I was so broke one time I.........

kittylover4ever

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had my ex husband go next door to my neigbor and ask if we could borrow 2 potatoes for a recipe I was making.........truth was, we had no food, (payday was 3 days away) but I did have a packet of gravy mix.........I fried the taters and we put the gravy on it........Oh my, when I think back on those days...........

Have you guys ever been as broke as that? I think most of us have been down and out at one time or another in our lives......I'm glad to say things aren't bad now, but another thread I was reading someone had mentioned homeless people and being hungry.......at least we had a roof over our head!
 

phenomsmom

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I have been so broke that I went grocery shopping in my parents pantry. Gotta love living just a few miles from them!
 
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kittylover4ever

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Originally Posted by Phenomsmom

I have been so broke that I went grocery shopping in my parents pantry. Gotta love living just a few miles from them!
That's what Mom's and Dad's pantries are for! I would have done the same exact thing, but I lived across the country at the time!
 

coolcat

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Originally Posted by kittylover4ever

.......at least we had a roof over our head!
...
.....that´s is a great attitude Susie!
....
we have to be very careful now with the expenses...
not luxury and not dinners out for the moment...
.....Ti´ll i go back to work!



I to know what you feel...
 

lunasmom

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Umm...the closest I can think of is:
I was so broke: So I mixed the cheapest vodka I could find with grape juice and called it wine. cheesy I know...
 
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kittylover4ever

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Originally Posted by LuckyGirl

I've had to play utility bill spin the bottle.... which one gets paid this month???
the electric!
We've done that......... 20 years ago, the checks didn't post so quickly....now they do!
 

godiva

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... ate nothing but ramen and dollar store canned soup for a month. Somehow, I didn't lose that much weight.


... I couldn't go to several weddings, formal stuff at college with the pharmacy school (I had to make excuses, it didn't get me a good reputation), etc... because I had nothing to wear.

... had to take out student loans for everyday expenses. Don't do it.. whatever you do, don't do this. I was very stupid.

... had to choose between going to class and going to work, and for a while, chose work more often because I needed the money.

... borrowing money from in-laws, even in-laws we don't know that well. My husband is a stickler for paying bills, so he won't let any go... he always finds a way to get money from someone, or some odd job.

Otherwise, I've been really lucky. The poorer days of being a newlywed college student are ending, finally... we moved in my with mom, and it's a symbiotic relationship. She needs our help to care for her and her property, we need her help so that we don't have a mortgage payment anymore.
 
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kittylover4ever

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Originally Posted by Godiva

Otherwise, I've been really lucky. The poorer days of being a newlywed college student are ending, finally... we moved in my with mom, and it's a symbiotic relationship. She needs our help to care for her and her property, we need her help so that we don't have a mortgage payment anymore.
That's great that you and your mom can help eachother out!
 

jessienkitty

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when i was really little we were so poor that i only had one skirt to wear to school. even in the winter.

we still do the utility bill spin the bottle. lol.

my mom used to have us kids go to the neighbors houses one at a time and ask for an ingrediant like an egg from one house and flour from another house.

things arn't as bad now but they are getting better.
 

katiemae1277

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The only example I can come up with is I was so broke I drove without insurance for 3 months
and sweated the entire time, of course it was at the beginning of winter too
 

godiva

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It is great... we're really thankful. She downsized to a condo, but it's still big enough for all our pets and us (although we don't have our own bedroom... it's just a loft).

I still don't have health insurance and I don't tell my husband about my student loan payments that I keep only sending in like $10 a month... and we have long given up paying off hospital bills for me a couple years back, but I just don't tell hubby about some of the bills that I think we can just let slide.
Is that evil? He would literally go insane if he knew how much money we still owe people... he'd have a nervous breakdown.
 
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kittylover4ever

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We weren't poor growing up, but next too it. Mom and Dad had 5 of us, and Mom was the thriftiest person I ever met. Still is! She used to make powdered milk and mix it with real milk to make it last longer.......she made her own little pies for our lunches, (like the little pies you buy in the grocery store) She canned her own vegies out of her garden. We had a cherry tree in the backyard, and we kids would pick them and then she would put them in little containers and we'd go around the neighborhood selling them. (people always bought all we had) Mom made us 3 girls matching clothes........we didnt have much money, but we were happy!
 

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When my daughter was 2, we became homeless through no fault of my own, and were homeless for just over 8 months. I had to go on the welfare system, and every penny I had went to put gas in my car (my dad paid the insurance so I could keep it on the road) so I could get around and look for a new place to live, and to feed my daughter. Her needs came first, always.

One week, I went seven ENTIRE days without eating any food other than an occassional small 1 ounce bag of potato chips that the people who ran the motel that the welfare system had put us up in gave me because they felt bad for me. I had all the water I could drink, though.


My grandmother took pity on me, and gave me some canned goods, but I had no hotplate and wasn't allowed one in my room, so I opened up a can of Friend's baked beans and ate them cold out of the can with a plastic spoon.

That was the absolute best tasting gourmet meal I ever had in my life - well, it certainly felt that way at the time!

I spent a total of 10 years on welfare, while going to college and getting my AA and BS, and being homeless was the absolute worst of the worst, although I spent as decade being so poor that I had to go to food kitchens and the salvation army to help me feed my child and put clothing on her back.

The only plus side of being that destitute was that I was able to get Pell Grants and easily qualified for financial aid, so I graduated college in 1993 with high honors and owing less than ten grand on student loans. I got my first job in 1994, came off the welfare system, and have been successfully surviving on my own ever since.

Seven days without eating is something no young mother should ever have to experience. No home, no money, no food - when I look back, I'm amazed at the inner strength that I had. I honestly don't know how I got through it - I just did, I HAD to, for my daughter's sake.
 
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kittylover4ever

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Oh my goodness.........you deserve this and more!!
Good for you!!!



Originally Posted by GingersMom

When my daughter was 2, we became homeless through no fault of my own, and were homeless for just over 8 months. I had to go on the welfare system, and every penny I had went to put gas in my car (my dad paid the insurance so I could keep it on the road) so I could get around and look for a new place to live, and to feed my daughter. Her needs came first, always.

One week, I went seven ENTIRE days without eating any food other than an occassional small 1 ounce bag of potato chips that the people who ran the motel that the welfare system had put us up in gave me because they felt bad for me. I had all the water I could drink, though.


My grandmother took pity on me, and gave me some canned goods, but I had no hotplate and wasn't allowed one in my room, so I opened up a can of Friend's baked beans and ate them cold out of the can with a plastic spoon.

That was the absolute best tasting gourmet meal I ever had in my life - well, it certainly felt that way at the time!

I spent a total of 10 years on welfare, while going to college and getting my AA and BS, and being homeless was the absolute worst of the worst, although I spent as decade being so poor that I had to go to food kitchens and the salvation army to help me feed my child and put clothing on her back.

The only plus side of being that destitute was that I was able to get Pell Grants and easily qualified for financial aid, so I graduated college in 1993 with high honors and owing less than ten grand on student loans. I got my first job in 1994, came off the welfare system, and have been successfully surviving on my own ever since.

Seven days without eating is something no young mother should ever have to experience. No home, no money, no food - when I look back, I'm amazed at the inner strength that I had. I honestly don't know how I got through it - I just did, I HAD to, for my daughter's sake.
 

gingersmom

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Originally Posted by kittylover4ever

Oh my goodness.........you deserve this and more!!
Good for you!!!
Thank you for the hugs!
Yup, it was a long haul, but it taught me a heck of a lot of hard life lessons that I've never forgotten, and it's the main reason that I became a volunteer fundraiser/organizer. I had to give back for the years I spent taking from society.

I'm very pleased to say that over the last 6 years I have directly or indirectly assisted a variety of organizations (MDA, Cystic Fibrosis, Ronald McDonald House, etc., etc., etc.) collectively raise over a quarter of a million dollars, and giving of my time and my money is going to be something I'll do until I die.

That movie, Pay it Forward, really struck a cord with me. And I know that no matter how bad off you may feel that you are, somewhere out there in the world there are people that have it worse than you do. It's all relative, and not having enough hurts no matter what you have.

The most important things in life is love of/from friends and family. The rest of it means nothing without that. Life is short, so even if you're broke and feeling the pinch, give someone you love a hug, and you'll be the richest person on earth.
 

godiva

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That's amazing, Gingersmom... many people never find a way to escape that horrible cycle. I'm so glad you found a way out! Have you considered being a mentor for women on welfare, or do you already do that too?
 

shengmei

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I was so broke several summers I ate ramen everyday and got pneumonia.

Stupid BIL's ex.......She will pay for this.
 

gingersmom

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Originally Posted by Godiva

That's amazing, Gingersmom... many people never find a way to escape that horrible cycle. I'm so glad you found a way out! Have you considered being a mentor for women on welfare, or do you already do that too?
LOL, actually no, neither. I'm not much of the mentor type - too controlling, I think I'd try to take over their life instead of simply providing guidance!
 

zissou'smom

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I was so broke once we didn't eat anything but a grilled cheese for two days. The guy making it took pity and gave us two for the price of one! Somehow I always have more fun when I'm broke.

As for taking out student loans to pay for everyday expenses... there isn't really any other way to do it. If you work enough to pay your rent and bills, you can't do your schoolwork. Don't get me wrong, I hardly spend any money and I've had a job since I was 14, it's just impossible to work yourself through school with how much it costs.
 
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