What is the poorest you have ever been?

iamthedoctor77

Right now would be a good example. Not entitled to JSA nor ESA. Stuck in a limbo of no money nor a fixed abode.

Smodlet

I believe :money: would back me on this. And I am totally with you, starting to get a bit of a creepy feeling about this... why would someone want to know the poorest we have ever been if they have never been there themselves??? Is this some kind of "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch or just run of the mill schadenfreude?

tallyhoh

1977, had a long spell in hospital & lost my job. Also ended up homeless as partner had moved someone else in our home (in his name). Couldn't get any benefits as I hadn't got an address. it lasted for 3 months.

Never been without savings from then on.

rockabillygirl

At one time I had just enough to feed my son but not myself.

unimaginative_user_name

As a language assistant in Paris at the end of the eighties in the middle of a public sector worker strike when I worked for three months without getting paid. I was down to one meal a day and the cheapest food I could possibly find and the bank I had paid my travellers cheques (remember those?) into managed to lose them so I had about 2 francs in the bank. I survived on a loan from my parents which hung over me for the whole year as they couldn't really afford it either at the time. I was lucky that I had heavily subsidised accommodation and a cheap cooked meal at school on the days I worked. After twelve weeks or so like this I happened to get into conversation with a union rep who worked at the same school as me who arranged a loan for me from school funds though that same day I received my first salary cheque so in the end I didn't need the school loan. It wasn't an easy time being in a foreign country with no savings. However I was fortunate in that I was neither cold nor homeless, just a little hungry at times, and it was only for three months.

Stevie_Palimo

Smodlet wrote: »

I believe :money: would back me on this. And I am totally with you, starting to get a bit of a creepy feeling about this... why would someone want to know the poorest we have ever been if they have never been there themselves??? Is this some kind of "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch or just run of the mill schadenfreude?

It's the proverbial bad penny yet again.

determined_new_ms

I've been poor on and of all my life. Grew up on a council estate with a mother with mh issues. Food, clothes and luxuries sparse but it was the 80s and was relatively normal to be poor.

Had 2 children as a teenager and was on benefits for a few years. That was probably the hardest, as then being under 21 meant I only received £49 a week to look after 2 children and run a house. Went to uni, started working and things gradually improved financially.

Almost a year ago I lost my job and my mother died on the same day, this after years of coping with stresses that came with my daughter developing a mh issue which culminated in us taking custody of our 1 yo gc, totally floored me. I had 4 months not working, took on a couple of pt jobs well below the level I have worked at previously , I just haven't been able to face the stress of my previous roles. Currently I earn between £180 - 300 pm. My partner is picking up the bills and I contribute weensy I can depending on what I earn. It has been hard going from earning £35k to begged all and I am looking for pt work but it's easier now than it was when I was younger

Time_to_face_the_music

Smodlet wrote: »

I believe :money: would back me on this. And I am totally with you, starting to get a bit of a creepy feeling about this... why would someone want to know the poorest we have ever been if they have never been there themselves??? Is this some kind of "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch or just run of the mill schadenfreude?

I think the poster is just a bit bored and looking to get people involved in various discussions that would possibly be better placed on social media or at least The Money Savers Arms section of MSE. Look at the other threads they have started:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/search.php?searchid=167360539

TTFTM x

lumpyspaceprincess

This is probably the first time I’ve not been _poor_, in the sense that I can afford to pay my debts of and will be able to enjoy a reasonable life once done. I grew up in a single parent house in a troubled area, where a lot of people were also the same. Never got any pocket money, went from school to a Modern Apprentice Scheme that gave me £40 for a 35 hour work week, £20 to my mum for rent, £10 for bus fares, and the rest was my spends. It felt like a lot, having £10 to myself every week!

I made a serious of dubious decisions after the FMA, so despite getting a decent job and making good progress, I was perpetually broke supporting one deadbeat ex after another, getting more and more in debt. I remember times of sitting in the dark and cold, going to bed in a woolly hat and coat as the wind billowed across the bedroom. I remember not having money for food but walking to work hoping someone was having a birthday and would bring sweets or cakes in, and snaffling bits to get me through the next day. Walking alone 2 miles to the club with £1 in my pocket meeting friends, being offered drinks by men taking a Lucozade every time, and popping it in my bag for later…. then jumping in a car with almost strangers as it was safer than walking back home at 4am.
(I feel I should say here, I’m only 33…. This was in 2001 – 2004!)

Roll on debt free date, and being able to start saving for ‘a rainy day’ for the first time ever!

MEM62

In material terms I was a my poorest in the spring of 1962. Butt naked, not a penny to my name and weighing in at 7.5Lbs.

In every other way I am fortunate enough to have always been rich.