You know you're broke when....

[RedefinedDiva]

Please know that those are CURRENT experiences. My car sputtered last night, but I still made it home. It's funny.... but sad at the same time.

[elusive47]

You know you're broke if...

...you've bought a half gallon of whole milk, and as soon as you got home, you watered the milk down enough to make the half gallon into a whole gallon of milk.

...you've re-used the plastic containers Chinese take-out food comes in and old margarine containers as tupperware.

...you've actually went digging through trash cans on campus looking for bottles and cans to turn into the store for change.

...you walk at least a mile each way to the grocery store every week because you decide you could use the money you save in bus fare to buy more groceries.

I'm guilty of all of these things

[SoEnchanting]

- Riding around all week with your windows down with the gas light on "Empty" cuz the A/C uses too much fuel.

- Knowing exactly how long you have to pay your past-due light/cable/phone bill before they get cut off

- 5 for $5 Arby's roast beef sandwiches would feed you all week

LOL I'm going to stop here because I'm getting 'shamed...

[Obsession8]

Originally Posted by SoEnchanting

5 for $5 Arby's roast beef sandwiches would feed you all week

GET.OUT.OF.MY.HEAD!!!

I'm am *SOOOOO* guilty-as-charged for this (and other food-related situations mentioned already)!

[txdiva]

Originally Posted by SoEnchanting

- Riding around all week with your windows down with the gas light on "Empty" cuz the A/C uses too much fuel.

- Knowing exactly how long you have to pay your past-due light/cable/phone bill before they get cut off

I feel so embarassed...LOL!

[OneTimeSBX]

Originally Posted by elusive47

...you've re-used the plastic containers Chinese take-out food comes in and old margarine containers as tupperware.

oh, yes! i am guilty as charged! and even though i have money to get "real" tupperware, i still save them completely by habit. they are usually tossed out of the dishwasher after a stern fussing from my fiance lol!

i think the ultimate sign that those slim days are over, is when you are still doing all those cheap things, paranoid that you will end up there again. i cant tell you how many times i have picked up store brand stuff and he looks at me and says "get that real peanut butter! we arent broke anymore!"

[KAPital PHINUst]

Originally Posted by RedefinedDiva

You are driving on fumes. You gas needle is PAST E, your gas light is on, and you are praying that your car doesn't stop before you get home.

That has happened to me once; I was driving on the freeway, on fumes, madly trying to get off the freeway to the nearest gas station, and I RAN OUT OF GAS!!. The engine quit, but I was still going 55-60 mph (and steadily decelerating). I managed to coast down the exit ramp, go one block to the nearest gas station, and pull into the nearest pump, all on pure inertia, thanks to a continuous steady downhill slope in the road.

YKYBW...

...you save your leftover food and eat those all in one big meal (which my mother said was called "slumgullion", which was a hodgepodge of different "dishes"). I do this anyway, but that's because I don't like to waste any food, not necessarily because I'm broke.

[KAPital PHINUst]

Originally Posted by elusive47

You know you're broke if...

...you've re-used the plastic containers Chinese take-out food comes in and old margarine containers as tupperware.

I'm guilty of all of these things

I have to disagree that the above means that you're broke, it just means that you're economical, and that is not a bad thing at all.

Matter of fact, those take-out containers are good for storing your lunch to take to work that was leftovers from the night before. You can microwave the food in it, and it looks a lot better than putting your lunch in aluminum foil.

The rich can learn a thing or two from us "broke folk"

[RedefinedDiva]

Originally Posted by KAPital PHINUst

YKYBW...

...you save your leftover food and eat those all in one big meal (which my mother said was called "slumgullion", which was a hodgepodge of different "dishes"). I do this anyway, but that's because I don't like to waste any food, not necessarily because I'm broke.

I know ALL about this....

[OneTimeSBX]

Originally Posted by KAPital PHINUst

...you save your leftover food and eat those all in one big meal (which my mother said was called "slumgullion", which was a hodgepodge of different "dishes"). I do this anyway, but that's because I don't like to waste any food, not necessarily because I'm broke.

hell, i do that now, we just call it "leftover night". since my mom lives 100 yards away, we do a "buffet" and bring all our leftovers together and eat. that is not being broke, i cant stand throwing food away either!

[Obsession8]

Originally Posted by RedefinedDiva

I know ALL about this....

So do I. My fam is notorious for this, especially during the holidays.

I live for leftovers (it's true that many foods taste better after a day or two); I get it from my (paternal) grandmother. My best friend shakes her head at me, but she was practically born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She throws perfectly good food away by the "Best *SOLD* By" date, let alone the actual expiration date. Some people just don't know what it's like to do the stuff we've been talking about (i.e. salvaging molding cheese by cutting off the bad parts...you know you've done it ).

[mulattogyrl]

Originally Posted by RedefinedDiva

You eat pancakes daily because the complete mix only requires you to add water. (Thank God because you can't afford eggs or milk)

You and a friend put in change, hoping that it equals enough for the both of you to get at least one item off the dollar menu.

You start checking out movies from the public library because it's free.

You charge people washateria rates to come over and wash clothes.

You go on dates to get a meal.

You go to weddings/catered affairs to get a meal.

You volunteer at events that'll spring for lunch, drinks, snacks, etc. so that you know you'll have at least one meal that day.

You drink water because you can't afford anything else.

When you do get some money, you buy items in bulk in preparation for the times when you know you won't have money.

You become a math whiz because as you pick up things in the market, you calculate what your esimated total will be down to the penny.

You have bought exactly one gallon of gas.

You are driving on fumes. You gas needle is PAST E, your gas light is on, and you are praying that your car doesn't stop before you get home.

This is hilarious! Well, not funny, but funny. .

I have done the dollar menu thing - searching in my car and house for any kind of change that is laying around. I've actually done the pancake thing too, but I do it moreso with pasta, lol.

[mulattogyrl]

Originally Posted by KAPital PHINUst

I have to disagree that the above means that you're broke, it just means that you're economical, and that is not a bad thing at all.

Matter of fact, those take-out containers are good for storing your lunch to take to work that was leftovers from the night before. You can microwave the food in it, and it looks a lot better than putting your lunch in aluminum foil.

The rich can learn a thing or two from us "broke folk"

I agree. I think some of these posts are moreso being 'frugal'. Shoot, nothing wrong with saving a little money.

[black_princess]

u've got $0.15 in one checking account and $6.01 in the other . . Thank God for payday . . . Thursday can't come soon enough