All Comments on 'How to Scrape By On Nothing'

pasta huh? I will have to try that.

I plan for leftovers. I've had sloppy joes on Monday, Chili on Tuesday, and Macaroni and Cheese on Wednesday. Thursday, I mix the leftovers and have Chili Mac and Cheese with Beef. Friday, I finish the "Special Mix".

I had times when I had to eat off brand Mac and Cheese for a month when bills got crazy. It ain't pretty.

If you live long enough everyone but the well off runs the risks of encountering just this type of devastating condition.

DirtyJoe gets down to the nitty gritty of just squeaking by with some down-to-earth practical advice. Thank you Joe.

Rice and beans are cheap. They also are healthy enough to eat often.

Done that in the early 90's. It feels good to know that I wasn't the only one going through it. One of the difference was we had our power cut off. Especially at this time of year I thank God we don't have to live like that again. Hopefully !!!!! Great story with warm memories.

This was an excellent "how to." Real and honest.

Someone mentioned leftovers. These days I still save left overs and on Saturday I make a pot of stew/soup with 'em. Tasty!

Cheers!

Cazzandra

I know what it is like to be poor. You forgot to mention financial assistance that is available in some state or locality to help out on food and rent (I don't think mortgage is covered). Also I wonder if it is wise to discuss your situation with your kids so they understand it and may be able to help during the tough times.

Most important of all, never give up. Must take it one day at a time and deal with one portion of a bill at a time. Can call Suze Orman for help.

...if we all pooled our own experiences here, and maybe persuaded someone to make them into a pamphlet. This was such a good idea for a 'How to...' contribution, that I would have given it top score just for that reason.

When I lost my job in London, thanks to Thatcher's inhumane economic policies, I was almost 50 years old, with 10 years left of my mortgage. Of course, every expenditure had to shrink. I calculated that if I sold my London flat and repaid the outstanding debt, there would be just enough money left to be able to buy a small cottage in a mountain village in Wales [then the cheapest part of the UK, but also one of the most beautiful] without having to borrow anything, and to get a second-hand car - an essential in that area. I sold my piano and other 'unnecessary' furniture, and hired the smallest van possible to take the rest, stuffing quite a lot of overflow into my newly-acquired car.

I had a small handout from the National Insurance scheme - about £14 a week called Unemployment Benefit. If I worked any odd days, benefit was stopped for those days, but of course I'd earn much more for a day's work so it was worth doing. I am a highly qualified and widely experienced teacher, but I could not get a permanent job in that part of the UK because it was necessary to be able to speak Welsh if you wanted to work full-time in the universities or secondary schools there. I did, however, get odd days of teaching when a teacher was sick, or odd weeks if a teacher was on a course, even three and a half months on one occasion when a secondary school teacher's husband was suddenly transferred from the nearby RAF station to somewhere in Scotland, and the school had to go through the whole bureaucratic process oif advertising the post nationally.

I used to make 3-day casserole stews, using a variety of the cheapest cuts of meat - pork spareribs or forehock, neck of lamb, bits of chicken, and so on. Once a week I would luxuriate in a cauliflower cheese or spaghetti cheese, topping the finished product with a sea of tomato ketchup - a tasty source of plentiful vitamins. I bought fresh vegetables, using the outer leaves [and the bones from the casseroles, and anything edible and organic] to keep a stockpot going. The only thing I bought in cans were red kidney beans, which I substituted for meat when I was about to make a chilli con carne and discovered just in time that my guest was a vegetarian. It worked well, and became a part of my cullinary repertoire. If I had a guest I would open a bottle of wine and cook something different, like a leg of lamb or a trout if I managed to catch one. Often these 'specials' would necessitate a phone call to my mother to get advice on cooking and accompaniments! I ate crusty, fresh, village-baked wholemeal bread, which - believe it or not - was cheaper than that cotton wool stuff they sold wrapped and sliced in the supermarkets of the nearest town. I had margarine instead of butter - it was not only cheaper but lower in cholesterol content, though not nearly as tasty. I did not miss biscuits or cake, and had given up sugar years previously.

A small contribution, with only a bit of advice, but I hope it helps. I have given details of my own experience, but the principles embodied in the above may be summarised thus:

Lesson 1 - Choose somewhere cheaper to live - preferably where you can speak the language, or where they don't mind dealing in yours! Calculate; decide what you need to pay and what [and how] you can give up, especially long-term outgoings such as a mortgage.

Lesson 2 - Take whatever you are entitled to in terms of handouts. Thatcher called you a scrounger for doing this, but it is quite fair, since you have paid into the scheme all the time you have been working.

Lesson 3 - Get whatever part-time work you can while still combing the advertisements for a proper job in your own field of expertise.

Lesson 4 - Work out a diet which is sufficiently nutritious and interesting at the same time, but economical. You may need to seek advice on this. If you have a mother like mine was, you start with an advantage! This lesson, incidentally, applies in general principle to other things than food. Never buy rubbish which you will have to replace next month. Pay a bit extra for something which will last a year.

Lesson 5 - Count your blessings. My time of unemployment was long and difficult, but in retrospect I think it was one of the richest and most productive periods of my life. Apart from all the new lessons [above], I learned to live with myself on my own resources, both material and spiritual, and even to like and respect myself. And it was spent in one of the most beautiful parts of the world.

I realize it is more difficult when you have a wife and kids, but I wish every one of the human race the best of luck in overcoming this dreadful situation of poverty when surrounded by other people's affluence. I eventually got a job in Egypt, which kept me going until I was able to retire to Brazil - where my meagre British pension has a much higher purchasing power than in the UK.

Keith [aka/dudyard]

Most people in the third world would give anything to lead the lifestyle you mention.

The equivalent here would be:

- Eat in a free kitchen set up by religious outfits

- Buy second-hand clothes in a flea mrket

- Use public transport, or even walk/use a bicycle

- Live in a low-quality rented house in a distant location

- Put the kids into a free public school or pull them out totally and send them to work

- Avoid utility bills by paying a bribe to the suppliers

- Use public pay phones, and get incoming messages pased on by your neighbours

- Tap into the extended family network for charity, loans, or staying with them.

Just to give you an idea of where we stand - the average expenditure of an Indian human is a dollar per day, while that of a Swiss cow is two dollars per day,

... but with all due respect to asiaprof in India, I think we are talking about two different situations. You outline the difficulties and aspirations and attempted solutions of people who are, as it were, born into a kind of inherent poverty, whereas my remarks were about those who have set their course on some kind of middle class passage through life, and suddenly find themselves thrown off it. The latter have a sort of commitment to middle class values [mortgage, overdrafts, hire purchase, &c.] and have to find a way of at least keeping up the minimum levels to fulfill this commitment. Talk of who lives on less than a dollar a day is important and salutary, and a great tragedy for which I suppose we all bear some responsibility, but it doesn't really impact upon the problems of a middle class citizen thrown unexpectedly into unemployment. A dollar in Wales would not buy even a one-way bus ticket to the nearest supermarket, and as to a bicycle, costing around $250 dollars in the UK, it would carry you to the shops, but then even without your load of shopping, you would be unable to ride it up the last few miles from the valley road up to your hill village. OK, you can buy a second-hand bike, and certainly you can find used clothing in Salvation Army or Oxfam shops, but this doesn't really help much when funds are so limited that you can't keep up the support of your family which you started in the light of a supposedly rosy future - or, as in my case, obligatory maintenance after divorce. Keith aka dudyard

It needs more tips, but I've been living on about $2,000 a year and that's with paying taxes and vet bills for my animals. The best thing you can do, is grow your own food. Seeds are cheap and take time to grow, but once they do, you'll actually have to GIVE some away! I preserve what I grow though and use it throughout the winter and then next growing season, it's right back to normal. You can also look for meat that's about to expire at the grocery store, like by 1-2 days and ask for a reduction...I've even been given it for free! As everyone knows, meat doesn't expire on it's expiration date suddenly so go home and freeze it, it'll last for about six months or more, depending on the meat. Best times to shop are right after Christmas and other major holidays, that is, if you're worried about next year and buy your stuff from last when it was 75-90% off. Another thing is, if you live in the country like I do, you can dream up things to make life easier. I've made a washing machine out of 55 gallon drums and even a water collection system...my own guns (although, it's very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing)...and have had a garden for nearly 8 years. I've shopped in Goodwill and charity stores...even though, all the good stuff from Goodwill is taken before it even gets out to the shelves, but every once in a while...you find something nice. I don't drive a whole lot and that cuts a lot out because of gas...thank you very much George Bush. And I have a homesteading exemption on my taxes, which was free to apply for so long as you do it at the tax office.

Very brave to put this out, I have been there also and you do appreciate more when your on the other side. Everything in story is helpful advice I'm sure the food pantries are even more crowded than when I had to go. To help feed my family I needed to go to several. I eat much better now but those times taught me "that I eat much better" funny how quick a person can get spoiled. I was once again humbled by reading your story.

Thank you