What is the poorest you have ever been?

[Steveboy]

Its interesting reading most stuff here but it always seems to be on the side of having money..

For example "Stocks and shares"  "Where would you go on holiday next"

Never "Does anyone know where I can buy some nice second hand trousers ? As my finances have not been so good in the last 12 months

So the question is What is the poorest you have ever been?

Have you ever had to go round the back of a supermarket climb over the scap bin to get some out of date apples? And so on

[Markje]

The poorest I have ever been, was when the bank almost foreclosed on my home forcing a huge debt on me.
( already had no water, gas, electric, etc. that stuff was gone months before this. I kept up with mortgage until the last).

1 week before the "sell" date, I got myself a new job that was enough to pay for the house. I worked out a payment schedule with proof of employment and the black clouds went away.

[Steveboy]

The poorest I have ever been, was when the bank almost foreclosed on my home forcing a huge debt on me.
( already had no water, gas, electric, etc. that stuff was gone months before this. I kept up with mortgage until the last).

1 week before the "sell" date, I got myself a new job that was enough to pay for the house. I worked out a payment schedule with proof of employment and the black clouds went away.

   No bank of mama and papa then?

[Steveboy]

I spent 12 months in a hoarders house had no job no money and was looking for work in Portsmouth, some guy offered me to stay at his place for a fiver a week, when I arrived and walked in I can't even explain how much I thought my life had gone down hill..



I can swear to you this is better than it looked.. food was left in the kitchen 12 months old and worse.. I washed in a sink basin 19cm by 38cm for 12 months

[Markje]

  No bank of mama and papa then?

Nope, I preferred not to tell them how deep I was in 

But back then I also didn't have anyone to care for, just me.

[Steveboy]

  No bank of mama and papa then?

Nope, I preferred not to tell them how deep I was in 

But back then I also didn't have anyone to care for, just me.

Whilst I was living in that place I was still traveling to Russia  .. those days you could get to Latvia for $20 and take a bus to St Petersburg for $15 that was after Hitching to the airport.. I met lots of girls in Moscow but as you can appreciate I never told them about my accommodation back in the UK..

[Manny]

I left home at 15 with £0.

So my teenage years were quite poor, on the dole, housing benefit, crappy flats, make a fiver, buy ten fags, bag of chips, a quid in the meter and two quid in a car with no insurance, etc. Next day, rinse and repeat. Drop lucky and make the odd few hundred quid here and there. On a bad week go to sleep early when the electricity went. In winter, chop up fly tipped furniture to burn in the grate to keep warm. Real life Fools and Horses. Those are the days that make you or break you.

I tried all kinds of ways to make money. Bought and sold everything and anything. I always kept my head above water but remained essentially poor. Even though at 18 I drove a used Jaguar, I had no licence, it had no tax or insurance. 

Eventually, I went to Business School (the government paid if you were on the dole), from there I got a business advisor, wrote a business plan, and when I was 21 I applied for a grant from the Princes’ Trust (100% bursary they gave me), and went on the Enterprise Allowance scheme.

By the time I was 30, I owned my own house with no mortgage, had a second hand Rolls Royce and zero credit or debt. I felt like I’d arrived. I was a poster boy for Thatcherism. 

I did nothing special. Nobody in good health with half a brain need be poor. Especially now we have the internet.

[Steveboy]

I left home at 14 with £0.

So my teenage years were quite poor, on the dole, housing benefit, crappy flats, make a fiver, buy ten fags, bag of chips, a quid in the meter and two quid in a car with no insurance, etc. Next day, rinse and repeat. Drop lucky and make the odd few hundred quid here and there. On a bad week go to sleep early when the electricity went. In winter, chop up fly tipped furniture to burn in the grate to keep warm. Real life Fools and Horses. Those are the days that make you or break you.

I tried all kinds of ways to make money. Bought and sold everything and anything. I always kept my head above water but remained essentially poor. Even though at 18 I drove a used Jaguar, I had no licence, it had no tax or insurance. 

Eventually, I went to Business School (the government paid if you were on the dole), from there I got a business advisor, wrote a business plan, and when I was 21 I applied for a grant from the Princes’ Trust (100% bursary they gave me), and went on the Enterprise Allowance scheme.

By the time I was 30, I owned my own house with no mortgage, had a second hand Rolls Royce and zero credit or debt. I felt like I’d arrived. I was a poster boy for Thatcherism. 

I did nothing special. Nobody in good health with half a brain need be poor. Especially now we have the internet.

Eventually, I went to Business School (the government paid if you were on the dole), from there I got a business advisor, wrote a business plan, and when I was 21 I applied for a grant from the Princes’ Trust (100% bursary they gave me), and went on the Enterprise Allowance scheme.

I also did exactly that , had to report every month my sales and so on even had a letter from Margret Thatcher and price Charles I was about 19 at the time or some thing like that.. Its how I got into the print business for 25 years and that was after going to Scooter rallies and selling printed badges to all the Mods I was making about 20 grand a year then which was a lot of Money, even used some of mothers white bed sheets when I first started to print the patches on..

[Manny]

They should’ve kept the Enterprise Allowance Scheme going. It was brilliant way to get relatively poor people who had a spark of entrepreneurialism onto the ladder and off the public teat.

I’m not sure if the government funded business advice centres or business school bursaries are still available. Probably not. I expect they all got ditched in the dark Blair years.

The Princes’ Trust remains a fabulous organisation to help young people on the ladder towards self-employment.

The thing about being poor is beyond a certain point is it’s a choice, or better put: a state of mind. We watch a TV programme called “Rich House Poor House”. Some poor people swap lifestyles and houses with some middle-class people for a week. What we learned from this is that the poor have no “go” in them. They all have gardens full of old prams and shite. Not to mention half a dozen kids they can’t pay for.

Give me 500 quid, an old transit van and an internet connection, and we will never be poor again. What’s wrong with those blokes on that programme? Probably pissing around on Facebook all night instead of writing business plans and thinking.

They’re all agonising they haven’t got 50 quid for the electric bill. Bloody hell mate, get off your arse and find some scrap metal or some pallets to sell. Knock on some doors, wash cars, clean windows, do gardens, clean gutters, move rubbish. Go and talk to local businesses owners and sell yourself.

[Lord of the Dance]

I seem to recall that RUA member Ste had a pretty poor start in life.

He and I didn't see eye-to-eye in terms of politics, but I sort of miss him here on RUA. Hope Ste is doing well, wherever life finds him at the moment.

[Manny]

I seem to recall that RUA member Ste had a pretty poor start in life.

He and I didn't see eye-to-eye in terms of politics, but I sort of miss him here on RUA. Hope Ste is doing well, wherever life finds him at the moment.

Ste was a Commie really, but a nice bloke in the flesh and he has a very dry wit.

He was a Champagne Socialist IIRC. Made big £ doing coding well for big firms.

Nice guy. I like Ste. Shame he vanished from here. He’s not been here in two years.

[AvHdB]

I seem to recall that RUA member Ste had a pretty poor start in life.

He and I didn't see eye-to-eye in terms of politics, but I sort of miss him here on RUA. Hope Ste is doing well, wherever life finds him at the moment.

Ste was a Commie really, but a nice bloke in the flesh and he has a very dry wit.

He was a Champagne Socialist IIRC. Made big £ doing coding well for big firms.

Nice guy. I like Ste. Shame he vanished from here. He’s not been here in two years.

While I did not agree with his political views, I could respect them. Also he had great knowledge and taste in music.

Hope all is well with him.

[Contrarian]

I seem to recall that RUA member Ste had a pretty poor start in life.

He and I didn't see eye-to-eye in terms of politics, but I sort of miss him here on RUA. Hope Ste is doing well, wherever life finds him at the moment.

Ste was a Commie really, but a nice bloke in the flesh and he has a very dry wit.

He was a Champagne Socialist IIRC. Made big £ doing coding well for big firms.

Nice guy. I like Ste. Shame he vanished from here. He’s not been here in two years.

While I did not agree with his political views, I could respect them. Also he had great knowledge and taste in music.

Hope all is well with him.

I concur and hope Ste and family are staying safe and doing well.

[BillyB]

I seem to recall that RUA member Ste had a pretty poor start in life.

He and I didn't see eye-to-eye in terms of politics, but I sort of miss him here on RUA. Hope Ste is doing well, wherever life finds him at the moment.

Ste was a Commie really, but a nice bloke in the flesh and he has a very dry wit.

He was a Champagne Socialist IIRC. Made big £ doing coding well for big firms.

Nice guy. I like Ste. Shame he vanished from here. He’s not been here in two years.

Although I didn't like his politics, I like Ste and got along with him.

The poorest time in my life is when I was in the Army making $800 a month and had to share small living quarters with two other guys. I ate crappy Army food almost everyday.

[Dogsoldier]

I seem to recall that RUA member Ste had a pretty poor start in life.

He and I didn't see eye-to-eye in terms of politics, but I sort of miss him here on RUA. Hope Ste is doing well, wherever life finds him at the moment.

Ste was a Commie really, but a nice bloke in the flesh and he has a very dry wit.

He was a Champagne Socialist IIRC. Made big £ doing coding well for big firms.

Nice guy. I like Ste. Shame he vanished from here. He’s not been here in two years.

I think Brexit did it for him just like Trump winning did it for a few overponders.

[Markje]

Ste is doing fine. He is on my facebook

[Guile]

maybe a better question is what's the richest you've ever been?  I had friends who made a killing on stocks then got greedy and lost it all.  Or had a golden egg and didn't value it.  Paid for house but then took a line of credit on it and blew the lot.

[Dogsoldier]

Poverty is relative.

In my late 20’s I walked out of my previous job and career after an argument with my Boss over terms and conditions.
I knew I was being underpaid and overworked so I told him to shove his job where the sun don’t shine and walked out.
What followed were a few years of crappy jobs, buying and selling stuff, started a company, temping, even trade plating.
I survived without being on the dole but it was hard going.
Then I ended up in my second career almost by accident and haven’t looked back since.

[Steveboy]

Poverty is relative.

In my late 20’s I walked out of my previous job and career after an argument with my Boss over terms and conditions.
I knew I was being underpaid and overworked so I told him to shove his job where the sun don’t shine and walked out.
What followed were a few years of crappy jobs, buying and selling stuff, started a company, temping, even trade plating.
I survived without being on the dole but it was hard going.
Then I ended up in my second career almost by accident and haven’t looked back since.

Same sort of thing with me.. after 25 years in the print trade I landed up on the internet by accident wish I had 10 years earlier , but I'm using my experience in business and that sort of stuff to make sure never again will I be in debt or answerable  to anyone..

[Steveboy]

They should’ve kept the Enterprise Allowance Scheme going. It was brilliant way to get relatively poor people who had a spark of entrepreneurialism onto the ladder and off the public teat.

I’m not sure if the government funded business advice centres or business school bursaries are still available. Probably not. I expect they all got ditched in the dark Blair years.

The Princes’ Trust remains a fabulous organisation to help young people on the ladder towards self-employment.

The thing about being poor is beyond a certain point is it’s a choice, or better put: a state of mind. We watch a TV programme called “Rich House Poor House”. Some poor people swap lifestyles and houses with some middle-class people for a week. What we learned from this is that the poor have no “go” in them. They all have gardens full of old prams and shite. Not to mention half a dozen kids they can’t pay for.

Give me 500 quid, an old transit van and an internet connection, and we will never be poor again. What’s wrong with those blokes on that programme? Probably pissing around on Facebook all night instead of writing business plans and thinking.

They’re all agonising they haven’t got 50 quid for the electric bill. Bloody hell mate, get off your arse and find some scrap metal or some pallets to sell. Knock on some doors, wash cars, clean windows, do gardens, clean gutters, move rubbish. Go and talk to local businesses owners and sell yourself.

They’re all agonising they haven’t got 50 quid for the electric bill. Bloody hell mate, get off your arse and find some scrap metal or some pallets to sell. Knock on some doors, wash cars, clean windows, do gardens, clean gutters, move rubbish. Go and talk to local businesses owners and sell yourself.

When I was 13 I already had a small fishing boat until I was around 17 me and my mate were making 30 quid a week whilst still at school selling Salmon. crabs and lobster to the Rich retired people in our village we had our own regular clients, we had no engine for the boat could not afford it so rowed probably 5/6 miles a day, school days we were up at 4am , did the lobster pots, pulled the nets in.. put the fish and lobsters in the bath and sold them after school..

[andrewfi]

While I have never found myself in quite the position that Manny has in the past, I too agree and know that a man with a van can always earn a living of some kind. I have been in a place where I looked at my van and considered taking out its normal contents and placing a small advert in the local free papers (yes, this was a long time ago).

Here's a thing though, while I absolutely agree with Manny on the point, I also know that not everyone is capable of being self directed enough to work on their own behalf. That's why not all of us run our own businesses and a good reason why most who try end up a year later seeking paid employment.

If a person is self aware enough to understand their limitations and capabilities then, in the system that applies in the UK and most other countries, I see no reason why they should not look for paid employment rather than start a business.

There may well be some crossover between a side-gig and a full-time business. That's something that has become easier these days than it was a few years ago whether it be driving a taxi for Uber or using one's trained skills to earn a crust on a site such as Upwork or Fiverr. Sadly, it is very, very hard in the West to earn a full time income doing this type of work.

Over here, while Uber, Bolt and Yandex drivers might moan about the money, they can earn a full-time income. In the UK, that's really quite unlikely to happen. In Asia, one can earn a decent living by local standards, doing tasks such as graphics, coding, photo editing and other jobs for money that would mean nothing in the UK or US.

How skint have I been: skint enough to have to forego hot water and heating in my home for a year or two and to live on bread and pasta during the same period. Some of the habits learned back then stick with me today as those who see my food shelves can attest!

[Twinky]

who see my food shelves can attest!

but what wrong with food shelves?

[andrewfi]

who see my food shelves can attest!

but what wrong with food shelves?

Nothing wrong with my food shelves. I keep stocks of food to last through hard times.

Earlier this year when the Western world had toilet paper shortages and food shortages. When it looked like there might be food supply problems, I decided to stock up to make sure I had at least 2 months of food.

Just about all I ended up buying was long life milk, flour and part baked bread.

During good times I stock up so that in bad times I always have supplies - even if I have no money.

[Steveboy]

Where ever you are in the world there is no reason to be poor and that applies in every single country on the planet, I know one kid who says he lives like a king in Ukraine working online, it is the same in Russia as any where else  there is no need to be poor if you get off your ass..

Lots of Russian friends started with nothing and have done well got houses, money and so on , of course there are always many who will blame the government, blame someone else and always have some excuse why they are in their situation and as usual it is never their fault and of course if they lived in another country it would be easier so they say.. yeah yeah yeah.. just sheer laziness I have no sympathy for anyone , unless you have a brain tumor or going to die soon I'm not interested in anyones problems.. you make your own bed in life lay on it!!

[Twinky]

Just about all I ended up buying was long life milk, flour and part baked bread.

During good times I stock up so that in bad times I always have supplies - even if I have no money.

But at the same time its impossible to store even for a week. The first day you eat the most tastiest something the second the next tastiest and the second nothing eat and the only long life mild would not add a appetite. So anyway it need to go and buy something.