Forum

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:

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Yes of course....God......and the existence of a God.....I will leave that up for another thread for someone else to debate that part.....

What if their is No God? what if santa claus is not a old ass white mofo with a beard?

I have these thoughts that I am in hell suffering.......

all of you are just machines to play along with me.......like the matrix....

why not start a thread of how you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth?

talk about hunger,how do people sustain themselves on mostly carbo/starch?

I enjoy buying AMC gift cards for next to nothing then going to the movie theater and ordering everything on the food menu.............
dont they sell junk food in the theatre?

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Won't be a very useful debate as a lot of sentiments will be thrown in. Some people hold god closer to heart than anything else - so expect sparks to fly.

That should be the default position. Everyone is born a blank slate until someone or their environment indoctrinates them. If a child is born in the west like Ireland for example, he will most likely be Christian. If the same child was born in Afghanisthan, odds are he'd be Muslim.
So if you choose to believe in a god you'd be unwittingly accepting the notion that the sort of afterlife due to you or which god you spend your afterlife with when you pass depends on a set of coordinates - where you were born. Not the most ridiculous attendant baggage that comes with belief in a god but I suppose you can tell where I'm going with it. :lol:

Makes no difference which fairy gives me Christmas gifts at the end of the year, I'm snatching it off him. :d

With thoughts like that you probably are. But who's to say how much of that is perception?
The homeless man and his dog on the street corner would give anything to trade places with you because to him, you're in heaven.
Heaven and hell have always run in paralell here on earth.



Not a bad movie.

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

people are becoming more sophisticated now,they start to ask questions-
have you notice God comes from sky, never under ground or from ocean?
And Gold makes us in his image?
Could it be an alien race came in their spaceship and altered the DNA of some specie who then become our ancestors?
If you study the bible or ancient text,Indians /Indonesian mentioned deities descending from the sky riding a big bird,garuda?
And didnt the Mayan believe in human sacrifice,they offered blood to their Gods,COULD It be at one time aliens arrived and needed blood infusion,where do we get the idea someone want our blood?
I once watched a scifi movie where strange creatures from outer space came and kidnapped human so they can drink their blood,who the hell want our blood for?
For those who worship God,they always look up to the sky,they dont look for their God in caves or deep ocean?
Did you ever follow the ANUNAKI myth , did they destroy their habitat and come to this planet mining gold,they will scatter gold powder in their atmosphere to shield them from the sun ray?
Mining for gold in Africa is hard work,so they impregnated the local ape like beings so a new race is born to do the work.
As for God sending his son to save the world,some said there is another world which exists in astral plane,and it is possible for them to materialise and appear in physical form and there are angels and fallen angels aka the devils.
I think some day we will consider God as a concept,not a being or a religion.
so much for blabling

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Yeah man, I think alot of us went through some hard times both growing up and even after we became adults. Life is full of trials and tribulations at any age. Thank God for this forum and the many blessings that it has brought me in making $$$€€€£££¥¥₩₩ to help me stay out of poverty! 💲💲💲💲💱💱💱💱📮📮📮📮📮📮📮📮📦📦📦📦📦📦📦📦📦📦📦📦📦📦

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

It's cool you took that route, agent. I was just watching videos yesterday about the Anunaki and how they're repeatedly mentioned in ancient texts from different societies spaced thousands of years apart. Really interesting stuff. Reinforces the idea to me that modern religions are gross perversions of old religion meant to manipulate people.

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

what is the name of this video?

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Aliens seeding us? Not likely. Not unless you're referring to some asteroid seeding earth with life by accident. Given the vastness of the universe, it is more likely that we exist in parallel with many other life forms on both sides of where we currently are on the evolutionary spectrum. But space travel is monumentally difficult. Even if they transcended all the difficulties, the chances of Aliens landing on earth are as slim as your chances of fetching me my favourite sand grain from Long Beach, Washington.

One thing I find interesting (especially) about Alien myths is the alluring journey the story takes you through. Even when I find holes in the stories, I just want to be seduced by something other than a movie. Something that has got prospect. :lol:

Theory 1 of 9,867,678... Which are all correct by the way. :lol:


When that day is upon us, we can finally fix that quote: "Man made god in his own image and likeness" :rant:

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

In my younger days as a student,I will go to church and pray to God I will do well in my exams.
After graduating from college,I went to work for a company,when my superior found out I was going to sit for my CPA exam,and I barely have enough credit to qualify,he believed I am good at guessing with multiple choice questions and thats why I am willing to try my LUCK !
For those of you who are not bean counters,CPA exam consists of 4 parts and they are all multiple choice questions.
As I get older and wiser,I realise neither is true,neither god or guessing get me thru life.
It is just me and myself !

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

https://abc7.com/12-leaders-of-calif...labor/5532661/

church leaders tricked people and locked them in houses for forced labor. one escaped and called police.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...-dies-n1052301

https://i.makeagif.com/media/9-16-2015/7kk3de.gif

the power of christ compels you! the power of christ compels you!

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Spirit Science video about Sumerian legends. People call them a cult but I really like their vids.





(and this one is a clip from the same 'movie')

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Older and wiser - interesting.

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Back to god and aliens coming to this planet riding carpet,big bird or UFO-
Egyptian history First time said the country was ruled by gods,then by pharoahs.
Are pharoahs the products of Alien and earthlings?
Pharoah can marry their siblings,Royal Hawaiian can do so as well,so looks like aliens are genetically different ?
The Iranians allow first cousin to marry each other.
But we never forgive Jerry Lee Lewis who married his first cousin.
Oh,here is a modern day alien visit-
Prince Philip ,hubby of Queen Eliz,went to a small island off the coast of Australia ,it was an official visit,of course he arrived in a big bird,the big bird open its mouth and men carrying different weapons emerged.
Locals were so impressed with him,after he left,they splurged and bought all the modern amenities like washer/dryer,fridge and TV sets and piled them up in their assembly hall,hoping to impress him someday when he returned.
UNFORTUNATELY THERE IS NO ELECTRICITY ON THE ISLAND.

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

That's too out there agent

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

I’ll share my life story when I get some time. While I didn’t grow up as poor as many of you, I did have abusive parents (both of them narcissist). As a result, I was abused mentally and financially. Additionally, I was not given the opportunities I should have been. I realized this however and knew I had to be self made.

Needless to say, after a chronic illness in young adulthood, I lost all my credit lines, went completely broke and needed to hustle. I lived off less than $10 per day for at least two years during this time. I remember a grandma at McDonald’s watching me throw down a $1 burger in disbelief at my hunger. I hadn’t eaten in at least two days and bought the burger with a free coupon. My most savage moment was considering eating food I had found on the sidewalk during this time period.

I began to engage in retail arbitrage but the profits were not fast enough. As a result, I ended up just gambling off cash flow. This was my first sense of ever having any amount of money. I still remember the day I made $1,700 in one day at a casino — I was so broke it felt like I picked two quarters off the ground. I used to feel heartbroken losing $60 in a day at a casino, now I can drop $400 and know I’ll be okay.

Now that I have begun to cover medical and person expenses, I am working to monetize my ecommerce company. I will always gamble however, it makes my life easier.

It’s not that I think getting rich makes me better then others, but rather I enjoy the pathetic envy of untalented peers who treated me poorly. People will never let you down, especially in hard times. Also realize, when you do end up succeeding your peers will not be happy for you even when they should (with all you went through).

Thoughts I try to never let enter my head.. What if I had good parents? What if I had been able to attend an Ivy League school? What if I had never gotten sick? What if I had good friends to help me during hard times?

I grind every day to make up for lost time and hope the hardship only inspires me to work harder and achieve more. I hate seeing my peers, most of whom are untalented and talk down to me (due to my unfortunate life circumstances), think they are something special. It’s not that I will find success to prove them wrong or be vindictive, I just want to live an amazing lifestyle and disappear from their radar.

Life is a very unfair place and it does not pay to play by the rules. People will take advantage of you when you are weak and down, this is inherit human nature. I try not to be bitter, but it’s hard when you fall behind in life due to uncontrollable circumstances.

Some think success in life is a result of intelligence and hard work. I believe luck if the biggest factor, whether it be fortune or misfortune, however the former do not hurt.

Sickest moment was a friend who didn’t help me out financially during my illness ask if I wanted to finance some properties for him once he realized I was becoming much more successful than him. Sick world folks!

Re: How poor were you growing up?
 

Why are some successful people so lucky?
People do not take into consideration when people take a chance and win,they put a lot of efforts in research and make an educated speculation/gamble/guessing.
of course they are probably smarter than the average bears,so you take an intelligent person backed by good research,their chance of getting lucky is going to be higher than the average schmoe !
It reminds me of my superior when I told him I wil be sitting for the CPA exam with barely enough credit hours to qualify,he said some are good at guessing at multiple choices.