re: Who here has been totally broke?

When I was first married we were really struggling. I was living in Baton Rouge and working construction in Westwego. It was a long drive.

It was a Wednesday and I had exactly 2 dollars to my name and enough gas to get back and forth to church but not enough to get back and forth to work the next day.

I chose to go to church. After the service, I knew those two dollars wouldn't do me any good so I put it in the offering plate. I literally gave my last two dollars to the church. I didn't have a nickel to my name.

After church we socialized with folks and my wife was motioned to go across the church by one of the ladies. Per my wife, when she walked up to the lady, this is what she said. "I don't know why but I have to give you this. You can't tell me no and you can't give it back to me, you have to take it".

She handed my wife 20 dollars. She had never done that before and my wife never asked. It was enough money to fill up my tank and get me through to pay day.

Shortly after that, a opportunity opened up that changed the course of my life. That was 33 years ago.

I have been blessed.

Who hasn’t?

quote:

---

I mean NO MONEY to even buy a loaf of bread.

---

I'm a senior on a fixed income so I stay broke. I have to actually count slices of bread to make sure I can stretch the loaf out as long as possible.

quote:

---

Shrimpers

---

My dad found work as a deckhand (that's all he knew) when he came over here. Landed in Nola. Lived with like 10 other people in a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home.

My parents had my older siblings 4 and 2 at the time. Had to trust random strangers they met in the viet community to help with find jobs. My grandparents watched the kids. I guess living in poverty in Vietnam and that shite hole back then, America and poor wasn't any worse.

When I was a kid, we were so poor my dad would go steal duck eggs from the ducks at the LSU lakes and feed them to us for breakfast.

quote:

---

I had to eat rice sandwiches for a while.

---

lived off ketchup soup my first year after college. working at a ski resort. 5-6 ketchup packs, 3-5 coffee creamers, salt and pepper to taste. hot water from the coffee machine. saltine crackers. all free from the cafeteria, close enough to campbells tomato soup

Grew up poor, got my first job working for someone else at 12. .had to work some crap jobs worked my but off. You can always find work.. question is are you willing to do any kind of work until something better comes along? Hustle, work hard, go to school.
I didn't hire lazy people, people who thought they were smarter or better than others. No one owes you anything.

I have never had absolutely no money. However, my checking acccount was down to about $130 the day I graduated from LSU. Luckily, I received a few hundred dollars for graduation presents that allowed me to eat while I packed up my apartment. The company I had been hired by wanted me to relocate so they put me up in a hotel

I didn’t really know at the time how tight money was for those folks that gave me the money for my graduation presents.

Divorced, full time single dad of 3 and a teacher/ coach. My kids have everything they need, and they'd never know. But stuff is tighter now than it's ever been.

Luckily I've always been very disciplined, I meal prep everything we eat, plan out stuff ahead so they have everything they need for school, sports etc. And drive an old truck.

I don't know why I got put into this position ( other than choosing a partner that literally last their mind) but I work my butt off, mow yards and do odd jobs on the side. And we have been making it the last 4 years.

We used to basically live a ton off fish and venison. But due to boat/outboard issues I can't fix on my own the last two years. We're on grocery meat. And man that stuff is $$ now.

Kudos to anybody else scraping by these days. It's rough. I don't think the middle class exists anymore. If you're not bringing in north of 100k a household i don't see how anybody can make it comfortably. Unless you live in an extremely cheap area or got lucky with an inherited home.