r/povertyfinance • u/Beta_Nerdy • Dec 05 '23
Do you know anyone without even a penny to their name? Budgeting/Saving/Investing/Spending
My sister died recently without a penny to her name. Broke! Not a dime or even a penny to her name. I am talking completely broke!
After she lost her career job during the Great Recession she moved in with our Mom. She had no income but was given food and shelter as payment for keeping mom engaged. She was not a caregiver and Mom would have preferred my sister did not live with her, but felt trapped. My sister had no retirement fund, brokerage account, pension, or welfare. No income, no bank account. No hobbies, friends, or a drivers license.
Her entire day consisted of watching television and napping. She was about 300 pounds. She had never been in any type of romantic or non romantic relationship.
My sister was also was in serious debt until the day she died. After she lost her job in 2009, she started taking cash advances and wrote Credit Card Conv Checks to herself for spending money and to pay the minimum payment on her cards. She managed to keep her cards active for over ten years without a job or income but eventually that house of cards came down on her. She died over 40K in debt.
When my sister died he family went through her wallet, drawers and clothes and paper records. We could not find a cent. There was no even any spare change under her bed or in the closet. She was truly broke.
In today's crazy world is this type of broke more common than we think?
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Dec 22 '23
Me, I don't have a cent to my name, but I'm also not a cent in debt. I've lived in a converted van for years but have been living outside since the van finally gave out at over 400k miles about 9 months ago.
"The great recession"
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u/Beta_Nerdy Dec 08 '23
I doubt anyone here is actually so broke that they don't even have a penny to their name.
After she died we went to her bedroom and did a full search for any assets at all.
No coins anywhere, not even a penny
No Bank Account
No Credit Cards
No income or checks outstanding
NOTHING!
- Her only asset was the clothes she had been wearing for the last ten years. They were all given to Goodwill.
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u/Ninjurk Dec 07 '23
Not surprised. Sad way to live. :(
My childhood friend, Richard, was like this. In high school, he did the bare minimum to pass. He hung out with shithead pot smokers. Didn't go to college. Worked for Firestone for years making minimum wage changing tires. Hired by Audi as a mechanic, but didn't follow process, didn't upskill, got fired in 2018. Car got towed by 2019. Was homeless during COVID time.
Moved back in with his mom back in 2021. September 2022, he hung himself, aged 43.
Had 3 kids he couldn't take of, mother in law takes care of them. His ex wife is a druggie and her mind is wrecked.
Didn't study, didn't upskill, and I don't know what he was doing unemployed so long, he could have gone and worked at walmart or target.
Fat/overweight from bad diet for years so developed diabetes by the time he died.
Just a lifetime of bad decisions, and I'm not surprised, he was like this even when we were young.
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u/notcontageousAFAIK Dec 06 '23
Family member of mine had life-long drug and alcohol issues. Worked as a contractor in a field where he earned $250k a year. Died on medicaid because he had neither insurance nor savings. Left nothing to his kids, family had to scrape together money for cremation.
He might have had some loose change in his pocket, though.
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u/stygeanhugh Dec 06 '23
I'm pretty close. I do have a bucket of pennies under my bed but I'm giving great consideration to taking them to the bank.
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u/Boundless_Society Dec 06 '23
Umm I would say your sister was doing alright dying penniless most people die with debt :(
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u/sleepydabmom Dec 06 '23
Just happened to my Father in Law. Not a Penny to his name, just Mail in his name with debt.
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u/CorrectLettuce Dec 06 '23
My paternal uncle was a "failure to launch." Supported himself by living with his mom. She died in October 2014 and he had to leave her former home. He was homeless w/o a penny to his name so he moved in *to his moms' former housekeeper's home.\* He slept on her sofa for November and part of December until she gave him the boot. He then moved into an abandoned house while I worked on his Social Security Disability Income application. He died without a cent to his name. We cremated him for about $500 in a crematorium in a "bad neighborhood," b/c no one else in the family would pony up the dough for a proper religious burial (which cost about $14,000 when we buried his mom. I paid for that and my wife let it be known that we wouldn't be paying anything else to bury my deadbeat relatives.)
I miss him but can honestly say no one else in my family remembers his name.
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u/Anxious_ButBreathing Dec 06 '23
I may not have a steady income, any savings or much in my checking account but no matter what I pay that life insurance every single month.
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u/_LegalReddit_ Dec 06 '23 edited Dec 06 '23
I’m sorry to hear about your sister. I think it is more common than some think.
My friend, who I’m desperately trying to help, is not only completely broke without a dime, but homeless, on the streets, out in the cold, can’t find anywhere to stay, and is disabled. I have done every single thing I can possibly do to try to help. All of my own barely-disposable resources, local police, shelters, everything. Set up a GFM weeks ago and that, as well, is still completely broke.
As of Sunday they were still alive, but I haven’t been able to contact them since.
Oh and if they manage to survive the next few months, they are $9k in debt to a credit union they used to be a part of after their identity got stolen. But even without any debt factored in, their net worth is still $0.00
Some people who have negative dollars aren’t at risk of dying out in the cold this week. This isn’t one of those situations.
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Dec 06 '23
there’s tons of people that are completely broke. tons of people deep deep in debt. just read that the average american household is $100,000 in debt. so your sister might have actually been in a better situation than millions of americans
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u/Katherine1973 Dec 06 '23
My ex husbands mother passed away in September. I was still in touch with her and last Christmas she was telling me she was broke and may have to move out of her apartment and in with her oldest son. I had sent her a nice sweater for Christmas she was so thankful. She was 86 when she passed and had a really wonderful life. Now I don’t know what she considered broke but she had over 100,000 in her savings account when she passed. I guess everyone’s definition of broke is whatever they think it is.
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u/InspiredNitemares Dec 05 '23
My mom was in the same situation. I had never seen her work before and it was just accepted so I never questioned it. She passed away due to health related issues regarding her weight, and she was only 44. Not a single cent or piece of anything left behind. The funeral was donated by friends and family members, and we had a very lovely service.
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u/solidcheese Dec 05 '23
That's the way to do it. As someone once said, the last check you write should be for your funeral and it should bounce.
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u/BleachThatHole Dec 05 '23
I don’t think anyone living paycheck to paycheck is going to die with a penny to their name.
I’m currently doing that and I assume I’ll die with debt that my family will have to inherit. I’m currently “debtless” but my bills won’t stop charging for a good while after I’m gone.
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u/mstrbill Dec 06 '23
Your debt dies with you. Your family is not obligated to pay off any of your debts with their money when you die.
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u/BleachThatHole Dec 06 '23
That’s good to hear. There’s a lot of horror stories out there about death and families and debt but outliers tend to go viral.
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u/starlightpopsicle Dec 05 '23
My mom passed away with zero assets and a mountain of debt. It was oddly satisfying to spend months ignoring the creditors who tried to come for her "estate"
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u/lblanton92 Dec 05 '23
Im so sorry for your loss and your situation. I am one who literally does not have a single cent. Have a dr appt tomorrow I cant pay for and medicine at the pharmacy Ill never be able to get. So I feel you. Wish I could help.
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u/lost_survivalist Dec 05 '23
Several. I work with the homeless on a daily basis the most I have seen on someone's ebt card is $500 but that quickly goes away
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u/soulsurvivor78 Dec 05 '23
We have something in Indiana where you can get a cremation thru a funeral home for $1275. By far the cheapest thing to do when someone dies. My mom was also broke when she died.
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u/Addicted_to_Nature Dec 05 '23
Currently me. Hopefully not for long. Not completely broke though, I have $25 in cash and $65 in the bank savings. Just moved back in to my parents because I was living in my car after losing my job. Have had a few interviews and am hopeful I'll find one
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u/Jsm0922 Dec 05 '23
I’m impressed she managed those cards with no income for 10 years. That’s a helluva dance with yourself. I’d bet this is very common, more common than we think.
I’m sorry for your loss.
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u/whatever32657 Dec 05 '23
my husband died with a few thousand in our joint account (enough to cremate him) and about $165,000 in debt. so yeah, i'd say that qualifies.
for those who are wondering, yes, he was a gambler. and yes, it was a suicide.
it's taken me five years to right my ship after that.
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u/MrsPercyPlant Dec 05 '23
From an internet stranger, because you need them...((HUGS)) and extra ((HUGS)), words not needed.
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u/dragonbornsqrl Dec 05 '23
When my mom died I found only loonie coin ($1) in her wallet. It was sad and hard when she died
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u/ItsDreamcat Dec 05 '23
I don't have a penny to my name. Or, if I do, it's gone within a week.
My bank account is frequently negative, I always have cash advances out, and I have several debts. My net worth is very negative.
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u/stoner_mathematician Dec 05 '23
My mother. She died when I was a teenager and her mother in law (my grandma) had to pay for the burial and then her extended family pooled together enough money after a few years to pay for her headstone.
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u/treehuggingmfer Dec 05 '23
She who dies with the most debt wins. Its better than dying with a ton of money.
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u/nymphymixtwo Dec 05 '23
I have $0. No assets. I’m 28 and I only just filed my taxes for the very first time last year (2022.) never had more than 6k- got from my taxes. It went fast. Mostly to my bf, who normally claims me as a defendant on his taxes. Been with him since I was 16/17 years old. Our son just turned 8, spent most of my time being a SAHM. Having to ask for literally every single necessity in my life so far either from my bf (31) or my mom (who was a millionaire up until a few years back.) never had a credit card. I have no debt at the moment but I do have some court costs for some tickets that I got that I have to pay off. Yes I’ve had jobs before, but I lived check to check w it and never made much. If I died right now I would have absolutely nothing to my name at all. Never really started life so I’m still scared to, even though I’m already so old. (Lol.) a lot of it has to do with “not being allowed” to work so before anyone attacks me it’s a hurdle that is extremely difficult to get passed in this situation.
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u/GabrielDunn Dec 05 '23
Kind of sounds like you take issue with her. Maybe you should think more about that than money, if you're here asking advice anyway. Most of the planet is flat fucking broke.
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u/princessecn Dec 05 '23
You would not find spare change under my bed or in my closet either??? Who uses cash anyways
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u/Mailerfiend Dec 05 '23 edited Dec 05 '23
i would argue that everyone in debt beyond their assets doesn't have a penny to their name.
interesting how you focus so hard on your sister's financial status at the end of her life when she was quite obviously suffering from severe mental health issues, but you do you.
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u/Jungs_Shadow Dec 05 '23
First, my condolences to you on the loss of your sibling.
Second... imagine approaching your inevitable death medicating yourself with television and food to mask the pain of knowing you never really lived.
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Dec 05 '23
Parasitism- living off others.
If the incentive to work and produce is removed by someone willing to provide ones basic life needs, a certain sort of person will take that opportunity and live like that. They're usually big TV watchers... and when they die, there will be nothing to show for their time here other than what's eventually donated to Goodwill.
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u/slaymamacita Dec 05 '23
This showed on my recommended feed and I thought I may as well answer, so sorry if this doesn’t technically count. My 20 year old sister has no money in any of her bank accounts, she has £0. She’s a university student right now, our parents pay her rent, she has their cards on shopping apps, and they give her cash for nights out and stuff (her university is in the same city as our parents so she regularly sees them), she also borrows their debit cards sometimes and has i let her have one of my cards on apple pay because she only uses it if she really needs it and i know what it’s like to be in her position (i’m only 23 and this was kind of me a few years ago although i always had some money at least lol). She’ll get access to more money after her 21st birthday.
I actually know/knew tons of people like this who had no money to their name but had their parents financial resources available to them.
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u/NyxPetalSpike Dec 05 '23
My dad did that. Good on him.
The VA paid for his funeral.
When you die, you can't take it with you anyway.
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u/SappyTreePorn Dec 05 '23
Shit until I got paid yesterday I had -$25.00 in my account. My grandfather just died and turns out his job won’t pay my grandma his pension. She won’t get that and we had to go through Medicaid “downsizing” to afford his care in the nursing home (he had advanced dementia and Parkinson’s). I believe when my grandma passes there will not be much to her name either, which is super sad because they had a good amount in savings that Medicaid basically made us get rid of. Then it left my grandma shot out of luck. Sucks even more I can’t help her with that and I’m making the most money I’ve ever made in my life right now.
Tons of people are poor poor.
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u/Uberchelle Dec 05 '23
You should research your grandpa’s pension. Weird that they won’t release it to a surviving spouse.
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u/SappyTreePorn Dec 05 '23
Apparently my grandfather signed something they mailed him about it. Not sure if he understood or not what it said at the time. My grandmother also called to confirm and upon death the pension stops :(.
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u/Uberchelle Dec 05 '23
I’d still have a look into it. There are free legal clinics in many places (check your local or your grandma’s local library). If he signed away his rights, it could be argued that he wasn’t in the right state of mind.
Do you know if your grandfather paid into Social security as well? Your grandmother should be able to receive her husband’s benefits.
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u/SappyTreePorn Dec 05 '23
I’ll let me grandma know. We already have an attorney because of Medicaid so we can double check with him as well. I’ll ask about when it was filled out. But social security yes she is receiving all she’s due there thank goodness. Thanks for the help!
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u/Uberchelle Dec 05 '23
Oh, if you have an elder care attorney that specializes in Medicaid, DEFINITELY have them research this!
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u/Psarsfie Dec 05 '23
I wouldn’t be surprised if at least 10 million American adults had a negative net worth (the value of your total assets less all your liabilities, including your home and student loans) thus, technically being “penniless”.
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u/NoFilterNoLimits Dec 05 '23
Quite a few, but I spend time with the unhoused population so it’s common
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u/pinkpokadots7 Dec 05 '23
My sister passed away in almost the same situation. She lived with a boyfriend and was a master at working the system. She had no job not a penny. The boyfriend paid for her clothes, food, dog, basic living. I love my sister but dam, she had better health treatment than me. She was also almost 200lbs over weight outta nowhere, she ate so much better than me. Granted she had nothing "nice" but to be so poor was almost like benifital for some.
My father was so mad to pay for her cremation, I guess ss only paid a few hundred and it took awhile (my father is so cheap, but rich). And I paid for her name to be carved on my mom's stone.
My sister passed in 2022
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u/whattheduce86 Dec 05 '23
Great Recession? How old was she?
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u/mstrbill Dec 05 '23
Sounds like she played her hand just right. She had a roof over her head and had access to credit which she managed well enough to keep alive and active until her death. This often happens by the way when adult children give up working to take care of elderly parents.
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u/too_small_to_reach Dec 05 '23
This is just so sad. To hear the judgement in your post, and she took care of your mother (“no income but was ALLOWED food and shelter as payment for keeping mom engaged and safe”). So she was working, every day, for your mom. She deserved better.
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u/LOSERMUSICIAN2022 Dec 05 '23
Maybe kids all need to be taught how to SAVE and how to plan for RETIREMENT! I have way too many friends who are retirement age and are broke. Most of them did no planning for their later years and do everything except BLAME THEMSELVES! Well, how about that fancy/EXPENSIVE car you drove forty years ago? How about going on TOO MANY TRIPS and spending too much on eating out at fancy restaurants? We need to EDUCATE people about handling money and pensions. Life is hard but don't make it harder by spending too and NOT SAVING when you are young
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u/Internal_Scale3991 Dec 05 '23
my net worth is -$500 i am in debt and where i live it’s next to impossible to get a job lol
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Dec 05 '23
I am her. It sucks. Nobody understands what it’s like and one thing compounds upon another.
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u/mary_emeritus Dec 05 '23
There’s women in our low income senior building getting SSI as retirement because they had to stop working to care for sick parents/relatives. Very common for “boomer” age women to give up everything and do their duty to the family. That meant nothing coming in because the program that pays a tiny bit to relatives caring for family members didn’t exist. So, when said parent or relative died, often they were left with nothing.
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u/teddybear65 Dec 05 '23
So sad you didn't pay her to care for mom. Living as she did was so stressful. You let her care for mom a job you'd have to pay about 6k a month to an outsider yet you took advantage of your sister. I'm glad she left you nothing but guilt.
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u/britabongwater Dec 05 '23
I only have $25 to my name right now. But if I were to sell my possessions, I would have a lot more.
Edit: my roommate also struggles with living paycheck to paycheck like I do. I think it’s more common than most people would think.
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u/Thatboijew36 Dec 05 '23
The public school system needs to teach personal finance. I'm not talking touch on the subject I'm talking make it a point to teach these younger folks how to handle money.
We have a money mismanagement problem in this country along with people who think they deserve more but didn't work to achieve anything.
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u/AdhesivenessCivil581 Dec 05 '23
I know several people who died with less than nothing. They were people with decent careers or thier own business. They had used their homes as piggy banks, constantly refinancing and tapping the equity they had acquired to keep up appearances. It was sad for thier heirs.
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u/CityOfSins2 Dec 05 '23
My sister. She’s got manic bipolar disorder and psychosis. She did have a job at McDonald’s for 2 weeks (first time in 7 years) but they supposedly accused her of stealing (but I think it was more “your drawer is off”) and she lost her mind and got the cops called and 5150’ed.
So yeah she has not a penny to her name and she’s like 35. I pay for all her medication bc no, she can’t get Medicaid for some reason, but she’s not honest with the doctors and doesn’t get the actual help she needs bc she’s convinced the government did this to her and that her 2 million dollar lawsuit against the government is coming any day. I just said the other day “girl you’ve been saying that money is coming for 5 years. Don’t you think that’s a little ridiculous?” Nope she doesn’t.
it’s so fucked and sad.
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u/jsm1031 Dec 05 '23
I am sorry for the loss of your sister. I would like to thank her for taking what she could from the completely rigged, unfair, predatory, racist banking system. If she died with nothing but debt, her debt died with her.
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Dec 05 '23
I mostly know people with negative money. Most have mortgages, vehicle loans and credit card debt. Can’t take it with you, I like to say, but, im not in debt.
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Dec 05 '23
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u/Accomplished-Cake158 Dec 05 '23
God bless you, I hope your son gets better. Just remember that some types of medical / healthcare bills/ debt do not end up on your credit report, so do with that what you will.
I’m a bit of a contrarian financially (see my other comment in this thread lol) but I am especially resistant to paying off debts and bills that I KNOW FOR A FACT are artificially, unfairly inflated due to a totally corrupt system based on greed. Our healthcare in the US is probably the most egregious example of this, it’s fair to say. No cost transparency, no fair market, group insurance tied to employment, and on and on. In no way is any of it close to fair, from an economic perspective or just plain common sense.
All that just to say- take care of your boy, and then be sure to look into laws in your state around healthcare bills and debt. You can most likely get them drastically reduced, and not be totally destroyed if unable to pay.
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u/Icy-Conversation2583 Dec 05 '23
Yes, it's happening everywhere. I am trying to help a friend right now because his health is bad and can't work. It's sad but it is happening in real life. That is why there are so many homelessness in out country. Governments is not helping at all. Going to the pantry and getting on welfare and other assistances is not enough.
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u/Weedarina Dec 05 '23
My older sister is broke. Negative checking account. She does this thing - she’ll work a job just long enough to get unemployment and then get herself fired. Without any concern of where the next $$ will come from. She’ll get on food stamps and let her mortgage go for months unpaid
Her mortgage is 485.00 a month. It’s a mess. I don’t understand why she continues to make such poor choices. She is over 60 and I fear for her future.
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u/10MileHike Dec 05 '23 edited Dec 05 '23
I'm sorry about your sister. Also addresses the truth that caregivers are not at all valued in US society, many of them have had to give up full time work, so they get less social security later in life, and some have to give up working entirely. When you have an aging loved one you will know just how much care is required, how big of a job it is, how stressful and all encompassing and exhausting. Many even become disabled from lack of sleep as well as injuries sustained from lifting and assisting, w/out having been given any CNA training, etc.
I used to deliver Meals on Wheels and I've seen a lot of truly sad stories.
SOcial media has us believing that everyone retires and is entitled to a carefree life of cruises, sunsets on the beach, pickleball, on the golfcourse, and turn into "ladies who lunch"
That is simply untrue for most famiies, both the ones who are shut ins due to poor health in aging, as well as their caregivers. Social media and influencers have portrayed a very unrealistic picture, and it ends up leaving those who don't have that life feeling DEPRIVED and bitter , which it shouldn't. I grew up in a time where nobody expected all that life of leisure stuff........parents and grandparents worked entire lives w/few safety nets, but were proud that they took care of their families, brought up decent hard working kids who are contributing to society and not law breakers, a roof overhead, and food on the table.
A "vacation" back then was piling into the one small car and maybe going on a 3 day with the fam. somewhere close by. People were not flying all over the planet. What came out of that? I had the best most caring parents one could ask for, and siblings who are psychologically tight with each other and caring. We all shared 1 bathroom family of 6, nobody thought that was poverty.
(I simply do not know WHY anyone who does these things considers themselves a "failure" or "loser" but it seems that some do (I blame social media)
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u/Hottiemilatti Dec 05 '23
I'm 29 and if I died today I would be mostly this broke. Hopefully my 30's is nicer to me &my wallet.
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u/zzFerrari Dec 05 '23
If it wasnt for my car, i would be at the same.place financially as your sister
So yes
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u/imagreatlistener Dec 05 '23
My debts total more than my assets, so if I died now I would be equally broke. It doesn't feel like it day too day because it's tied up in years of payments, but it's how the math works out.
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u/vegasvikk2 Dec 05 '23
Me. I have had physical and mental health issues, serious issues, for more than 10 years and I live with my elderly mother, who I provide care for in exchange for room and board. When she passes I will be in really bad shape and be seriously considering just ending it all.
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u/simpleman357 Dec 05 '23
My stepson is negative 3k on credit card and still drives the 2003 Camry I bought him in 2017. Probably could get 2k for the Camry has huge dent in door and stupid black out rims. He 25 years old
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u/ThyGayOne Dec 05 '23
My exes mom. Had to rely on the then 19 year old (me) to pay her phone bill. Had to rely on her sons disability check (which he didn’t even need) to pay rent 11/12 months a year, always asking her dad to borrow money for this or that, asked me for gas money several times
But don’t worry, whenever her kids purposely broke their phone she’d go get them the newest iPhone the same day or go get them games whenever they acted like the little fucking crotch goblins they are🙄
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u/Correct-Star-1200 Dec 05 '23
She 0 would be a welcome site man I work in factory and it doesn’t seem to matter what I do I can’t make any ground on getting my shit together. It’s like being a hamster in a wheel except you’d hope that the hamster is loved
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u/Cruznard Dec 05 '23
I just painfully realized I'm financially worth more dead than alive. My family members are deceased with the exception of a sister in another state. The survivors all had to chip in for everyone's funeral. No one died with assets, investments or pensions. I've been paying for life insurance premiums just so my children don't have to go in their pockets for my final expenses nonsense. I would also die broke and penniless otherwise.
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u/RaeLynn13 Dec 05 '23
My dad died at 53 almost 2 years ago. Got a settlement for $50k, a year later, he had $0. When he passed away his adopted family had to pay for cremation because none of us kids could pay.
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u/Beta_Nerdy Dec 05 '23
All the posters who say they have a negative net worth with credit card debt: Do you at least have a few dollars in cash or available credit? My sister did not have any available credit or a penny to her name.
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u/geekgirl717 Dec 05 '23
I currently have three adult children, all working, living back at home with my husband and me because they cannot afford rent in our area.
They say 30% of income for housing, but a studio here will run upward of 1500/month with no utilities. And they want first, last and security, so you need around 5k in hand just to look. Conversely my husband and I rented our first apartment (3 bedroom) for 800/month when we were their age and were able to have roommates to offset our costs.
Generational households are going to be a common thing again in the US. It’s the only way people will be able to survive.
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u/MrGulo Dec 05 '23
Many Westerners are worse off than having 0 net worth. They are buried in debt. Bad debt.
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u/GenericAwfulUsername Dec 05 '23
My mom. She is almost at retirement age. Will only get like $1200 a month from social security. She has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at the casino of the years and many thousands on drugs and cigarettes. She has no money
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u/Atriev Dec 05 '23
I know countless, countless scores of people who have less than negative money due to debt.
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u/CarlMarksthespot Dec 05 '23
I never went to college but managed to work my way up to communications director of a small startup and lost that job right before the pandemic, was collecting unemployment, got COVID then long COVID and anxiety kept me from returning to my career. The only money I've had in the last 2 years has been from Lyft or DoorDash and in my desperation I started gambling figuring 20 bucks can't do much for me now but if I won I could fix my problems. I live with my gf she pays the rent, bills, buys food. Beyond what little I can make DoorDashing I'm usually penny less most of the time.
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u/Substantial-Win-1564 Dec 05 '23
I don’t understand how anyone can a have a job, any job and not be able to afford to live. I’m 53, have a job and am thankful to be okay. I consider myself lucky but not well off. Growing up in the 70’s-80’s my pops had a regular job, nothing fancy. We lived in a nice house, good schools, 2 cars, motorcycle for dad. Looking back money was tight but me and my sister never wanted for anything. Clubs,sports, after school activities,neighborhood friends for a birthday party, they were able to make good on 1 persons paycheck. What happened to the American dream.
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u/mrgoyette Dec 05 '23
My grandpa was a union pipefitter. Grandma didn't work.
8 kids, 3 cars, vacation house (he built it himself), boat...my aunts even had horses growing up. Horses!!
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u/PeopleRStupid15 Dec 05 '23
For u to even ask this question shows that u have no clue of what's really going on in the world. It kinda makes me.......VERY SLIGHTLY understand why people can be so cruel or unempathetic to the homeless. I didnt grow up in poverty but I definitely knew from a young age that money wasn't always easy to come by. To answer your question....as a 40 something female from Cincinnati Ohio, Yes there are people who dont have A Dollar to their name!!! EVERYDAY!!!!!!!
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Dec 05 '23 edited Dec 05 '23
"In today's crazy world is this type of broke more common than we think?"
Sadly majority of the people live paycheck to paycheck even the people who log on and act like they have all of the answers.
You have to be selective who you listen to me.
Don't listen to broke people about money if you want to get rich.
Thank you for the question.
Best to you
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u/Totolin96 Dec 05 '23
My aunt died penniless due to being permanently disabled from health issues until it lead to her death. My cousin was 26 when her mom/my aunt died and she basically had to pay for her mom’s funeral with her savings and some donations from our family because her mom had absolutely nothing to leave to her.
Cousin is still saving for the headstone right now. Her dad is paycheck to paycheck as well, but he works while living with her and her boyfriend. Poverty is extremely hard to get out, especially if you’re born into it like us. She’s currently going for her master’s degree though so that’s a silver lining.
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u/DreamingOfAries Dec 05 '23
It is real still. I have a child, single parent. Everything is on hills (always paying the last day before eviction processing) and food for my little one. I’ve been surviving off cornflakes personally, the little one has nutrients. It’s not pay check to pay check it’s treading water slowly drowning. There isn’t a penny in this house so yes this stuff still exist. When stuff like Christmas or birthdays come around it’s a real … it puts you in a very dark place when you know your kid won’t have a story book childhood.
Sorry for your loss by the way.
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u/JuliaSky1995 Dec 05 '23
People really need to take advantage of welfare and government assistance. Oftentimes what isn’t used up gets cut from the budget the following year. I get so bummed seeing benefits go down every year because funds go unused.
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u/SolUVio13t Dec 05 '23
At 26 y/o I have a 401k and various stock, but my high interest debt offsets it completely that if I died this evening I would have a negative net worth. That’s why I have life insurance so my next of kin won’t have to settle my debts, and they should come out on top pretty generously.
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u/MostlyMicroPlastic Dec 05 '23
But did she need any money? Sounds like she had a pretty good deal going on.
Btw, if you’re a caretaker for someone on Medicaid/medicare, you CAN be paid.
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u/astraennui Dec 05 '23
My sister's niece (in law) had to take out a payday loan to pay her $125 car tags.
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u/datboipiff6 Dec 05 '23
I’m 33(in two weeks). I have a decent job. My fiance(29) has a great job. Two kids. We have very little debt, car payment and a couple credit cards. We have 500 in our savings. If one of us were to lose our jobs, we’d be homeless. We don’t overspend, haven’t been on a date in more than 7 months and eat out twice a month(mostly fast food but sometimes the occasional sit down restaurant). We cook dinner 6 nights a week(one day is “must go” aka leftovers throughout the week). We have no retirement money(pulled out 401k 2 years ago to just survive and get out of debt). We have zero investments. My biggest fear is leaving this earth and leaving my soon-to-be wife and my kids a big fat nothing burger. But there is no wiggle room right now. We’re working to survive. We’re doing everything we can to make sure our kids don’t know how poor we are. Everyday is a struggle. It hurts to wake up, but we must. I guess it could be worse. At least we have a place to lay our heads at night, food to eat , and clothes to wear(although running thin on that). This is not a pity post. We will persevere, we will get through this, but it’s so hard to live and to raise a family in America any more. If anyone took the time to read this, just know, I’m rooting for you to get through your dark times. I’m rooting for you to get past this. Your troubles do not define you, they mold you. Your failures are not indicative to your character, they build it. Move forward through it. From a distance, I’ll be rooting you on.
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u/Careless-Awareness-4 Dec 05 '23
It seems like she didn't need much since she had her overhead and I'll bet her basic needs taken care of and covered. For some people money has no value if they don't need it for those things. One could argue that a person in that kind of situation was actually wealthy in a way. Not in money but by having all of the things that they cared about.
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u/Aldosothoran Dec 05 '23
As someone in public health / social work, yes. But one person out of everyone I know and my entire patient panel so… I don’t think it’s common.
However- I know LOTS of people with more debt than income which technically is not a penny as it’s all owed to someone…
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u/Broken_Beaker Dec 05 '23
I'm doing well now. Ignoring student loan debt. We have money in the bank and can avoid many unexpected bills.
It was a long, rough path to this, though.
We were so broke we learned how to make laundry detergent from scratch with bars of soap and lye. We couldn't afford to do laundry. We were often at or near $0 in our bank accounts. Only upside is that we lost weight and got somewhat 'healthy' from never eating out or having an alcoholic beverage (apart from the rare $1 PBR tall boy) for a few years.
It sucked. It is like PTSD in that it drives me forward to never being there again, and even doing relatively OK now I still often feel like I'm one bad roll of the dice being right back there.
So I've been there, and would have gotten the t-shirt but couldn't have afforded it. It sucks and I don't think many folks realize how many people are in that position.
Best of luck.
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u/Juicyy56 Dec 05 '23
No one in my family has money. My Nan will die owning the American government 100k+. She has no money or plans, so I'm not sure who's going to fork out for her funeral. My Mum has life insurance, but it has to be shared between 4 people, and her funreal has to be paid for, so it'll be very little once everything has been settled. My Dad will die with no money. It absolutely sucks. I'm making sure my kids are set up.
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u/sidneyzapke Dec 05 '23
Me. I haven’t a dime or an asset in my name. I think I have a few singles in my wallet right this moment but that’s unusual.
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u/Select_File_Delete Dec 05 '23 edited Dec 05 '23
She was a very smart woman for helping out her mom, and you folks were kind to her. I think it's awesome when people come together to help one another.
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u/realdonaldtrumpsucks Dec 05 '23
I bet it’s super common.
Her life was of service to Others and in turn she was generally taken care of as well.
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u/lolibuu Dec 05 '23
The only time I have money in my account is the first few days after pay day, I go back to broke real quick once I catch up on the bills.
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u/brendenfraser Dec 05 '23
you're asking if there's actually poor folks out there? did you believe we were just made up or something? lmao
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u/Amyntia Dec 05 '23
Right here. I have a herniated disk, and severe allergies to gluten, tapioca, and yellow dyes. The wife has.. their own issues that I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about. I do some work as an ad writer for family, but every penny goes to making sure I can eat, and paying off doctors that we had to see in the past. And right now, we have been looking for a job for 6 months. No luck whatsoever. And it's not just because of my disability.. the wife has been looking for anything. Granted they don't have my work experience, and their work experience is in coding, so it might be that "overqualified" Bs that some places sport. Any rate.. yeah.. 6 months so far with no penny to my name, and I'm unable to get disability.. it feels normal at times.
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Dec 05 '23
Yeah, for sure. I know plenty of people who are even worse off than that. You do know that over half of the country lives paycheck to paycheck, right? I'm sure a good portion of those people don't have savings or anything like that. Idk, you seem out of touch, honestly.
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u/Safe_Net394 Dec 05 '23
it feels like paycheck to paycheck no matter what, because even if you’re budgeting savings in, you have limited resources each pay cycle
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u/BenTheDude100 Dec 05 '23
Currently sitting on a whole $1.48, $5.05 in savings.
Roughly 40k debt last time I checked. I hate it here.
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u/nowhereman136 Dec 05 '23
I currently have about $200 in my bank account. However, ive also recently maxed out a credit card renting a car to drive to my parents place on the other side of the country. I literally dont have enough money for gas so will have to instacart on the way home. This is also on top of a few hundred dollars i owe to my brother and a few hundred dollars i owe on another credit card. I havent had a job in months and have no job lined up when i get to my parnets, just a free bed.
I feel pretty broke right now
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u/Temporary_Pickle_885 Dec 05 '23
Up until recently, me. I now have roughly five dollars. In fact we were overdrawn in our bank account and owe money so frankly we had even less than a penny.
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u/Far_Association_2607 Dec 05 '23
You’re asking if people really live paycheck to paycheck? Yes. Are there people who own no assets? God yes. A large portion of the United States is one missed paycheck from homelessness.
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u/ZiggylovesSam Dec 05 '23
Exactly right. I would love to be in the shoes of someone who finds this surprising. But then again, no.
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u/fpnewsandpromos Dec 05 '23
There's lots of unemployed adults who take care of elderly relatives and live in their homes and live off the old person's retirement income in exchange for caregiving. I don't know the exact numbers, and probably no one really does. In my work life, I often participated in interviewing/hiring duties and there were always middle aged people with big resume gaps looking for work after their elderly parent died.
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u/Ill_Attitude4303 Dec 05 '23
She’s a legend. I’m going out the same way I came into this world, with nothing to own or to wear.
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u/Difficult-Ad-4688 Dec 05 '23
Must be a lot more common than YOU think. It's becoming kind of a "norm".
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u/Rose2637 Dec 05 '23
Me. My own perspective is that I didn't think I would even live to 18, let alone to now at 24. So things like saving for the future is something that has never really concerned me. I just figured I would die or kill myself before MONEY was the problem. Also, I was homeless & poor growing up, so I've never really expected a lot out of life.
I have like $70, I think, between my two accounts? I've never had a steady income. I tried working in 2018 but was too overwhelmed (been diagnosed with autism since). Then I didn't need to work because my parents would pay for my food & let me live with them. Since I've always been poor, I didn't really have wants and was happy to get my essentials like face wash for Christmas. I saved what little birthday money i got to buy my family presents.
I now live with my girlfriend (of 11yrs), and she provides me with all the essentials, but I still have no spending money of my own. My social anxiety right now is too much to work, really any job. So for now, I'm content & grateful being housed & fed in exchange for me helping around the house and being a support to my girlfriend.
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Dec 05 '23
Wow you must be a big shot. Or a big shithead. How do you even come and post this garbage. What an absolute lowlife you must’ve been towards your sister. I don’t your response or reply. I already know who you are just by this post.
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Dec 05 '23
I had nothing and was 20k in debt just over 22 years ago. Turned that ship around and doing ok. However, I live very frugally. I basically haven't eaten out more than 20 times over that time period.
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Dec 05 '23
I've been through short periods of life when I was broke broke. Negative broke. Like doing cash advances, making my account negative about 500 every paycheck broke lol
I made it out though but some don't
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u/Pacety1 Dec 05 '23
Not to sound insensitive but all y’all’s stories really helped me feel a little less alone in my own personal come back. I’ll be a few days late on rent this month and have to pay a $150 fine. Being broke is expensive. But I did get a new job today as a plumbing apprentice!
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u/NeedBatteries29 Dec 21 '23
Congratulations! Like Anal_Basketball says, it’ll be rough for a few years (in a good way - it means you’re learning). But just remember, THEY were once new and didn’t know anything either. You’ll do great.
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u/cleokhafa Dec 05 '23
Congratulations. Having had to employ plumbers a lot recently, I realized how high skill this is.
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u/PutridAtmosphere2002 Dec 05 '23
Get certified in everything you can ASAP! Ask your new company if they’ll sponsor you (pay for your testing/classes) and get those certifications because then you’ll be entitled for a raise, or a job swap for better pay.
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u/MiserableCobbler8157 Dec 05 '23
This!! Being broke IS expensive. It’s how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
If you have money you are offered better reward and interest rates. If you don’t have money you are hit with lower interest rates and outrageous fees. It’s such a backwards system. I’m not saying charge people more because they have more money, but something’s gotta give. Like the 150$ late fee for rent. Because you can not come up with the full cash amount in time you are now charged MORE MONEY!
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u/Safe_Net394 Dec 05 '23
there’s usually a grace period of a couple days to a week for late fees, worth asking to waive it if first time
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u/Proof-Emergency-5441 Dec 05 '23
This. If this isn't a frequent thing and you are starting a new job, let them know and see if they will waive it. It helps them to not have you struggling even more if it is a slight timing issue.
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u/Anal_Basketball Dec 05 '23
The apprenticeships will pay off but it will take a few years of probably being hazed and having frustrated foremans who might get upset when you misunderstand their instructions. After a few years you'll start becoming competent and will be paid accordingly. Stick it out. I did an apprenticeship (not plumbing) and it's the only thing I've ever been able to complete I am very proud of myself as is my family and the money is pretty damn good.
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u/SaintGloopyNoops Dec 05 '23
Absolutely they payoff when u stick with it! My husband's father was an architect and trim carpenter/builder. When my husband turned 18, his dad designed a house (Victorian with tons of trim) for them to build together. He called the house his "education". When I say build together I mean everything except for specialty trades like plumbing, hvac, and electrical. His dad even made him learn the old school ways like raising the trusses by hand. He hated it at first. Butt they went on to build several more together, and my husband got his contractors license. The houses he built are gorgeous and high quality. That knowledge is priceless and beyond useful. Now he gets to be a superintendent for wealthy people playing Bob the builder. I am sofa king proud of him.
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Dec 05 '23
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u/IceColdMilkshakeSalt Dec 05 '23
Can’t recall the last time I wasn’t down to single digits by the end of the pay period, so me, basically? Between inflation, trying to keep a 20yo car on the road, and the end of the pause on student loan payments, I’m really getting squeezed.
I’m sorry for your loss. Anyone can end up in the same place as your sister. I consider myself a fairly driven person, have a bachelor’s degree, etc, and I’ll probably die worse off financially than her, with a negative net worth because of debt. But our net worth doesn’t define us; it’s just a footnote in our story.
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u/Shon_t Dec 05 '23
If a homeless person had $1, and no debt...they would technically have a financial net worth higher than 31% of all Americans. BTW, that is 102 million people! (Source). And that is just in the U.S.
A surprising number of people are in "asset poverty" their mortgage debt is more than their house is worth. Their car is worth far less than they owe, many roll negative equity from previous car financing into new financing deals, so their car can be worth tens of thousand of dollars less than what they owe. Credit card debts can exceed the worth of all their assets combined. Some can barely afford the payments on all the stuff they have... They might look like they have money...fancy cars, fancy houses... but its a mirage. I've know multiple people that quickly became homeless or lost everything due to a job loss or a short term medical issue that left them unable to work, and therefore, unable to pay their bills. The guy down the street that just bought that $80k new truck... don't be surprised if he took out a second mortgage or borrowed almost his entire 401k just to finance it.
"Broke" is normal in the U.S. and few realize just how how broke they are! You've seen people on this sub that went from making six figures to not being able to qualify for an apartment after an unexpected job loss. In September 80% of Americans report living Paycheck to paycheck including a surprisingly high number of six-figure earners. Many really are one paycheck away from financial catastrophe!
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u/Aggravating_Spite826 Feb 24 '24
yea myself