'I paid for $1.00 worth of Ramen with a check at a grocery store. The check bounced.': Former broke people share the brokest things they did while living in poverty

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
May 9, 2025 4:00 PM EDT

We all have different definitions of "broke." I would argue that someone who makes $150,000 a year but has $150,000 in debt is pretty dang broke. I can also admit that someone with that amount of money coming in is probably not living a stereotypically "broke" existence as someone without any debt who's making $35,000 a year. Most of us think of being broke as more of a lifestyle than an income level: This lifestyle involves not eating as much as you should, neglecting to go to the doctor, and having no funds for fun. We all hope that being broke is only a temporary state of being, and when our income increases, we'll be able to forgo the frugal habits of our temporarily broke existence. However, before you can transcend brokenness, you have to do a lot of possibly demoralizing things that don't waste a penny. 

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  • One Redditor asked the people of r/povertyfinance about the brokest things they ever did. Some of them stole, lied, and got their cards declined in incredibly sad ways that make you hope and pray that they're in a totally different financial situation today. 

  • 01

    What’s the “brokest” thing you have ever done?

    I'll go first !! In my early 20s whenever my deodorant ran low, I would rub the little bits left on my armpits with my fingers. That gave me a good 1-2 weeks extra with that same deodorant. Babyyyyy I made it work!!
    via u/Hefty-Expert-750
  • 02
    Cheezburger Image 10503386368
    via Towfiqu barbhuiya

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 03
    Independent-Show1133 I didn't know absolutely anything about HVAC. Called two different companies both wanted me to change the whole outside unit for 4k+ cuz the motor was fried. Went on eBay, looked at some numbers on the old motor that seemed like serial numbers. Found it on eBay, opened the outside unit, took out the whole fan with the motor on it and banged it with a hammer to detach the fan, connected the wires color matching them to the old ones cuz it seemed reasonable, put it back on and
    via u/Independent-Show1133
  • 04
    BigFitMama I opened a food pantry on campus by starting an internship with a grant so I could have food. And share my scavenge effectively. It was for everyone. The single parents living in the tiny dorm rooms. The babies sleeping in closets. The homeless people in the woods. I'd already been dumpster diving and sharing so it became a great thing to put on my resume and a legacy for future students
    via u/BigFitMama
  • 05
    Iwhohaveknownnospam I worked as a waitress and ate the food off the plates I bussed. I'd even pull it out of the trash idgaf. Had just been kicked out of my folks place so all my money was for bills and gas.
    via u/Iwhohaveknownnospam
  • 06
    Franklyn_Gage I lived a couple of blocks down from a big funeral home in college. Like they hosted multiple funerals a day. Well, I ended losing my full time job at Winn Dixie and couldnt find a new one right away. So i would look up the obits, learn small things about the deceased and then go to the funeral so I could attend the repass and eat.
    via u/Franklyn_Gage
  • 07
    Cheezburger Image 10503386624
    via Diana Light (Unsplash+)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 08
    There was 1 man who didn't have his obit written and I attended. There was not a single soul there. I stayed the entire 3 hours and went to the burial. The funeral director came up to me as I was leaving the burial and said "I guess you dont just come for the food, huh?". I was so embarrassed. But i told the man the truth and apologized. He offered me a receptionist job, which i took...and I still got the leftovers. Win win if you ask me.
    via u/Franklyn_Gage
  • 09
    Edit: A few asked about having a funeral with no one there and how that was possible. I remember asking the funeral director about this. He stated that the guy had a prepaid funeral plan with burial plot from the late 80s. He was in a home for a few years and appointed a "guardian?" to handle his affairs. The guardian set up the funeral and put the obit in the newspaper (this was 2007) hoping to see if any family would attend.
    via u/Franklyn_Gage
  • 10
    Itchy_Aide7408 Ate bags of frozen veggies for lunch so my kids could have sandwiches for theirs.
    via u/Itchy_Aide7408
  • 11
    bestcrispair When I was a broke flight attendant, I would actually ask the maids for extra toiletries rather than swipe them. They hooked me up, sometimes bringing me a Ziploc bag full of various stuff. I also loaded up on dry cereals if they had a breakfast buffet that crew had access to, as well as other non perishable food. I wasn't proud, but my roommate had moved out with no notice and I was left scrambling financially. It was brutal, but I made it.
    via u/bestcrispair
  • 12
    jesusgaaaawdleah I've had sleep for dinner pretty often. Sometimes it's just better to go to sleep.
    via u/jesusgaaaawdleah
  • 13
    Cheezburger Image 10503386880
    via Shane

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 14
    III_Reception_4660 Toilet paper for pads. Walking around the office looking for various candy bowls to eat something. Different soaps (dish, laundry, body, etc) get rotated if one is out and the budget is low.
    via u/III_Reception_4660
  • 15
    Hefty-Expert-750 OP Now the toliet paper for pads !!! I can relate !! That stuff should be FREE but that's a conversation for another day.
    via u/Hefty-Expert-750
  • 16
    So-Durty When there were big meetings at work they would always put the leftover catered sandwiches in the fridge. I'd purposely stay late cause I didn't want to ask in front of everyone. I'd take them home for lunch or dinner for the week. Always used the bathroom at work one more time before leaving because I'd tell myself saving one flush at home saved money over time.
    via u/So-Durty
  • 17
    Remote-Impact3040 Back in the day when pizza hut & domino's accepted checks, we knew about how long it would take them to deposit & hit my acct. I'd write a check to pay for pizza delivered & we ate that until end of week when paycheck hit.
    via u/Remote-Impact3040
  • 18
    Kafkabest Snuck into a gym to take a shower.
    via u/Kafkabest
  • 19
    sheatim Made bread soup for dinner. Stale bread, water, and a bay leaf. The next day I found a can of tomatoes. I was rich! Had bread soup with tomatoes!
    via u/sheatim
  • 20
    avehicled Paid for $1.00 worth of Ramen with a check at a grocery store. The check bounced.
    via u/avehicled
  • 21
    iluvpotions Like two weeks ago, my card declined on a bottle of water. $0.30. I just apologized to the cashier and walked away in shame Imao.
    via u/iluvpotions
  • 22
    san323 I ate pancakes for about 2 weeks for every meal until I got paid again.
    via u/san323
  • 23
    NahikuHana Wrote some bad checks and skipped town. I was a young single mom who couldn't catch a break, needed to leave and didn't have any money. This was in the 1970s Everyone took checks still. I went to several grocery stores and wrote checks for over the amount, after buying a few necessities, took the cash, got a bus out of town and never went back. Yes it did f
    via u/NahikuHana
  • 24
    being able to open a bank account for awhile, and no I didn't have a credit card as we women weren't yet allowed to get credit cards in our own names, I was running from my ab er, and knew that restraining order wasn't going to to stop him. The amounts were small enough that the law wasn't interested in pursuing me.
    via u/NahikuHana
  • 25
    Miskatonic_Graduate Battery ran too low on my piece of junk car. Couldn't afford tow truck. I carried the battery a mile to my apartment, recharged it for several hours, then carried it back to the parking lot where I'd left the car. It worked, I got the car home again.
    via u/Miskatonic_Graduate
  • 26
    Cyclopsroxxx Involuntary fast for 6 days
    via u/Cyclopsroxxx
  • 27
    Laurels_Night Walked 8 miles in the Caribbean sun/humidity to and from work so I could save my bus money plus change I found on the ground for a piece of chicken for dinner.
    via u/Laurels_Night
  • 28
    rethinkingfutures I stole a bridesmaids dress for my friend's wedding. I actually returned it secretly to the same spot the day after the wedding because I felt so bad.
    via u/rethinkingfutures

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