Desperate times call for desperate measures, and being broke fit’s into that category pretty easily. Stress does have a magical way of making us very, very creative, or at least breaking down our inhibitions to such a degree that we do things we otherwise would never have done.
One netizen wanted to know what was the “brokest” thing people did when they were low on funds and the internet responded with all sorts of comical and sad tales. We got in touch with Nick Loper from SideHustleNation.com to learn more about money management and how to perhaps avoid being that broke in the future.
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In the early 2000s the garment district in Manhattan had “Mitzvah Tanks”. It was basically a mobile synagogue for the devout to come handle religious observation during the work day with a rabbi.
Turns out they had bagels in there. I was just starting out my career (I was 21 or so) and money was tight. I would go in 3x a week and get bagels. If no one was looking I would stuff an extra into my suit pocket. I don’t at all look Jewish and almost no one from my part of the world is Jewish. The rabbi approached me after a month and I told him “I saw free food in a house of God and just figured since I am not a bad guy, God wouldn’t be too mad”. Rabbi laughed and said something like “from now on say hello. You don’t have to act like a thief trying not to get caught.”
In a few months when money was less tight I would stop by at lunch and chat with the Rabbi. It was a simpler time.
Rabbis are very down to Earth, I greatly respect them. My mother, Italian Spanish and Native American, had a friend growing up who was Sephardic Jewish; Rachel. Her and my mother were curious about each other’s Religions and so, mom took her to church one day and Rachel took mom to a synagogue the next day. Mom wore a cross and attempted to cover it up going into the synagogue, somehow the Rabbi knew (must’ve caught her doing it) and approached my mother. “What are you wearing around your neck?” asked the Rabbi. “I’m Catholic, Rabbi, it’s a cross which is why I tried to hide it. I’ll take it off if you’d like”. Rabbi responds with “sweetheart, you will do no such thing, that is a symbol of your faith and you will not only keep it on but will take it out and show it proudly, this is still a house of God and you and your faith is more than welcome in here”.
Brokest and stupidest thing I did. I bought scratch tickets in hopes to win money to buy Christmas presents when I was 18. I didn’t want anyone to think I had money problems at the time so I spent $10 on a scratcher and won $500. I don’t know how but it was enough for car insurance and presents.
Bought a case of ramen noodles at the self checkout at Walmart with 4 different different debit cards that each had less than a dollar on them. You can make partial payments at Walmart self checkout and nobody has to know how broke you are. Me and my 3 kids ate for the next 2 days.
I hope there's a future where people can buy healthy food for themselves and families without thinking about money.
Bored Panda got in touch with Nick Loper from SideHustleNation.com and he was kind enough to speak to us about managing money and not getting into the situations that many of these people found themselves in. First, we wanted to hear what he thought is the biggest misconception most people have about managing money.
“Probably that somebody else will magically take care of it for them, or that they'll get to it "later" — when they have more time, money, or both. But the truth is you have to be the CFO of your own household and set up the right financial systems for yourself. That means doing the basic stuff — creating a budget, living within your means — but also the longer-term stuff like setting up retirement accounts, automated investing, and being proactive about increasing your income.”
I was subletting a place and needed bus fare to get to work that day, so I searched every couch cushion and coat pocket in the hopes that I could find enough to get there. I ended up finding a ton of pennies, so I paid the bus fare in pennies. I was 30 cents short but the bus driver just gave me a transfer and waved me in.
The first customer of the day tipped me like $5 on their coffee and I've never been so happy in my life.
Stole food for my kids. Really ashamed but I couldn't let them go to bed hungry.
I had $10 for food for 2 weeks so I got things to make a large pot of veggie soup (lentils, broth, canned veggies) and a large tub of plain outmeal and ate vegan (not on purpose) for three weeks till it was gone.
I've been told that rich people call this a "cleanse" diet now.
Of course, many people do not even reach the “money management” stage, as they focus on just getting by. Even when times improve, this often leads to some degree of financial illiteracy. We wanted to hear Nick’s thoughts on this issue. “I think it can be intimidating and a little depressing/embarrassing if the numbers don't look good when you're starting out. It's not something we were ever really taught in school.”
When I was damn near homeless, Literally had no money for food, and food stamps said I made too much to be assisted. (B.s.) I didn't have any underage kids so I didn't qualify to be helped by a food pantry, and the only other one I knew would only let you visit once a month.
I would find fast food receipts on the ground, and I would call corporate,
I would always say the staff was super nice and they accommodated me very well but my food was probably mixed up with someone else's order and I lived far away so I couldn't go back on the same day. I would either receive coupons for free food in the mail or they would put my name down and I could just go to any of the fast food places in the city and get food.
The city I lived in was pretty big and most of the restaurants were run by independent/ or different franchises. So they never really caught on to me. I once got four free meals from Chick fil for one receipt.
Im doing a lot better now so I promised myself I would never do it again...
When I was a single mom struggling, i had to ‘make arrangements with the landlord’ 3 months rent paid in 3 mins. Still ashamed to this day. But my son needed a roof over his head.
The shame belongs to the landlord who knew she was in a tough spot and took advantage.
Hittin' a day old Hostess bakery outlet dumpster.S**t was still packaged and just fine.My elderly Mom would get so excited when we brought that stuff home.She had lived through the depression and couldn't believe it was thrown out.Such a treat.
Edit:Ty all for understanding.To be clear,my story happened 20+yrs ago.I know nowadays, stores will purposely damage throw outs.Such a shame...
They purposely damage? Why don't they just give it away if they are just going to throw it?
“But there are a couple of simple things you should keep track of on a monthly, just to get in the habit:
1. Your personal profitability (what you made - what you spent = personal profit) This helps you start thinking as the owner of the little business that is your life.
2. Your net worth (what you own - what you owe = your net worth). Some months it'll be up, some it will be down, but tracking it over the long-term lets you see the positive progress you're making, and may even lead to early retirement.”
Picked up dropped coins from the floor of a laundromat when I was a kid, to buy a pot pie for my mother. She made me eat it because she was a saint.
In my brokest days, I worked with animals. I was perpetually hungry because my parents were also struggling financially and helped me as much as they could, but I still couldn’t afford much. I remember once a guy came in to my company to promote dog shampoo that he said didn’t taste bad to the dogs, and he put a little dab on his finger and ate it to show us.
I was so hungry that I went to the grooming room and tried it thinking it could satiate my hunger for a little bit. It was disgusting, and it did not make me any less hungry.
That’s the most depraved thing I did out of poverty, but I also remember trying wet dog food (even though I was a vegetarian), eating sausage egg biscuits (that I consider unethical) when my manager brought in breakfast for us because I was so hungry, eating people’s leftover fries when they walked away at bars, and so much more.
Poverty is something else. I remember how stressed I was back then and how many double shifts I took even though they drained me completely. But I still had it better than some people because my parents still threw me a few hundred dollars each month. This was also many years ago, and despite inflation, the minimum wage has STILL not gone up nationally. I don’t know how people in situations similar to mine survive.
The horses in the barn I worked at got these cutted up white beet like vegetables as a supplement. I don't know their name in english, sorry. When I was most hungry I would eat these, too. They were not bad tasting, but they were a bit hard on th stomach. But they stopped the hunger for a while
Told my brother his Christmas gift was going to be delivered a couple of days after Christmas. Waited until I got a couple of gift cards, that I asked for a Christmas gift, and bought his gift using those.
Im going without a birthday this year since my mom was the one that got me stuff and got a cake and had people say hi to me, but now that she just passed in may... It will be just another day
“Plus, we're naturally loss-averse and investing can seem risky and volatile. That's why you have to take a long-term view and slowly let compound interest start to work in your favor. And the younger you are, the more you'll benefit from that,” he added. He recommended some resources, such as the books “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, “The Simple Path to Wealth,” and “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” as a start.
Reading through these, and I've had to do so many of these to 'survive' over the years.
I think my most shameful and 'felt so low' moment was having to use toilet paper and scotch tape, as I couldn't afford pads or tampons.
Had sleep for dinner and breakfast
When I was *really poor* and hungry and had $1.32 to my name, I bought one of those super cheap frozen tv dinners that cost a dollar, peeled the top back, put a little salt on my tongue, sniffed the meal like *a lot* to just visualize how good it would be, and then put it right back in the freezer to save for when I "near-death" starving.
I lasted 4 days and then actually ate it for real. I thank the lord I was never in a position like that ever again after that day
Nick left us with some parting thoughts. “A lot of personal finance content is focused on saving and investing, but there's a limit to how much you can realistically save every month. If you still don't have much breathing room in your budget, it's time to address the income side of the equation. In some cases, that means learning new skills to advance your career, exploring a side hustle, or starting a business of your own. Because your earning power is limitless — and it's a lot more fun than clipping coupons or never turning on the heat trying to save a few dollars.” You can find his site here.
I stole 20 gallons of baby formula to feed my baby son. Walked right out the door and nobody noticed.
Walked into a Costco with an expired membership card and had samples for dinner. I made the rounds a few times.
I've eaten dinner and/or lunch at Costco and Sam's Club that way lots of times during hard weeks
Stole a roll of TP from a public restroom because I was out and couldn't afford any. It was an extra roll. I didn't take the one in use and leave none behind, lol. That's just mean.
I've done that at my last job, but that little bit they leave out when there's enough to use but they want to put a full roll in the dispenser. Times can get rough.
1992, 22F divorced single parent 2F, working part time, going to nursing school full time. I was broke enough to qualify for food stamps and back then they were actual paper. If you paid in food stamps the store gave your change to you in paper food stamps and coins. Every day on the way home I would stop at a couple stores to buy something for $1.05, or $1.10 so they would give me the maximum in coin change. I would use the $3 - $4 for gas to get to school and work the next day. Did that for a few months to get through a hard time.
I used to eat free breakfast at motels. As long as you don't look like complete s**t it's easy enough to pass as a guest.
I would be too anxious and awkward to pass as a normal human being if I tried that
Washed dirty clothes in the bathtub with dish washing liquid. Couldn’t afford quarters for the machine.
Getting evicted and leaving a hidden key so I could go back and squat there for a few days tops my list.
Not hating, just wondering why they would hide the key instead of just taking it with them?
called in sick on Wednesday because I didn't have enough gas money to drive to work but one more time, which I waited til Thursday to do, because that was payday.
I've done this a few times at my last job if I was strapped for cash due to a low pay cheque. Really sucks. I live far out of the way of everyone I know. One time HR told me to just find someone to drive me. My mom was at work, an hour out of city limits. I didn't know anyone else in my area, who wasn't working. Told this to HR and she pushed me to "try harder", like she was saying to hitch hike. Now, that may sound safe enough... back in the 70s or 80s, but when you live in a city where people go missing, murdered, kidnapped all the time, and during a time when every decent person doesn't trust strangers at all, that should never be suggested nor implied. What's worse is that this company would cancel our shifts at any time, even an hour before we're expecting to start. But throw a tantrum when an employee calls in to cancel.
Donated blood to get the free cookies, juice, and a $20 gift certificate to Walmart.
This literally having to sell (parts of your) body for money. I'm not judging, just stating the fact
Ate nothing but rice for 3 months. Want a different flavor? Add bouillon, sugar, or extra butter. We were poooooor for a while. Almost wanted to kill the mouse that got in to use as protein 🤣
Beans and rice. Beans and rice. Beans and rice. Rice and beans. Beans and rice.
Got a gym membership just for the shower when I was living in my car for 3-ish months at 22.
My motorcycle headlight broke, so I started riding around with a flashlight in my mouth. True story. I was young, and very, very dumb.
Ketchup soup made with stolen ketchup packets from a fast food restaurant.
Had to fish for our food. Sometimes would get one fish sometimes nothing. Would go to bed hungry most nights.
My dad shot squirrels, rabbits etc both as a teen in 1935 and when I was a little kid.
I had two bank accounts at two different banks.
When I was really low on money. I would transfer money from one back to my other bank. Knowing there was nothing to transfer.
My bank would honor the transfer while It waits for the funds. This... I know takes 1 business day. (So you get extra days if it's done on a Friday after 5pm)
Which means I have 24 (48) hours to deposit that exact amount into the account before the bank drafts it.
Now I was an uber driver at the time... So if I was really short on gas for the day but I needed the money... That's what I would do.
I would transfer $100 to my account. Buy $40-50 worth of gas. Drive 8-10 hours as fuel efficient as possible
Deposit the money at an atm by midnight. Kept (if any) any profit...
No one was the wiser.
It wasn't sustainable. It sucked. But that's just what I had to do...
I had no job. No money. All I had was bills and creative ways to make money out of nothing.
No shame, and very clever. Playing money games is how the rich stay rich, while the rest of us do stuff like this, to survive. Hope things get better
Hocked wife's engagement ring that she wasn't wearing so I could buy her a Christmas gift. She thought I just took it back because we were "on a break." I was eventually able to buy it back and return it to her jewelry box. That was over 25 years ago, and I still haven't told her.
Went around my university finding abandoned textbooks to sell back to the store.
Collected change from a public fountain to buy something from the dollar menu when I was a teenager, starving and super poor
Not all of these have designated charities, and even if they do you need help that should exist from some source.
Looked up google images of steak and milkshakes and other good meals while I was actually eating crackers and water trying to envision good food to make the experience more enjoyable
I squatted for about ten months w some "gutterpunk" types and lemme tell you that was the dirty broke behavior Olympics. No utilities, in an ancient moldy bug infested Illinois house. Pissing in bottles pooping in bags, cooking on a lil Coleman camping stovetop, using pie trays as a skillet for eggs, refilling 5 gallon jugs of water at walmart...
Refused transport to the hospital, or any medical care at all, after I was hit by a car. I had been riding my bike home from work and going to the hospital would have meant leaving my only transportation on the side of the road. I didn’t carry a lock because I only rode my bike to work and had secure indoor storage for it at home and work.
Using my uni student ID as a free buss pass to get to my minimum wage food service job which will also be my only meal for the day
I didn't know that you could do that. I've heard of uses for student IDs, but this is new to me. Not judging, just sharing.
I had a small boneless, skinless chicken breast and a shriveled grapefruit in the fridge and only ground pepper in the pepper shaker, I had even run out of salt. That was all the food I had in the apartment. The grapefruit pepper chicken I made for dinner was disgusting but I ate half and saved half for dinner the next night.
Driving home from work the next night I got 2 flats in my car tires and had to abandon my car on the side of the road. I had to leave it there until the weekend, I was lucky not to get towed or ticketed. I walked the two miles home, and then walked to and from work the rest of the week so embarrassed and afraid some coworker would see me coming or going without a car.
I was able to borrow some money and added it to my paycheck to get my tires repaired. That was the poorest I have ever been in my life. I moved back in with my parents the next month.
It sucks when a flat tire can literally mean you lose your job, your home, everything, all because there was a nail or screw thrown down or whatever other thousand scenarios people will comment as if I'm wrong on the one I did mention...also yeah people have spares but if you've already put the spare on and are wearing it thin too there isn't much a person can do. Also being without any living family within 400 miles, no friends because of severe social anxiety and a breakdown on the road is quite literally a breakdown.
Was so broke that eating three meals a day was rare, and eating twice a day was a luxury. Most often it was Ramen for lunch.
I worked at a small truck stop.
I would look through the garbage to find cans and bottles to take into the recycling center. Some days it was one or two cans. Most of them time, it was only a couple dollars worth.
The truck stop had some hot food, hotdogs, pizza, sometimes taquitos or corn dogs. We got one bottle of water and one hot food item when we worked. The 4-11pm shift was responsible for cleaning that. When I worked that shift, I'd normally grab a hotdog and a vitamin water at 5 for my free food and water.
By 8 or 9 when they cleaned the machines and utensils and s**t, it was usually only a few pieces of pizza left that had been sitting all day. My brokest thing was that I would take the pizza and eat just the cheese and toppings because the crust was a rock. Those were the good days.
The best was a day where I got my hotdog, got my old pizza, got lots of recycling from the garbage, and even found two garbage bags full of cans and bottles that must have blown out of someone's truck. It was like $30 worth altogether. I bought myself a meal at the restaurant next door (different owners so we didn't get free food from there.)
When I was in high school, I lived alone. My bathroom was in the hall and I had to bang on the door to scare the rats off if I had to use the bathroom at night.. still had little rat footprints on the toilet. Often, I couldn't afford to pay my rent and eat, I would shove tuna cans down my jeans and buy a loaf of bread. There was a bakery in town that gave away unsellable items at the back door...
I drank work coffee a lot because I couldn't afford to eat lunch
Let’s see….as a broke uni student I:
•Stole napkins from the cafeteria to use as toilet paper
•Since I couldn’t afford a car or Uber I carried those 32 bottle water crates, 5 miles back from the grocery store to my dorm. One time it was in 25° windy
weather and I used socks as gloves to far it back
•Avoided friendships cuz it costs money to go out with people and I didn’t want them spending on me
•self harm was a less expensive way to cope than therapy or drugs and I used napkins as bandages
Green beans and tap water for dinner while I was waiting for payday. Doing wayyy better these days.
I used to eat green beans right out of the can during lean times. I still do even though I don't have to anymore, I just like it.
Boiled water to take a bath.
Stole toilet paper from work so I didn't have to buy it
Showers at the gym, taking napkins and plastic utensils from restaurants, living off of protein powder and ramen.
My first year at OSU. I lived in a car and showered in the gym. Crazy to think about it but thanks to intensive summer courses I finished an entire year of Organic Chemistry in three months. My brain is not normal.
Back in the 90s I wrote myself a check to cover me until payday.
I don't understand how this works - here (Aust) if you write a cheque and you don't have the money in your bank account to cover it, and don't have an overdraft, the cheque will bounce (be dishonoured) and no money will be paid out plus you'll be charged a fee for writing a bum cheque.
Note: this post originally had 71 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
That guy from a post a couple of weeks back who used food banks even though he was on 500k a year or something needs to read this.
Wow. It was hard reading through all of these. Brings back memories and not the nice type: Long story short, grew up in Bulgaria From around '97 to about 2002 my parents were in a real tough spot. My mom worked full time as a sketch assistant in a private prooerty planning firm, so she made an ok wage Except when the bills came in, 70% of her wage was gone. My dad was constantly between jobs, as he was a ship mechanic on the Danube, but the only company at the time that actually had running ships was basically bankrupt and kept putting its employees on unpaid leave. We had a lot of pasta with oil and salt these years, hand me down clothes and cold winters. When I graduated high school and got accepted into university, my dad had found a job on a small ship, but the pay was laughable (especially for a man with his qualifications), so he resorted to stealing diesel, sometimes I would even help him do it when I was home to visit. Me and my brother basically had our rents and bills paid
I hope you and your family are doing better now.
Load More Replies... Is this majority of population or stories of exception. Because, I'm from a 3rd world country, and you can afford 3 meals a day with any work. For example, if you are working as a servant, you get meals from the house itself. Women with small kids bring the kids also, so, the household prepare food for servant and kids. It's rare for anyone with a job to starve, even if they can't afford very tasty stuffs. Kids get free meal at government school . And basic healthcare is also free.
Our staple food is rice and vegetables. And many vegetables can be grown in the compound itself, because we are in a tropical country. That might be one reason for affordability
Load More Replies...
That guy from a post a couple of weeks back who used food banks even though he was on 500k a year or something needs to read this.
Wow. It was hard reading through all of these. Brings back memories and not the nice type: Long story short, grew up in Bulgaria From around '97 to about 2002 my parents were in a real tough spot. My mom worked full time as a sketch assistant in a private prooerty planning firm, so she made an ok wage Except when the bills came in, 70% of her wage was gone. My dad was constantly between jobs, as he was a ship mechanic on the Danube, but the only company at the time that actually had running ships was basically bankrupt and kept putting its employees on unpaid leave. We had a lot of pasta with oil and salt these years, hand me down clothes and cold winters. When I graduated high school and got accepted into university, my dad had found a job on a small ship, but the pay was laughable (especially for a man with his qualifications), so he resorted to stealing diesel, sometimes I would even help him do it when I was home to visit. Me and my brother basically had our rents and bills paid
I hope you and your family are doing better now.
Load More Replies... Is this majority of population or stories of exception. Because, I'm from a 3rd world country, and you can afford 3 meals a day with any work. For example, if you are working as a servant, you get meals from the house itself. Women with small kids bring the kids also, so, the household prepare food for servant and kids. It's rare for anyone with a job to starve, even if they can't afford very tasty stuffs. Kids get free meal at government school . And basic healthcare is also free.
Our staple food is rice and vegetables. And many vegetables can be grown in the compound itself, because we are in a tropical country. That might be one reason for affordability
Load More Replies...
