The 5 Stupidest Habits You Develop Growing Up Poor

[Misteriosa]

I read Cracked (http://www.cracked.com) often. Some of my most favorite articles come from a writer known as John Cheese. He writes about a lot of different things, but lately he's been on a real-life issues kick. I feel like he had an inside window into my life growing up. With this particular article, John lays out the five stupidest habits developed when growing up poor ( “http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-5-stupidest-habits-you-develop-growing-up-poor_p2/”). It’s weird that as a child, I never really understood how poor my family was (which I guess is a testament to my mom). It’s only as I get older that I see how dire things were at times.

I read this article, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, but always nodding my head slowly in agreement. All five of these habits apply to me (Especially #3. I was the kid always turning down anything my parents wanted to buy me because I knew we couldn’t afford it). I will list them here in sections and would like your thoughts or stories on the matter (if you wish to share).

[Misteriosa]

#5 – You develop a taste for shitty food.
When You're Poor ...
Shockingly, when you're buying food based entirely on 1) how long it keeps and 2) how cheap it is, you wind up with shitty food. When I was growing up, we knew that the first of each month was grocery day. That's the day that our food stamps came in. Nowadays (in the U.S., anyway) it's all done on an ATM-type of plastic called a link card that gets reloaded with "food only" money on the first of every month. But the idea is still the same: new month, new food. So when our food money arrived, to avoid multiple trips to the grocery store and burning shitloads of gas that we couldn't afford, we bought our entire month's worth of groceries all at once and stored it like fucking squirrels. When you do that, you need shit that won't spoil.
Forget about fresh produce or fresh baked goods or fresh anything. Canned vegetables are as cheap as a gang tattoo, and every poor person I knew (including myself) had them as a staple of their diet. Fruit was the same way. Canned peaches could be split between three kids for half the cost of fresh ones, and at the end you had the extra surprise of pure, liquefied sugar to push you into full-blown hyperglycemia.
If it wasn't canned, it was frozen. TV dinners, pot pies, chicken nuggets ... meals that can be frozen forever, and preparation isn't more complicated than "Remove from box. Nuke. Eat." Because of that, by week two, half of everything we bought would be freezer burned. Just like with the canned food, you grow up thinking that this is the way it's supposed to taste. It's not that you grow to like it, necessarily, but you do grow to expect it.
Once You Escape ...
To this day, my kids won't eat fresh green beans. There's such a huge difference in texture and taste compared to the canned version that they're honestly like two different foods. None of us will eat homemade macaroni and cheese. If it doesn't come out of a box, it tastes weird. And the list is a mile long. We've eaten these things for so long, we've grown to prefer them to the fresh version.
People who have never been poor love to point out overweight people in the ghetto and sarcastically exclaim, "Yeah, it really looks like she's starving!" And they have no idea that the reason many of them have weight problems is because everything they're putting into their bodies is dirt-cheap, processed bullshit. Grab a TV dinner and look at the nutritional information.
Fresh food is expensive and takes forever to prepare. It goes bad quickly, so it requires multiple trips to the grocery store per week, which is something most impoverished people can't do. And since all of those time-saving frozen meals are high in salt and fat, they take up residence in the expanding asses of the people who can't afford anything else.
When you finally get to the point where you can afford those grocery trips and fresh ingredients and have the time to prepare them, your taste buds freak the fuck out. They're not used to it. Vegetables are supposed to be squishy, aren't they? Is chicken supposed to have this texture?
No, it's not like you're eating food for the first time, staring at asparagus in wide-eyed bewilderment, not knowing whether to put it in your mouth or rub it on your skin until it absorbs right into your body. But a lot of this new stuff sucks by comparison because it's not what you've been trained to eat -- the flavors and textures are all wrong, and there's a real temptation to keep eating the same shit until it stops your heart at age 43.

[Misteriosa]

#4 – Extra Money Has to be Spent Right Goddamned Now!

When You're Poor ...
Every poor person I knew got a big check one time a year in the form of their tax return. They made just enough money to file taxes, and made little enough to claim "earned income credit," which is a tax credit that can dramatically boost your return. For my ex-wife and I, it meant getting around $5,000 at the end of January. And just like many poor people, we'd be broke within days of cashing that check, our living room sporting a new TV. Or we'd replace our old computers and all of our furniture. There's a reason many poor people blow through that money instead of saving it for future bills.
When you live in poverty, you're used to your bank account revolving very tightly around a balance of zero. Your work money comes in and goes right back out to bills, leaving you breaking even each month (if you're lucky). That's the life you've gotten used to. It's normal for you.
When a windfall check is dropped in your lap, you don't know how to handle it. Instead of thinking, "This will cover our rent and bills for half a year," you immediately jump to all the things you've been meaning to get, but couldn't afford on your regular income. If you don't buy it right now, you know that the money will slowly bleed away to everyday life over the course of the next few months, leaving you with nothing to show for it. Don't misunderstand me here, it's never a "greed" thing. It's a panic thing. "We have to spend this before it disappears."
Once You Escape ...
Have you heard those stories about lottery winners who are bankrupt within a year or two, despite winning millions? That's because they can't turn that off. They can't shake the idea that the money is perishable.
And I'm not going to lie, if I had an unexpected check show up right now, I'd drop all of that fucker right into a new car and a computer for my kids. But for the most part, I've kept my head clear where those rare pockets of money are involved. My truck broke down last week, and for the first time, I was able to get it fixed without having to call my friends for a loan. The reason is because I've learned to manage that money a little better and not spend it in a blind panic when I fall into some.
That's the key, though. When you don't have the extra cash, you don't know how to handle it when you do get some. When you escape that level of poverty, and you find yourself having extra money for the first time, you eventually learn how to manage it. I can watch people play guitar all day and get the basic idea. But unless you put one in my hands and make me start strumming, I'm never going to learn how to play the damn thing. Like anything else, it takes practice, and the poor never get the chance.
A similar problem is ...

[Misteriosa]

#3 – You Want to Go Overboard on Gift-Giving
When You're Poor ...
Even if you're not poor, you can already guess this part. You don't get many gifts, and the presents you do receive usually aren't as cool as what your friends are getting. And fuck all that "Christmas and birthdays are about being with good friends and family" noise. You don't have to be a spoiled shithead to like presents. That's half the fun of being a kid on those days. It doesn't make you a materialistic asshole; it just makes you a normal kid.
But what a lot of parents don't realize is that when they're openly worrying about bills within earshot of their children, the kids worry, too. When they hit a certain age, they start to make sacrifices on the family's behalf, and they feel guilt for the rare small luxuries they're allowed. I remember going shopping toward the end of our poverty streak, and I told my kids to pick out new bedspreads so we could get rid of their old, ugly ones. My oldest son looked around for a second and then said, "Thanks, dad, but I don't really need one."
I made it a point after that to keep the adult problems in the adult world. They have enough stress just growing up. They don't need to worry about things that are beyond their control. Not for several more years, anyway. But being the provider of the household, it makes you feel like a failure. And like anything else, that makes you want to overcompensate.
Once You Escape ...
So, for the last two years, we've gone overboard on gifts on the holidays. I remember all the years that we couldn't afford to give them even a quarter of the things they asked for, and I swore I would make that right. So we spent about double what a normal person would consider reasonable. And then went back to buy more.
After we exhausted our bank account, my fiancé and I looked at the number of boxes around the tree and pointed out that it didn't look like all that much. So we waited until our next check and went back for more.
We overcompensated so much in the other direction that we damn near drove ourselves back into the poorhouse. I think pretty much anyone who escapes poverty goes through this for a short time. If not with gifts, then with other showy forms of spending -- fancy clothes or new furniture or a car you can't afford. It's like you're trying to rub it in the face of your past self. "Eat shit, poverty!"
And strangely, when you're not going over the top on stupid shit, you have the opposite problem ...

[Misteriosa]

#2 – You Become an Obsessive Bean-Counter

When You're Poor ...
Remember that time you were cleaning out your wallet and found an extra $5 bill stuffed inside one of the pockets? Poor people are laughing their asses off right now because I might as well be asking if they remember the time they found an extra minotaur in the kitchen. When you're living check to check, there is no amount of money that isn't accounted for, right down to the last penny. You don't have "about 70 bucks" in the bank. You have $68.17.
You think in exact numbers because, at any given point, you have to know if swiping the debit card for gas will put you into overdraft territory. You have to be able to figure on the spot how much you can spend versus how much you need to survive until the next payday, and even the numbers after the decimal point are important. The simplest miscalculation could mean the difference between an actual dinner or a bowl of McDonald's ketchup packets at the end of the week.
Paying the bills becomes a work of algebraic artistry as you find out how much they'll take in order to not shut off your gas. Then calculate on the fly the smallest amount of money you need to survive for the next four days, then subtract that from your current bank account, then make adjustments where necessary and eventually arrive at X ... where X equals how much today's bill is going to fuck you for the next three weeks.
Once You Escape ...
You get to a point where you stop worrying about exact numbers, and you start to drift into a place where rounding off the bills and bank account isn't a big deal. But your mind still panics when you realize that you don't know exactly how much money is in your checking. So you'll look it up. Satisfied, you'll put it on the back burner and go on with your day. The next day, you'll find yourself worrying again. So you'll look it up again. After living at my current, normal-person level of income for two years, I'm still doing it.
Because of that, you never relax. That constant tension of not knowing how the bills are going to be paid is gone, but it left a comet trail of stress that sticks with you. After beating your ass in the school bathroom, the bully finally left, but not before farting in the room and shoving a chair under the doorknob so you can't get out.

[Misteriosa]

#1 – You Spend Only with the Short Term in Mind
When You're Poor ...
You buy exactly what you need, and no more. That six-pack of toilet paper is only three bucks. But there's a sale on the 12-pack for only two dollars more? Fuck that. That's an extra two bucks that I'll need before the week is done. If I watch what I eat, I doubt I'll even have to shit up three of these bad boys.
But that trickles into other things like clothes -- OK, ew. I really need to watch my segues. When I was growing up, most of my clothes were hand-me-downs from my uncles, cousins and dad. When I outgrew them, they went to my brother. Every once in a while -- and we're talking once every year or two -- we'd come up with some extra cash and go clothes shopping, but because it was so out of the norm, it was treated like a big deal. And because of the way it was elevated to a special event, we learned to see it as something extravagant. A luxury that we treated ourselves to on rare occasions.
What we absolutely never did was buy an outfit just because we liked the way it looked. We only bought clothes when the ones we had no longer fit. And sometimes, even that requirement was overlooked for the sake of making sure the lights' "On" switches weren't lying pieces of shit.
Once You Escape ...
I still haven't broken free from that frame of mind. I mean, yes, I keep my kids clothed, because I'm not completely removed from how normal people function. But I still only own four pairs of pants myself, and every time I go out to buy a pair, this weird sense of guilt stops me. A gnat buzzing around my head, telling me, "Are you crazy? You don't need another pair of pants. You do laundry every other day, so you always have clean pants to wear. By the way, if you catch me, you'll be rich because I'm a goddamn talking gnat." And then as I'm frantically swatting the air, a security guard politely asks me to leave. Pantsless
This is a problem, because that's actually a very shitty way to manage a budget. You skip over the great 2-for-1 deal on laundry detergent because you're not out of laundry detergent yet. It's kind of opposite of the way we bought food when I was a kid -- where you should be stocking up because buying in bulk is cheaper and the stuff is on sale, you wait until you're scraping the residue off the lid. Then you have to take whatever goddamned price the store gives you that day, because you can't wash your clothes otherwise.
If you think that's a minor thing, realize that you're applying this to everything you buy. You're not buying the dryer because Sears is having their once a year "Get these fucking dryers out of our warehouse 50 percent off sale," but because the dryer that's been making that funny noise for a year and a half finally broke. You have to take the first one you see, at whatever price, because your wet clothes are sitting there getting moldy. That "wait until you're desperate" mindset means your money just doesn't go as far.
It's so incredibly hard to break out of that frame of mind and start thinking long term because of that guilt. Instead of seeing that the two-pack of deodorant saves you a dollar, you instead see one package that's $3 and another that's $5. Three is cheaper than five, so you get that one. Guilt averted. You bought exactly what you needed, and no more.
Being poor is a mindset. And it's one that, if given the chance, will make your ass poor again.

[underdog]

All five of these are unbelievably accurate.

[Misteriosa]

All five of these are unbelievably accurate.

isn't it scary? it reads better if you access the site, and you have the bonus of captioned pictures which are always hilarious. i posted the text for those who have a firewall and such.

[underdog]

isn't it scary? it reads better if you access the site, and you have the bonus of captioned pictures which are always hilarious. i posted the text for those who have a firewall and such.

The spend extra money thing is so god damn correct. I do alright for myself now, this Friday I have a decently sized expense check coming to me, and I've been planning on what I'll be spending it on even before I submitted it. Do I buy a new coffee pot? Do I tint my windows? It's the dumbest shit ever, too.

And the gift giving is right on, too.

[Jujubees2]

#5 – You develop a taste for shitty food.

This is so true. I remember my mother buying peanut butter in five pound buckets but we ate it because it was all we knew.

I was a kid before the microwave and my mother would buy lots of TV dinners and these boil in the bag things that you would drop into a pot of water and five minutes later you had veal parmesan or turkey with gravy.

[realmenhatelife]

The toilet paper one was very true in my house. As an adult I've never run out of toilet paper, it was a constant state of nearly being out in my house growing up.

[Misteriosa]

This is so true. I remember my mother buying peanut butter in five pound buckets but we ate it because it was all we knew.

I was a kid before the microwave and my mother would buy lots of TV dinners and these boil in the bag things that you would drop into a pot of water and five minutes later you had veal parmesan or turkey with gravy.

heh for the longest time i thought it was perfectly normal for crackers and that margarine/vegetable oil spread to be an after-school snack.

i didnt have real butter until i was in my teens. we were able to get 2 or 3 tubs of vegetable oil spread for the price of 1 stick of butter.

[Misteriosa]

The toilet paper one was very true in my house. As an adult I've never run out of toilet paper, it was a constant state of nearly being out in my house growing up.

i stock up on toilet paper like nobody's business these days.

[disneyspy]

i stock up on tv dinners not because i grew up poor but because i love microwaving shit and having it ready right fucking now plus thingsd like corn and potatoes just taste better out of the microwave,point spy

[disneyspy]

i stock up on toilet paper like nobody's business these days.

ha,before i get laid off every fall there is no room under my sink for TP its so stocked up

[A.J.]

I agree about the clothes from #1 but that's also because I despise shopping.

As far as toilet paper, I load up for the month at the Dollar Store!

[Misteriosa]

I agree about the clothes from #1 but that's also because I despise shopping. As far as toilet paper, I load up for the month at the Dollar Store!

I think that the reason i hate shopping so much is that i cant afford to buy the things i *want* or *like* (and thats if i can overcome my guilt-trip over buying it or not)

[CountryBob]

One thing that comes to mind is treating yourself.

My mom raised 3 kids alone and my Dad refused to pay child support for years (she didnt take him to court). So we had near to nothing (Mom rarely worked) and support came from family.

I really embraced the chance when I would get a treat. Wether it was a toy or an ice cream cone - I felt like nothing could be better in the world.
Mom rarely cooked (she wasnt good at it) but for my birthday she would fix any meal I requested. It was always meatloaf, mashed potatoes, chocolate cake.

So now, I still get all giddy over even the smallest treats - my all time favorite gift a girlfriend ever gave me was a pumpkin to carve (I was like 30 years old) for Halloween.
I guess it made me feel like a kid again (i hadnt carved one in like 20 years) and I was so excited (and still am thinking about it now). I embrace even the smallest treats like a child would and I hope that never changes...

[CountryBob]

I agree about the clothes from #1 but that's also because I despise shopping.

As far as toilet paper, I load up for the month at the Dollar Store!

I only buy Charmin mega roll extra soft TP - its so expensive but I dont like cheap TP.

[disneyspy]

I only buy Charmin mega roll extra soft TP - its so expensive but I dont like cheap TP.

me too,it's like treating your bunghole

[Misteriosa]

One thing that comes to mind is treating yourself.

My mom raised 3 kids alone and my Dad refused to pay child support for years (she didnt take him to court). So we had near to nothing (Mom rarely worked) and support came from family.

I really embraced the chance when I would get a treat. Wether it was a toy or an ice cream cone - I felt like nothing could be better in the world.
Mom rarely cooked (she wasnt good at it) but for my birthday she would fix any meal I requested. It was always meatloaf, mashed potatoes, chocolate cake.

So now, I still get all giddy over even the smallest treats - my all time favorite gift a girlfriend ever gave me was a pumpkin to carve (I was like 30 years old) for Halloween.
I guess it made me feel like a kid again (i hadnt carved one in like 20 years) and I was so excited (and still am thinking about it now). I embrace even the smallest treats like a child would and I hope that never changes...

I remember when my mom would bring home little treats like those ice-cream sandwiches for 25¢. she would get one for me and sister. i would never eat mine so my little sister could have it. she would eat hers and forget. i would give her mine saying i already ate it. it made her really happy. i still do little things like that for her to this day.

[realmenhatelife]

I also remember "We cant get that cereal, it's too expensive." As a little kid I thought crispex must cost $100.

[CountryBob]

I remember when my mom would bring home little treats like those ice-cream sandwiches for 25¢. she would get one for me and sister. i would never eat mine so my little sister could have it. she would eat hers and forget. i would give her mine saying i already ate it. it made her really happy. i still do little things like that for her to this day.

Honestly - this made me just about tear up.

[Misteriosa]

I also remember "We cant get that cereal, it's too expensive." As a little kid I thought crispex must cost $100.

yep! it was always No Frills cereals. We never got the namebrands. I still eat off label cereals :o

and i mean "no frills" from Pathmark (that was the only major supermarket chain that would be in my part of town):

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FfWx5jZeTjE/S9ZOB9yrmZI/AAAAAAAAA50/QQNuLy_hSaU/s400/Generic_Cola_Cans_1980s-thumb.jpg

[Jujubees2]

I remember when my mom would bring home little treats like those ice-cream sandwiches for 25¢. she would get one for me and sister. i would never eat mine so my little sister could have it. she would eat hers and forget. i would give her mine saying i already ate it. it made her really happy. i still do little things like that for her to this day.

I don't care what they say about you, you're a good person.

[Jujubees2]

My mother would go grocery shopping on Saturday night since that was when the store would mark down their baked goods (stores weren't open on Sunday back then) so we would get the baked goods at half-price. Ah, angel food cake, lady fingers, and these creme-filled pastries were the best. Of course, they would all be gone by Sunday night.

[ozzie]

Great find. Wow, where to start.

I guess I've been in "Once you escape" mode for longer than my chick has.

We don't "fight" about money, but we "dis-agree" often.

I have a backup for every "consumable" item in my house. I have a stick of deodorant, and another in the cabinet. When the current one is used up, it goes on "the list". I can't stand the thought of being completely OUT of anything, ever again, and having to be in panic mode that I HAVE to go to the store TODAY.

"The list" stays in it's place while I'm at home, and is in my pocket every day when I leave. It's even color coded so I know what store it should come from, or even what section. If done right, nothing is ever a critical need. It can be bought at the right time, from the right place. If I use more of 1 of something in a week, then the "min" stock level is raised, and I'll keep multiple back ups.

The whole thing struck her as weird from the start, but she's slowly coming around.

It still drives me insane if I go reaching for a "back up", and the old cupboard is bare. I start asking who used the last one, and why wasn't it put on "the list"!?!?! And those old panicked feelings come back.

She doesn't like to admit it, but she likes being able to "put off" shopping for a day or two if she feels like it now.

And I am STILL very uncomfortable receiving gifts, no matter how "well off" I think/know the giver is. It makes me feel like they spent money that they couldn't afford on something I didn't need. I fucking hated seeing my mother stressed out at Christmas when we were kids. I would sometimes lie and say that something was the wrong size, or didn't work, or "I already have this" so that she could take it back.

I encourage my kids to draw pictures if they want to give me a gift, or to do an extra chore. If I get a set of tires in October, I'll give my chick a kiss and thank her for the early Christmas present she just gave me.

And both of us will be receiving Fed Tax refunds soon. Me? It's part of our annual budget, and that money is basically already spent. This pisses her off to no end. She wants "hers" NOW, and wants to blow it immediately.

[CountryBob]

Great find. Wow, where to start.

I guess I've been in "Once you escape" mode for longer than my chick has.

We don't "fight" about money, but we "dis-agree" often.

I have a backup for every "consumable" item in my house. I have a stick of deodorant, and another in the cabinet. When the current one is used up, it goes on "the list". I can't stand the thought of being completely OUT of anything, ever again, and having to be in panic mode that I HAVE to go to the store TODAY.

"The list" stays in it's place while I'm at home, and is in my pocket every day when I leave. It's even color coded so I know what store it should come from, or even what section. If done right, nothing is ever a critical need. It can be bought at the right time, from the right place. If I use more of 1 of something in a week, then the "min" stock level is raised, and I'll keep multiple back ups.

The whole thing struck her as weird from the start, but she's slowly coming around.

It still drives me insane if I go reaching for a "back up", and the old cupboard is bare. I start asking who used the last one, and why wasn't it put on "the list"!?!?! And those old panicked feelings come back.

She doesn't like to admit it, but she likes being able to "put off" shopping for a day or two if she feels like it now.

And I am STILL very uncomfortable receiving gifts, no matter how "well off" I think/know the giver is. It makes me feel like they spent money that they couldn't afford on something I didn't need. I fucking hated seeing my mother stressed out at Christmas when we were kids. I would sometimes lie and say that something was the wrong size, or didn't work, or "I already have this" so that she could take it back.

I encourage my kids to draw pictures if they want to give me a gift, or to do an extra chore. If I get a set of tires in October, I'll give my chick a kiss and thank her for the early Christmas present she just gave me.

And both of us will be receiving Fed Tax refunds soon. Me? It's part of our annual budget, and that money is basically already spent. This pisses her off to no end. She wants "hers" NOW, and wants to blow it immediately.

Lighten up Francis!

Why not shock your wife and let her have a bunch of that Tax money this year?
Would it really hurt your finances if you suprised her?

[ozzie]

Lighten up Francis!

Why not shock your wife and let her have a bunch of that Tax money this year?
Would it really hurt your finances if you suprised her?

Yeah, I know, I know.

It's just that the main reason I struggled for so long was that I was fucking STUPID with my money, just as the cracked guy said.

I bought shit "as needed" for whatever price. I would grab a 1/2 gal of milk at a convenience store for $5 and think I was saving money because they wanted $8 for a gallon. (When I could have gotten a gallon for $3.25 at another place)

And don't get me started on how much I've spent on paying interest every year because I'd blow through all of my/our cash, and end up having to put shit on cards.

No, it wouldn't "hurt" to let her blow "her" money. But don't get the idea that we "do without" around here either.

I buy name brand stuff, and shop for ONE meal at a time often. We eat out, we take trips, and she has a credit card that I don't critique. I don't question where those boots came from, or how much they were. I trust that she "needed" them, and spent what she had to.

I just don't think she takes all that into consideration when there's suddenly "Free Money" handed to her in February. I guess I'd rather pay off some of her credit card debt so she/we can continue to live "care free" for another year... but, point taken.

[Snacks]

yep! it was always No Frills cereals. We never got the namebrands. I still eat off label cereals :o

and i mean "no frills" from Pathmark (that was the only major supermarket chain that would be in my part of town):

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FfWx5jZeTjE/S9ZOB9yrmZI/AAAAAAAAA50/QQNuLy_hSaU/s400/Generic_Cola_Cans_1980s-thumb.jpg

i remember how embarrassed i was when we got the no frills. back in the day no frills or store brand was just like your pictures. now a days at least the packaging is a little nicer and looks similar to the real stuff. funny thing is some of the store brand stuff is as good if not better then the "real" stuff.

[CountryBob]

Yeah, I know, I know.

It's just that the main reason I struggled for so long was that I was fucking STUPID with my money, just as the cracked guy said.

I bought shit "as needed" for whatever price. I would grab a 1/2 gal of milk at a convenience store for $5 and think I was saving money because they wanted $8 for a gallon. (When I could have gotten a gallon for $3.25 at another place)

And don't get me started on how much I've spent on paying interest every year because I'd blow through all of my/our cash, and end up having to put shit on cards.

No, it wouldn't "hurt" to let her blow "her" money. But don't get the idea that we "do without" around here either.

I buy name brand stuff, and shop for ONE meal at a time often. We eat out, we take trips, and she has a credit card that I don't critique. I don't question where those boots came from, or how much they were. I trust that she "needed" them, and spent what she had to.

I just don't think she takes all that into consideration when there's suddenly "Free Money" handed to her in February. I guess I'd rather pay off some of her credit card debt so she/we can continue to live "care free" for another year... but, point taken.

Yeah sometimes it is the little suprises or treats that keeps us happy in spirit...

[ihaveabadmonkey]

Pathmark No Frills Iced Tea mix. yum yum yum

[jennysmurf]

I wish my parents had been good at budgetting. I think they made good money, but they were so stupid with it, that we were always "out" of everything. Every month, I'd get home from school to no power, or no water, or no phone. If the phone was still connected, I'd call my Mom at work, "Mom did you pay the power or water bill?" I still have money issues because of them.

[CountryBob]

Just last year my Dad and Step mom - filed bankruptcy on their home and 3 of their cars.

I was under the assumption that the home had been paid for for years and between them they made like $150,000 per year. (down here thats great money)

My Dad refused to tell me the details but I am assuming he borrowed money on his home to help pay for a major overhaul at his church he was pastor for.

They packed up and moved 7 hours south and are living the life of riley now.

I am disgusted.

[Jujubees2]

Just last year my Dad and Step mom - filed bankruptcy on their home and 3 of their cars.

I was under the assumption that the home had been paid for for years and between them they made like $150,000 per year. (down here thats great money)

My Dad refused to tell me the details but I am assuming he borrowed money on his home to help pay for a major overhaul at his church he was pastor for.

They packed up and moved 7 hours south and are living the life of riley now.

I am disgusted.

If they're living the life of this guy I wouldn't get too upset.

http://singbookswithemily.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/charles-nelson-reilly1.jpg

[ozzie]

If they're living the life of this guy I wouldn't get too upset.

http://singbookswithemily.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/charles-nelson-reilly1.jpg

This life doesn't look too terrible either:

http://www.ronfez.net/gallery//watermark.php?file=2501&size=1

[Tenbatsuzen]

This life doesn't look too terrible either:

http://www.ronfez.net/gallery//watermark.php?file=2501&size=1

Incidentally, two secret lives.

[Dude!]

Incidentally, two secret lives.

are you saying she's gay?

yes or no, it was
a bitchy comment

[Tenbatsuzen]

are you saying she's gay?

yes or no, it was
a bitchy comment

Long story that I wasn't involved in. Not gay.

[Tenbatsuzen]

I am very cheap. But I can see habits I've developed from my parents' attempts to save money when I was little.

I've caught shit on here for freezing steaks and not buying two bottles of BBQ sauce. I also keep bread in the fridge so it stays longer. I will add water to salsa to get more out of a bottle. I will cut chocolate milk with regular milk to extend that.

I consistently buy store brand cereal. To be honest, the shop-rite Capn Crunch is "softer" than the "real" Captain Crunch so I prefer that.

I refuse to buy any paper products that are thrown away (paper towels, napkins, TP) that aren't store brand unless they are on super-duper sale.

[jennysmurf]

Long story that I wasn't involved in. Not gay.

The gossipy side of me is DYING to know what happened there.:unsure:

[Jujubees2]

I also keep bread in the fridge so it stays longer. I will add water to salsa to get more out of a bottle.

Don't keep bread in the fridge:

Should You Store Bread on the Counter or in the Fridge?

Question: I always store my bread at room temperature, but a friend always puts hers in the refrigerator. Which is better?

Answer: The counter is definitely the better place for your bread.

Bread stored in the refrigerator will dry out and become stale much faster than bread stored at room temperature. For longer-term storage, you should freeze bread.

Soft-crusted, pre-sliced breads will keep fresh for up to a week at room temperature; be sure to keep the original packaging tightly closed after each use. Soft-crusted, unsliced breads will keep well for four to five days on the counter, while hard-crusted breads will keep fresh for a day or two.

All of these breads freeze well and will maintain their quality for at least three months once frozen.

http://stilltasty.com/questions

[FatassTitePants]

I'll give my parents credit. I don't think we had a lot of extra money growing up but they never said anything in front of us to make us think about it. We rarely went on vacation and we would buy $300 of clothes (which included shoes and everything else you need for school) in August and that would be it until the next August. But I never worried about lights or heat or anything like that. Both of my parents grew up truly poor and I know they felt good that we were better off then they were. But I do remember going shopping with my mom and they had that black and white generic isle we would get a lot of stuff in (chips, crackers, etc). That isle would hurt my eyes sometimes because it was so stark and lacking color.

To this day, I dont even like Kraft mac and cheese. It has to be that orange powder shit for it to taste right to me.

[underdog]

To this day, I dont even like Kraft mac and cheese. It has to be that orange powder shit for it to taste right to me.

:thumbup:

[Tenbatsuzen]

Don't keep bread in the fridge:

Should You Store Bread on the Counter or in the Fridge?

Question: I always store my bread at room temperature, but a friend always puts hers in the refrigerator. Which is better?

Answer: The counter is definitely the better place for your bread.

Bread stored in the refrigerator will dry out and become stale much faster than bread stored at room temperature. For longer-term storage, you should freeze bread.

Soft-crusted, pre-sliced breads will keep fresh for up to a week at room temperature; be sure to keep the original packaging tightly closed after each use. Soft-crusted, unsliced breads will keep well for four to five days on the counter, while hard-crusted breads will keep fresh for a day or two.

All of these breads freeze well and will maintain their quality for at least three months once frozen.

http://stilltasty.com/questions

Sorry, I've never had a problem with keeping the bread in the fridge from a staleness point. The bread keeps for at least 2 weeks before it goes stale.

[Tenbatsuzen]

Clothes shopping: I will never buy clothes unless they are on sale or there's a dire, dire need. Even then, I will go to outlets.

Case in point: There was a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt I wanted before Christmas but it ws 80 bucks.

Fast forward six weeks later: Same shirt on the clearance rack at the outlet, marked down from 80 to 30.

Sold.

[Tenbatsuzen]

I agree about the clothes from #1 but that's also because I despise shopping.

As far as toilet paper, I load up for the month at the Dollar Store!

If TP at the dollar store is 1 dollar a roll, you're getting ripped off.

[StanUpshaw]

Buying toilet paper is a waste of money. Just poop in the shower.

[Recyclerz]

Buying toilet paper is a waste of money. Just poop in the shower.

This isn't CPAC. We're civilized people around here.







:wink:

[danner1515]

I consistently buy store brand cereal. To be honest, the shop-rite Capn Crunch is "softer" than the "real" Captain Crunch so I prefer that.

I refuse to buy any paper products that are thrown away (paper towels, napkins, TP) that aren't store brand unless they are on super-duper sale.
I've become a big store-brand buyer over the past couple of years, which is funny considering that I'm actually doing better money-wise than back when I was more apprehensive of settling for generic. There are only a few things that I feel the need to buy name-brand versions of (mostly stuff like deodorant, shampoo, etc.). It probably helps that I've mostly quit buying pre-packaged foods, making most of my meals from raw ingredients.

I'm bracing myself for the financial pinch of going back to college for my second degree. I'm on my first semester back, and I managed to cut my cable TV last November with surprisingly painless results. God bless Netflix.

[Tenbatsuzen]

I've become a big store-brand buyer over the past couple of years, which is funny considering that I'm actually doing better money-wise than back when I was more apprehensive of settling for generic. There are only a few things that I feel the need to buy name-brand versions of (mostly stuff like deodorant, shampoo, etc.). It probably helps that I've mostly quit buying pre-packaged foods, making most of my meals from raw ingredients.

I'm bracing myself for the financial pinch of going back to college for my second degree. I'm on my first semester back, and I managed to cut my cable TV last November with surprisingly painless results. God bless Netflix.

I don't "cut" cable, but I do constantly negotiate rates with my cable company. They always have promotions going on so I can negotiate a decent price.

I did cut Netflix. I just didn't use it that much. Since I have HBO GO and SlingBox, it's just as good, IMHO.

[A.J.]

If TP at the dollar store is 1 dollar a roll, you're getting ripped off.

A dollar a 4-pack.

[KingModem]

I didn't grow up poor, but learned all of these behaviours whilst at university.

[ozzie]

I haven't had a "new" vehicle since 1992, and that was only because my chick at the time worked for GMAC, and convinced me to buy "new". I ended up trading it in on a truck, and losing my ass.

Since then, my last three vehicles have each been at least 2 years old when I bought them. And each of those times was because the last one "died", or the cost to repair was more than the vehicle was worth.

While I love the idea of it, the "new car smell", and all that, it just still seems excessive to me.

The "rich kids" parents had new cars when I was a kid. We got cars that were "new to us". Mom's car might have been new when they got it, but she had the same one until we were teenagers. Dad went through one about every couple of years, and they were all "used" until we were out of the house.

I want to think that now it's more about understanding the immediate depreciation in value, but I'm realizing that it's deeper than that.

I just can't pull the trigger on it.

I've done all the research, picked the one I want, found it on a lot with the exact options, etc... but I just can't do it.

My current car is STILL running, dammit!

Sure, only the driver's power window works (the other 3 are off track, and "fixed" in place), there's no working fuel gauge, only 2 of 5 A/C fan speeds work, the washer fluid barely touches the windshield... but the engine's running fine for now, the A/C is still working, and my INNO still plays the buddays over the somewhat cracking/blown-out speakers.

What else do I really need?

I haven't had a car payment for a few years, and it would be painful to have to write that check, and seeing that balance on the statement every month with how much I still owe.

The biggest kicker is that, per AutoTrader, they say my car is only worth $702.00. It's a 2002, and I was pretty honest on the ap, and the mileage is killing the value... but I can't just give it away like that. The fucking tires, new headlamps and various parts alone are worth more than that.

My chick says I should just let it go, and get the new car this weekend. She knows that I (we?) can afford it, and is wondering why I've been hesitating. I can't really explain it to her, other than I feel like the right thing to do is to keep driving this old car until the wheels fall off. Then, have what's left towed to the dealership, and pick out another used car off the lot.

After all... that's what Dad would have done.

[ozzie]

But I do remember going shopping with my mom and they had that black and white generic isle we would get a lot of stuff in (chips, crackers, etc). That isle would hurt my eyes sometimes because it was so stark and lacking color.


Generic Potato Chips were awesome. Better than lays, or any other name brand.

To this day, I dont even like Kraft mac and cheese. It has to be that orange powder shit for it to taste right to me.

I thought that Kraft WAS the orange powder shit. Is there anything cheaper than that?

When I was in college, I'd sometimes find a sale for 4 or 5 boxes for a dollar. I'd get like 25 boxes. I would sometimes have to make it without the milk. Just boil the noodles, leave a little of the water in the pan, add a little margarine and the powder, and VIOLA!

To me, it was more satisfying than Ramen.

[CountryBob]

We used to have those shitty pink hotdogs that would make pink water when you boiled them. Once I grew up I will never eat a hot dog that has been boiled again - grilled or pan fried is my fav but I swear, I boil those shitty fuckers every now and then. DOnt know why but I just do......