The first rule of being homeless: don't look like you're homeless. Generally, try to avoid letting anyone know that you're homeless. (This includes not staying in the same place every night.) The only reason would be if you were foolish enough to think that it's going to unlock some otherwise hidden hospitality in others or access to social services. It won't, or, if so, whatever it does won't be offset by how much it costs you in the long run.

The second rule of being homeless: don't spend $9 a day on beer and an additional $335 a month—a third of your income—on inessentials like coffee, ice, and jugs of spring water. (You shouldn't be trading water for cash unless you live somewhere like Flint, Michigan. If you've already broken rule #1 and people are gawking at you, there's no reason not to let them gawk at you as you fill your reusable water bottle from free/public potable water sources.)

I sympathize with the author, but I'm homeless, and I'm kind of horrified how many stereotypes he's ticking off, including being a guitar-toting writer/artist with a dog in tow. There's a reason why Rosa Parks became the icon of the civil rights movement and Claudette Colvins didn't. (Is that fair? No.)