When I first moved out on my own, I knew I was broke.
Not “cutting back” broke. Not “waiting for payday” broke.
I mean couldn’t afford water broke…
There was a stretch where I’d fill up bottles from the water cooler at work and bring them home because I didn’t have money to buy water. I remember carrying them out like it was totally normal.
My wife and I just moved out too and she was a stay at home with our 3 year old…
Looking back now, it built something in me and made me want to push for harder… because damn. that was a tough time in my life.
What was your broke broke looking like?
What was your “I was broke broke” moment?
byu/bukutbwai inFrugal
Posted by bukutbwai
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Not as an adult but as a kid in the 1970’s. My dad was disabled and we didn’t eat for four days. My wife couldn’t comprehend this when I told her until it was confirmed by my siblings. I still remember how good that pb&j after those 4 days was.
Stealing toilet paper rolls from the college bathrooms. Going the back way into hotels during breakfast to snag some of their continental breakfast. Paying 50 cents for a side of rice so my dog and I could eat for the day while living in my car.
I was a child refugee. I stayed in hostels and wore clothes from the Red Cross. I was thankfully shielded from the worst of that environment, but I knew I was in a precarious set of circumstances. I never want to be that vulnerable again. Life has been better as an adult, and I owe that to my natural frugality and taking the time to learn about personal finance.
A moment burned into my mind from my 20s on my own in my first apartment was it was 2 days til payday, not a dime to my name, and the only thing in my kitchen was a bag of carrots, so I ate cooked carrots for my only meals for 2 days.
I know plenty of people have it much worse for much longer but I’ll never forget that.
Calling in sick from work because I couldn’t afford gas until payday
When I had my first apartment and worked a shit paying job of times got rough and the electric was cut I would run a long ass extension cord from the hallway of the building into my house at night when everyone was sleeping. Not my proudest but it got me through.
We have a water club at work…ppl always do this
In the late 90s I was living with housemates and working for minimum wage at a bookstore. At one point I remember scrounging up change from under the couch cushions so I had enough money (35 cents) to buy a lime popsicle. I ate my popsicle and watched a free movie from the library and that was my “big” Friday Night, LOL
And you know what? I enjoyed the Hell out of that popsicle and that movie!
1. Asked for food for Christmas.
2. Was told I couldn’t check out a library book because I owed a fine, this was on my way home from applying for SNAP.
My broke broke was after college. I had an entry-level Job that didn’t pay well, and I had a hole in the sole of my work shoes. I couldn’t afford new shoes so I put in some cardboard. That felt broke broke.
But I’ve really been fortunate all my life, even when I was strapped for cash.
As a broke student, I scraped together all the loose change I could find and went to the store, picked out some cheap pasta and tomato sauce; at the register the total was 20 cents higher than I’d calculated (I guess I read the wrong label), so I had to leave the sauce and go home and eat plain pasta.
I don’t have a “broke broke” story like that but I did have a time when I was sharing a house with 4 guys and desperately wanting out but I was unemployed and couldn’t get an interview. I semi desperately sent out a final blast of resumes, got two job offers at once, and accepted one.
But payday was biweekly and I literally spent the last dollar I had on gas to get to my new job the day before payday. Really took that one down to the wire.
Getting expired food from the second harvest food store
Were you homeless at the time or did your home not have water?
Moved to the big city, totally broke after paying deposit and rent. All I had until payday was a case of Granny E’s canned green beans. After two weeks of those, I still rarely eat green beans! 🖖