What's the brokest you've ever been?

whirlpool

I'm talking debt, unable to pay bills, buy food, keep the electricity on, ending up homeless, etc etc, not "omg I was so broke after that night out that I couldn't even afford a latte with my lunch the day before payday!!"

snubbleste

As long as I have hope and good health, then I'm never broke.

whirlpool

snubbleste wrote: »

As long as I have hope and good health, then I'm never broke.

Ok well assume I meant financially.

Penny Tration

Was out from work with an injury, they wouldn't pay me or sign forms for illness benefit.

I couldn't pay my rent or bills, and was over 3k in debt for medical bills.

Then I sued the job and my financial troubles eventually went away.

Tombo2001

I was travelling from Mexico to the US on an overnight bus when my wallet got robbed.

I had about 25 dollars in my pocket. I bought a bottle of tequila for 20 dollars before leaving Mexico, but it was only afterwards at the border crossing I realised about the wallet being gone.

So I had 5 dollars left, in pesos. Went into the border exchange, had a long chat with the lady at the desk about her Irish grandfather. At the end of it she said to me "now go to the counter over there and pay ten dollars and you'll be free to enter the United States".

At that point, I walked back into Mexico, went to a currency exchange place and explained my predicament - and fair focks to them they gave me the extra five dollars I needed. Nice people, Mexicans.

So I had the ten dollars to enter the US, but then when I got there I had no money.

I started hitch-hiking north. It was 102c, mid July. Got about six different lifts and eventually ended up that evening at a truck stop.

No cash, hadnt eaten that day at all but in my bag I had a tin of tuna that was going to be my dinner.

Got out the tin opener, started opening the tin.......

The tin opener broke. No tuna. I was drinking the oil out of the tin where it was punctured.

I think thats the brokest I've ever been. So I resorted to begging. Not in a styrofoam cup way, but went into the truckstop cafe and explained what happened and the folks there really looked after me. Gave me food, gave me enough cash to get to houston, let me email home to have money sent over. Nice people, Texans.

The Backwards Man

I've never had to go to bed on an empty stomach. Always had a roof over my head. Always had somewhere dry and warm to stay.

I've never been broke. Not even close.

Banjo String

The day I mugged the chugg.

Agricola

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I've never had to go to bed on an empty stomach. Always had a roof over my head. Always had somewhere dry and warm to stay.

I've never been broke. Not even close.

Same as. Between finishing college and starting work, I spent 4/5 months with zero income. I remember wanting a special edition DVD that had just come out and I hadnt the 20 quid to buy it. That's about the worst, so not bad at all really.

Specialun

this could be depressing

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I hadn't a bean when I was 18 and 19 but for the past 50 years I can honestly say I always had enough money to meet my needs. The early married years with young kids were tight but we always cut our cloth to what was available to us. More recent years thankfully have shown sufficient surplus to do all we needed and more. So, basically I have never been broke at any point in my life when I needed money or had any responsibilities. And, have never been in debt at any stage.

CrazyRabbit

14 years ago, I started work in a large company who someone managed to not pay me for 3 months. I had no income, and the only way to get to my place of work at the time was via taxi's which was expensive.

maguic24

In college, particularly in final year. I remember living off one meal a day for 2 weeks. The meal was beans on toast.....

I also remember getting the train back up to Dublin and having to get off the bus a few stops early as I didn't have enough money to get to my stop......

Being poor sucks!

MadYaker

Tombo2001 wrote: »

I was travelling from Mexico to the US on an overnight bus when my wallet got robbed.

I had about 25 dollars in my pocket. I bought a bottle of tequila for 20 dollars before leaving Mexico, but it was only afterwards at the border crossing I realised about the wallet being gone.

So I had 5 dollars left, in pesos. Went into the border exchange, had a long chat with the lady at the desk about her Irish grandfather. At the end of it she said to me "now go to the counter over there and pay ten dollars and you'll be free to enter the United States".

At that point, I walked back into Mexico, went to a currency exchange place and explained my predicament - and fair focks to them they gave me the extra five dollars I needed. Nice people, Mexicans.

So I had the ten dollars to enter the US, but then when I got there I had no money.

I started hitch-hiking north. It was 102c, mid July. Got about six different lifts and eventually ended up that evening at a truck stop.

No cash, hadnt eaten that day at all but in my bag I had a tin of tuna that was going to be my dinner.

Got out the tin opener, started opening the tin.......

The tin opener broke. No tuna. I was drinking the oil out of the tin where it was punctured.

I think thats the brokest I've ever been. So I resorted to begging. Not in a styrofoam cup way, but went into the truckstop cafe and explained what happened and the folks there really looked after me. Gave me food, gave me enough cash to get to houston, let me email home to have money sent over. Nice people, Texans.

At the start of this post I thought you were a real badass, decided **** it and spent your last $20 on a bottle of tequila. I am disappointed. Good story all the same though.

YFlyer

Tombo2001 wrote: »

I was travelling from Mexico to the US on an overnight bus when my wallet got robbed.

I had about 25 dollars in my pocket. I bought a bottle of tequila for 20 dollars before leaving Mexico, but it was only afterwards at the border crossing I realised about the wallet being gone.

So I had 5 dollars left, in pesos. Went into the border exchange, had a long chat with the lady at the desk about her Irish grandfather. At the end of it she said to me "now go to the counter over there and pay ten dollars and you'll be free to enter the United States".

At that point, I walked back into Mexico, went to a currency exchange place and explained my predicament - and fair focks to them they gave me the extra five dollars I needed. Nice people, Mexicans.

So I had the ten dollars to enter the US, but then when I got there I had no money.

I started hitch-hiking north. It was 102c, mid July. Got about six different lifts and eventually ended up that evening at a truck stop.

No cash, hadnt eaten that day at all but in my bag I had a tin of tuna that was going to be my dinner.

Got out the tin opener, started opening the tin.......

The tin opener broke. No tuna. I was drinking the oil out of the tin where it was punctured.

I think thats the brokest I've ever been. So I resorted to begging. Not in a styrofoam cup way, but went into the truckstop cafe and explained what happened and the folks there really looked after me. Gave me food, gave me enough cash to get to houston, let me email home to have money sent over. Nice people, Texans.

tldr: Give Texas back to Mexico.

Legs.Eleven

I've been skint (living on a bag of rice for 2 weeks skint) but never as broke as you described in the OP. If that happened, I know my family would help me. I'm really bloody lucky and can't imagine what it must be like

Tiddlypeeps

There was a week when I was in college when I ate nothing but Tesco value noodles. My food and entertainment budget was €20 on a normal week, so it was usually pretty tight to begin with. But this particular week my dead beat boyfriend couldn't make all of his share of the rent because he was too lazy to turn up to his fas course the week before, so I had to spot him leaving me with literally no money for food for the week.

Luckily I had stocked up on Tesco value noodles just in case. I get nightmares thinking about those things now. They are so much worse than all other noodles (which aren't great to begin with), koka noodles would have seemed like such a luxury. I think the Tesco ones were like 10c a packet, I spent about 3 euro on a bunch of them at the start of the year to keep in the back of the press for rainy days.

I left that guy soon after that and the rest of my college years, while still tight a lot of the time, were pretty good.

For Forks Sake

YFlyer wrote: »

tldr: Give Texas back to Mexico.

Texico?

Penn

Final few months of college. Had to give up my part-time job as I needed to focus on college. Had to keep borrowing money from my parents for food, stuff I needed for college, petrol money etc. Traded in almost my entire game/dvd collection to Gamestop because it was quick, easy money.

A week after I finished college, I was booked in for my driving test, so had to borrow more money from parents for a few lessons. Realised my car insurance was up but because I borrowed the €1600 from my parents to pay it and they had given me a cheque for it, even though AXA said I would have insurance for the test, I wouldn't have the insurance disk until the cheque cleared and therefore wouldn't be able to take the test. So I had to go into AXA and basically beg them to issue me with an insurance disk to cover me for the day of the test (the insurance disk literally said May 26th 2009 to May 27th 2009).

Next three months I was on the dole, but still had to borrow money from my parents to help me pay off a car loan I had. By the end of the summer I owed them just over €5500.

Thankfully, got a job and paid them back €500 per month, plus a bit of rent as I was still living at home. Meant I wasn't exactly raking it in with my new job, but wanted to pay them back as quickly as I could.

Be good to your parents, folks. Even as an adult you never know when you might need their help.

Holsten

Homeless and jobless in a foreign country.

poppyvally

When I used to Smoke I remember one time searching under the cushions & in all my pockets hoping to find enough change for 1 cigarette. "Fuk this!" I said, so I quit.

Gryzor

Remember sitting in a s***ty bedsit in college one year. It had one of them meters you put money into for the electricity. I was in the red, had the heating, lights etc off watching the tv, waiting. Then click, it went off...I sat there for a few minutes swearing to myself. Then I went over to the meter to hit it or something, and to my amazement when i pulled the padlock, it came away in my hand . There was around £25 (back in the day) in there. So I lashed the money through the meter and maxed it out, headed off and got a stash of beer and junkfood. I ate and drank in the bright and heat of my hovel.
Felt like I'd won the lottery that night

DeVore

I remember one day back in like 2005... I had enough to buy breakfast but nothing left for lunch and no idea where it was going to come from. I could always go back to my folks for money, so there are levels of "being broke" but like, when you are 35 you really dont want to be going to your 75 year old parents for a hand out.

What sticks in my memory was that it was the same day the Irish Times did a big splash, half page thing about Boards/me and I couldnt afford to buy both the paper and breakfast. I picked breakfast with the plan of reading the piece online/standing in the newsagents.

I still have to laugh at the people who think I was/am making a sh*t load of money out of Boards but I guess it turned out ok.

upstairs for coffee

snubbleste wrote: »

As long as I have hope and good health, then I'm never broke.

It is the hope that kills you

Tombo2001

DeVore wrote: »

What sticks in my memory was that it was the same day the Irish Times did a big splash, half page thing about Boards/me and I couldnt afford to buy both the paper and breakfast. I picked breakfast with the plan of reading the piece online/standing in the newsagents.

I still have to laugh at the people who think I was/am making a sh*t load of money out of Boards but I guess it turned out ok.

We were poor but we were happy!!

catallus

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I've never had to go to bed on an empty stomach. Always had a roof over my head. Always had somewhere dry and warm to stay.

I've never been broke. Not even close.

Goddamn you, backwardsman. Rub our noses in it anyways, why don't you?

I will see you in hell. Hell, I tells ya!

OldNotWIse

Gryzor wrote: »

Remember sitting in a s***ty bedsit in college one year. It had one of them meters you put money into for the electricity. I was in the red, had the heating, lights etc off watching the tv, waiting. Then click, it went off...I sat there for a few minutes swearing to myself. Then I went over to the meter to hit it or something, and to my amazement when i pulled the padlock, it came away in my hand . There was around £25 (back in the day) in there. So I lashed the money through the meter and maxed it out, headed off and got a stash of beer and junkfood. I ate and drank in the bright and heat of my hovel.
Felt like I'd won the lottery that night

I love this post! Add in a faithful dog and you could turn it into an award winning short film!

The Backwards Man

catallus wrote: »

Goddamn you, backwardsman. Rub our noses in it anyways, why don't you?

I will see you in hell. Hell, I tells ya!

Ha, I meant that a lot of the people say they are broke aren't actually broke at all, wealth is not all about what's in your pocket.

But sure keep a seat warm for me anyways.:)

Antar Bolaeisk

I've come close before, it was getting near the end of Uni and I'd taken time off work to study, there were days then when I literally couldn't afford to eat.

Thankfully I've never been truly broke to the point of not knowing where my next meal would come from, I've been employed since I was 15 and even during the tightest times I've been able to plan ahead so that I can just scrape by. Uni was the worst though, working hard and saving all Summer just to spend it all in September on fees/rent

rupert999

this weekend out of bad luck i was living off 3.88€ and i smoke..came home from pub friday to find money €40 that should have went in didnt(might add my card got stuck in machine so if money went in i couldnt take it out)...rang brother couldnt help cos transfers take three days..decided to sell his game for €3 and buy it back he said ring aunt (she helped me before so i didnt want to ask)she rang out of blue and we went for coffee (sun)offered me €20 didnt take it.bought some noodles,12.5 of drum,lucky i had a curry in fridge (sat) and waited knowing id probably not have food mon/tues ..i was online checking tesco/super value price for bread on sunday night knowing the schools were back that cheap bread were to bought (last 92c left) woke up at 10 am to get bread and check exactly how much i had...luckily the money was coming from america and they dont have a bank holiday for paddys day..€40 arrived! ran to buy brothers game,bought 3 koka noodles tubs (incase this happens again..) and some food.lesson learned but remeber if your ever stuck 60c in pocket €2.55 on card...all supermarkets accept cash and card for items..saved me a couple of times..

Tombo2001

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Ha, I meant that a lot of the people say they are broke aren't actually broke at all, wealth is not all about what's in your pocket.

But sure keep a seat warm for me anyways.:)

Having money doesnt necessarily make you happy.

However, not having money can make you distinctly unhappy.

In particular, not having money when you've kids to look after would I think make people very stressed.

catallus

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Ha, I meant that a lot of the people say they are broke aren't actually broke at all, wealth is not all about what's in your pocket.

What is this lunacy? Sounds like a cop-out to me! There are but two things in this world; money and power; there is nothing else!

rockbeast

Any spare change?

Anyone?

Please...

GHOST MGG

Living in the worst excuse for a bedsit ever with only a batch loaf to eat for the whole week...the early 80s recession was ****.

Duggy747

Had no money and no food in the fridge or the house, except for a box of Saxo Stuffing in the cupboard.

I ended up eating the whole thing, horrible Sausage and Cranberry flavour that was probably gone off.

rockbeast

Duggy747 wrote: »

Had no money and no food in the fridge or the house, except for a box of Saxo Stuffing in the cupboard.

I ended up eating the whole thing, horrible Sausage and Cranberry flavour that was probably gone off.

Posh ba$tard!

I once had to eat a Saxo box I was that hungry:p

orangesoda

Now, £500 in overdraft and only £5 a week for food the next month. I'm just finishing university so probably is common

Gryzor

OldNotWIse wrote: »

I love this post! Add in a faithful dog and you could turn it into an award winning short film!

Had he been there, I may well have eaten him :eek:

Ficheall

Gryzor wrote: »

Had he been there, I may well have eaten him :eek:

And AFTER you've eaten him, you find the money in the electric box. It's bringing a tear to my eye already.

Stereomaniac

I am lucky enough that I have always been able to stay with family, but been stuck there then.

anncoates

Once on college years ago, I went into the bank the day before I got paid and attempted to withdraw the last of my account out. Think it was something like 6 or 7 pounds.

Tommybom

Got a days work in oz but only had enough money to get me there. It ended up being 25k away. Nice walk back

Muise...

rockbeast wrote: »

Posh ba$tard!

I once had to eat a Saxo box I was that hungry:p

Saxo solo!

Rightwing

I've never had a shortage of cash, but I always give to charity or someone in need. Then these maggots on the rehab and crc boards milking the system really turned me off.

Reading the stories here, well 2 things stand out, health is most important and always help someone out if you can.

beano345

When I was living in a car in oz,pulled over to go into a supermarket to spend my last $3 on food.when I came back out the car was stolen,and I was left sitting on the curb with a bag of ice melting in one hand and a bag of noodles in the other,plane tickets clothes passport all gone!

orangesoda

beano345 wrote: »

When I was living in a car in oz,pulled over to go into a supermarket to spend my last $3 on food.when I came back out the car was stolen,and I was left sitting on the curb with a bag of ice melting in one hand and a bag of noodles in the other,plane tickets clothes passport all gone!

what happened after that? Youve left us hanging like a home & away episode ending

beano345

orangesoda wrote: »

what happened after that? Youve left us hanging like a home & away episode ending

The supermarket rang the cops who brought me to a hostel were I got work picking fruit the next day, 2 days later it was St.Patrick's day and I'm hammered in a bar when the cops ring saying they found my car behind a bank in town,so I stumble down and their dusting boxes of cornflakes and whatever's left of my belongings for fingerprints, once they'd finished they said its all yours and head off.they'd only left when a security guard pulls up and has a light shone on me asking me what I'm doing near the car,so I take a drunken step towards him to explain and he pulls a gun on me telling me to stay were I am while he rings the police!....true story.

Sam Kade

whirlpool wrote: »

I'm talking debt, unable to pay bills, buy food, keep the electricity on, ending up homeless, etc etc, not "omg I was so broke after that night out that I couldn't even afford a latte with my lunch the day before payday!!"

Most broke
£18,000 in the red back in 97 :eek:

SirCreepalot

30.000 in student loans. .42 in my current account. I guess that means I am broke. I don't understand why I don't feel broke but I don't, feel broke that is .

Novella

SirCreepalot wrote: »

30.000 in student loans. .42 in my current account. I guess that means I am broke. I don't understand why I don't feel broke but I don't, feel broke that is .

30k in student loans!? Where did you go to college, if you don't mind me asking?

SirCreepalot

Novella wrote: »

30k in student loans!? Where did you go to college, if you don't mind me asking?

In Dublin. International student fees. 17.000 per year for a two year masters. Add living costs and you get 0.42 euro in my current account and 0.00 in my savings account.

Reading this thread makes me feel like I should be worried but I'm not. As long as I am healthy, I am sure I will make it back at some point and pay it off.

czechlin

Some of those stories are crazy and fair play to all!
I've been tight a few times but thank goodness nothing major. I've always been able to pay my rent, bills and food. Even have money for traveling. In a process of budgeting to save now. It sucks but it has to be done. The thought of being utterly broke really scares me. Although I wanted to go to college full time I just can't put myself trough it. Will have to bite the bullet and find some alternative to what I wanted to study that can be done while working.