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How poor were you growing up?
 

How poor were you growing up? Please share some stories.....

I will start,

We lived in the ghetto part of san jose, ca..................with all the other immigrants, most of my rent, medical expenses, and food were all thanks to the federal and state taxpayers of california

my grandmother would turn off the heater in the winter so it felt like your sleeping outside in the cold with a blanket over your body. I never wanted to get out of bed in the morning in the winter to go get dressed for school.

In the summertime, she would turn off the air conditioner and the thermostat was 110 degrees in the house, she would open all the windows and turn on all the fans that blow hot air....I could never get any sleep in the summertime.....because it was so hot....and I can barely think straight.

in the bathroom their were 4 electrical sockets for light bulbs......she took out 3 light bulbs and only left 1.

she would couple all the laundry in 1 wash regardless of color, so my black clothes all faded out and had pink stains on them.

when cellphone plans were relatively new, she never wanted to talk to me on her cellphone because she wanted to save her cellphone minutes......everything can wait until she got home...

I never got 3 square meals consistently.........i was once institutionalized in a mental facility and I did not want to leave because the people at the institution took better care of me by giving me 3 full square meals.

I could never focus in school was always tired, and hungry........got poor grades in school.

Would eat the same nasty crap food over and over again.....the only luxury was you get fast food from mcdonalds or taco bell every now and then.......

doctor complained that I was under weight for my height and age....

no family vacations, and no excessive shopping sprees for clothes. My mother and father were both out of the picture.....born out of wedlock.....dad never gave any money for child support to my mother or grandmother to care for me. My mother was very irresponsible. Never saw much of her my grandmother decided to care for me because my mother was incapable of doing so.

I am used to never leaving my bedroom with my computer, that if you were to put me in solitary confinement I probably would be used to it because thats how my entire life was like.....because we were so poor we could not really afford to really do anything.

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Wow, quite a story...

I actually grew up very close to San Jose, in the Morgan Hill/Gilroy area, spent most of my life there.

When you say you grew up in the "Ghetto" of SanJo, you are most likely referring to the notorious Story/King/Capitol area on the "East Side" of SJ. Back in the 70's & 80's, it was a rough crime ridden neighborhood, even around the Eastridge Mall area. ;)

I spend about 43+ years of my life in the South Bay, so know it well. Today, SJO is probably the most expensive place in the whole USA with median house prices over $1.2M, even in those so-called "ghettos" you described.

I would say growing up for me wasn't that rough, but my parents were really working 2 jobs and running a side business to make ends meet. The roughest economic period I can remember was back during the Carter years (late 1970's into the early 80's) when interest rates and unemployment were sky high. Even despite that, my parents made sure the family needs were met, mainly with hard work and determination. My Mother made about $14k /year on her Post Office job back in the day, and my Father was a public school teacher making maybe around the same.

Despite the low salaries back in the day, it was still possible to support a household (and support a family) on such a small salary. Today, I know people who are pulling down $100k /year and can barely make ends meet in Santa Clara County or the rest of the Bay Area. It's crazy when a meal at McDonalds cost nearly $12 and ever rising, too.

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

yeah, I know how it's like to be hungry all the time...the constant feeling of embarrassment and being ashamed because you're poor and cant afford the most basic needs

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

My family aint poor but my father supported many so he has a tight budget.
When I came to study in this country,my mother bought everything possible for the 4 years I will be in school as things were cheaper in our own country,they not include my clothes,underwear,typewriter,socks,gloves,coats but pencils,paper,eraser,bath towels,toothbrushes.
I lived on $100/month.$53 goes to rent and utilities ,rest is for grocery and whatever cheap stuff I picked up at Woolworth,remember Woolworth?
I worked in the school cafeteria but can only afford to eat there once,when the school opened a coffee shop in the student union hall in my senior year,all I can afford is a grill cheese sandwich ,that was a big deal for me,I did that a few times .
Once I rent a room from an elderly widow,there is no A/C but she like your grandma,worked the windows with a wet bath towel,it works for both of us.
Every semester break,I can count on others like me who cant afford to go to Florida or San Fran,we just keep each other company on an empty campus.
YOU KNOW WHAT,none of us complain or feel envious of others,we dont have cars,we walk everywhere,we eat our own chow,we dont know any better .
We ate a lot of chicken wings,shrimp is a treat .
But we never starve.
One thing I notice about women in this country,many do not know how to cook,you can turn out a decent meal on a low budget if you know how to cook,they also do not know how to count,they are afraid of numbers,do they realise if they excel in numbers,they get good paying jobs?

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Great post!

These 2 things made me laugh because I do them.

I do have 4 light bulbs installed, but 3 are twisted out so they don't light. When one goes out, I just twist another in. LOL

:thumb:

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

one couple rinsed their dental thread after flossing so they can reuse them

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

This was a great series:

https://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/extreme-cheapskates/

:focus:

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

yeah I don't do any of those things that I described above.......:mad: I am kind of angry and depressed now because I realized how messed up my life was....

people want to live in california......but whats the point if you cant really enjoy all the things california has to offer......

like the homeless that sleep on the beach in hawaii....but cant even afford anything.....

dumbest behavior ever, i'll buy a mercedes benz but can barely afford to fix it let alone put gas in it to run properly....

anytime anybody ever plays the lets save money game......i assume they have limits......

i met this one guy awhile back this guy was a straight up cheap skate...who the hell drinks skim milk.........when i went to his house all of his furniture was vintage and old as hell, his utensils were really cheap and something you would buy from the flea market...

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

i refuse to pay a subscription to watch it on tlc.com.......

heres a free link on youtube........LOL:nono:


kate hashimoto the extreme cheapskate in new york....

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

I'm not after a pity party, like h4ck, but I will say that the area of the Appalachian Mountains that I'm from STILL HAS NO RUNNING WATER! If you want water, you have to have a truck with a big a55 water tank in the back of it. Go to the local "waterfall" on the side of the mountain, that comes out of the abandoned mines up on the top somewhere. Fill your tank, and head home.

Melting pots full of snow on top of the woodstove, for water to wash in, was not an uncommon thing for us in the winter lol

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

no wonder you use private internet access..................................;)

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

We grew up at the poverty level for sure but we didn't go hungry and always had shelter.

My Mom divorced my Dad at an early age (and he didn't provide any support). My mom always had minimum wage jobs so we only had the basics.

Thankfully I grew up in safe areas with good schools and my mom taught me the basics of working hard.

I had it better than most but it wasn't luxury.

Anything that I wanted beyond the basics I had to work hard to get. I mowed yards for money starting at 12 years old.

My mom provided the basics of what was needed to succeed. She didn't provide any emotional support but everything else she did alright. :)

She never hugged, never said "I love you", always played mind games (mental abuse) but other than that we had it alright. :p

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger?

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Something in the water, I guess haha

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

i met this one guy awhile back this guy was a straight up cheap skate...who the hell drinks skim milk.........when i went to his house all of his furniture was vintage and old as hell, his utensils were really cheap and something you would buy from the flea market...
---------------------------
plenty of folks drink skim milk,women who do not want to gain weight,men and women who hate FAT ?
My brother when he first came to this country went to a coffee shop ,was diluting the cream for coffee with water and drink it as milk ,he is always cheap,cheap and cheap and he has money.
But thats his lifestyle?
THIS guy probably has millions stashed away,and his furniture can be sold as antique.

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

god, watching the extreme cheapskates full episodes is just painfully offensive behavior........

this one guy only flushes the toilet every single week.........and he doesnt clean the toilet bowl so it has a thick black ring of bacteria........just fvcking sick....

asian women goes dumpster diving for food.......

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

I'll describe some of my money saving habits........I have my boundaries.......but then again you have to realize I am a h4xor so I get a lot of stuff for free.

I drive my old $1,500 dollar infiniti....on the outside its old a 1995...but the interior is just as good as any other luxury car....with power everything, leather seats, wood panels everywhere.....can I buy a new car in cash of course I can.......but my old infiniti has 100k miles on the odometer so I got a long way to go before this car completely dies.....

I buy a lot of food gift cards for next to nothing and I double dip on the discount and go to happy hour at all the dozens of restaurants and order tons and tons of food. I hate cooking and cleaning so I eat out almost everyday with my gift cards.....I probably spend 300 bucks a month on food gift cards but the value is well over $1500 to 3000 bucks.....

I also buy clothing store gift cards for next to nothing.....then I double dip and go to the store sales....so I get a double discount......

I enjoy buying AMC gift cards for next to nothing then going to the movie theater and ordering everything on the food menu.............

I cut my own hair.......I used to go to the salon and cut their but I hate having to correct the hair stylist and have her fix her mistakes......

I don't buy into the spotify, amazon music subscriptions that have monthly fees, I downloaded a workaround app called youtube vanced its a modified youtube app that you can listen to the music and turn your phone off while listening to the music play without pausing.

I don't buy monthly subscriptions to p0rn, music, or movies, I have all my necessary outlets to download everything in crystal clear hd for free on the internet.......

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Where can I find these?!?!

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

You probably don't want to know... lol :juggle:

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

I probably shouldn't have started this thread,

I am pretty angry now......just born into a really fvcked up universe.

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

there are many good movies you can watch on Youtube.
I was looking for some old hard to find movies,idolmaker and battle of Algiers,and they are free on Youtube

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

To each his own... Had God interjected during my birth and offered me a 'terrible' life on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, I'd have said yess! Life is a brief undulation of death anyway - so why not. :d :pop2: