Travel per diems may seem routine, but they can also reveal a company’s true taste for micromanagement.

When one employee’s sensible grocery strategy was called out, they decided to dine out extravagantly, while still staying entirely within the rules.

The result was a very expensive lesson for the accounting department!

Read on for the full story!

$50 Per Diem Food Allowance? You Got It!

Back in the early 2000s, my mom worked for a company that was a subsidiary of a now-defunct telecommunications company, we’ll call NDJ.

NDJ’s travel expense policy was that she had a $50 per diem meal allowance.

Thing was, in the long run, she’d spend less than $50 per day.

It didn’t take her long to figure out how to save some money while on the road.

She would often book a room in an extended stay hotel, the kind that often advertised their rates as being per week.

These extended stays often have a kitchenette.

Usually, they’d have a microwave, a fridge, and a small two-eye stove, perfect for cooking up some “bachelor food.”

Most employers would find the employee’s efforts prudent.

My mom would, on the day of arrival, stop at a local grocery store — Publix, Kroger — and pick up a week’s worth (or however long she needed to stay) of food.

She’d get frozen dinners, sandwich fixings, frozen or fresh fruit, yogurt, and a few pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

The total bill might come to $100, but it would last her the entire week.

But not this employer!

One day, when she submitted her receipts and expense report, accounting ripped her a new one over the $100 grocery bill.

They told her, “You’re only allowed to spend $50 per day, no more.”

She’d argue, “That was food for the entire week. I saved you money!”

“Doesn’t matter. $50 a day.”

So she decided to take a full 180 when it came to meals while traveling.

Okey-dokey, she thought.

You want $50 a day? You got it, buck-o!

The next time she took a trip to Miami or elsewhere, she spent exactly $50 a day.

Now she was determined to spend every cent of that per diem!

She’d stop somewhere cheap like McDonald’s or Burger King for breakfast, get something out of the break room vending machines for lunch (peanut butter crackers and Diet Coke), but it was “treat yo’self” night every night.

Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Pappadeaux’s (fairly pricey Cajun restaurant), or anywhere else that guaranteed a bill of at least $25 per person.

And she spared no expense.

She’d get the whole shebang: appetizer, entree, dessert, and a cocktail.

Pretty sure the bill ran upwards of $40-50.

As long as she stayed within her means, she enjoyed herself.

Every. Dang. Night!

But by the end, accounting did finally see her point.

They didn’t bat an eye, but when they saw that and compared to what it would have cost on her old system, they told her she could go back to her old system, if she so desired.

Looks like accounting probably should have just left her alone!

Reddit is sure to get a kick out of this.

This commenter is shocked accounting actually admitted their oversight.

When traveling for work, a little flexibility is always appreciated.

Why would she want to go back to the old system now?!

This commenter knows what they would do!

Turns out, forcing this employee to play by the rules only racked up the bill more!

At least they realized it in the end.

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.