What do you consider being "broke" (financially)?

One more ‘broke’ story that came to my frontal lobe;

I rode the rails a bit when young
Hey
Dad did it
So will I

Got on what, I found out later, was called a hot shot
Train of produce
Had to get where it was going
Nonstop
Got a bit concerned after 20 or more hours

It slowed into the Houston yard
Didn’t know if it would stop or not
Jumped at the first clear spot of gravel
Landing on my palms and knees
Leaving everything I had in the boxcar

Hungry

Tired

Think it was a Sunday morn
Climbed into the backseat of an old chevy parked at a closed Shell station

Hadn’t slept in awhile
Woke in what probably was the afternoon

Walked into town

Found the Sally

Listened to a retired drunk talk about Jesus
(had to do that in order to eat)

Dinner

Watered down bean broth and a piece of stale heal
Washed it down with warm powdered milk

It…..was….deeeelicious

Stood in line
Got assigned a cot
Made to take my pants off before getting in bed
Pulled my pants into bed with me
Next morn, the guy next to me woke me up by hollerin’ about somebody stealing his pants

Breakfast of mush, powdered milk, and probably coffee

Sat on the wooden bench with everbody else

A labor pool guy came in to grab some bums for temporary work
Picked me
Gave me a uniform of blue used shirt and pants, $2, a little lunch, and a pack of cigs
These things were deducted from yer daily wage

If you worked

I didn’t

I went to the old movie house around the corner to watch six or eight 40s movies for 25 cents
Kinda fun

Next day, same time, the labor pool guy approached me
‘You gonna run this time’
‘uh, no’ (I really needed the money)

Loaded mattresses in a warehouse

The labor pool van came by to pick us up
Six or eight of us are crammed into the back of the seatless van
I kicked around a petrified cheese sandwich
A guy on the other side of the van asked me to kick it his way
He ate it

Once we got back to Tony’s bar (where you got yer check, signed it, and they gave you cash) I found out I could no longer stay at the Sally
Guess there were consecutive day limits

Slept under the bridge at the bayou that separated north main from regular main
North main was where most the south of the border folks lived

I think a guy got stabbed a few rocks away
Lotsa yelling and moaning

Anyway, I worked ever day for weeks
Saved
Got me a room at the Standard Hotel
A warehouse converted into partitioned ‘rooms’
$10 a week
The ‘week’ was Monday thru Friday
Weekends were extra

Every room had their very own 20 watt light bulbs hanging from gawd knows where
Once the bulb was twisted on, the blanket on the cot moved (1000 roaches)

The facilities were down the hall
The caretakers had yet to discover the invention of the johnny mop
There may have been porcelain underneath the brown crud

Left there and moved into the hotel above Tony’s
$2.50 a night
Clean

My daily take home was $8 and change
So I was livin’ pretty high

Met the lust of my life at Tony's

A chubby little 30 something barmaid named Carmen

She taught me a bit about the buds and the beads

But

That’s another story
 

Gary O' said:
One more ‘broke’ story that came to my frontal lobe;

I rode the rails a bit when young
Hey
Dad did it
So will I

Got on what, I found out later, was called a hot shot
Train of produce
Had to get where it was going
Nonstop
Got a bit concerned after 20 or more hours

It slowed into the Houston yard
Didn’t know if it would stop or not
Jumped at the first clear spot of gravel
Landing on my palms and knees
Leaving everything I had in the boxcar

Hungry

Tired

Think it was a Sunday morn
Climbed into the backseat of an old chevy parked at a closed Shell station

Hadn’t slept in awhile
Woke in what probably was the afternoon

Walked into town

Found the Sally

Listened to a retired drunk talk about Jesus
(had to do that in order to eat)

Dinner

Watered down bean broth and a piece of stale heal
Washed it down with warm powdered milk

It…..was….deeeelicious

Stood in line
Got assigned a cot
Made to take my pants off before getting in bed
Pulled my pants into bed with me
Next morn, the guy next to me woke me up by hollerin’ about somebody stealing his pants

Breakfast of mush, powdered milk, and probably coffee

Sat on the wooden bench with everbody else

A labor pool guy came in to grab some bums for temporary work
Picked me
Gave me a uniform of blue used shirt and pants, $2, a little lunch, and a pack of cigs
These things were deducted from yer daily wage

If you worked

I didn’t

I went to the old movie house around the corner to watch six or eight 40s movies for 25 cents
Kinda fun

Next day, same time, the labor pool guy approached me
‘You gonna run this time’
‘uh, no’ (I really needed the money)

Loaded mattresses in a warehouse

The labor pool van came by to pick us up
Six or eight of us are crammed into the back of the seatless van
I kicked around a petrified cheese sandwich
A guy on the other side of the van asked me to kick it his way
He ate it

Once we got back to Tony’s bar (where you got yer check, signed it, and they gave you cash) I found out I could no longer stay at the Sally
Guess there were consecutive day limits

Slept under the bridge at the bayou that separated north main from regular main
North main was where most the south of the border folks lived

I think a guy got stabbed a few rocks away
Lotsa yelling and moaning

Anyway, I worked ever day for weeks
Saved
Got me a room at the Standard Hotel
A warehouse converted into partitioned ‘rooms’
$10 a week
The ‘week’ was Monday thru Friday
Weekends were extra

Every room had their very own 20 watt light bulbs hanging from gawd knows where
Once the bulb was twisted on, the blanket on the cot moved (1000 roaches)

The facilities were down the hall
The caretakers had yet to discover the invention of the johnny mop
There may have been porcelain underneath the brown crud

Left there and moved into the hotel above Tony’s
$2.50 a night
Clean

My daily take home was $8 and change
So I was livin’ pretty high

Met the lust of my life at Tony's

A chubby little 30 something barmaid named Carmen

She taught me a bit about the buds and the beads

But

That’s another story
Click to expand...

Love this tale, Gary. Although my personal story's details are quite different, I can relate to the experience of being down and out, then finding work that paid enough to offer some small amount of financial traction, paying overhead and even saving a bit to build a reserve, and eventually climbing out of the financial pit to reach a level of solvency.

When we were young we couldn't get into enormous financial difficulty because lending institutions required collateral or cosigners for loans. Credit cards were rare and limits were low - if indeed, one managed to qualify at all. Banks certainly weren't handing them out like candy on college campuses.

In many ways our generation was protected from our worst instincts. Not so anymore.
 
I now refer to the me in my 20's as "Poor Girl". I literally only had a dollar left over after depositing my bi-monthly checks to pay my rent and bills. I had a toddler son to take care of too. It's a good thing I chose a job located within walking distance from my house. I walked home for lunch or brought it with me. I had no car payments or car expenses because I did not drive. My epiphany came when the teller, a young lady, said to me "You're only keeping a dollar for yourself?!" when I deposited all but a dollar of my check. I wish I could find her now and hug her. That inspired me to start paying myself first and I've been a saver (then investor) ever since. Being broke is not having enough money for little extras after you pay for the basics. And for some people it's not even having enough for the basics.
 
My wife divorcing me, taking half of the retirement saving plan, taking half of the business assets, taking the house, keeping the children and the dog and the next year taking me back to court when I was behind on support and geting an increase in support payment and the judge telling me if I did not get the support payments caught up in 30 days I was going to jail. I was broke, but sent two of the three kids through college, grants etc. so been broke most of my life and...still am.
 
Broke is not being able to save and/or get ahead.

I know people who had trouble continuing their life unabated being 'broke'. No dollar menu at McDonald's for them. No free flip phone gifts, smart phones only-went to a richer acquaintance for a gift/loan on one. There are very few people if any I'd borrow or take financial help from and a friend or acquaintance is not one of them.
 
applecruncher said:
Being broke sometimes means different things to different people.

I recall back in my 20s being truly broke while waiting for the next paycheck. That meant a couple dollars for gas/bus fare, instant coffee for breakfast, counting slices of bread remaining in the wrapper, putting together a brown bag lunch of a baloney sandwich and maybe an apple if I was lucky, and no money for anything else. Boiled egg and a piece of toast for dinner, half a candy bar for dessert. (No credit card then) I used to keep $2 hidden in my wallet so I wouldn't be 'broke'.

But I've heard people say they're broke and what that means is they have no cash and their bank account is close to zero OR they are living on a credit card until their next source of income hits.

I know someone in her early 70s who often complains about being broke, but she has a good retirement income, owns a home and a nice car, but she shells out chunks of money to her deadbeat grandson and even co-signed for his car which he wrecked. :rolleyes: .....a whole 'nother story....

Anyway, what would you consider being broke? Any good stories about how you got thru tough times while you were broke?
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I've been there, too, AC. Thank God it has been years since I've been there, but I remember it well.
 
Broke, there are all different terms, Barely living from cheque to cheque. Lorie and I found out quick what broke was when we were in a bad car accident about 10 years ago, and took us both out of the work force, and went from $ 90,000 combined saleries to $15,000 if that, but still had the payments and stuff if we were making our full salery.. Taught us lots, and to live within our means... Now on LTD, and Lorie nothing, we are basically living from cheque to cheque, but are very happy...
 
For some unknown reason, all my replies showed up in tiny font (so annoying) after SF changed to the new format. I'd answered this before and hence couldn't even read what I had posted so copied, pasted, enlarged.
I now refer to the me in my 20's as "Poor Girl". I literally only had a dollar left over after depositing my bi-monthly checks to pay my rent and bills. I had a toddler son to take care of too. It's a good thing I chose a job located within walking distance from my house. I walked home for lunch or brought it with me. I had no car payments or car expenses because I did not drive. My epiphany came when the teller, a young lady, said to me "You're only keeping a dollar for yourself?!" when I deposited all but a dollar of my check. I wish I could find her now and hug her. That inspired me to start paying myself first and I've been a saver (then investor) ever since. Being broke is not having enough money for little extras after you pay for the basics. And for some people it's not even having enough for the basics.
 
I struggled financially when I bought a house while still single but don't think I suffered. I was not much of an eater and didn't buy that many groceries. I enjoyed working and was always at work. I was fortunate enough to have a best friend who helped me tremendously when I needed assistance. I will never forget her help. Funny how I never thought of myself as being broke... back then. I think I didn't know how to manage my money.
 
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Being broke financially came when we returned to the states. No job, no home just two of our 3 sons & two suit cases of clothes to start anew in the middle of Dec. No Christmas that year for our kids. No college only a high school education & what I learned in the Navy.

Got a job with 84 lumber that gave us enough to rent a place. Due to my job I got part time work from plumbers, carpenters & electricians. No benefits & no government help. When more was needed I got part time jobs like driving a 20 ton capacity tri axel dump truck, another job repairing trucks & heavy equipment. A full time job driving an 18 wheeler but that meant being away from my family for days at a time. Quit that to apply for & get my last & final job that had opportunity for advancement.

Every experience gave me a better resume to land the job that made it possible to retire early at age 54 fully funded until I'm age 128.
 
I don't think I have ever been broke although there were times that money was a bit tight.
I can only refer to the Micawber principle from Dickens novel David Copperfield.

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen, nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
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When I hit my mid 20's being a give-a-**** person I told my self I am not going to live like this another day. I puled myself together and worked my butt off and loved every minute of it.
 
Money was often been tight in my younger days, including childhood. We had a roof (rented, never owned) over our heads, food on the table, and books/magazines to read. It was a big "loss of face" that my mother had to go to work; in the 1950's middle-class women weren't supposed to need to go to work to buy groceries.

Spouse and I struggled for a short time in our 40's when we had to declare bankruptcy (a family issue; long story). Went back to life on a strict budget, re-built our credit, started saving money, and learned how to do real financial planning, the kind one usually has to pay $$$$$ for.

Wasn't easy but we persevered and now have had a very comfortable retirement for the last decade. We'd probably be considered rich if we lived somewhere else, but here in the San Francisco Bay Area we're just middle-class, LOL.
 
I do think it can be different for each individual. I've been broke but never hungry. However, I've eaten a super simple meal and been fine with it. Didn't eat something fancy. Perhaps someone else who had that meal would believe they were deprived.
 
I would consider being broke not being able to cover one’s required living expenses without increasing one’s debt. Another one might be requiring charity or government assistance to survive.
 

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