Wow. This reminds me of when my then girlfriend (now wife) and I used to troll the supermarket parking lots for change early in the mornings before class and before the stores opened. We’d find at least a few dollars in change every time, although much of it was in pennies. This was in the early eighties when everyone still used actual money to buy things.
I was another broke Ramen kid with a hotplate in my dorm room, and when that broke, a can of Sterno, which I had to smuggle in because it was forbidden.
It’s odd how I look back on those days with fondness now, because when I was living it I wanted to slit my freaking throat.
When I started teaching they held the first month’s (September and a part of August) paycheck for 31 days. That meant I started in late August and got paid the first time October 31.
The lowest I got before I borrowed money from my sister and parents was a pan of store-brand box macaroni and cheese with sliced chicken gizzards mixed in. The gizzards were catfish bait, but the fish weren’t biting, so I ate them.
You will not make them taste nice for me. They weren’t good then, they are not good now. They were the gift of generous farmers during a time of extreme hardship, a thin shield against the delirium of hunger.
I was never broke, but I definitely spent my college years picking mold off bread and cutting green parts off potatoes because there wasn’t anything else to eat in the house at the time.
When I lived in the dorms, the mess halls always closed at 7:00 p.m. for some ridiculous reason. One night I had bought a pastry for dinner (hey, I was in college), and upon returning to the dorm, discovered a black speck in the jelly that appeared to be a partially disintegrated gnat. Well, since the mess hall was closed, it was that or go hungry. So I scooped out the gnat and ate the rest of the pastry to my roommates’ unending horror.
The absolute lowest I ever had to sink was eating a partially consumed candy stick I picked out of a rubbish bin, and I was actually thankful for it (I was 21, homeless, and starving at the time). I still remember the flavor, one of those artificial purple-y concoctions that don’t taste like anything found in nature.
The worst when I had a roof over my head and a steady (if meagre) income was oatmeal with raspberry jam stirred in. No milk, no cream, no butter, just lots and lots of raspberry jam. To this day, I have trouble consuming that condiment.
That would be breakfast. Lunch would be a small bag of corn nuts and a cup of Mr Pibbs from the vending machines at work. Dinner would be baked beans scooped between two pieces of wheat bread and topped with soy sauce. I might add a slice of raw onion if I was feeling extravagant.
One of the few times in my adult life when I was at my ideal weight and could stand up without fainting.
A short time after I graduated from college in 1971, I had a huge fight with my parents and just left home. I got a tiny but nice room just off campus in a large house that had other rooms rented to young people. I was living on my savings, and I figured I had $3/day for everything, including rent (according to the CPI, $3 then = about $12 now). That would last a couple of months, after which I’d have to go crawling back to my parents. I was never hungry, and I don’t remember exactly what I was eating, but I seem to remember a lot of cheese that was on sale. (After about a month, I did get a job as a computer programmer trainee.)
A dab of ketchup on saltines…instant pizza!
Pork neckbones…BBQ ribs!
Soup beans (pintos) and cornbread…still a staple now.
One time, for a week, one can of Spam.
When my husband was in high school, there were 7 teens (including him) living at home, as his was a blended family. Six of those teens were boys, so his mother was always on the lookout for ways to save money.
Bill got a job at a Pizza Inn after school, and his first task every day was to shut down the lunch buffet. He’d consolidate all the leftover pizza slices into one or two big boxes, which he’d set on top of the oven to keep warm. Then he’d munch out on pizza as he worked. Good thing, too. He was the busboy/vegetable prepper, so he didn’t get tips, but he DID get all those leftovers, and after every day of work, he also got a free meal. So he didn’t buy lunch at school, and he ate dinner at work, PLUS he’d eat a dinner at home. Hey, he was 17, and he could actually eat that much and still have room for more, if he could get it.
I wasn’t broke, but I got hit hard by Hurricane Charley in 2004 and all the roads and local stores were closed for several days. I had plenty of water and calories. What I didn’t have is variety. My non-bread snacks and other food only lasted a day. Then it was bread for the next 2 days. I scrounged around and found some olive oil and spices, so for the next 2 days I lived on Italian Appetizer Oil dipping bread. It still reminds me of the hurricane when I get a bread and spiced oil appetizer at a restaurant.
I’m not broke, but I occassionally eat Ramen as a snack. As in carefully open the end of the pack, slide the brick up a bit. Chomp. Nomnomnom. No need to break up, no need for a pot, no need for water, nuffin’. I figure it’s (a bit) healthier as I don’t get the salt & MSG in the flavoring packet, & it’s less greasy than potato chips.
When I was doing my take-the-leftover-cafeteria-food and run bit, someone handed me a bag with a hot breakfast and two sandwiches inside. I will never forget that.
Three years ago, I had a full cast on my arm. I went to the grocery and whole wheat bread was on sale. Suddenly I really really wanted some whole wheat bread with butter. So I bought some of each, a cup of coffee, and went to the nearby park to eat them, dressed in my usual casual way.
As I was stuffing my face, someone came by, put a 7-eleven bag and a big cup of coffeeo on the bench, said “This is for you” and walked away before I could say “Thanks.” Tha bag had two hero sammiches, a big bag of chips and a twenty dollar bill! I figured the guy say me, dressed in very poor clothing, eating bread, and with a full cast on my arm and decided to make my day! It did, too.
Am I the only person who actually likes Top Ramen? Seriously, I had it for lunch (although now it’s up to 6 for $1), with nothing added to it, just last Friday. (I go for the Oriental flavor to blast open my sinuses.) I’ll also have the occasional can of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee Spaghetti & Meatballs (which pales in comparison to Franco-American, but I can’t find that on shelves any more), which I stock up on when it’s $1/can.
Then again, what does a “normal” lunch or dinner usually cost? I very rarely spend more than $10 for a meal.
When I was a grad student, I had little money. So I’d buy a 2 pound bag of lentils, and some marked down veggies (carrots, onions, clery). I’d adda a little meat, and make a lentil soup-it was good and filling. I figure I once was able to eat (one week) for $8.00.
