Definition of broke

[DragonStryk72]

Okay, This is going to come off as a rant, and it pretty much is, based upon my experiences working retail during the holidays at Wal-Mart.

Alright, so I come over to help this woman out over in the electronics section, and as we're just starting to get to talking, she brings up just how broke she is, and how she's just not making enough to make ends meet. This is fine, and I do, well, did sympathize with her. So then, she breaks out the Christmas lists, and hands them to me, and the kids each had a huge list (Much like my lists as a kid). Looking over the lists, I winced just a little, doing the mental math of the things on their lists, but most likely, they didn't really know the price of the stuff they were asking for, and just wrote stuff down.

So, I'm taking her around the section to price stuff, or at least I think we're pricing the section, because it turns out she is going to get every electronic item on the list. Here's some of the fun points:

1 52" LCD HDTV ($1800)
Full Motion Wall Mount ($260)
3 HDMI cables ($15 a piece on sale)
Blu Ray Player ($248)
Surround System ($199)
bunch of blu-rays

Those were just for her husband, This is working on what the kids asked for:

Nintendo Wii Bundle ($318)
2 Wii remotes ($40 a piece)
3 Wii nunchuks ($20 a piece)
about 6 Wii games (est. about $300)
3 Ipod nanos (16gb $199 a piece)
plus accessories

Now, were it only this one person, I'd be like, "Okay, fine. She just doesn't understand the term broke." However, this is an attitude that I've seen over and over again this season, she just happened to be the most blatant example. Broke is, yes, a bit different for people, but $3000 plus in electronics in one shopping trip is a universal, "No, you aren't broke. You just dropped two months mortgage payments in one sitting on purely luxury items."

Broke is when you do not have the money for luxuries, and only barely, or not quite enough, for the actual necessities. I'm a gamer, and I love tech, really, but I understand that what I need to survive has nothing to do with my PS2, or Xbox 360, both gotten when I was ahead, and with the clear realization that I was blowing my money on adult versions of toys, and that's fine, I get that. What I don't get is this thought process wherein people come to this belief that they, or their children, NEED that new DS Lite, or NEED a Wii game system.

For me, "broke" is that I do not have the money to go home and see my family for Christmas, and cannot afford the time off of work, because the stuff I have to pay down that says it just isn't happening. I made that choice several months ago when I went to Ireland with my family, and I'm cool with it. I wish I could go home, but thems the breaks, and I'll pull it next year.

I'm not going out purchasing brand new gadgets, or games, because I know that I need what money I have to go toward my bills, and getting myself out ahead. People in our country have lost that priority system, it seems. Yes, there are people in real, and quite serious financial straits, I get that, but the vast majority of people complaining about their poverty, are then going out and blowing huge money on pure luxury items. Where did we go wrong with this thought?

[Binky]

You have just described the crus of the problem....GREED! Greed for this. Greed for that.

Broke is when your baby is crying because he's hungry and you open your wallet to see if you have enough money in it to purchase baby food and formula, and moths fly out.

Broke is opening your cupboards to get down a can of soup only to find them as bare as "Old Mother Hubbards."

Broke is digging through a jar of change, (if you have one), in hopes of finding enough to buy a few food items.

Broke is getting your hours cut at work because they can no longer afford you.

Broke is scrapping up enough cash to pay your heating or electric bill so they don't get shut off.

Broke is not being able to do any Christmas shopping and leaving the tree empty underneigth.

Broke is doing whatever job you can find to put food on the table.

Broke is where America is headed.

[DragonStryk72]

Broke is when you realize that you actually have real recipes for ramen.

[Binky]

Broke is when you realize that you actually have real recipes for ramen.


:laugh2::laugh2: I hadn't thought of that one. :lol:

[Mr. P]

All on a credit card right? These are the folks who will call our office in late January that will want to file bankruptcy...happens every year.

[crin63]

My personal place of, "broke" is when I have sold off stuff that I didn't mind selling off to pay bills and now I'm starting to sell off the stuff I want to keep. I've been there far to many times in the past 20 years.

I told the family that I'm buying a house for Christmas and the things we will undoubtedly need after we move in. That's it. They're all good with that.

[Yurt]

don't hate the ramen! :cool:

[Little-Acorn]

Broke is when you proudly proclaim to your friends that you've lost 30 pounds in the last two months... and don't tell them why.

[Des]

I see this a lot, especially with military families. We don't realize how good we live in this country. The standard is running, clean water, a wide selection of foods of all kinds, transportation, a safe job, free schooling, a clean house with entertainment whenever desired and clean clothes. All the bells and whistles are just feeding the machine we've created and destorying any chance that the crappy future we're leaving for our kids will be able to be fixed with hard work.

[Trigg]

If you really wanted to get disgusted you should have followed her to the local grocery store and watched her buy her stuff with food stamps.

Every local HUD home my brother in law has worked on lately has a nice luxury car in the driveway.

Personally responsibility is dead in this country. The gov. whines about the "credit crunch". IMHO there needs to be a vast pulling back of the purse strings. Credit is far to easy to get and is offered to everyone and their dog these days, regardless of credit history or their ability to pay it back.

As for me, if I can't buy it with cash, it don't get bought. I refuse to go into debt for Christmas presents. My kids know (the younger ones learning) the value of a dollar and need vs want.

[namvet]

I saw broke when I was in Nam. now that's broke !!!!!

[Said1]

I just wish I had $3000. :cheers2:

[manu1959]

i was 15 days away from being homeless once....that is pretty close.....

[Said1]

i was 15 days away from being homeless once....that is pretty close.....

Me too. Should have seen the place we moved into - we had one hot water tank for two apartments. I think our electric bill was more than the actual rent! :laugh2:

[manu1959]

Me too. Should have seen the place we moved into - we had one hot water tank for two apartments. I think our electric bill was more than the actual rent! :laugh2:

sounds fun......

[Said1]

sounds fun......

It was. The nutcase downstairs almost burned the place down and the previous tenants hooked up the cable for us. The free cable made it all worth it. No where for our empties though. :mad:

[Little-Acorn]

I saw broke when I was in Nam. now that's broke !!!!!

I believe it. Ditto for the Philippines.

In this country they cry anguished tears when they see somebody sleeping under a bridge.

In the Philippines, the area under a bridge, is prime real estate. People fight over the privilege of living down there. The less lucky curl up on the sidewalks, maybe under a piece of cardboard if they're not REAL unlucky, and get rained on a lot. Plus occasionally wake up dead with a knife in their back and their cardboard gone.

[DragonStryk72]

don't hate the ramen! :cool:

I'm not, I love ramen, hence the recipes. I'm just sayin', if you had real money, you would buy real food, or do ramen in the more basic way, as opposed to putting time and effort into your ramen.

[DragonStryk72]

I just wish I had $3000. :cheers2:

yeah, I know, that's half a year's rent for me

[Classact]

I saw broke when I was in Nam. now that's broke !!!!!I was sooooo broke my last year in the army on the DMZ that I supplemented my ramyen with left over MRE's. My second wife got depressed and skipped five months house payments and used it on drugs she shared with her jailhouse boyfriend... I learned when I took my mid tour leave, I took a free flight escorting a baby that was being adopted in Chicago. Now that's broke!

[namvet]

I believe it. Ditto for the Philippines.

In this country they cry anguished tears when they see somebody sleeping under a bridge.

In the Philippines, the area under a bridge, is prime real estate. People fight over the privilege of living down there. The less lucky curl up on the sidewalks, maybe under a piece of cardboard if they're not REAL unlucky, and get rained on a lot. Plus occasionally wake up dead with a knife in their back and their cardboard gone.

that's where we operated from. the PI. an old naval base called Subic. when I first arrived there I never in my life saw people live like that. I never deamed it was possible, it was just awful. and smell. my god. I never got used to it. when we came into the harbor entrance you could smell it. yuck!!!!
.....this was back when Marcos ran the country. self proclaimed president. but he was a dictator. I saw their palace. pure gold. and the shanty's all around it and Manila. obvious what was going on there. he was scamin big $$$ from the US during the war. the national income was drugs and prostitution
..........so anyone who bitch's about this country should go oversea's and look how they live. you'll be very happy to get back here............

[avatar4321]

You know. Im going to have to disagree with original post.

She is completely broke. She just isnt poor.

Poor is when you dont have jack, even for the necessities.

Broke is when you have enough, but you waste it all on useless crap so youre penniless.

[Binky]

All on a credit card right? These are the folks who will call our office in late January that will want to file bankruptcy...happens every year.



See, that's greed for ya. And a damn good reason to not use credit cards, since they charge anything and everything on them. Duh!

[Binky]

Unfortunatley, I know the feeling of being downright dirt broke. I've been there. Done that. If you could have seen us in our old station wagon back in 1982, when we moved to Nortern Mi, you'd have to laugh your heiny off. Our vehicle was loaded with whatever we could get in, all neatly packed to make room for a dog, two adults and two kids. The car was packed in such a way as to leave just enough room for each of us to sit in. We had put the majority of our belongings in storage. Off we rode on Halloween and pulled into town at 6 pm, just as trick or treating began. What a vision we were. Not a heck of a difference from looking like the Beverly Hillbillies, other than the roof wasn't piled high with stuff. Looking back, it's comical, to say the least. Sad, under the circumstances because hubby had lost his job and we were trying to begin again.

So I know exactly what it's like to be broke. It isn't a fun thing to be. It's depressing.

But on the other hand, not being able to get out and spend money doing things, actually brought us closer together as a family. It was a very tough time, but we've made it through to see the tough times we're all having today.

And we pay cash for everything as well. Odd, I know, in an age where everyone seems to use credit cards. But we had one many years ago and decided it wasn't for us. We just save up for what we want and pay cash. Takes longer but noboby is coming for my stuff, and we don't have the credit card bills rolling in. YeHaw!

[Trigg]

It's been years since we were poor. Hubby was in college and taking weekend classes so he couldn't work and I was making minimum and trying to cover rent and electricity.

We'd make chili on Mon. and stretch it through Thurs. On the weekends we'd eat at my parents. The next week would be hamberger helper, we kept up that rotation for longer than I care to remember. We used to save up all month to afford to go to the movies.

When he graduated we moved to New Orleans and needed first and last months rent and those lovely security deposits for electricity and phone. My in-laws gave us $500 and my parents helped rent the U-Haul to get us there from Tampa. The two weeks we had to wait for that first paycheck was hell.


I hope to never be that broke again.