What is the poorest you've ever been?

so what was your stance on the marijuana thing?

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I've never been that bad, but I'm sorry to hear about your parent's situation.

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I read somewhere that in America more than 50% of marriages now end in divorce. Only one in ten married couples consider their marriage to be happy and successful, the balance stay together in a less than happy situation. If it were a game of chance, I might consider the risk if the potential payoff were great. But marriage depends on things that cannot be quantified numerically. I'm single and building up my security independently.

I've spent a couple summers busking in Europe. I was homeless in that I didn't have a base. Some days money would come in but sometimes it didn't. I always had food. Food is cheap. Finding a place to sleep was more the issue. I stayed with friends and friends of friends, hostels, pensions, wild-camped in more rural areas. I never did street prostitution, though I received many offers and at times it was tempting. I was never alone. I ended up with money at the end of the seasons because when I got a good amount of money I'd wire it to a bank account then not have access to it until later, so I learned to live poor. Actually, it was one of the most adventurous experiences of my life. Looking back, I thinks I was nuts to do it.

when i was on the non-eq dinner theatre circuit in the 70s, the only food I ate was the buffet we were allowed to sneak down to before each show. My pittance salary went for insurance on my gigantic gas guzzling ancient pontiac.

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And at birth - no debt, so not too bad!

College - I didn't actually have enough loans to cover my third year, and work barely covered rent and food. I had oatmeal for dinner lots of nights. I ended up having to drop out because I couldn't pay up, and now I have a few thousand dollars I still owe the school. Once I pay that off, I'll be able to go back and finish my degree.

Right now I have a job that doesn't pay a ton, but it meets my needs. I'm chipping away at the school debt and when that's gone it'll be a huge load off my shoulders. But I did save enough to buy a car (just this week, actually) and it is the first time in my life I've had my own car - VERY exciting. So although I make less than $30K, I feel VERY rich right now.

Updated On: 8/20/08 at 08:00 AM

I have been very poor. Now I have a decent job and a steady place to live. You would think that going through poor times, I would learn to save in case another dry spell occurs. But no, I'm spending money like Daddy Warbucks!