How poor are you?

[Lou]

My first husband broke his jaw and had to be off work for several weeks. I didn't work and we had a baby to take care of. My wonderful mother-in-law opened an account at her brother's grocery store and told us to get food there but we hated doing that. We bought as little as we could. Mostly baby food and milk. We bought soup and my husband would have the broth and I would eat the solids for dinner. We didn't have to pay rent because we lived in low income housing and due to our circumstances they let us slide. But, not bragging, I would buy whatever my husband needed and I would do without myself.

When we divorced there were a few lean months. I remember one time my son and I ate popcorn for dinner because it was all we had. When they turned the electricity off we pretended we lived during pioneer days and played board games and told ghost stories. My son still thinks of that period of time fondly because it was such a bonding time for us.

[alaskayorkie]

Originally Posted by Lou

My first husband broke his jaw and had to be off work for several weeks. I didn't work and we had a baby to take care of. My wonderful mother-in-law opened an account at her brother's grocery store and told us to get food there but we hated doing that. We bought as little as we could. Mostly baby food and milk. We bought soup and my husband would have the broth and I would eat the solids for dinner. We didn't have to pay rent because we lived in low income housing and due to our circumstances they let us slide. But, not bragging, I would buy whatever my husband needed and I would do without myself.

When we divorced there were a few lean months. I remember one time my son and I ate popcorn for dinner because it was all we had. When they turned the electricity off we pretended we lived during pioneer days and played board games and told ghost stories. My son still thinks of that period of time fondly because it was such a bonding time for us.

Aww, that's a great story. It proves that money can't buy happiness. All of these stories do.

[erickajm]

First off, want to apologize because I just can't write a short story..it always ends up being a novel and I don't feel like an author tonight so to explain my woes, especially when I was first married..I will just say that we were "pah"....so poor we could't afford the last three letters!

[Jennieliz14]

I quit my job Feb 2007 after 2 straight months of cleaning out the "junk room" (im talking me and a shredder locked in a room for 8 hrs a day...for the fed government, so theres your tax dollars at work!). I just had a breakdown and I couldnt stand it, I wont get into all of it, but I wasn't doing what my job discription said at ALL. My husband and I were going to get married in June, so we lived off my savings and his paycheck til then. We lived seperately. When we got married, he moved in with me...in my childhood bedroom in my parents house. I live just outside of DC where land is valuable, so we havent bought a house yet. The cheapest "starter homes around here are going for about $275-300k. Now how are two 25 year olds supposed to have a down payment for a house like that?!?! We found it hard to get a loan to lump all of our credit card debt and school loans together ($8000) bc the school loans were affecting our credit so much, but we HAD to, to lower some of the interest rates. We got married June 29, 07. So imagine being newlyweds sharing a house with mommy and daddy! For almost a year! And the real kicker is, right after our wedding, I started to look for another job. I've had about a million interviews, but no offer yet. I'm holding out for another federal job. I've been taking specialized classes for gvnt workers, so that costs money, too. And every time we save anything, we have an emergency and have to spend it again. I'm going to be eating tuna or pb&j for the rest of my life

[crystalsmom]

Originally Posted by Jennieliz14

I quit my job Feb 2007 after 2 straight months of cleaning out the "junk room" (im talking me and a shredder locked in a room for 8 hrs a day...for the fed government, so theres your tax dollars at work!). I just had a breakdown and I couldnt stand it, I wont get into all of it, but I wasn't doing what my job discription said at ALL. My husband and I were going to get married in June, so we lived off my savings and his paycheck til then. We lived seperately. When we got married, he moved in with me...in my childhood bedroom in my parents house. I live just outside of DC where land is valuable, so we havent bought a house yet. The cheapest "starter homes around here are going for about $275-300k. Now how are two 25 year olds supposed to have a down payment for a house like that?!?! We found it hard to get a loan to lump all of our credit card debt and school loans together ($8000) bc the school loans were affecting our credit so much, but we HAD to, to lower some of the interest rates. We got married June 29, 07. So imagine being newlyweds sharing a house with mommy and daddy! For almost a year! And the real kicker is, right after our wedding, I started to look for another job. I've had about a million interviews, but no offer yet. I'm holding out for another federal job. I've been taking specialized classes for gvnt workers, so that costs money, too. And every time we save anything, we have an emergency and have to spend it again. I'm going to be eating tuna or pb&j for the rest of my life

No you won't be eating tuna all your life. Every bit of education you can get is going to help you and try your best to work that in when ever you can. I know it's not easy but you will appreciate what you have soooo much and make you stronger than you ever knew possible......so much better than being handed everything on a silver platter that some get today. Hang in there and Hugs.