Cheap Things You've Done When Broke

Mom says she got the "starving children in China" and once offered to send whatever was on her plate to them!

My grandfather said one time as a child they had to make do on nuts gathered in the woods.

Originally Posted by SwampWitch

CarolPetunia, I can't imagine anyone flaming you for what you said!

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Forgive me... I've gotten a little paranoid about that lately!

Originally Posted by mybabyphx

**buying cigerettes, little debbies, or gas in pennies, dimes and nickels... there were no quarters and no bills!

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Oh gosh, I pay with nickels and pennies all the time! And y'know what? It's amazing how often I figure out what I need at the store, fumble through the remaining change in the bottom of my purse, and find I have EXACTLY enough for what I need to buy. It really seems like the universe comes through for you sometimes.

Originally Posted by laureen227

my cousin said, oh we never get that brand, it's too expensive, we get the store brand. i looked at the price - $.79. i said, it's only $.79 - that's too expensive? how much is the stuff you're buying?


they were paying about $.75 for the store brand - & they said it was really nasty stuff!

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I remember when Kraft dinner was 19 cents a box. But y'know, a lot of the things that are being mentioned as "poverty foods" are the things I eat because I like 'em -- baked potatoes and salads and mac-n-cheese and plain spaghetti... but there is one exception, and someone mentioned it earlier:

LIMA BEANS.

I swear, if I were starving and the last edible thing on earth was a lima bean, I'd just "lay me doon and dee" before I'd eat it!

Originally Posted by Bonnie1965

I don't see this thread as depressing. I see it as a testament to human survival and adaptability.

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Yeah!

Originally Posted by sofiecusion

We used cheap TP [instead of Kleenex]. I still do this cuz I don't know any different.

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I learned to do that when I was a DJ -- we called it "DJ Kleenex."

And finally... what I'm getting from this thread is that, if it weren't for ramen noodles, half of us wouldn't be here today! Let's hear it for ramen!

We have had to do some pretty bad things when things got hard. A few years back I was laid off from my job and DH was just starting to get enough buisenss on his web gigs, enough that he did not have the time to go and get a job. The gigs paid well but it was the sort of thing half down half apon completeion. I was having a hard time finding a job. When the savings ran out and we were waiting on payments it got to the poin where we had to do what ever it took. Once bills were paid we never had enough to even eat. So we had to resort to other options.

We actually went and begged on the street a few times. Some people were really nice and would give us a few bucks. There were a few that stood out in my mind and if I could find them again I would pay them back fully. One gentle man,a Frenchman visisting the US stopped and talked to us. We told him our story, about an hour later he came back with a huge salad and drinks from the restuant he just ate at. Now it was not left overs, he actually got us a salad. Anouther man had just come out of Starbucks had 4 ventie hot coffees in his hands but still managed to pull a 5 out of his walet and just gave it to us. He never said a word and we never asked him he just did it out of the kindness of his heart. The one that made us both cry was an old woman named Ann. She was a sweet little lady, homeless herself, she got to know us and one day just walked up and handed us $2. It was all the money she had but she told us her time was almost up and she wanted to know "her kids" all the young people in our shoes were taken care of. We have never seen her again. I think of her everyday. After this expieriance I make it a point to help out anyone I see who just looks like they need a meal or someone to talk to. I will stop and sit on the sidewalk with them and just talk.

We usually made just enough to buy 1 burrito and split it. One would have to last the whole day maybe two. We learned which taco shops had the best deal, the most food for the least amount of money. One would usually hold us for a few days. We usuually would get breakfast burritos. They were the cheapest and had eggs and meat in them so we still got some good nutriants out of our one meal. We talked about just doing the rice thing but figured if we could only eat once a day maybe once everyother day it better count.

At the same time in our lives we got to know one of our neighbors, he worked at the corporate office for 7-11. He found out how poor we were and hooked us up with stacks of coupons for free big bites, drinks and taquitos. The catch was we could only use one at a time per 7-11 so we would hit all in the neighbor hood, there are 4. We would both get a big bite and a drink, for the day.

It was the worst time for us. I never want to go back to that point ever again but I now know if I had to I could survive.

This is not a sad thread, if anything it shows the will to survive. Just think about how well you would do if suddenly the world resorted back to darkages or if something like the show Dark Angle happened. We would all be okay, we know what to do and how to survive. Its the people who have never had to struggle I feel sorry for. They don't know what life is really all about. Family, freinds and love.

Ramen noodles! I like to add cheese.

Some years ago I spent a few days with a friend who lived just off the campus of St. Louis University. We stopped at the grocery and there were 2 pallets of ramen noodles. Pork flavor only.

I forgot about BEANS! We had beans constantly With three brothers, its no wonder my nose doesn't work like it should I had to help my mom sort the good beans from the bad.

We also had lots and lots of biscuits and gravy - the white type of gravy made from water, flour and "drippings" with homemade biscuits. Remember the drippins can? When I got older and we moved out here, I remember being shocked that people actually PAID for biscuits and gravy in restaurants. To me, that was what people ate when there was nothing else- poor people food! Never had any that taste as good as mom's though.

Originally Posted by KarmasMom

This is not a sad thread, if anything it shows the will to survive. Just think about how well you would do if suddenly the world resorted back to darkages or if something like the show Dark Angle happened. We would all be okay, we know what to do and how to survive. Its the people who have never had to struggle I feel sorry for. They don't know what life is really all about. Family, freinds and love.

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Girl, you just said it all right there.

Originally Posted by KarmasMom

...After this expieriance I make it a point to help out anyone I see who just looks like they need a meal...

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Yes, that's my policy, too -- no questions asked, I just do whatever I can do, and it feels so good. Feels right.

Originally Posted by KarmasMom

...Its the people who have never had to struggle I feel sorry for. They don't know what life is really all about. Family, freinds and love.

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Beautifully said.

Growing up my parents were ok with money, dad had a HUGH veg garden, lots of fruit so mom did lots of canning and freezing.
I was a Home Ec major in college so I could always raid the refrigerator/freezer/cupboards at school but we had lots of food that we cooked. No ramen in the late 70's but I ate lots of rice!!
After college when I had my first apt I didn't have any furniture so I slept on the floor and stored my clothes in boxes in the closet-later I had a BF that the place he rented had some old furniture in the garage so I finally got a dresser!!
Some habits from growing up I still do to this day such as not using the clothes dryer-got the solar dryer (aka clothesline!!) In the winter I have a coat rack that I hang lots of stuff on so I maybe do one dryer load/week.
I wash and re-use ziploc/bread bags unless they had meat in them -those should be tossed. I save small paper bags so Neil can use as lunch bags.
I still freeze/can lots of fruits and veggies too and if some staple item is on sale I stock up!!

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

all-time best friend, Rush.

)

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What you dated Rush Limbaugh?
i may be part Rep, but gee i dont think i would even want to have dinner with the guy.




ehe kidding,well about the limbaugh part, but i would still not want to have dinner with the guy

four words: top ramen and eggs. not even enough for mac 'n cheese or hamburger helper. it doesn't help that jake doesn't like to buy hamburger, he says that you have to get it in huge quantities to make it worth it. problem is, we don't usually spend the money to get it anyway. i like hamburger helper. and mac n' cheese. but jake recently lost his job, he has another one but we are still catching up on bills and rent. we still don't have milk or butter though. i was hopping jake would get some today when he got paid but no. i went to st vincent de paul to get a food box and got a big bag thing of salad. i convinced him to get ranch yesterday but we didn't get any sandwhich material which is where i use the ranch. so i am eating a lot of salad, but i don't mind. i have Hidden Valley ranch so it's all good. and i grew up poor and i have a feeling that the reason i don't like ramen(even before that was all there was) is cause i ate it a lot when i was little and don't remember. my dad was setting up his own business that didn't really take off till i was about 8, then he divorced my mother. really nice guy don't you think? anyways, i have been poor all my life. i remember mother not eating till after us. or not eating at all, saying she ate earlier when we were outside playing. she still go to goodwills and things like that for clothes. i would if i had the money. either way, we have other food now. plus, salad is a lot healthier than ramen and eggs. and we buy a lot of those 79 cent banquet meal. there is at least some variety there. and we have a roommate the sometimes helps us out.

I'm in the "poor college student" phase myself, now.

I don't have a phone--too expensive--but I do have the Internet!, because I take correspondence classes!

Ramen is a staple. I'm rich enough to buy frozen veggies to go in it!

I go to the food pantry. They're pretty useful, and the canned goods don't have bugs in 'em.

Wash clothes in the tub, hang 'em to dry...

Spend more money on cat food than on my own food!... Hey, Tiny's been a stray; he needs good food!

Ride my bike everywhere, because I don't have a car...

Used to sleep on the floor, because I don't have a bed--now I have a futon!

Eat on the floor, sitting on a mat, because I don't have a table...

Turn off the AC... unless it's in the high 90s, and the cat would overheat...

Get all entertainment from the library...

Buy old bread, slice it, freeze it, and eat a slice at a time so it doesn't go moldy, which old bread does in about three days flat...

Eat bologna that's been marked down because it's past its sell-by date...

Lug fifty pounds of stuff back from Wal-Mart, because it's cheaper there...

Mend my own clothes...

Beg for food stamps, and don't get them 'cause I'm a student and apparently you are supposed to be able to eat your textbooks.

The most pathetic and disgusting and gross thing I've done when I've been broke is to go through an old ashtray and try to find butts long enough to smoke. Is that not the most repellant thing you've ever heard? Smoking is just SO gross [/quote]

OMG! I HAVE BEEN LOL WITH TEARS ROLLIN DOWN MY FACE! I HAVE BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT! TOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!

After reading all of your stories, I wouldn't dare call myself poor, but I will say I try not to spend too much money (which I'm not always so good at )

But trying to save money, I do things like buy one big rotisserie chicken for myself at HEB. Then its paired with pasta or rice for a few meals, turned into chicken salad, wraps, chicken spaghetti, etc. Just over 5 bucks for a chicken turns into quite a few meals, and its much tastier than cooking a chicken myself.

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

And finally... what I'm getting from this thread is that, if it weren't for ramen noodles, half of us wouldn't be here today! Let's hear it for ramen!

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That is so true! I remember eating so much Ramen. I prefer it to Mac'n'Cheese with hot dogs/sausage (DH liked Mac'n'Cheese with hot dogs or sausage sliced up in it). We lived on those 2 for about a year when hamburger helper was too expensive.

The tough times have really made us appreciate our good times in the last few years.

Ha! No, Bruce, this is the Good Rush of the West, not the Wicked Rush of the East.

It's been very interesting reading this thread. I can commiserate with alot of the stories here.......when I was married to my ex husband back in the 80's, we were in the military and so poor that one time I remember having absolutely nothing for dinner. We had eaten the last of the spaghetti noodles and packaged gravy mix the day before. Well, I sent Dave next door to ask my neighbor if they had 2 potatoes, (that would be our dinner) saying I needed them for a recipe and forgot to buy some. Well, as luck would have it, she was getting ready to ship out for a few weeks and gave Dave all this food she couldn't eat that would go bad.....he came home with milk, eggs, beef stew, some bread, some fresh veges and some left over pot roast that she hadn't eaten..........we ate like kings for a good week on that food. I'll never forget her. Her name was Sue and she was one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet..........

To go along with what Betsy said, you notice how you look back on some of the foods you ate and do not DARE think of eating them now?

I.e. I use to eat Ramens plain, straight from the package. I tried it a few years later and they tasted gross to me.

B was telling me that when he was in college one his favorite meals was something like Tuna fish, noodles and ketchup. He can't eat the stuff now, but back then it was a feast!!!

I did smoke when I was poor and really only smoked when I was frustrated with money. Now I'm better financially and no longer smoke. I also loss a ton of weight (~30 lbs) when I began to be financially stable. I think that stress and a poor diet was bloating for me.

Back when I was first married, and my husband and I were living at Michigan State, we were soooooo poor. I remember selling my plasma for gas and food money. They gave you $10 for the first unit and $12 for the second unit in a week. We lived on $44 a month for quite a while. I couldn't afford the gas to go across town to donate more than four times a month. Looking back, I never understood why my ex-husband didn't donate plasma too. We could have been "rich" if he did...it would have doubled our income, lol! We used to eat 'depression' foods like chicken noodle gravy (a can of chicken noodle soup thickened with butter and flour and served over mashed potatoes), macaroni and tomato soup (yuck!) and vegetable soup and spaghetti noodles (also yuck!) It's amazing (or disgusting, depending on your point of view) what you can do with a can of soup. I guess that's why I don't really like soup anymore. Our television was an old black and white set that we found set out by the side of the road. I remember doing laundry in the bath tub and hanging stuff around the apartment to dry. Much of our stuff was from garage sales (dishes, clothes, etc.)

As an adult, I have never been in a "poor" situation...so far. DH and I are living pay check to pay check, but I know that can change at any time.

I do remember when I was growing up, my dad lost his job when I was in first grade and was out of work for 3 years (this was back in the seventies when the help wanted ads were about 1/2 column long). He did anything to make ends meet. My grandparents tried to help where they could. They bought my Christmas presents for some of those christmases. Also, my grandmother worked at a school cafeteria, and she would bring home huge jugs filled with what they were going to throw away for out dog because my parents couldn't afford dog food (yeah, he ate like a king!). Also, one night around Christmas or Thanksgiving (I can't remember which), someone knocked on the door, and when Mom went to answer, no one was there...but there was a big box of food sitting on the frount porch filled with Mashed potatoes mix, peanut butter, cans of stew...everything! My mom just sat down and cried.

My parents were very proud people, and to this day I'm not sure if those tears were from relief or shame.

A few years after I graduated from college, I was working at Pizza Hut and there was a couple that came in right before closing. They only ordered coffee and sat and talked while we were cleaning up. We had a lunch buffet everyday, and all the pizzas were premade and any not used were to be thrown away, or the employees would cook them and take them home. Well, there were a few still sitting in the walkin, so I asked them if they would like a free pizza? You would have thought I had just offered them a million bucks!

They started coming in pretty regular, a few times a week, right before closing, and I got to know them. Here, they were putting themselves through school, and could make their rent and ulitities with their part time jobs, but that was about it. The first time they came in it only because they scraped together enough change for "date night" which was only going to be coffee. I made sure they left with something every time, even if it was only breadsticks. They may have been scamming me, but I honestly think they were for real, and it felt good to help them out. I hope they are doing ok now.

I lived in a garage for a while, but it wasn't really nasty as far as garages go. (paved, sheetrocked) I lived in a small house that was much worse. It was really cold in there during the winter and once I put my coat over the heater to warm it up inside...and burned up the lining. (DUH!)

My girlfriend and I would sit in the pizzaria and have a pop then grab the pizza that other people left on their tables when they left. And at a local park when companies had BBQs for their employees we would get in line like we worked there...

It's not like I was completely broke...I just never had any money.