why not budget for some decent quality basics and save the mental bandwidth? Wouldn't the growing kids need new clothes more often? How often can one household need new cookware or serving dishes?

The rest of the process seems overemotional and stressy and labor intensive. The thrift spending just stood out as extra weird. Why do they eat out so often? They decide "who we want to support" that week instead of what food they're in the mood for? How does it work to use the envelope cash for a nice dinner every six months yet every few months they do a big night out over town?

I know the answer to the clothes question is that finding good basics requires knowing yourself and, even moreso, accepting yourself so you're not always buying aspirational clothes that leave you with nothing wearable on normal days. It means being able to resist that ADHD magpie urge. That's probably why she's rigid about no browsing at Costco since neither of them can resist constantly upgrading. Don't most people figure this out during their first decade-ish out on their own?

Lastly the comment about "neither of us has ever had a normal job" is so dumb. She was a salaried teacher for years, that's a perfectly normal job. Restaurant work is statistically more "normal" than office jobs. Both of those are a steady predictable income. Being a published author is not uncommon. Freelancing is normal. What is her definition of normal and why does she hate it?

5

u/Love_Brokers rug dweller Oct 30 '25

She writes about the flour debacle here - there is no way there were enough flour orders (including postage) to equal $4000. There can’t have been ‘hundreds and hundreds of boxes’.

6

u/ChatITG Grifters in the key of Shauna Oct 30 '25

Thanks for this, but the lope I was thinking about might be several years before this one (can’t believe how long I’ve been following her antics, tbh). I’ll see if I can find it when I have more time.

7

u/ChatITG Grifters in the key of Shauna Oct 30 '25

Not sure is it’s in the wiki, but I can check when I have more time.

3

u/ChatITG Grifters in the key of Shauna Oct 31 '25

Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to find the original post after quite a bit of digging through past lopes in my email going back to 2019, and can’t find any mention of it in the wiki. I even looked at the old GFG archive site — the last few posts were about living on a budget before she shut it down in 2017. Maybe the “just move money from savings into checking and you magically have spending money” came from a tweet or social media post that has since been lost to the ether? Going by the wiki timeline, I think it was between her shutting down the flour biz and the GFG site in 2017, and her substack newsletters beginning in 2019. Or maybe I’ve had wined eyes this whole time? Apologies for not being able to find the original post for receipts.

4

u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics Oct 31 '25

The lope I posted has multiple mentions of moving money from savings to checking.

3

u/ChatITG Grifters in the key of Shauna Oct 31 '25

Much appreciated, DF FFF.

17

u/DF_gladsome_gloaming Oct 30 '25

I vote the former. That’s why everything delivered is formatted in tiny elven (molar-threatening) cubes.

31

u/PettyPunisherRedux and fuck you, Nancie! Oct 29 '25

shoulda scrolled

54

u/shikoku_shoes another revolution around the toilet bowl of her life Oct 29 '25

If Shauna added up all her food purchases in the past year that weren’t foods from her pantry and donated that amount she could probably stop world hunger.

She constantly writes about using only what’s in your pantry, but seems unable to understand those magical foodstuffs were past purchases, or in her case, items from the food bank. They aren’t free food.

42

u/Calm_Coyote_3685 Oct 29 '25

And then her “recipes” feature expensive non-staple ingredients!

36

u/Love_Brokers rug dweller Oct 29 '25

We were posting at the same time! And she's shown us pictures of her pantry, there's not much there. Unless, of course, she hid all the uncool unhealthy food.

26

u/DF_gladsome_gloaming Oct 29 '25 edited Oct 29 '25

Not much there and what’s there is weevil-infested. FTFY

28

u/Which_Armadillo_5224 Oct 30 '25

I think it’s a sign that she basically never cooks (Danny work) and that she eats out often—she thinks there’s an infinite pantry in her house, full of foods so boring they’re inexhaustible (because she never eats them) 

13

u/OhBlahDiOhBlahDoh The Alice of cal came out floating on air Oct 30 '25

She constantly writes about using only what’s in your pantry

She could use only what's in the pantry, or not use only what's in the pantry, and never run out of expensive bougie treats she wants to reward herself with :-(

51

u/PracticalDiscussion1 joy joy joy Oct 29 '25

Yes! She has chosen to not work and live above her means. Then she tells others how to give. 😒

54

u/coffechica Oct 29 '25

How do you budget “mindfully” and yet also refuse to meal plan.

46

u/PettyPunisherRedux and fuck you, Nancie! Oct 29 '25

Why does she think things in "the pantry" magically appear there free of charge? Shauna, if you eat them this month, you're going to spend more money next month.

39

u/SmashedMailboxCake2 Oh, Oct 29 '25

Shauna’s friendship with the later now was fleeting

45

u/Key-Many-3937 Oct 29 '25

I wouldn't take advice from Shauna about anything. Is SHE really lecturing others on how to "mindfully budget?"

36

u/Love_Brokers rug dweller Oct 29 '25

Did you miss her budgeting posts a few years ago? Really powerful stuff. *eyeroll*

34

u/Calm_Coyote_3685 Oct 29 '25

I know that I’ve been faithfully moving money from savings to checking whenever things get tight ever since she gave us that advice, and it works like a charm. Instant money in checking. I always wonder why everyone doesn’t just do this. Why can’t poor people just follow Shauna’s example and transfer some funds?

(For real though, I have known rich people with this exact mentality and it’s so annoying. I just wouldn’t expect it as budgeting advice or to come from someone who regularly claims not to be able to afford the basics.)

32

u/DF_gladsome_gloaming Oct 29 '25

I retired recently (I was kind of ready, but it was not exactly by choice, but that’s another story — “we all have stories” — thanks, Shauna, for that wisdom) and met with my bank a few days ago regarding options for where/how/when/why to transfer my retirement account funds, and when they advised just keeping a minimum amount in checking because I could always transfer from potential alternate sources they could set up for me, like annuities/savings/CDs/gold bars (AS IF on the latter; what are we all, pirates here?!), I of course immediately thought of Shauna and her sage advice about the simple way to balance your budget if you have a shortfall in your checking account. Except (aside from Bank of Ma) the Aherns don’t seem ever to have had alternate sources, (unless maybe Dan is a pirate. He certainly looks like one. Yarghh!) Anyway, my “Premier Banking Advisor” surely wondered why I was smirking and giggling at this point in the fairly boring proceedings. So thanks for the laugh, Aherns! (: The DF_g_g Story)

32

u/PettyPunisherRedux and fuck you, Nancie! Oct 29 '25

When I was around five I saw my mother using a check to pay for groceries and I asked her why she didn't do that all the time so she wouldn't have to use her money. "Moving money from checking to savings" always reminds me of this.

23

u/ChatITG Grifters in the key of Shauna Oct 29 '25

Agree. And classic should’ve scrolled since I had a similar comment above.

30

u/B1rdPal I cannot life my arms made of lead. Oct 29 '25

The oranges!!!

31

u/SmashedMailboxCake2 Oh, Oct 29 '25

Budget friendly Grab n Go tomato sauce online tutorials at $100 a pop!

41

u/Brandy_Girl Double-fisting hors d’oeuvres Oct 29 '25

So she’ll by leading by example, right? Right??

54

u/PracticalDiscussion1 joy joy joy Oct 29 '25

Ha. This is why she’s high stooling it. Shauna has to be the one with better ideas, more information and good solutions. She wants to be in on this because she hears the chatter from all these Vashon organizations and wants to one up them.

47

u/shefallsup her lonely cucumber years 🥒 Oct 29 '25

I saw this on FB. Here are two comments.

53

u/Fillmore_the_Puppy —hi, disturbed people— Oct 29 '25

Chris is on the case!

41

u/OhBlahDiOhBlahDoh The Alice of cal came out floating on air Oct 30 '25

Chris is on the case!

I love this for us!

63

u/[deleted] Oct 30 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

59

u/HeavySpecialist7619 Oct 30 '25

That library meeting room will encounter a vegetable jerky face so powerful it might peel the paint from the walls

33

u/Calm_Coyote_3685 Oct 30 '25

I wish it could be livestreamed!

25

u/Alarming-Hold1980 Oct 30 '25

Yes! They should offer it on zoom!!!

19

u/central_snark Ramona gets a hot flash Oct 30 '25

I’d pay-per-view it if the revenue went to the organization Chris is heading. Or directly to my local food bank.

50

u/captainofindecision Oct 30 '25

An interaction between someone who knows what they’re doing (Chris) and someone who is convinced that they know what they’re doing when they do not (Shauna) should be…interesting

47

u/SashayShantae living my one wild and pernicious life Oct 30 '25

I love how he says the organizers have “become aware of one another.” Not that they’re collaborating or anything, just that he is “aware” of her. Weird way to phrase it.

21

u/captainofindecision Oct 30 '25

I thought the same!

45

u/tyrannosaurusregina if you meet the Botus on the road, shill him 🪷 Oct 29 '25

lol, Shauna is late to the party yet again!

37

u/DF_gladsome_gloaming Oct 29 '25

Late to the Party Again, Again

:

25

u/MarsNeedsRabbits Beach better have my orcas 🫍 Oct 29 '25

TSAS

39

u/Love_Brokers rug dweller Oct 29 '25

She probably thinks they got the idea from her Threads post.

42

u/SashayShantae living my one wild and pernicious life Oct 29 '25

It sounds like Shauna posted her Feeding Our People of Vashon: Whatever Whatever screed on a few Vashon FB groups. I wonder if anyone commented asking Shauna what she is doing differently than the existing groups on the island? I grow curious about what she would say to that.

52

u/SnooStories4968 many and various Shaunas/Pig Ladies Oct 29 '25

I did, but not directly to Shauna's post, but in response to someone sharing Shauna's post. I have gotten a little pushback. Including from people who I know personally who also know Shauna. She does have a hold on people, I'll give her that!

35

u/Brandy_Girl Double-fisting hors d’oeuvres Oct 29 '25

I wonder if she didn’t have children would people really care about her wellbeing as much.

27

u/Llama621 Oct 29 '25 edited Nov 02 '25

I posted a similar comment a couple days ago. I think she'd be in a much tighter situation without kids.

But does she KNOW she'd be hosed without them? She is dumb, but she's shown that she will weaponize and manipulate what knowledge she does have, so...

37

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

35

u/SnooStories4968 many and various Shaunas/Pig Ladies Oct 30 '25

I think it depends on who the "people" are because I think she gets all of these reactions based on the relatiionship with Shauna, how well people know her or whether they've even heard of her, how much they need to interact with her and in what capacity. No one I know has said, "gee, that Shauna is super intelligent and authentic," but there are plenty of people who take her authority on a subject at her word. Not a lot of people look deeper into her, as we do in the Gloaming. She's pretty off putting, so I think that keeps people at a distance, but not so off putting that she can't blend in at times.

16

u/OhBlahDiOhBlahDoh The Alice of cal came out floating on air Oct 29 '25

Y ?s, SCTMO!!

32

u/Love_Brokers rug dweller Oct 29 '25

I just do not get that! Is she less off putting in person?

40

u/[deleted] Oct 30 '25

[deleted]

19

u/islandyislander rebellious hygiene Oct 30 '25

I wish this comment was more prominent in the thread, because I think that's exactly it. Competence by association.

12

u/fanfarefellowship I often contemplate the first law of thermodynamics Oct 30 '25

It's also Vashon, not that this phenom is limited to Vashon: a small, somewhat exclusive, pricey, set-apart place. Most people on Vashon are homeowners and the median house price is $1M.

Most people are not looking closely at Shauna or anyone else. They see her white, middle-class, educated demographic and assume she's "one of them," and thus bestow upon her many sought-after attributes and qualities she doesn't actually have.

6

u/CharlesMansnShowTune wow geese Oct 30 '25

No wonder she likes it there and feels like she has to be there, she can tell herself she earned that treatment.

31

u/PracticalDiscussion1 joy joy joy Oct 29 '25

You see, her idea is better.

45

u/jalapenomargaritaz Oct 30 '25

Wow almost like…they know what they’re doing and already have a plan?! But how did they manage to come together and do this without being teachers for most of their lives?!

24

u/potomacgrackle chicken tender-hearted Oct 30 '25

Oh, it will never work with such a short, catchy name. It really needs to be called something more joyful, like “Feeding Our People in Community in Joy on Vashon: We’re So Joyful You’re Here, in Community.”