Being really, really poor thread

Surely I cannot be one of the most po' folk on these here nets.Share your experiences? Whats it like? How long you been po'? How do you deal? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Or are you hanging the noose over your desk as we speak?

I am now teaching two classes at a uni, still going to school, along with a 20 hour part-time job. My student loans are now due, and i am able to scrape by these past two months with 60 dollars left over for food, gas, and whatever else i might need for the month. Looks like my life is going to be living paycheck to paycheck...I have to consider giving up my medication, and insurance for my car...which would also mean scrapping it.

Needless to say, I have never been this poor. Haven't used air conditioning for most of the summer, use the internet at my office now for free thank god. I don't think I have bought anything recreational for a few months....though a good and sympathetic friend of mine bought me a really nice Dogfish Head to drink...but those times are long gone.

Any tips on eating healthy on about 40 bucks a month for food?

So far my plan has been PBJ sammies on wheat bread, frozen veggies (when they are on sale), pasta (on sale), tuna (on sale), milk, tofu (is cheaper than any other meat here), some hot sauce, eggs, and some pasta sauce (on sale).

Also, anyone here on food stamps or unemployment? What are the qualifications?

I'd like to get another part-time job but quite frankly, between school and two jobs, I can't find the time.

Oh man, another thing that drives me nuts right now is that i can't spare the twenty bucks to buy a tie....I look pretty homely at work compared to the others, and the tie really completes the look of professionalism....I wanna shout at them "IM FUCKING POOR!!! I CAN BARELY AFFORD DETERGENT FOR THE CLOTHES I ALREADY HAVE MUCH LESS A TIE!"

here you go

https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome

what is this i dont even

you um

get paid for doing surveys

pretty straight forward

a nickel?

Im guessing you can repeat these over and over again?

shit ill take 10 bucks if all it means is taking a survey 100 times.

You can probably qualify for food stamps if you only have $60 left over after bills, etc.

Up until last year I've scraped by month to month. I'm kind of glad I was so poor in and after college because I manage my money quite well. I need to get a better job with more security, though. My current situation is a house of cards, and I think it could topple any day.

When I was dirt poor, my diet consisted of:

-Eggs [cheap protein]

-PB&J or grilled cheese sandwiches [carbs, protein, and some calcium]

-Pasta with tomato sauce [carbs and vitamin C]

That would cost me about $20 and last at least two weeks. I could stretch the entire monthly food supply to $50, though. If I had some extra money I would get milk or anything with calcium.

The rest would go to beer

i lived the last year and a half on about $40 for food and necessities after rent, bills, and meds.

i didn't have a car so that helped a lot.

totally shoplift a tie. or goodwill that shit.

eat lots of beans, good for you, cheap, loads of protein. dried beans are incredibly cheap. so is rice. bit of a pain the ass to cook but an excellent source of nutrition for pennies a bowl.

aldi is great for being poor.

so is walmart, sadly. i like to hate on them but when i can get a decent shirt for 3 dollars and a pair of jeans for 8, welp. sorry singaporean sweatshop laborers :(

you very likely could apply for food stamps at your income level. you might not end up with much but it would very likely free up enough of your actual cash that you could afford to go out and have a nice time every once in a while. you could also go to a pantry, i've done that a few times, it's awesome! got 2 weeks worth of food. it was all kind of shit but hey, free. also, church picnics/festivals. if you can put up with proselytising, you can stuff your face on homecooked yumyums.

ive never done this, but a friend of mine used to bring a backpack full of tupperware to a buffet like golden corral. he'd eat half of his plate, and throw the other half in tupperware when no employees were around. worked out pretty well a few times, no idea what would happen if you got caught though.

probably had to say the hail mary 50 times.

You can pray. I heard it helps.

it did help Daniel Plainview, so I suppose you are right.

  On 9/4/2011 at 10:55 PM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

a nickel?

 

Im guessing you can repeat these over and over again?

 

 

shit ill take 10 bucks if all it means is taking a survey 100 times.

i made 20 bucks in a week, and it took maybe 3 hours collectively. you could easily make 100 extra bucks a month if you did a couple hours every week.

Dumpster dive. There are loads of businesses everywhere that just throw away loads of food at the end of the day. Grocery stores/pizza shops/bakeries/etc...

hmmm... I'm probably gonna hit up that survey thing and just do it all night every night :)

yeah i used to dumpster dive, it's actually really great if you can get past the EW TRASH part of it. got like 2 weeks worth of frozen lean cuisine meals once!

i like rice. rice is nice.

il est temps de payer le prix!

My groceries are usually

-flour

-50% off vegetables

-organ meat

-dried beans

-eggs

-olive oil

Works out to be <$5 a week based on how much I eat (not too much). I once went ten days on a pot of tomato soup.

  On 9/5/2011 at 12:45 AM, Cryptowen said:

 

-organ meat

 

*vomits*

Beef hearts & livers are right tasty

Coupons, man. Hit up coupon sites at work and print them out. They can save you a shitload of money.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Cheap_Meals

dry beans are your friend. make sure you soak them a full 24 hours so they won't make you too gassy.

Working at a place that produces food has fucking saved my life far too many times to mention.

this is the thread in which i belong

ill be bach

glom samples from the salad bar at whole foods

apply for welfare

dumpster dive at trader joe's

find out where the free food kitchens are in your city

find out where the local chapter of krishna's are and hook up w/ their food programs

collect empty soda /beer cans

busk in public if you can legally -and if you can play an instrument

move to a place like thailand where it's easy to live on a dollar a day

prey

check out all local charities-see if they can help you[salvation army,food bank ,city harvest etc]

almost every pizza joint has left over pizza at closing time and or have pies people ordered and did not pick up-usually you can get them for free

good luck man

It was a rough February, I'll admit. I think I lost like 40 pounds that winter.