# What do you consider being "broke" (financially)?



## applecruncher (May 30, 2019)

Being broke sometimes means different things to different people.

I recall back in my 20s being truly broke while waiting for the next paycheck. That meant a couple dollars for gas/bus fare, instant coffee for breakfast, counting slices of bread remaining in the wrapper, putting together a brown bag lunch of a baloney sandwich and maybe an apple if I was lucky, and no money for anything else. Boiled egg and a piece of toast for dinner, half a candy bar for dessert. (No credit card then) I used to keep $2 hidden in my wallet so I wouldn't be 'broke'.

But I've heard people say they're broke and what that means is they have no cash and their bank account is close to zero OR they are living on a credit card until their next source of income hits.

I know someone in her early 70s who often complains about being broke, but she has a good retirement income, owns a home and a nice car, but she shells out chunks of money to her deadbeat grandson and even co-signed for his car which he wrecked.   .....a whole 'nother story....

Anyway, what would you consider being broke? Any good stories about how you got thru tough times while you were broke?


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## Falcon (May 30, 2019)

Broke  =  I             broke  my ankle  playing  football.

                      broke =  No money.


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## Knight (May 30, 2019)

Broke for me would be unable to pay for the needs like food & shelter. Never been broke mainly because as needed I would work part time jobs to pay for unexpected expenses.


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## Pepper (May 30, 2019)

Broke for me would be only able to pay for shelter & food, and very little else, if at all.


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## RadishRose (May 30, 2019)

Not being able to meet monthly, necessary bills and having little or nothing to eat.

Being homeless.


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## StarSong (May 30, 2019)

AC, like you I've been through a period or two in my life where I barely had enough money to cover the basics.  I squeaked by, but without any extras and a mind that was constantly focused on how to squeeze those dollars until they screamed.  Those valuable lessons taught me how little one truly needs to get through.    

To me, broke would be a condition that in all likelihood is apt be temporary (like a college student).  Poor is when it's pretty likely to be permanent.


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## KingsX (May 30, 2019)

.

When I was a child I was a saver.  I had lots of silver dimes, quarters and half dollars [real silver back then] in my piggy bank.

I didn't have a Scarlet O'Hara "I'll never be hungry again"  moment until I was a young single mother living in my own apartment but working a low-level going nowhere job with no money to spare.  One day the dentist told me my child needed some extra dental work but I didn't have the extra money.  So the lady at the dentist office told me I might get a loan from a nearby bank.   

But I couldn't get the loan nor could I get a credit card because  I had no credit history.  THANK GOD that was the defining moment in my life when I realized I couldn't keep living hand to mouth.  I realized  I needed a good plan.  So  I changed to a slightly better paying job. And when the opportunity arose,  I changed to an even better paying job with much better benefits.  

Meanwhile, I lived modestly and saved money and eventually was able to get a new car loan - which established my credit history.  Fast-forward decades later... THANK GOD...  I had zero debt, a paid off house and car and was able to retire comfortably early at age 55.  I am blessed !


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## KingsX (May 30, 2019)

applecruncher said:


> Boiled egg and a piece of toast for dinner...




Today, one of my favorite quick meals is a boiled egg mashed up with a little mayonnaise, salt and pepper wrapped in a flour tortilla. 

If you haven't already,  try it that way wrapped in a flour tortilla... it gives it a special yummy taste.

.


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## hollydolly (May 30, 2019)

When I was still living at home, despite working 6 days a week my father took my wage packet from me unopened and gave me just my fares to get to work. I wasn't allowed to eat, he locked the fridge and store cupboards, so I was so broke and so hungry that I used to scrump for apples from my neighbours garden just for food


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## StarSong (May 30, 2019)

Wow, HD.  That sucks, big time.  Did you leave home the moment you could figure out how to do so?


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## hollydolly (May 30, 2019)

StarSong said:


> Wow, HD.  That sucks, big time.  Did you leave home the moment you could figure out how to do so?



Oh yes indeed...!! SS.... I was still very poor, but at least I actually had some money to buy food.. even if I could buy very little else!!  I didn't know it at the time, but I was suffering from malnutrition...took me years to be able to eat enough to put a little weight on, because my stomach had shrunk so much!!


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## applecruncher (May 30, 2019)

hollydolly said:


> When I was still living at home, despite working 6 days a week my father took my wage packet from me unopened and gave me just my fares to get to work. I wasn't allowed to eat, he locked the fridge and store cupboards, so I was so broke and so hungry that I used to scrump for apples from my neighbours garden just for food



This clearly was child abuse.


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## fmdog44 (May 30, 2019)

Being broke means living hour to hour - Having a few dollars knotted up in your jeans pocket- finding something to kill the belly pain - Waiting for the next paycheck to get the bill collectors off your butt - This if cyclical is what I witnessed as broke - I was never really broke although my last year in college came very close to it - I had several friends that blew every dollar they made as soon as they got it - I learned early to save something no matter how small - The thought of being broke while being able bodied and young was not in my genes.


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## Falcon (May 30, 2019)

Hey,  Being   broke  means  you  have  NO  money !!   Why  beat around the bush  trying

to say  THAT ??!


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## hollydolly (May 30, 2019)

applecruncher said:


> This clearly was child abuse.



Story of my childhood tbh!!


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## hollydolly (May 30, 2019)

Falcon said:


> Hey,  Being   broke  means  you  have  NO  money !!   Why  beat around the bush  trying
> 
> to say  THAT ??!



Absolutely!!


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## applecruncher (May 30, 2019)

StarSong said:


> AC, like you I've been through a period or two in my life where I barely had enough money to cover the basics.  I squeaked by, but without any extras and a mind that was constantly focused on how to squeeze those dollars until they screamed.  Those valuable lessons taught me how little one truly needs to get through.
> 
> To me, broke would be a condition that in all likelihood is apt be temporary (like a college student).  Poor is when it's pretty likely to be permanent.



Took me a while to learn to live within or below my means when I was young.  Many times parents helped me out of a jam but looking back they could/should have been _a bit_ tougher.  Also, there is no shame in saying "I can't afford it."

I've known some people who were poor but later did very well.


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## Aunt Bea (May 30, 2019)

I lived paycheck to paycheck and often worked two jobs or any overtime offered to get by.

The Saturday after payday I would fill the car with gas, the refrigerator with food and buy a carton of cigarettes.  If I was lucky I had $20.00 leftover and would go out with friends for a few drinks on Saturday night.  Sunday was spent with the same friends at my place reading the newspaper, fixing an inexpensive brunch and drinking inexpensive jug wine.  Monday if I was lucky I still had $5.00 to get through the week.  I was always afraid to spend that $5.00 and often times it went for some sort of office collection/gift or a small loan to a close friend. 

In those days it was also common to be driving to the local utility company lockbox to make a last minute payment to keep the power or the telephone from being turned off.

The good news is that I was never flat broke with no place to live and no food to eat.  The brush with poverty that I experienced was more about inconvenience than real soul-crushing poverty.

Eventually, I got the education and experience needed to work my way into better-paying jobs. 

_"There's a whining at the threshold–
There's a scratching at the floor–
To work! To work! In Heaven's name!
The wolf is at the door!"_ - Charlotte Perkins Stetson Gilman


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## Trade (May 30, 2019)

hollydolly said:


> When I was still living at home, despite working 6 days a week my father took my wage packet from me unopened and gave me just my fares to get to work. I wasn't allowed to eat, he locked the fridge and store cupboards, so I was so broke and so hungry that I used to scrump for apples from my neighbours garden just for food




Jesus Christ!

That sounds like something out of a Dickens novel!


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## hollydolly (May 30, 2019)

Trade said:


> Jesus Christ!
> 
> That sounds like something out of a Dickens novel!
> 
> View attachment 66003




yes it was a lot worse before ..I got to working age...


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## jujube (May 30, 2019)

I've been broke, just barely making it from paycheck to paycheck.  Not good memories.

Now, I'm glad I have enough money to live comfortably til I die...…..that is, as long as I'm cold, stiff and in the ground by next Thursday....


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## Gary O' (May 30, 2019)

I've written one story that involves me being broke

I've posted it here a few times
But in this story somewhere near the end is where I was pretty freaking broke
*
Ribs and other Bones
*
There’s nothing like a good meal for a get together,
and the good meal is a barbeque.

Being a northerner that spent some years down south, I can say those boys down there know barbeque.
Ribs, fallin off the bone.
Chikin, smoked, from wood, not wunna those fancy pellet rigs, but by an ol’ guy raised in a ‘grease house’, from a pit the size of a horse trough.
Beans, I didn’t know beans could taste like that. Odd things, strange herbs, spices, homemade sauces, a bit a fat meat, marinated for hours. They were a meal all by themselves.
Tater salad…M-M-M-M, none like it.
Sweet tea, steeped in a gallon jug in the sun.
Beer, Lone Star or Falstaff, didn’t matter, both tasted like mop water from a juke joint, but did their job of cleansing the palate for the next bite.
Sip, rib, sip, chikin, sip, beans, sip, salad, guzzle the rest.
Made ya just fall down and scream.

Houston.
Down the street, Telephone road, was wunna those grease houses. 
An old black gent lived there with what seemed like three generations of family. 
Everbuddie's grampa, even mine for awhile.
Everyone called him Chili.
Bid overalls, white butcher’s apron, leather baseball cap was his eternal uniform.

Had a high pitched, raspy voice, and always a smirk on his ol’ mug.
More often then not, you’d find me sittin’ at his dilapidated picnic table after work, watchin’ him toil over the pit. 
Nuthin’ attractive.
Tin lean-to roof, pile of wood, ol' white fridge that made a humming sound laboring in the heat, vats and jars, brushes, large forks, and the huge pit with a homemade steel lid, that once he was satisfied with how things were goin’ he’d drop down and come out to talk to me…..talk about stories…old day stories…..bone chilling, horiffic stories.

Naw, nuthin’ attractive….. ‘cept for the rich savory aromatic fragrance emanating from that glorious pit.
I’d sit there, sweating like a pig, drool stream gathering on the table in a puddle…

‘Chili!
WTF ol’ man!?’

‘Boy, you know it’s not ready….I’ll tell ya when it’s ready.’

It was worth the wait.


Fourth of July…or as they say down there JOOOlah, everyone barbequed. 
Po foke, rich foke, middle class foke, all had their pits goin’.
You couldn’t walk two steps without getting hit upside the head with the aroma of the gods.

One fourth, me and my lady were flat broke.
I’d come off a month long stint in Brownsville, inspecting oil field pipe, big job. 
Tuboscope laid some folks off after that, so I volunteered for some time off myself.
Took most of June, just me and my lady…nobody else.
Ran outta money…rent was paid, car was maintained, just broke….food crumbs in the fridge,
 empty bottles piled in the corner of the carport below…sittin’ on the couch smokin’ a partial I’d dug outta the butt can.

‘I’m goin’ back to work.’

‘It’s the fourth.’

‘Oh’

Chili and family had gone somewhere.
It was hot.
Most neighbors had headed to Galveston.

Our guts were eatin’ guts.
Hadn’t been so hungry in a long time.
A friend invited us to a company get together.
The park was filled with heavenly flavors.
Kids, old folk, parents, all had plates heaped with goodies, goodies that tempted me to follow ‘em, floating on the fragrant waves.

We strolled over to the tables.

$3.50

$3.50??!!

I had 37 cents.

One the way back to the garage apartment I swore I’d never put myself in that position again…especially on the fourth.


....and haven't


....yet


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## applecruncher (May 30, 2019)

jujube said:


> I've been broke, just barely making it from paycheck to paycheck.  Not good memories.
> 
> Now, I'm glad I have enough money to live comfortably til I die...…..that is, as long as I'm cold, stiff and in the ground by next Thursday....



:lofl:


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## win231 (May 31, 2019)

I'm fortunate enough to have never really been broke.
I was reminded of a good one from "The Jeffersons."  A young guy was telling the wealthy Jeffersons, "Hey, man.  You don't know what it's like to be poor."
Louise said, "That's not true; when George & I first met, we were so poor we lived on mayonnaise sandwiches."
George added, "Yeah....with no bread."

A co-worker was paying some bills at her desk.  She said to me, "I'm so broke, I can't afford to pay attention."


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## retiredtraveler (May 31, 2019)

KingsX said:


> .
> 
> When I was a child I was a saver.  I had lots of silver dimes, quarters and half dollars [real silver back then] in my piggy bank.
> 
> ...



Love to see stories like that. I was fortunate to never have a 'defining moment' as you did with inability to pay bills, but my parents came from fairly poor circumstances and taught all of us siblings the value of money. I started saving since age 10 and ended up getting into investing in my 20's. and ended up like you. Wife and I retired at 56 with full financial freedom.

I do kick myself about saving coins. In the 50's, we were able to get silver dollars (real ones) simply by going to the local bank. I used to take my babysitting earnings and get silver dollars and spend them at grade school, for lunch, because it was 'cool'. I probably could have retired at age 30 if I had not spent those silver dollars. Someone else probably did!


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## Gary O' (May 31, 2019)

One more ‘broke’ story that came to my frontal lobe;

I rode the rails a bit when young
Hey
Dad did it
So will I 

Got on what, I found out later, was called a hot shot
Train of produce
Had to get where it was going
Nonstop
Got a bit concerned after 20 or more hours

It slowed into the Houston yard
Didn’t know if it would stop or not
Jumped at the first clear spot of gravel
Landing on my palms and knees
Leaving everything I had in the boxcar

Hungry

Tired

Think it was a Sunday morn
Climbed into the backseat of an old chevy parked at a closed Shell station

Hadn’t slept in awhile
Woke in what probably was the afternoon

Walked into town

Found the Sally

Listened to a retired drunk talk about Jesus
(had to do that in order to eat)

Dinner

Watered down bean broth and a piece of stale heal
Washed it down with warm powdered milk

It…..was….deeeelicious 

Stood in line
Got assigned a cot
Made to take my pants off before getting in bed
Pulled my pants into bed with me
Next morn, the guy next to me woke me up by hollerin’ about somebody stealing his pants

Breakfast of mush, powdered milk, and probably coffee

Sat on the wooden bench with everbody else

A labor pool guy came in to grab some bums for temporary work
Picked me
Gave me a uniform of blue used shirt and pants, $2, a little lunch, and a pack of cigs
These things were deducted from yer daily wage

If you worked

I didn’t

I went to the old movie house around the corner to watch six or eight 40s movies for 25 cents
Kinda fun

Next day, same time, the labor pool guy approached me
‘You gonna run this time’
‘uh, no’ (I really needed the money)

Loaded mattresses in a warehouse

The labor pool van came by to pick us up
Six or eight of us are crammed into the back of the seatless van
I kicked around a petrified cheese sandwich
A guy on the other side of the van asked me to kick it his way
He ate it

Once we got back to Tony’s bar (where you got yer check, signed it, and they gave you cash) I found out I could no longer stay at the Sally
Guess there were consecutive day limits

Slept under the bridge at the bayou that separated north main from regular main
North main was where most the south of the border folks lived

I think a guy got stabbed a few rocks away
Lotsa yelling and moaning

Anyway, I worked ever day for weeks
Saved
Got me a room at the Standard Hotel
A warehouse converted into partitioned ‘rooms’
$10 a week
The ‘week’ was Monday thru Friday
Weekends were extra

Every room had their very own 20 watt light bulbs hanging from gawd knows where
 Once the bulb was twisted on, the blanket on the cot moved (1000 roaches) 

The facilities were down the hall
The caretakers had yet to discover the invention of the johnny mop
There may have been porcelain underneath the brown crud

Left there and moved into the hotel above Tony’s
$2.50 a night
Clean

My daily take home was $8 and change
So I was livin’ pretty high

Met the lust of my life at Tony's

A chubby little 30 something barmaid named Carmen

She taught me a bit about the buds and the beads

But 

That’s another story


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## Invictus (May 31, 2019)

I grew up poor on the streets of NYC and I’ve been homeless, but never once in my entire life have I ever been broke.


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## treeguy64 (May 31, 2019)

BROKE = No money. 

Broke = One's cash reserves are so low, right now, that he/she worries about how to pay bills.


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## Invictus (May 31, 2019)

treeguy64 said:


> BROKE = No money.
> 
> Broke = One's cash reserves are so low, right now, that he/she worries about how to pay bills.


Like I said: “I’ve never been broke.”


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## StarSong (Jun 1, 2019)

Gary O' said:


> One more ‘broke’ story that came to my frontal lobe;
> 
> I rode the rails a bit when young
> Hey
> ...



Love this tale, Gary.  Although my personal story's details are quite different, I can relate to the experience of being down and out, then finding work that paid enough to offer some small amount of financial traction, paying overhead and even saving a bit to build a reserve, and eventually climbing out of the financial pit to reach a level of solvency. 

When we were young we couldn't get into enormous financial difficulty because lending institutions required collateral or cosigners for loans.  Credit cards were rare and limits were low - if indeed, one managed to qualify at all.  Banks certainly weren't handing them out like candy on college campuses.  

In many ways our generation was protected from our worst instincts.  Not so anymore.


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## OneEyedDiva (Jun 10, 2019)

I now refer to the me in my 20's as "Poor Girl".  I literally only had a dollar left over after depositing my bi-monthly checks to pay my rent and bills.  I had a toddler son to take care of too. It's a good thing I chose a job located within walking distance from my house. I walked home for lunch or brought it with me. I had no car payments or car expenses because I did not drive. My epiphany came when the teller, a young lady, said to me "You're only keeping a dollar for yourself?!" when I deposited all but a dollar of my check.  I wish I could find her now and hug her. That inspired me to start paying myself first and I've been a saver (then investor) ever since.  Being broke is not having enough money for little extras after you pay for the basics. And for some people it's not even having enough for the basics.


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## norman (Jun 10, 2019)

My wife divorcing me, taking half of the retirement saving plan, taking half of the business assets, taking the house, keeping the children and the dog and the next year taking me back to court when I was behind on support and geting an increase in support payment and the judge telling me if I did not get the support payments caught up in 30 days I was going to jail. I was broke, but sent two of the three kids through college, grants etc. so been broke most of my life and...still am.


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## WhatInThe (Jun 17, 2019)

Broke is not being able to save and/or get ahead. 

I know people who had trouble continuing their life unabated being 'broke'. No dollar menu at McDonald's for them. No free flip phone gifts, smart phones only-went to a richer acquaintance for a gift/loan on one. There are very few people if any I'd borrow or take financial help from and a friend or acquaintance is not one of them.


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## JustBonee (Jun 17, 2019)

"Broke"  is not having enough money for the basics of everyday living,  which in turn then takes a backward spiral.


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## C'est Moi (Jun 17, 2019)

I always considered "broke" as being short on funds for whatever.   "Poor" is being constantly "broke."


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## Charlesworth (Jun 18, 2019)

Broke.... Well not being able to cater for my family and people around me, I guess


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## Butterfly (Jun 27, 2019)

applecruncher said:


> Being broke sometimes means different things to different people.
> 
> *I recall back in my 20s being truly broke while waiting for the next paycheck. That meant a couple dollars for gas/bus fare, instant coffee for breakfast, counting slices of bread remaining in the wrapper, putting together a brown bag lunch of a baloney sandwich and maybe an apple if I was lucky, and no money for anything else. Boiled egg and a piece of toast for dinner, half a candy bar for dessert. (No credit card then) I used to keep $2 hidden in my wallet so I wouldn't be 'broke'.
> 
> ...




I've been there, too, AC.  Thank God it has been years since I've been there, but I remember it well.


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## mike4lorie (Jun 27, 2019)

Broke, there are all different terms, Barely living from cheque to cheque. Lorie and I found out quick what broke was when we were in a bad car accident about 10 years ago, and took us both out of the work force, and went from $ 90,000 combined saleries to $15,000 if that, but still had the payments and stuff if we were making our full salery.. Taught us lots, and to live within our means... Now on LTD, and Lorie nothing, we are basically living from cheque to cheque, but are very happy...


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## ronaldj (Jul 28, 2019)

hungry...take an old cold tater and wait.


I’ve lived with a broke down car, a broke down truck, a broke down furnace, a broke down well,

But we always survived and now live swell.


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## OneEyedDiva (Nov 25, 2020)

For some unknown reason, all my replies showed up in tiny font (so annoying) after SF changed to the new format. I'd answered this before and hence couldn't even read what I had posted so copied, pasted, enlarged.
I now refer to the me in my 20's as "Poor Girl". I literally only had a dollar left over after depositing my bi-monthly checks to pay my rent and bills. I had a toddler son to take care of too. It's a good thing I chose a job located within walking distance from my house. I walked home for lunch or brought it with me. I had no car payments or car expenses because I did not drive. My epiphany came when the teller, a young lady, said to me "You're only keeping a dollar for yourself?!" when I deposited all but a dollar of my check. I wish I could find her now and hug her. That inspired me to start paying myself first and I've been a saver (then investor) ever since. Being broke is not having enough money for little extras after you pay for the basics. And for some people it's not even having enough for the basics.


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## Aunt Bea (Nov 25, 2020)

I think Shaun gets it!




__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1030937317334519


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## OneEyedDiva (Nov 25, 2020)

Aunt Bea said:


> I think Shaun gets it!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is *too* cute and funny!


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## PamfromTx (Nov 25, 2020)

I struggled financially when I bought a house while still single but don't think I suffered.  I was not much of an eater and didn't buy that many groceries.  I enjoyed working and was always at work.  I was fortunate enough to have a best friend who helped me tremendously when I needed assistance.  I will never forget her help.  Funny how I never thought of myself as being broke... back then.  I think I didn't know how to manage my money.


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## Knight (Nov 25, 2020)

Being broke financially came when we returned to the states. No job, no home just two of our 3 sons & two suit cases of clothes to start anew in the middle of Dec. No Christmas that year for our kids. No college only a high school education & what I learned in the Navy. 

Got a job with 84 lumber that gave us enough to rent a place. Due to my job I got part time work from plumbers, carpenters & electricians. No benefits & no government help. When more was needed I got part time jobs like  driving a 20 ton capacity tri axel dump truck, another job repairing trucks & heavy equipment. A full time job  driving an 18 wheeler but that meant being away from my family for days at a time. Quit that to apply for & get my last & final job that had opportunity for advancement.  

 Every experience gave me a better resume to land the job that made it possible to retire early at age 54 fully funded until I'm age 128.


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## Warrigal (Nov 26, 2020)

I don't think I have ever been broke although there were times that money was a bit tight.
I can only refer to the Micawber principle from Dickens novel David Copperfield.



> _Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen, nineteen and six, result happiness.  Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery._


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## Pappy (Nov 26, 2020)

Money wise, I’m already there, broke. But for everything else, I’m as rich as one can get. Beautiful family, wife and pretty healthy for my age.


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## fmdog44 (Nov 26, 2020)

When I hit my mid 20's being a give-a-**** person I told my self I am not going to live like this another day. I puled myself together and worked my butt off and loved every minute of it.


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## Lethe200 (Nov 27, 2020)

Money was often been tight in my younger days, including childhood. We had a roof (rented, never owned) over our heads, food on the table, and books/magazines to read. It was a big "loss of face" that my mother had to go to work; in the 1950's middle-class women weren't supposed to need to go to work to buy groceries.

Spouse and I struggled for a short time in our 40's when we had to declare bankruptcy (a family issue; long story). Went back to life on a strict budget, re-built our credit, started saving money, and learned how to do real financial planning, the kind one usually has to pay $$$$$ for. 

Wasn't easy but we persevered and now have had a very comfortable retirement for the last decade. We'd probably be considered rich if we lived somewhere else, but here in the San Francisco Bay Area we're just middle-class, LOL.


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## Remy (Nov 28, 2020)

I do think it can be different for each individual. I've been broke but never hungry. However, I've eaten a super simple meal and been fine with it. Didn't eat something fancy. Perhaps someone else who had that meal would believe they were deprived.


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## asp3 (Nov 28, 2020)

I would consider being broke not being able to cover one’s required living expenses without increasing one’s debt.  Another one might be requiring charity or government assistance to survive.


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