View Full Version : I was so broke I...
Casual Observer
12-02-2007, 06:08 PM
I grew up in rural white trash America, so I thought everyone lived like we did. Sometime I'll tell everyone the story about when I walked into this girl's mansion and came to an epiphany about how poor we actually were.
Anyway, in undergrad, our new president thought it would be a great idea to build a new soccer stadium for the schools (national champions at Div II). How did they fund that? Slashing student aid...including previously allocated student aid...including my aid. This wouldn't have been such a big deal but my mother had developed a form of meningitis that year and it was touch and go. I was covering a lot of her bills and her mortgage, and borrowing heavily to do it, but remembering that I was getting substantial aid from the school made that possible. I had also made some questionable purchases, again, on the basis of receiving a certain amount of aid per quarter.
When they took my aid, I actually owed the school money for that quarter's tuition (private school tuition, no less, about $15K). And I owed it right away, on top of a preexisting debt of around $35K. I sold almost everything I owned that had any value, except my computer and car. Beef Ramen was all I ate. My roommate and I took strange jobs like clearing out offices for companies that were moving and reselling the furniture they left behind. But that just wasn't working.
Through a friend in the East, I got a job from a guy who was a computer hardware reseller...for hardware and software licenses of dubious origin and legality. I knew it was dirty and I felt dirty just being there, but the money was extremely good (corporate systems), and I was actually able to skim equipment without detection and get myself mostly back on track within a few months. The legitimacy of the enterprise aside, the worst thing about being there was the association with people like the owner, who was a slimy piece of shit and I hated dealing with him. Being a thief is one thing, but I later found out that this guy used his wealth and power to fly down to places like Cuba and the DR and fuck little boys on sex tours, all the while pretending to be a good religious husband to his oblivious (but really fucking hot) wife.
I got out of there in about six months, and received a bunch of scholarships that summer, so I didn't have to go back. The timing was good. Turns out the FBI and a very large computer company from Palo Alto were on to this guy. They busted him for a series of serious crimes (and put him away for seven years in a federal prison), none of which I was involved with directly, but again, I just felt dirty for having been in the same room.
You hear people who don't know anything about being poor often say that poverty breeds character. A very wealthy man I grew up respecting told me that poverty doesn't breed character; it breeds desperation. He was right.
LuckyOne
12-02-2007, 06:54 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo
:)
A very wealthy man I grew up respecting told me that poverty doesn't breed character; it breeds desperation. He was right.
I would say it CAN build character- different experiences shape who you become, but it can also breeds desperation.
For me, it bred both. I have compromised myself in times of desperation, but fear of poverty is the red bull that drives me to succeed. And however painful it was or is I am stronger and wiser than I otherwise might have been.
SweetMelissa
12-02-2007, 06:55 PM
:'( I'm sorry you all have had such rough experiences in your life. I'm in tears after reading everyone's responses. Most of you are living much better lives now or so I hope so that puts a smile back on my face. I wish the best for everyone.
Ya know it doesn't help that I've got really sappy Christmas music on right now. The song "Christmas Shoes" was playing..ughh..
"...They counted pennies for what seems like years
And cashier says, 'son, there's not enough here'
He searches his pockets franticly
And he turned and he looked at me
And he said, 'Momma made Christmas good in our house
Most years she just did without
Tell me, Sir
What am I gonna do?
Somehow I gotta buy her these Christmas shoes'
So I laid the money down
I just had to help him out
And I'll never forget
The look on his face
When he said, 'Momma's gonna look so great
...Daddy says there's not much time
You see, she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes will make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful
If Momma meets Jesus tonight.'"
PookaShell
12-02-2007, 07:00 PM
The only prized possessions I have is an old teddy bear, a doll, and my collection of books.
This week I sold every book I owned to Half Priced Books to fill up my tank to get to work. :(
When lame guys that live around mewho like me and always wanna hang out text me and ask what Im doing I say:
"Im so sad, I can't find my debit card and I have had the worst day and really need a cigarette, so Im trying to find change laying around to see if I have enough to buy some"
They don't really care at this point so they say "Awe, that sucks. Well do you want to hang out later? "
And I say - Trust me you dont want to talk to me till I've had a cigarette.
They always buy me a pack, and I pick whatever's on buy one get one free so I get 2 packs.
Yekhefah
12-02-2007, 07:15 PM
My fear of poverty is the red bull that charges behind me and drives me.
MAD props to you for working The Last Unicorn into this thread!! Kudos!!
:worship:
PookaShell
12-02-2007, 07:17 PM
Once I was super hungry and had no food so I went to wal mart and got two donuts from the bakery and ate them while I browsed and ran for it.
SundayMorning
12-02-2007, 07:20 PM
MAD props to you for working The Last Unicorn into this thread!! Kudos!!
:worship:
Was about to say the same thing! Brought a smile to my face through the tears of reading this thread.
:heartbeat
LuckyOne
12-02-2007, 07:42 PM
MAD props to you for working The Last Unicorn into this thread!! Kudos!!
:worship:
Was about to say the same thing! Brought a smile to my face through the tears of reading this thread.
:heartbeat
;D ;D ;D You both just won 10 points in my book for catching that.
PhillyDancer1982
12-02-2007, 08:25 PM
Okay this is FUCKING DISGUSTING and trust me I am ashamed and embarrassed about this, but I figured I'd share it(this isn't even the saddest story I have, but I know how to keep some stories to myself):
I already wrote about how before I started dancing, I would utilize my college's library and career services center in my unsuccessful attempts to look for a decent job. At the time, I didn't have any money, not even for a laundromat(I already wrote about using abandoned bus transfers I found on the ground, or washing my hair with a bar of soap). So while I was at my college doing jobsearch stuff, I would go into the campus's gym locker rooms and handwash underwear and socks there. Now this part's gross...you know those spin-dryer things they have in gym locker rooms, for quick drying your bathing suit? I would dry my "laundry" by putting them in that. I cannot imagine how many germs I picked up by doing this. And then I would sometimes change into these spin-dried, still-damp clothes and head out into the cold snowy weather, where I would wait for my bus and pay for my bus ride with my "found" bus transfer.
I recall a friend telling me about a study she saw on TV, where they found chlamydia at the bottoms of these bathing suit spin-dryer things. Ugh.
It's no wonder that over these few months, I developed a really nasty urinary tract infection(UTI)...this lingered for MONTHS. Shortly after this, I had a live-in boyfriend and he wrongly suspected that the UTI was an STD that perhaps I was unaware of. He constantly told me that I was being "negligent" by not seeing the doctor about my supposed "STD". At the time, I didn't have health insurance and I couldn't afford to see a doctor to get checked out(no wonder the UTI lingered around!). He wasn't exactly giving me money for a doctor's visit...if anything, he wasn't pulling much of his weight by living with me, considering that I paid the apartment's deposit and the Peco electric deposit(I had to pay a deposit because my credit sucked back then) and he didn't contribute to that. So him harping me about a supposed STD that I might have, was adding insult to injury. Later when I got STD tested, turned out I was 100% clean the whole time(that's when I learned that I'd only suffered a UTI). It's great to know that my boyfriend thought so "highly" of me(sarcasm). Ugh. I feel disgusting writing this.
Once I was super hungry and had no food so I went to wal mart and got two donuts from the bakery and ate them while I browsed and ran for it.
LOL that reminds me of the one time I was at Shop Rite, and during the moments no one was looking, I sneaked pieces of cheese and melon from the salad bar to hold me over because I had no money for food.
Another time in college, I begged one of my best friends to lend me $5 so I could buy a $0.99 chalupa from Taco Bell(first thing I ate all day) and to fill up my gas tank with just enough gas to drive from my apartment to campus for the next few days...did I mention that my apartment was 2min down the road from campus? (I would have walked to campus...and sometimes I did walk...but the walk meant walking along the shoulder of a highway exit ramp to get there, and after walking it a few times, my roommates chastised me for "running the risk of getting run over").
MinahSky
12-02-2007, 08:41 PM
I had no money and we needed food so first thing in the morning I drove over to the hotel that had continental breakfast laid out and grabbed as many donuts, danishes, bowls of cereal and fresh fruit that I could. I did it a few times. You never realize how gluttonous you really are until you have to survive on a banana for a whole day.
madmaxine
12-02-2007, 10:01 PM
:'( This thread made me cry. I admire so many of you for surviving these horrible experiences.
My stories are more about the contortions I had to go through to keep from being homeless and foodless And I did shack up with my ex for several reasons, among them being that he was feeding me...I was an excellent girlfriend though, I earned it. :P
sunnie
12-02-2007, 10:28 PM
What do you do to help people around you that are poor/broke?
When I go to Argentina it makes me sad because my family is so poor. Third world poor. And I bring money and gifts and stuff, but it is like putting a band aid on a gushing wound. There aren't many options for them. I wish there were something more that I could do. :(
MinahSky
12-02-2007, 11:00 PM
I do my own toy drive. I buy toys on sale and clearance (or free) and save them up for the end of the year. Then I put an ad on CL and take them around on Christmas Eve like Santa and deliver them to needy families (I buy things for the parents, too). Once every so often I make up bags for the homeless and give them out: with toothbrushes, toothpaste, a sandwich, a juice box and cookies.
Kaylinn
12-02-2007, 11:11 PM
^ That is just wonderful and I wish I would have thought of it eariler in the year.
That is what I shall do for Christmas next year. I will even ask for toys instead of gifts for my birthday.
Thank you. I have been searching for ways to help out next year and I jus love that idea. If I save up all year and buy on clearance, I will be able to get tons of stuff.
In fact, even better. I get $200 a month in "child support"
( long story, it's my support, I don't have kids) I will donate $50 of it each month to buy toys.
Thank you so much for sharing that idea.
michele_b
12-03-2007, 12:36 PM
I don't feel so bad now for things I have done after reading some of these. Sad situations, I have read some way worse than I have been through but I will share some of mine.
When I was younger I was working at a Radioshack for 5.15 an hour in a small town and made some commission but not nearly enough. I would get paid every 2 weeks $400 at the most. I lived on my own and had all my bills and that left me with almost nothing so I did what I had to for the time. I would go without eating for days at a time. I came up with a plan but couldn't do it too often and I am lucky I never got caught, I didn't even know it would work but I was like what the hell. I am starving and have no gas. So I would go in Wal Mart and steal things. I would return them to a different Wal Mart and say I didn't have my receipt and they would give me a gift card. Then I would buy things with the gift card and return them back to the other Wal Mart and they gave me cash back. I did that a few times when I was in desperate need.
I have lived in my car and starved, slept in mall parking lots, car garages, whatever I could find that I felt halfway safe in my little car. One night I was in a mall parking lot and I heard a noise that I knew something/someone was out there. I jumped out of my back seat and into my driver seat and turned on my car and drove off. I looked back and it was really dark but I saw someone that was big and looked like they were carrying something. I couldn't make much out but it scared the hell out of me. I never slept in that mall parking lot again.
I have also picked up cigarette butts off the ground and wiped them off and smoked them.
There is more but that is all I want to type.
mercedez
12-03-2007, 03:01 PM
I was so broke once and I ate on a head of lettuce for a week!
VegasPrincess
12-04-2007, 01:18 PM
[QUOTE=Alaska;1309980]Maybe cuz you were smart and left a few quarters floating around at the top?;)
Oh my God, Alaska, we must think alike. I totally intentionally left quarters on the top. AAA!! The things being poor makes you do
oohdamnbaby
12-16-2007, 07:46 PM
-Would "grocery shop" with friends' grocery receipts and bags from the store. I'd take the bags in, *very* carefully stock my cart with what was on the receipt, put it in the bags, and walk out.
- I lived in a sleazy hotel in the ghetto of South Phoenix for 3 months. After we couldn't pay for it anymore I purposely got arrested for a place to stay.
- While homeless, friends and I would dance in the 7-11 parking lot for money.
- I too have pawned DVDs/CDs/jewelry for cash.
- I began webcamming at the age of 16, while working a full-time job at a daycare, so that I could stay in school and help my mom pay off her debt to avoid going into bankruptcy again. She filed anyways.
- I've done the whole food stamps/Medicaid thing, too.
- I did it all when I was on meth - dumpsted dived in the Krispy Kreme dumpster for donuts, picked cigarette butts out of ashtrays, slept in abandoned apartments/houses, pawned whatever I could get my hands on, flirted with bus drivers for a free bus ride, etc.
It goes on and on, but I'm trying not to focus too much on the negative. My daughter's father has left me high and dry at 19 with our 18 month old and I'm attempting to pick up the pieces. He had a great job and I was a SAHM until just recently. I can't dance again just yet (stomach is disgusting from baby) but just got a new job and am looking for another. You just gotta do what you gotta do until you get a turn in fate, I guess.
AznExtasy
12-16-2007, 08:03 PM
I felt so sad reading all the stories. We are a strong group of women and in the end, we are all still here.
:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:
AlexxaHex
12-16-2007, 08:10 PM
I once was so broke that I slept in my old 1985 Nissan Stanza in a Target parking lot. Automotive repair places are good spots to park and sleep because there are already a bunch of cars parked around so it doesn't look suspicious. I was homeless, and lived in Buffalo. Thankfully I had my car.
I've dealt with people's bullshit to be able to sleep on their couches.
I can't eat macaroni and cheese anymore. I think I OD'd on it when I was poor.
I have done my laundry in the bathtub because I didn't have quarters for the laundromat.
I have used aluminum takeout trays as dishes.
AlexxaHex
12-16-2007, 10:47 PM
Oh I forgot that I was on welfare for a while too.
I lived on rice and beans and bruised fruit and veggies out of the "free bin" (aka stuff that was on the floor) at the co-op.
Mastridonicus
12-16-2007, 10:48 PM
^^ I barked like a dog for a Klondike Bar :(
twisterinAZ
12-16-2007, 10:56 PM
started stripping:D
Lysondra
12-17-2007, 01:34 AM
-Would "grocery shop" with friends' grocery receipts and bags from the store. I'd take the bags in, *very* carefully stock my cart with what was on the receipt, put it in the bags, and walk out.
That's a pretty good one! o.O
ellebelle
12-17-2007, 02:41 AM
Ok, well I thought I was well schooled in hard knocks having moved out of home at 16 - but after this thread I know nothing. I've pulled a variety of dubious scams over the years, but I have never been homeless or hungry between wealthy parents and government benifits (Both of which I have more than exploited and exhausted over the years).
The most desperate things I have done have been drug related, so I don't expect much sympathy. At the high of my addiction about four years ago I moved in with my junkie dealing exbf. It was a highly abusive relationship, but I was unemployed and too fucked up to work. I didn't leave him because I was scared the free drug train would stop. At least he was so fucked up I never had to put out.
Darcy Foxx
12-17-2007, 03:48 AM
wow... this thread has really made me admire some of you so much, because i don't think i could ever have survived going through some of the stuff that you girls have.
i was never broke as a kid, my parents are quite wealthy... and now, sometimes i piss and moan about being broke, but (and i'm not trying to brag here, just telling it how it is) when i say i'm 'broke', it just means that i'm still living in a nice apartment with a new car and enough food to get by, but i won't be able to buy that nice new t-shirt i want and still pay my rent.
there are some amazingly strong women on this board, and sometimes it really makes me realise how weak and sheltered i am. i have so much respect for you gals.... it's really almost overwhelming. :grouphug:
retiredangel
12-17-2007, 01:15 PM
Made me cry...
Wishing y'all the best and brightest New Year ever!
And here's to no more being poor!
RandomUser
12-17-2007, 02:21 PM
I was so broke I bought a jar of honey and a bag of rice cakes to live on for a month. I would get so naseous I couldn't eat the rest of the day. I would walk around on the streets looking for loose change. And surprisingly, I did find enough one day to buy a piece of pizza. but that made me ill also. This was before I knew grocery stores had samples and there was such a thing as a food bank.
SundayMorning
12-17-2007, 02:42 PM
wow... this thread has really made me admire some of you so much, because i don't think i could ever have survived going through some of the stuff that you girls have.
i was never broke as a kid, my parents are quite wealthy... and now, sometimes i piss and moan about being broke, but (and i'm not trying to brag here, just telling it how it is) when i say i'm 'broke', it just means that i'm still living in a nice apartment with a new car and enough food to get by, but i won't be able to buy that nice new t-shirt i want and still pay my rent.
there are some amazingly strong women on this board, and sometimes it really makes me realise how weak and sheltered i am. i have so much respect for you gals.... it's really almost overwhelming. :grouphug:
Ditto all of the above. Tidings of comfort and joy to all you Amazons!
Rockette
12-17-2007, 05:25 PM
Probably was the reason I started dancing. When I was 15 years old, on the 15th December 1999, my parents lost their house due to bankruptcy approaching the 7 figures. My parents told me that they wouldn't be able to afford sending me to college, and I started dancing literally... my 18th birthday.
Unfortunately my parents aren't still doing the greatest at the time, and they lived with my grandparents for awhile before getting their own very small apartment. I help them out whenever I possibly can with money. I really feel for you girls, because my parents have been going through this now for nearly 10 years. 10 years of no credit record what-so-ever, not being able to buy a car, and barely having enough money for food by the time they paid rent, and their debt off to the IRS. Heck their only credit card was one that I jointly share with them. It's for a small amount of money, but they use it for food. They're that desperate.
It isn't like they don't work either. My father is a manager for an auditing company and works 80 plus hours a week just to break even with the debt. My mom puts in about 50-60 hour weeks and takes care of a handicapped child as well.
Fortunately, I've never had to deal with anything like that directly through myself, but it has helped shape me into the woman that I am today.
I greatly admire you guys. It takes a lot of hard work to pull through some of the situations you were in.
You could sell your plasma. I had an ex bf that did it and he said it was uncomfortable. I think he got $50 for each time.
http://www.californiaplasma.com/
It's not that bad, and decent money too. I've been going twice a week lately...
I've also stolen things from stores, gas stations, other people. Learned how to pick pockets too... :-[
But I really haven't had it terribly rough, no homelessness or anything. I guess I can be thankful there.
Joplin
12-18-2007, 12:24 AM
In high school I stole food from the cafeteria, Chicken burger in my purse and the fries in my pocket and some fruit jello if it would fit. It was my only meal.
Worked at heb and "accidentally" opened chips/tv dinners/broke generic soda can boxes so they would be placed in the break room, and I could have lunch.
luckily I've met and befriended pretty much every bus driver (I mean that literally) in Austin and have gotten multiple day passes for free, otherwise I'd of had no ride to school. They'd even yell my name to wake me up when I'd pass out and it was my stop, how awesome is that?
I don't even remember half the ghetto (I don't mean that derogatorily) things I've done. Everyone at my schools on the east side had it bad, we'd just laugh about it.
austinatalie
12-18-2007, 12:47 AM
I was so broke I would climb in the neighbors doggie door and steal their quarters out of their change jar, but nothing else.
In elementary school sometimes my teacher would refuse to loan me lunch money because i already owed her so much, and my parents couldnt pay it back.
I ate ramen and macaroni and cheese made with powdered milk for weeks on end.
I wore secondhand grandma glasses for a year- you know the huge kind with the rims made of swirly brown and pink and clear plastic?
For a couple of years when I was younger we had christmas on Dec. 26 or 27, so that my parents could buy things on sale. In addition, christmas dinner was PB&J. I didn't care that much and I knew what they were doing (i was about 8 ) but my little bro was always so sad about it that I would pray and pray and pray that santa was real and just once would we please get a real christmas?
We lived in a house that flooded EVERY time it rained just a little bit, so much that walking around the house the carpet would go slush, slush, slush as you walked. It wouldn't dry out for days. Also, this caused a horrible mold smell and flea problem. You had to walk around the house with shoes, pants, and your highest socks, and we were still covered in flea bites everywhere.
And then of course there was that one time that I was so broke that I hadn't paid my rent in 25 days and my car payment was that late as well, in addition to my maxed out credit cards, so I started stripping!
PhillyDancer1982
12-18-2007, 07:52 AM
... and now, sometimes i piss and moan about being broke, but (and i'm not trying to brag here, just telling it how it is) when i say i'm 'broke', it just means that i'm still living in a nice apartment with a new car and enough food to get by, but i won't be able to buy that nice new t-shirt i want and still pay my rent.
I'm the same way. These days, I have a nice apartment with art deco furniture and several cars, but if I can only pay $500 on my car loan one month(the min. payment is less than that) instead of a larger $1200, I'll feel "broke." In reality, I'm not broke because I still have necesities and costs of living covered, and I'm still more than keeping up with my car's payments. Sometimes I need to remind myself about how I'm 100000000 times better off than I was 3 yrs ago(just read a few of the many posts I've made to this thread for a tip of the iceberg). Sometimes I need to relax and stop obsessing about how much I owe on loans, and focus on how much I've paid ahead of schedule.
I think the reason I'm so "debt obsessed" is because I had so much shitty debt a few years ago when I was poor(part of it was debt that some asshole imposed on me...I later took him to court and successfully sued him over it). My debt ruined my credit score and made it near impossible just to get a tiny apartment in a bad city neighborhood. Throughout this whole time, my parents kept rubbing it in by scolding me for having debt and bragging about how their accountant told them that they had the 2nd best credit score he'd seen in his entire accounting career. As a result, I stress out if I can only pay 2X my loan minimum payments instead of like 10X(I think you get the idea). Everyday I stress about the fact that I don't yet have a house, and am still overpaying for rent. I obsessed about my 450 Fico score and badgered myself about it and spent every waking moment working to successfully raise it from 450 to 700 in just a year and a half. My bad experiences being poor made me "credit obsessed" to the point that it sometimes annoys and worries my friends.
PhillyDancer1982
12-18-2007, 08:03 AM
Here's a "broke" story about my friend Brian that's both revolting but funny...
My friend Brian had to leave town for a bit a few years ago when he was 18(long story). Due to fleeing town, he didn't have a job(or money) and he was essentially at friends' mercy to have a place to crash. One day he went to the Quik Check convenience store to use the bathroom and to get a brief warmth from the bitter cold outside. In the bathroom hung a sign: "We take pride in keeping our bathrooms clean. If the appearance of this bathroom is dirty, please inform management and you will be entitled to a free lunch." Brian hadn't eaten in almost 2 days. So you can imagine what he did lol...
He pissed on the walls, the floor, tossed a bunch of paper towels around, and made the bathroom look generally unpleasing. When he approached management about it, they promptly gave him credit for a free sandwich! The sad thing is, Brian did this a few different times to a few different Quik Checks in the area, just so he'd be able to eat.
I shoulda done something like that instead of going hungry. :-\ lol
PhillyDancer1982
12-18-2007, 08:08 AM
For a couple of years when I was younger we had christmas on Dec. 26 or 27, so that my parents could buy things on sale. In addition, christmas dinner was PB&J. I didn't care that much and I knew what they were doing (i was about 8 ) but my little bro was always so sad about it that I would pray and pray and pray that santa was real and just once would we please get a real christmas?
Your parents should have bought all the Christmas presents on clearance after the holiday and saved them for the following year. That way, you and your brother wouldn't have had to wait until December 27, which made the whole thing look rather obvious. The only toys they wouldn't have been able to buy a whole year ahead of time would have been the cutting-edge trendy toy of the year, but those toys are usually way expensive anyway. But if your parents couldn't buy toys ahead of time because they were limited to living paycheck to paycheck, then I can see why they did the delayed Christmas thing.
Paris
12-18-2007, 09:11 AM
I was so broke I...became a stripper;D
LuckyOne
12-18-2007, 09:46 AM
I was so broke I would climb in the neighbors doggie door and steal their quarters out of their change jar, but nothing else.
In elementary school sometimes my teacher would refuse to loan me lunch money because i already owed her so much, and my parents couldnt pay it back.
I ate ramen and macaroni and cheese made with powdered milk for weeks on end.
I wore secondhand grandma glasses for a year- you know the huge kind with the rims made of swirly brown and pink and clear plastic?
For a couple of years when I was younger we had christmas on Dec. 26 or 27, so that my parents could buy things on sale. In addition, christmas dinner was PB&J. I didn't care that much and I knew what they were doing (i was about 8 ) but my little bro was always so sad about it that I would pray and pray and pray that santa was real and just once would we please get a real christmas?
We lived in a house that flooded EVERY time it rained just a little bit, so much thaat walking around the house the carpet would go slush, slush, slush as you walked. It wouldn't dry out for days. Also, this caused a horrible mold smell and flea problem. You had to walk around the house with shoes, pants, and your highest socks, and we were still covered in flea bites everywhere.
And then of course there was that one time that I was so broke that I hadn't paid my rent in 25 days and my car payment was that late as well, in addition to my maxed out credit cards, so I started stripping!
Awww, AustiNatalie I heart you!!!!! That is truly sad. People may look down on us for being strippers, but I'm just grateful for the opportunity to make a better life for myself! I'm prouda you.
austinatalie
12-18-2007, 11:26 AM
if your parents couldn't buy toys ahead of time because they were limited to living paycheck to paycheck, then I can see why they did the delayed Christmas thing.
Bingo. Buying christmas presents throughout the previous year when they were on super clearance would have required forethought and financial planning- both of which seem absent even to this day over there.
and thanks lucky!
xoxoGracexoxo
12-18-2007, 11:43 AM
* post deleted because after having read everyone elses stories...mine is not worth being here.
Don't worry, K. It's not about having the "worst" story or anything. It's about being able to relate to that feeling of desperation over having no money.
My most vivid "broke" memories have to do with all the ways I used to find to get food in college. Scholarships paid my tuition, but everything else was up to me.
I worked as a waitress and used to save food off customers plates and take it home. I went on "dates" with guys I couldn't stand just so they would buy me dinner. I was a brilliant shoplifter, too.
I remember getting up before it was light to take buses across town to jobs that paid $6 or $7 an hour.
I remember waiting for HOURS in the lobby at the People's Clinic, where they saw patients on a sliding scale. When I gave them my financial information -- how much money I made each month and what my expenses were -- the clerk didn't believe I could get by on so little. I had to show her pay stubbs, a letter from my landlady, etc.
I never was evicted, but the fear was there every month.
I remember sitting in my college classes just hating and resenting other kids so much for having stuff I didn't have and (in my mind) having no worries in life.
It really makes you grateful, doesn't it? I mean, I worry so much about money even to this day, but I have everything I want. A great place to live, as much as I can eat, clothes I like. Being poor gives you a lot of perspective.
austinatalie
12-18-2007, 12:00 PM
just hating and resenting other kids so much for having stuff I didn't have and (in my mind) having no worries in life.
It's interesting how that works, isn't it? Money certainly doesn't buy you fewer worries. I definitely feel at least as stressed now as I did when I was poor- just in a completely different way.
Not to say that those kids really had worries, though. I firmly believe that many of my classmates just don't have a CLUE, and their big stressors revolve around whether daddy's wire transfer is going to come through in time to buy that new dress for winter formal so she doesn't have to wear that silver one that resembles that other sorority girl's who already hates her... because then she might not be popular enough to make Charity Chair and if she doesn't have that credit on her resume then no good Phi guys are going to want her! and so on and so forth ::)
Lysondra
12-18-2007, 04:53 PM
I remember being so broke I would steal food from the grocery store. All 'little' food. Like instant noodles or cans of stew. I KNOW the store knew I was doing it because one time the alarms went off when all I had was my backpack and they just let me go. :(
gethotlingerie
12-18-2007, 06:38 PM
I am so sorry for all that everyone went through. I have been blessed to have parents that catch me when I fall. Even though they have never had it easy and have made plenty of mistakes.
My dad raised four kids in the late seventies and eighties on $800 a month. People would loan them money for Christmas or school clothes most years. Dad did not believe in taking food stamps or welfare.
Mom stayed at home and washed our clothes in an old hoover washer and rinse tubs. She hung the clothes out on the line to dry.We did not have running water in the house until I was 10. With 3 girls and 1 boy this was an all day job. She crafted Christmas gifts for people they cared about. All of her foods were the budget, homemade kind. Such as chili, hamburger gravy, soup beans, homemade bread, and homemade egg noodles and roast. Which are some of my favorites and the reason I am a size 20. LOL. She also canned vegetables and deer meat. Some weeks she spent all her time in the kitchen canning sixteen hours a day.
My dad would work 8 hours a day at his job as a mechanic. Then he would come home and work some more in the garden. Or on someone else's car to earn extra money for something like clothes or food. No wonder as soon us he had all of us kid's raised he quit his job. LOL. He was burn out completely. But he did find another better job. Now he earns $18 hour. I am proud of him for that. He still works on my car if it needs it, even though he hates doing it. Dad is my carpenter, plumber, and mechanic. I really appreciate everything he and Mom has taught me.
LOL. This sounds bad.
I went to dentist once as a kid.
Most of my school clothes were purchased at yard sales. I remember begging for that one gotta have outfit every year. I got it once, LOL, it was a leather mini skirt. Then every one made fun of me because it was too high fashion for this small area. They made fun of me anyway because of us being poor, but for some reason this hurt even more.
Then there was the time my parents gave me a big shirt (popular in the 80's) for christmas. They ended up taking it back to the store because something was wrong with it. I never got another one. They probably used the money for groceries or something. I was mad for five years after that one (too young to understand what was going on).
Mom did manage somehow to find the prom gown I wanted. It was a used one. But I was so proud. I looked beautiful. She bought me jewelry(not the real stuff) and everything to make me look like a princess. (I am crying as I type this and remember everything.) Then about two months after the prom, we had to sell it to keep the phone turned on. She had forgotten to buy film for the camera, so there is no pictures of my 9th grade prom night.
I know this is nothing compared to some of your stories. But everytime I remember this stuff, I feel so blessed. Especially since both of my parents are still here and still help me to this day. But they have also taught me that hard work will eventually pay off and to care about other people. Dad would always stop along side the road to help someone broke down. He still does to this day. Even though he did not have money, he could always find a way to contribute.
gethotlingerie
12-18-2007, 06:38 PM
I wrote a book. I am sorry everyone. I get carried away. LOL.
I was so broke I....
Worked 3, thats right THREE jobs, all while attending school and supporting my EX boyfriend. ::)
I was so broke I danced at 2 different clubs, a doctors office and went to school full time. :(
Thank God those days are over...
hisparkle
12-19-2007, 08:43 AM
Wow I never thought that so many others had gone through similar situations. Ok mine is pretty bad but fo the sake of empowering one another...here it goes
* I gave birth to my first child at 14, my mother was horrible and my brother was in and out of jail, not a good home for my child. I hopped from relative to relative, all while I was in school. Was too young for public assistance and could only get Medicaid (thank God for that). I was so thankful that I could stay on anyones couch with my little man. He lived on breast milk and I lived on school lunch.
*At 15 I was almost steadily living with a relative. My son went to daycare and ate there, I ate at school and we shared dinner at night. I babysat fir money as much as I could. During this time I was completing the 10th and 11th grade at the same time (holy crap!!)
* 16 I got my own place, moocher boyfriend moved in, got me pregnant. He was an alcoholic and completely useless. I went to school, worked at Price Chopper and a poling firm all at once, it is amazing that I ever got to see my son but I did and we made the best of it. At 16 I graduated Highschool, walking the stage with a huge pregnant belly.
* Since then I have worked steadily, couldn't always make ends meet but we had a roof over our heads and food in our belly. When I was 18 I bought my first house and ditched the moocher bf. My chilldren went to the best school district around. Started dancing and things only got better. We ahve out tough times but I have learned to save every penny that I can. Don't live above my means.
* Now I have been accepted to nursing school and on my way. Will never leave dancing while I am still cute enough to do it though
Mastridonicus
12-19-2007, 10:42 AM
...became a stripper!
PhillyDancer1982
12-19-2007, 01:54 PM
My dad would work 8 hours a day at his job as a mechanic. Then he would come home and work some more in the garden. Or on someone else's car to earn extra money for something like clothes or food. No wonder as soon us he had all of us kid's raised he quit his job. LOL. He was burn out completely.
I went through something similar with dancing. When I first started dancing, I was financially destitute to a T. I owed money to EVERYBODY especially creditors and my harassing, nagging college(gee they didn't seem to care that they couldn't help me find an internship or job after college, but they sure contacted me enough about the unpaid tuition! and how could I pay this tuition without financial aide or a decent job??). I would dance 10-14 hrs/day, 7 days/week without a single day of rest...that's 12pm to 2am every freakin day. Because I couldn't afford a car, I was stuck taking busses through the ghettos late at night and not getting home until nearly 4am, then having to wake up early the next morning to do it all again. I was DEFINITELY burned out. Part of the reason I got my boob job as early as I did was because I needed an excuse to take time off from work for something that would benefit me on the job(boobs = more money).
I'm glad to hear that your dad found a job he likes, and I am also glad to hear that he's making better money. :) I went through something like that too. After my intial stripper burnout, I got back into it(this time I went to a much better club that didn't involve me working 12hrs to pull $300!) but my contentment lasted less than a year before I was resenting the fact that I was doing a job I'd never thoroughly enjoyed, instead of working the "real job" that I'd earned my Bachelor's degree in. But luckily I have one of those "real jobs" too, so hopefully my days of working jobs I absolutely hate and being in poverty are long behind me.
PhillyDancer1982
12-19-2007, 02:07 PM
I was so broke I....
Worked 3, thats right THREE jobs, all while attending school and supporting my EX boyfriend. ::)
I did that for a while in college. I had like 2-3 bullshit $6-7/hr retail jobs, I babysat, and I tutored math at two different places. The bullshit retail jobs were by far always the most unreasonable and misunderstanding when it came to me explaining that the hours they'd scheduled me for the week clashed with my other jobs, or when I explained that I needed time off to devote to school.
Overall I worked close to 40hrs/week while attending college as a triple major pre-med student taking 20 credits per semester. I was constantly tired and fatigued all the time from working too much and not having enough money for healthy well-rounded meals(my meals consisted of either fried eggs or Taco Bell). It became commonplace for professors to constantly tell me, "You're bright and you have potential, but your 5 jobs are interfering with your ability to get an A instead of a or A-. It's really a shame you have to work so much, but I guess there's nothing out there to lessen the burden of the financial situation you're in, so that's a shame." Although my teachers liked me and I knew they meant well, it was a bit insulting to hear this, because I wasn't able to do anything to fix the situation(except dance...but I didn't have the guts to actually start dancing until 2yrs later).
During this time, some loser was stealing and mooching money off me. He was emotionally and mentally abusive, and one of the abusive things he did was to pressure me to sign contracts(such as cell phones) so that he could rack up a huge bill in my name and not pay a dime. He mooched and stole from me at a time that I had barely any money to steal, yet he deprived me even of that. It is because of him that my family kicked me out and left me sleeping in my 2seater car for a month, and later they disowned me entirely. The financial distress that he put me in, along with the stress, resulted in me falling ill and it took almost a year for me to fully recover and get back up to normal speed. Finally, I took action 3 yrs later(hey, better late than never, as long as it's within the "statute of limitations") when I successfully pressed lawsuit against him.
sammi
12-19-2007, 02:34 PM
when i was a kid I was very well taken care of. once i graduated high school and went away for college i was on my own and have been ever since.
* im from sunny california and went to school in snowy michigan. i used to take the bus two hours each way to and from work. i worked at a restaurant in the suburbs so i made decent money. but the joint was only open for dinner so i would have to leave for work by 2:00pm and would be on the last bus into the city at like 12:00am
* i used to flirt with bus drivers so i could ride for free
* i once missed the last bus and couldn't afford the cab fare into the city (it would have came up to like $40) so i spent the night at the restaurant without the knowledge of my managers
* i used to sleep on certain busses on some nights because i didn't want to go home and had nowhere else to go.
* "home" was the house of my ex-roommate's Grandmother. I hardly knew the woman but she was nice enough to let me crash
*Before i lived with the grandmother my ex boyfriend made me sleep on the floor in the living room (we didn't have a couch) when we were fighting because it was his bed even though I was still paying apart of the bills
*Now im back at home in Cali but i cannot seem to find a job that i can hold onto, i've been trying to do porn but my agency isn't working with me. im trying to get into stripping but the clubs are either all full or giving me the runaround...im considering the army because im that desperate
*ive been stealing for ages...pretty much anything you can think of.
*im on month number 8 of not paying anything to credit card companies just because im that broke
im still broke...im glad that you ladies are overcoming your challenges, and i hope to be able to do the same one day