How poor have you been before?

had a rich childhood. was middle class but i felt rich. not because we had a lot of stuff but because we had each other. when i grew older i learned my childhood was the exception not the rule. my parents and my aunts, cousins...we looked out for each other. took each other in when times were tough. and i think that's what made mine a good childhood. today it isn't like that. the family grew apart. the older family members are dying off and the family members i have now look out for themselves first. empathy is dying in my family. so what if i'm living in the streets as long as it doesn't interfear with their disney vacation. how things have changed and how ignorant of ppl to think they'll have their stuff forever. times they are a changin. poor is a giant wave that will include most americans in the future. i don't personally need a lot of stuff. i'm pretty humble. but it's real nice to have a family member come by when i'm sick or just depressed. how can you put a price on that?

Metasynth said:

Yup, hour each direction, longer if there is traffic. I live in LA county, but work in the next county north of us, been doing it for the past 5 years. Luckily my brothers car gets like 32 mpg...lol...cause at 4 bucks a gallon, my first hour of work for the day barely offsets my gas cost.

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My wife drives a bit over an hour each way. we bought her a hybrid. going from a car that was only getting 22 mpg, the car almost pays for it's self in gas! Breaking down the math, we own a new car for $50 a month more than we were spending on gas.

ok so maybe it wasnt SO bad because i was living in a apartment on the beach in florida but i was pretty much completely broke living off 1 dollar chicken pot pies from the corner store and tap water.

NoGutsGrower said:

My wife drives a bit over an hour each way. we bought her a hybrid. going from a car that was only getting 22 mpg, the car almost pays for it's self in gas! Breaking down the math, we own a new car for $50 a month more than we were spending on gas.

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Niiiice! It costs me about 12 bucks a day to drive to work, so around 250-300 a month. Maybe I should look into getting a hybrid...lol

Metasynth said:

Niiiice! It costs me about 12 bucks a day to drive to work, so around 250-300 a month. Maybe I should look into getting a hybrid...lol

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I'm over 3 bills a week if I have to drive my truck

gioua said:

The important message in most of these replies is we are pretty effing resilient and over came what we deem bad or as we see bad at the time.

I try to see my current situation as.. It could always be a heck of alot worse.. so I'll take my small beatings...

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A very common quote in my family "The beatings will persist, until the attitude improves" lol just thought I'd share. Thankfully I've never been too low in the slums but I'm still young with plenty of time to f up somewhere down the road. I guess you could say I'm as poor as I've ever been, just sold the rest of my weed to pay off some bills and have about 50 bucks to get me to the next paycheck. It's amazing how far you can stretch the dollar though, that's something I've learned. What doesn't defeat you only makes you stronger and remember, pain is only weakness leaving the body

Metasynth said:

Niiiice! It costs me about 12 bucks a day to drive to work, so around 250-300 a month. Maybe I should look into getting a hybrid...lol

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hybrids suck.....check these out...turbo diesel ...just bought one for melady and its averaging 50 mpg!!!

http://www.vw.com/en/models/jettasportwagen/gallery.html#/flash=f933007b5ada744436abe903dff6c102@mediaLists_medialist_mediaItems_medialist_mediaitem

And it is very quick and drives like a dream as well

slowbus said:

I'm over 3 bills a week if I have to drive my truck

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I suggest the civic hybrid over the prius. The prius get a bit better gas mileage but it drives like a fucking hybrid, the civic acts like a normal car.

Kite High said:

hybrids suck.....check these out...turbo diesel ...just bought one for melady and its averaging 50 mpg!!!

http://www.vw.com/en/models/jettasportwagen/gallery.html#/flash=f933007b5ada744436abe903dff6c102@mediaLists_medialist_mediaItems_medialist_mediaitem

And it is very quick and drives like a dream as well

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Yeah but it's a VW, Have fun with water pumps and electrical problems!!! Can you say "Check Engine"... LOL!!! My buddy is a die hard VW guy, he will tell you the same thing...

NoGutsGrower said:

Yeah but it's a VW, Have fun with water pumps and electrical problems!!! Can you say "Check Engine"... LOL!!! My buddy is a die hard VW guy, he will tell you the same thing...

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third vw I have owned...second diesel...0 troubles


and I would invite water pump problems over the plethora of issues I have witnessed the hybrid owners experience

NoGutsGrower said:

I suggest the civic hybrid over the prius. The prius get a bit better gas mileage but it drives like a fucking hybrid, the civic acts like a normal car.

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hybrids and prius's get bumped and run off the road like nascar around here

Kite High said:

third vw I have owned...second diesel...0 troubles


and I would invite water pump problems over the plethora of issues I have witnessed the hybrid owners experience

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Glad yours is trouble free! But if you would invite water pump problems over hybrid problems you should think again, water pumps going out ruin engines! Mine is also problem free, she's put about 60k on it and 0 issues.

NoGutsGrower said:

Yeah but it's a VW, Have fun with water pumps and electrical problems!!! Can you say "Check Engine"... LOL!!! My buddy is a die hard VW guy, he will tell you the same thing...

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upon research it seems those problems were 6-7 years ago...no such reports in past 4 years so seems they have remedied it...doesn't matter much though as the extended 100000 mile warranty I made them throw in will handle any of that...hell do not even have to pay for oil changes!!

slowbus said:

hybrids and prius's get bumped and run off the road like nascar around here

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Good thing the civic hybrid looks just like the regular civic... take off a little badge and you don't know. So regular civics must get run off the road all the time as well? Or do you live in some crazy area where every one hates civics and know the difference? No one knows its a hybrid unless we say something. You don't have to get on the free way at 25mph just because it's a hybrid, that is just what most owners think and why they get ran off the road.

Ohhh they must hate the different rims, because everyone can tell it's a hybrid now and are going to run it off the road...

I'll just stick to the '01 Corolla for now

Kite High said:

upon research it seems those problems were 6-7 years ago...no such reports in past 4 years so seems they have remedied it...doesn't matter much though as the extended 100000 mile warranty I made them throw in will handle any of that...hell do not even have to pay for oil changes!!

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I wasn't trying to single out their diesel cars, Just VW in general. They are know for it.

all the germans have had electrical issues from time to time but VW seems to have really upped their game as to quality in the recent past

Metasynth said:

I'll just stick to the '01 Corolla for now

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Cant go wrong with a corolla! I had one when I was a kid, drove the thing 20k miles and never change the oil. Sold it to a friend for $500, he changed the oil once and put another 10k on it then sold it and got his $500 back!

Padawanbater2 said:

Good thread, I like hearing real life stories from real people, especially from RIU

I'm poor. I'm unemployed, mainly because I can't stand the idea of making someone else a millionaire, so it's difficult for me to work a regular 9-5 job, most jobs these days (in America) are work for the man until closing, be lucky if your job provides medical/dental benefits, and stfu and stop complaining if not! "Times are tough!" aka "Deal with it!" Oh, you have a bachelors degree? That's cool, here's an $8/hour job, get busy! OH! You have no experience? Here's a guy with 2+ years experience, get in line! OH! You have a bachelors degree & 2+ years experience? GET IN LINE! Here's a guy with 2+ years experience, a masters degree, and will work for pennies! GET IN LINE!

Welcome to the American employment market.

I haven't had a job that pays over $10/hour... EVER!

Consider that when the cost to LIVE is +$14/hour. OH, You should move to another state.. Really? Cost to move ='s at least $1,600... (deposit + first/last months rent..) I'm stuck here working/living-6 months I can't afford JUST TO MOVE... I get there with zero in the bank account, live there 3-6 mo without furniture, 1 burner stove, no job, I hope I don't get sick!..

It sucks being poor and not having the skill set to pull yourself out of it... Sometimes this country feels like it's built that way.. To keep the poor, poor, and carry the elite to higher levels of economic prosperity...

Maybe it's just me...

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No it isn't just you, I made a helluva lot of $$ building hi-rises. And I will never, ever again return to the corporate world.

I'd rather haul water in 100 degree temps to fight drought, and thereby continually create my own economy.

We were poor as kids and my mother (God rest her soul) every day around three o'clock would untie the dog bone from my sisters neck and put it into a pot of boiling water, my sister was so homely not even the stray dogs would attempt to take our dinner from around her neck.