The worst/naughtiest thing you've done to survive whilst at rock bottom

tabbyx

I've asked my boyfriend to buy me food when it got really rough, and it was so hard. I only bought Value stuff but it made me feel so guilty that I couldn't pay him back.

Other times include living off dry pasta for about 3 weeks when my rent went up.

ani_26

Very thought provoking debate if you google selling your kidney for £28k.I wonder if this will ever come to fruition?

If it does, i'll be first in the queue. Anyone want to buy a kidney? Or should this come under items for sale? Its a sad state of affairs when anyone in this day and age, seriously contemplates selling their body,as its the only thing they have, to sell.

Owain_Moneysaver

dotx wrote: »

My pantry is full too so I could eat for two weeks without spending a penny.

worbikeman wrote: »

Some achievement!:whistle:

(apologies:D)

Saves having to nick loo roll.

no_choice_now

Please folks stop with the judgments and stop with the talk of selling kidneys. Unless anybody has actually sold a kidney it's not the right place to talk about it on this thread - it's for confessions only. Also please no judgment on "liberating" loo rolls. Thanks

dotx

worbikeman wrote: »

Some achievement!:whistle:
(apologies:D)

I think two weeks is a good amount. Some people might feel comfortable with more food in their pantries, but for me it's enough.

Aesop

dotx wrote: »

I think two weeks is a good amount. Some people might feel comfortable with more food in their pantries, but for me it's enough.

they meant "some achievement" for "not spending a penny for 2 weeks" - meaning you will not use the toilet for 2 weeks, not your stockpile.

Birdy12

FOXGLOVE wrote: »

Living off porridge for two weeks.

That reminds me of something my mum said. When she was little she lived with her mother and two sisters. One particular Christmas Day there was nothing to eat in the house except porridge oats. Her elder sister made the first batch in the morning but made it too thick, by the time it got to the evening it was gruel consistency.

My mum and dad always made sure we had a great time at Christmas. We weren't rich by any stretch, but I look back at my childhood with fondness.

I just think my mum promised herself she would never have a Christmas like that again.

Birdy12

Having written the above, I now wonder whether we were as comfortable as I make out, whether there were times of hardship that my mum and dad shielded from me.

I remember posting on a different thread that I'd mentioned to my mum that I looked back on the 1970's with great fondness and said to mum 'that was a great decade, wasn't it mum?', to which she replied 'no it wasn't, it was bl00dy horrible!'

harrybear_1988

Well I started reading this thread at work last night and sat there sniffling and stifling sobs for several hours!

I'm 23 and facing a difficult time in my life emotionally and financially- or so I thought. Having read through this thread, I now see that 1) it could be a lot worse and people in those situations are STILL less miserable than I, and 2) I have lived through far far worse before! My brain seemed to have forgotten the tough times that my family lived through when I was a child.

We were always very poor when I was a child, my dad worked as a herdsman on a farm and myself, 2 siblings and my parents lived in tied accommodation (a house thrown in with the job). The house was horrid - mould covered every wall and the bathroom was freezing. We always had jumblesale clothes, or hand downs from a friend who had a daughter a couple of years older than me. We did get new stuff from time to time, my parents where never mean with any money they did have, and most likely went without themselves.
When our car was stolen, we didn't have one for a very long time. My mum used to cycle a six mile round trip in the sweltering heat or freezing cold to buy some food from the local post office, and in the times when we did have a car, sometimes she had to pay with bags of 2ps we had saved in our penny jar. I remember feeling embarrassed, but even at the age of say 10 or 11, I noticed how the person serving in the shop was always more embarrassed than we were. We regularly loaned our birthday or christmas money to our parents to buy essentials. School shoes were worn until and after the soles had holes in - my parents refused to compromise on foot health so we were very lucky to have one pair of clarkes fitted shoes every year, so they did last quite well. Dinner money for school lunches was always a difficulty as we were not eligible for free school meals (unbelievably!) sometimes it would be 70p or less, which in 2001 wouldn't buy much! At one point there was just no money left, and I took a Pokemon card to school instead, knowing it was a 'rare' one, and got £1.50 for it. I asked mum for dinner money the next day, and she said she didn't have any but could I sell another Pokemon card? I said yes, knowing full well I didn't have any more that were 'rare' and other kids would buy. If I had any dinner money left I would always re-cycle it for dinner money the next day for either myself of my siblings depending on who had less. I also remember my mum's abject horror when I was at Primary school and told a friend's mum that I couldn't come over or go to a netball match because my mum didn't have any petrol for the 3 mile trip. Hospital appointments were always a nightmare because the carparks were so expensive - one day when my mum had quite a serious appointment, someone gave them their pre-paid ticket on the way out and that simple act of kindness literally saved the day.

My money struggles didn't end with childhood. When I had finished my A-levels I got a job to try and save up for university. I had got AAB at A-level and was determined to go, but things like needing a laptop and paying £400 rent in advance were unimaginable for my parents to afford. I was earning £10k a year in my office job, which I topped up by £500 by cleaning the office and bathrooms each day. I tried to split the meagre amount between travel costs, housekeeping money for my mum, and the 'girlfriend tax' incurred by dating a girl who had a plush job in London. I was also trying to get my driving license before uni, so lessons where bleeding me dry. At this time my dad was off work with clinical depression and money was uncertain. I remember the 3 weeks before my first payday were the longest of my life - I had just enough cash saved up for the £2 a day bus fair, but that was it. My family were struggling to make ends meet and it was awful, with everyone waiting for my first payday. I couldn't afford to buy the sandwiches that everyone else ordered at work so I took my own lunch. I made a bag of rice, 5 slices of ham and a handfull of frozen peas last 2 weeks before the hallowed first payday. It felt embarrassing as we had to eat at our desks and it was clear for all to see how poor we were. When I finally got paid, I went to sainsburys after work, lugged as much shopping back as I could and gave it to my mum.

When I went to univeristy in 2007, needless to say I struggled without parental contribution. I worked a lot of hours to cover my expenses, and not in the usual bar job that most students do. I had a serious and stressful job (the one that I do full time now actually) and worked antisocial hours. I was warned by university staff several times not to do so many hours as it was against the rules - they just looked embarrassed when I told them it was a choice between working and finishing uni, or working less, being evicted and not finishing. My parents were the gaurentors for my student house and there was no way I could let that bounce onto them. I now wave my First Class Honours degree certificate proudly, knowing I earned it more than just academically. I now cannot eat asda 9p noodles though!
I have to add that I too nicked the industrial sized loo rolls from university... I used a hair pin to jiggle the catch on the lock on top of the dispenser, then removed my years supply of loo roll

As I mentioned at the top of this post (sorry, it seems enormous!) I have been struggling emotionally lately. The reason for this is because I have the necessary entry requirements, (hopefully) personality type and aptitude for hard work which is required for me to realise a dream and study medicine to be a doctor - but I can't simply because of money. Competition for places is usually 10 or 20-1 , and I have a very strong chance of getting in. But you need enough money in the bank to support yourself for 4 years without paid employment and also around 6,500 upfront for first years fees, not to mention you then take on a huge student loan for the rest of the fees. Because I have a degree, the rules are different on funding etc - meaning that once again only the rich can be doctors. I am now totally lost and don't know what to do with my life.
But reading through this thread, and dredging up my own humble background has made me realise that I need to just let it go - and I should consider myself lucky that I went to university in the first place and be proud that I have successfully navigated the financial maze of life so far.I hope that I can continue working my way through life and end up able to support my parents as soon as possible. I am the sort of person who will always offer to pay if the person in front of me in the queue hasn't got enough money for the items they are trying to buy, pass on parking tickets with time left on them, and leave money on the floor for someone else who needs it more than I do. Doctor or no Doctor - I can still try to be a worthwhile human being. So thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread, and given me my Eureka moment xxxx

midnight_sky

I used to buy value noodles, instant mash, cheese slices and tomato sauce and that would be my weekly shop. used to put tomato sauce in the mash to make it taste better. I can't even look at instant mash now and seemed to constantly have A cold don't think I was getting the right vitamins tbh.
This was before I had my daughter but I can remember a time when I haven't been able to send her to school because I had nothing to go in her packed lunch and didn't get money till the next day .