The Most Broke You've Ever Been...

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 4:13pm

I am currently the most broke I have ever been. I have one meal left (plain rice and potatoes). After that I am out of food. Luckily I get paid tomorrow but most of that will go to utilities and paying what I owe on rent from the beginning of the month that I couldn't pay. I'd be fine if my school had given me my loan money at the beginning of the semester but it has drawn it out making me fill out all sorts of different forms and redoing my fafsa. It's been two months since I applied for the aid. My university fees finally got paid through my loan on Friday, but I still haven't seen the refund check I need so I can finally buy books and food which was supposed to be here yesterday. It could be worse I know, I could be out on the street not even having a chance at college, but it is frustrating as hell nonetheless. It's only a day or two more but I am just about at the end of my rope.

Can anyone else relate, or have a story where you were even worse off?

Updated On: 2/14/06 at 04:13 PM

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 4:41pm

I'm close to that now. I have to remove 1/4 of my rent from my checking account immediately when my paycheck clears so I can make rent every month. It ain't purty.
fortunately, things will get better for me eventually. I hope they get better for you.
Truly, nothing will help you better than to sit down and create a budget. I use Microsoft Money and it's a godsend.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 4:44pm

son, been there......when I got out of the Army in 1976.....my partner at the time and I ate beans most nights.
things will change.....just hang in there, it will get better.
At times like this, that's what you need to remember to get through them.
To this day I rarely eat baked beans......

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 5:03pm

I feel your pain. I was the most broke way back in '87, when I left NYC and moved to L.A.

I was working two jobs: waiting tables at Paulsson's Supper Club on the weekends (where Forbidden Broadway was playing), and doing office temp jobs during the week, when there wasn't anything out there to audition for.

I actually thought I was doing fine. I had two thousand bucks in the bank as an emergency backup, and I was able to make ends meet from month to month. Then, my roommate got into an international tour of "Ain't Misbehavin'" making very nice money. He assured me he would cover his part of the rent, not wanting to find another roomie for me (us) while he was away. That was fine with me, as long as he paid it. I could live by myself, right? Hey, sounded great! Except that he DIDN'T cover the rent. I got no check for the first six weeks. He told me he was wiring it from Australia, but then didn't. I covered the full rent for the first month... and then the second month. I finally called him collect and asked him what the f*ck was going on? Three days later I got a check. I had about 9 dollars in the bank, at that point.

And his check bounced and froze my account on a Friday. I had NO money in my pocket. I couldn't even take out the 9 dollars I had, since my checking account was frozen. It was the worst feeling! I was sick to my stomach, and not just from hunger. I called my dad and started to bawl on the phone. He immediately wired me about two or three hundred dollars to tie me over... but I knew that wasn't going to solve the problem. I couldn't afford to live in NY in that apartment all by myself. I was flat broke, working two jobs, and I was in New York City in 1987, which was New York at its WORST.

I ended up throwing what little I owned into a few boxes and suitcases, and I moved to L.A. My mom was living out here at the time. I started over. I got an agent after only being out here for three days. I got back on my feet, slowly but surely.

I'm doing quite well right now, truth be told.

*knocks wood*

Life is strange, and very tough at times. But you have options. Doors close, and others open for you. Be strong, keep your head, and do what you have to do to survive and move forward in the direction you want to go.

Hang in there, kiddo.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 5:08pm

Just over a month ago I quite literally didn't eat anything for over a week. The bank really f*cked up a transfer of money from my savings to my chequing and it took them really long to remedy their mistake. I was too stubborn to ask for help, an also I had the mentality "Tomorrow the money will come and i can do my groceries"...but it took a week. I lost over 10 pounds...which I can NOT afford to, being the scrawny Johnny I am. One night I was having hunger pain so bad that I pretty much cried myself to sleep.

Akiva

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 5:18pm

best, very good advice!

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 5:26pm

Me right now.

Just got laid off last month. Collecting unemployment but it barely covers my rent....doesn't pay to pick up more hours at my other job as it pulls directly out of my unemployment and I end up just as screwed. Cutting every corner I can with bills. Student loans up the behind. Scared ****less as I am in a year long lease with no opt-out option, so if I can't cover rent I am pretty screwed. Potatoes and beans are my meals most days. Trying not to drive because I can't afford the gasoline, but it's freezing in Minnesota and we have no decent mass transit.

Suck.

[voztimbrada]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 6:21pm

When I first moved to LA, we were so broke it was pitiful. We spent about a year barely scraping by. I remember living off of ramen noodles, hot dogs, and PBJ sandwiches. That was the cheapest way to eat. I also took advantage of free food whenever I could get it. No matter what it was. One night, I had a performance on the other side of town, and we had to scrape change together to get enough gas in the car for me to get to the show. I barely made it there on fumes, and had to bum a couple of bucks off of a cast mate to have anough gas to get home. Had to pay rent late a couple of times too. It was stressful, but I always tried to remind myself that it would all work out okay, and it did. It usually does. We are much more comfortable now than we ever have been. We have a reasonable savings, and no longer live striclty paycheck to paycheck. It just took some time. Just hold on, and try to keep your head up.

[voztimbrada]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 6:21pm

Updated On: 2/14/06 at 06:21 PM

[voztimbrada]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 6:21pm

Updated On: 2/14/06 at 06:21 PM

[Pinguin]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 6:36pm

I just found out I'm about 1800 dollars in debt because of unexpected taxes (THAT'S a complicated story) and all sorts of mishaps...it's not a fun feeling. My bank is very unhappy with me.

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 6:40pm

When I overdrew my bank account over the summer. At a Panda Express. *That* was embarassing...

[keggss23]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 7:28pm

I feel your pain. It is sad when you have to count on your overdraft protection every month just to make ends meet =(

[OddExoticCreature]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 7:58pm

The most broke I've ever been was probably this past November, though right now I'm not exactly rolling in the dough.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/14/06 at 9:14pm

I really blew it at my lowest. I don't remember how much money I had left, but I went and sold my original David Hockney piece. To this day I regret it more than anything in my life.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 2:59pm

The lowest I've been at was $8 in my account at the beginning of the month, with a mini-trip to Seattle and bills to pay in the near future. There's a correlation between the amount of time I spend on here and the amount of money I have in my bank account.

[justthefacts2]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 3:17pm

I used to take care of my autistic brother before he passed away. One of his favorite things to do was go out for a little drive with me and have me buy him a little treat - like coffee and a cookie - getting it from the store was the treat. We had some really lean times, and more than once I would find myself walking around the parking lot in front of a supermarket to see if I could find enough change on the ground to get him that little treat.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 6:14pm

When i worked in Ann Arbor I lost my job my visa NO poss of working legally would not have made the rent if I hadn't been part of a group that won a Hadassah lottery. My share was 800 & got me another month til i could arrange to move back to Toronto.

@ tips I learned When U do have some $, Buy the largest no name peanut butter and cheeze wiz u can & stick em in the back of the fridge. Buy day old palin white bread and freeze, If u have extra $ buy the large sacks of rice(like 6 bucks for 10 kilos)But store it airtight or u will get bugs/ mice and ther go the savings. Nutitionally this stuff is mostly stodge but it fills u up until u can really eat again
I think also some colleges have food banks oncampus for this sorta thing, check what is avail- food taste's better than pride!

[Overthemoon6]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 6:41pm

When I read the title to this thread, I thought you meant like broken bones.

I still live with my parents, so I've never had to go through the stuff that most of you do.

[CostumeMistress]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 6:45pm

Right now.

I always DD for friends because I honestly can't afford the extra few bucks for a beer.

Or maybe last year, when to make rent I'd sometimes eat oatmeal for three days straight.

Okay, college in general.

Updated On: 2/26/06 at 06:45 PM

[Yawper]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 6:56pm

<== has been known to sell plasma - $25 for the first visit, $12 for subsequent visits with every third or so visit getting a bonus back up to $25 - you can sell every three or four days but strongly guard against dehydration

never looked into it but there used to be a rumor that the univ hospital paid $100 for a square inch of skin donated to the burn center


Updated On: 2/26/06 at 06:56 PM

[Becky2]

Posted: 2/26/06 at 7:09pm

I've been lucky. The one point in my life when I was close to broke was when my mother and I first moved out and into our own apartments. She wanted to budget everything, but when we had electrolysis, Coach purses, Prada shoes, etc. on our budget, I figured we were okay. lol...

Now I'm in college and even though I'm doing well, my mother won't pay for any of it, and I want to go to a school that will cost me around $50,000. I can't get anything from FAFSA since my mother makes too much money, so I'm stuck going to a public school for a year. But I am fortuneate that it is not worse. I still have a great house to live in, food, clothing, and money to spend on other things as well.