How poor/broke did you ever get?

[m1ldslide1]

Originally posted by: funkymatt
I live on a couch in the alley behind an apartment building. one of the tenants was angry that i moved my couch and various things in the alleyway blocking the gate. He moved my stuff the other day when I was visiting some of my other homeless buddies. i showed him though, i moved it all back. i also break into his apartment at night.

Beat me to it.


I go broke just about every month. I'm not the most talented financial planner, not to mention my other half is presently in college.

But seriously, broke is when you're living out of a car (or worse) and really having to work your ass off to get fed. Much respect to those posting who've experienced that or similar. I've had close friends go through the same, and it takes a lot to get through.

 

[lokiju]

In 2005 when I was in an accident and forced into workers comp with no say.

My pay was cut in half over night but my bills weren't.

I'm in a crap load of debt now as a result

I would have worked if they would have let me, sucks having your choices taken away from you.

 

[Casawi]

Why does Ramen noodles imply being broke, I eat that shit regardless...lol

 

[TXHokie]

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
anyone who has been to college knows what its like to stretch 30-40 dollars for a week.

Ditto...

 

[hanoverphist]

worst i got was when i had to sleep in a video game arcade from 4am to 10am, eating out of a burger king for free after hours when my friend was a night porter. no cash, no house, nothing. didnt have a job or anything, just hung out with friends and was a bum for about a year. that was back at age 17 before i met my wife and got a job and stuff. i did have a good time tho. and i didnt eat out of dumpsters.

 

[Casawi]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist
worst i got was when i had to sleep in a video game arcade from 4am to 10am, eating out of a burger king for free after hours when my friend was a night porter. no cash, no house, nothing. didnt have a job or anything, just hung out with friends and was a bum for about a year. that was back at age 17 before i met my wife and got a job and stuff. i did have a good time tho. and i didnt eat out of dumpsters.

That sounds like you choose to be a street bum.

 

[BarneyFife]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist
worst i got was when i had to sleep in a video game arcade from 4am to 10am, eating out of a burger king for free after hours when my friend was a night porter. no cash, no house, nothing. didnt have a job or anything, just hung out with friends and was a bum for about a year. that was back at age 17 before i met my wife and got a job and stuff. i did have a good time tho. and i didnt eat out of dumpsters.

I can assume you brought this on yourself being only 17.

 

[djheater]

I was having some troubles. I dropped out of college, ran out of money, hitched a ride with some people going to Mardi Gras, wandered around New Orleans with a back pack and about $30 for a few weeks then my Dad sent my brother up from Florida to get me.
Flopped in Miami at his place for a month and then dragged my ass back to Illinois (drove with my brother for a family funeral). Flopped at my dad's for a while got a job at starbucks and proceeded to get on with my life.

I was one of those "needed to find myself" people.... :roll:

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: 1sikbITCH
I slept under a bridge with all my belongings for a few months until I could get a job and save enough for an apartment. I was living in a tent in a field but somebody found where I had stashed it and took it. I'd shower at my girlfriend's house. I was only 18 at that point, and it was pretty much self/imposed (drugs). At another low point I lived off eggs, bread, and Oodles of Noodles for 3 months. I never had more than a dollar in those days.
Going through that period obviously sucked but now allows me to truly appreciate things that most of you likely take for granted such as marriage, home ownership, and a steady job. I always thought I'd be dead by now so anything else that comes along feels like bonus points

I hear ya brother.

Neither my father or brother ever mentioned it, but I know they were worried about me and looking out for me, I was extremely rebellious, obstinate, determined to fvck myself up, and they just calmly dealt with it, gave me a roof unconditionally, and let me pull myself out of it.

I just shake my head at myself looking back, and I'm sure they do too.

 

[D1gger]

My first summer out of university, I was $10,000 in debt, I had enough money to pay the rent for three months, but had no money for food, so I ate at my gf's parents house a lot and when I couldn't bum food I was just hungry.

When I finally got a job, I didn't have any money to buy appropriate clothing, and HR told me it would be 4-6 weeks before my first cheque, so I was wearing business casual to the office when only a suit and tie was appropriate. After two weeks, my manager called me in and suggested I should wear a suit, and I had to fess up that I had no money. He personally loaned me $500.00 so I could get some cloths and have enough money to eat until my first pay cheque arrived. It was interesting being that broke, but I wouldn't want to do it again.

 

[skyking]

I was living in this little house, depressed in a dead-end part time job.
I was working and making the bills barely, when I get this envelope totally unexpected from the power company.
Oh great, I figure I'm late and getting disconnected.
It was my original security deposit, being returned to me. Came to $90 with the interest.
It was such a pleasant surprise, it really picked me up

 

[meltdown75]

my first year of uni, my food card ran out of cash in February so i survived mostly on Kraft dinner and Puritan stews AKA dog food... it was rough but i made it through!

i once hitchhiked home from saugerties NY and the social services department in Catskills gave me some cash and a ride to the rest stop because i was broke

thanks America

 

[CaptainGoodnight]

Right after college for two months my checking account was at -$35 until I got a job. If I had not been very careful with my money it would have been much worse. I got by with ramen and taking any lose change to coinstar.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: CaptainGoodnight
Right after college for two months my checking account was at -$35 until I got a job. If I had not been very careful with my money it would have been much worse. I got by with ramen and taking any lose change to coinstar.

You would have saved more by taking the change to a bank, rather than letting Coinstar take a portion of it.

Damn, from Coinstar's site:
"81% of Coinstar users report that they made a special trip to use our service*."
People waste gas to go get their coins counted?????


"In the U.S., the fee for our coin counting service is 8.9 cents per dollar counted (9.8 cents Canada). Retailers or financial institutions may choose to discount this fee."
I guess it depends then on where you take it, whether or not you actually see that fee.

 

[Casawi]

Originally posted by: CaptainGoodnight
Right after college for two months my checking account was at -$35 until I got a job. If I had not been very careful with my money it would have been much worse. I got by with ramen and taking any lose change to coinstar.

You broke and still giving Coinstar 8.5% on every dollar...lol, instead going to the bank and getting it done for free. I can see why you were broke

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: Casawi
I was having a conversation with a friend then my roommate tonight about when I was in college and how broke I really was, and they seemed to think it was really harsh .... when I really thought it could of been worst if it wasn't for some luck; and someone else is having it worst probably.
How do you recall you broke as f*ck time ? please share I am interested.

I will type up my stories later(its late).

i went to dinner w/a few friends. i only had $80 cash, and my share of the bill was $150 (including tax + tip). i had to pay w/my credit card. embarassing since everyone else was paying cash.

seriously tho, I can't relate. although i wish i could. i might be a better person now if $ didnt keep dropping on my lap.

 

[sonambulo]

Due to a protracted story I was for a time living on the streets in Chicago, first on the west side and then just a few blocks east of the second to last stop on the Red Line. I slept behind dumpsters, in tunnels, under bridges, in parking garages (you could make cash by sleeping to save someone's spot) but never came around to buying a tent. Wish I had. There were some rough patches but a lot of people helped me out (bagel joints in affluent neighborhoods where cool workers would give you bags of donuts at the end of the night; there was a sushi joint that would give me all the end of shift leftovers) so that was cool. Probably the most carefree time of my life and I wish I had the balls to go back to homelessness.

Right now I'm in a rough spot because of my own stupidity. I moved to Boston and have struck out left and right in the job search. I've got enough money to get me to the end of February but if I land the job I'm interviewing for on Monday I'll be fine.

 

[CallMeJoe]

Enlisted in the USAF in '72, supposed to go in early April (delayed enlistment program - the only way to go in with a guaranteed job back then). Showed up to take the oath, and was told my slot had been pushed back to mid-May. Columbia, Missouri: no job, no money, no home (kicked out by my mom, dad lived in Alabama), everything I owned fit in an old rucksack. Slept in abandoned buildings, showered on campus (Mizzou) in the Field House after hours. Ate day-old donuts tossed out by the bakery when I ran short of money from odd jobs & the blood plasma donor center for food. Once I finally got there, basic training seemed like the very lap of luxury.

 

[potato28]

I haven't been in debt, but I have had a few days where I was scamming food from the room mates because I only had $.02 to my name in total. Then the paycheck came in the mail and I was good again.

 

[zanejohnson]

oh it's been bad...

i remember times when i was growing up when we'd have to choose between electricity and water.... it was bologna sandwiches for every meal


now that im on my own, we've had it pretty bad at times, but when you grow up like i did you make it a point to never ever live like that again, so there was times when i did what i had to do to make money.

 

[SlitheryDee]

College. I used to sell plasma for cash. They had a nifty pay system. $15 for the first contribution in a week $20 for the second with an extra bonus of $25 for the sixth contribution in a month. 15+20+15+20+15+20+15+20+25 = $165 extra per month. Not bad considering you get to watch movies and relax in a comfy chair the whole time.

 

[IronWing]

Net worth = -$12,000
No job
No car
Sold belongings to pay rent and buy food
Tuition waiver lost in bureaucratic hell and still not resolved as semester mostly over
Older student loan went into repayment phase
Final exams upon me
Lived in slum

Still had place to sleep and utilities
All worked out over a couple months, got waiver, research assistantship, never missed loan payment

 

[ric0chet06]

18, have an apartment (thanks parents) have a truck, Dish network, Pro DSL, have a job helping my parents for $10/ hour. Havent really been in debt YET, I get a few thousand every few months for a crash I had. Going down a very steep hill on my sweet Haro Revo bmx bike, car pulls in front of me, i smash into the trunk, leaving my bike worthless and the lady had a dented trunk, broken taillights. Well worth the money

 

[bobsmith1492]

I'm at my worst ever right now with maybe 400 bucks to my name and in the process of acquiring a job. Then again I have six computers sitting right here... Ebay?

 

[newmachineoverlord]

I had already graduated but racked up some debt while looking for a job. The job I found only paid monthly, and before I got my first paycheck my tank was on E, I had no money, and my credit cards didn't have room to buy gas. Monthly pay sucks. I was still fairly well off though considering I never ran completely out of food and ate macaroni and cheese daily for lunch, albeit without any added butter or milk. I also sold my plasma back then.

Now I'm paying crap off but if gas prices go beyond $12/gallon I won't be able to keep up.