Any of you are/were poor? Poor in finance that is. I just want to see other people's experiences and advices since I'm from a poor family.

Hello! I don't know if I'll be helping much. We're not exactly poor I guess? But before my dad finally landed himself a semi-stable and semi high-paying job, there were a lot of financial difficulties that we go through in a year.

During those times,my weekly allowance would be cut down in half, which is still enough to sustain myself but it requires me to give up on full meals (because food here is gold jfc) and instead just eat cheap biscuits and water or just buy rice and eat that with free soup. I had also trained myself to get used to functioning while eating very little or no food at all for days. But as you can see, that's not exactly healthy so please don't do it at all. What's probably difficult is when there are school fees and other miscellaneous things to pay for (thesis, projects, transportation etc.). That said, if things does go well, I'll have a little money left to splurge for myself or to place in my savings. Sometimes, I also borrow money from my friends - which is really really embarrassing so I do it sparingly.

At home, we conserve electricity as much as possible. For example, we use gas stoves instead of those electric ones, and minimize using the microwave as well. Sometimes, we don't iron our clothes hahaha and we hand wash them through those water wells.

Basically, we don't splurge or spend money over things that we are sure we can't live without. That, and spending money wisely and knowing the things that you don't and do need are the keys to making the situation a little bearable. I know that it would be hard, but self-care and keeping yourself in check would help too. So if you can, I suggest you go and do something you enjoy anyways, even if it contradicts with the situation. I hope you don't lose hope that things would get better. It did for us, so I hope it does for you too!

Don't know if I have the right to saying all of this hahahaha anyways, I hope this helps, take care!

I highly appreciate your reply. Thank you.

Hello,

I come from a poor family. I am the youngest in my family, so I still remember a few years when we barely survived. My parents worked hard and managed to turn our family to a medium-ish stable. I am currently in my 20s. It wasn't easy for them, but I don't know how they did it.

I am currently a grad student. I went to the school where they offered me scholarships. Then I worked as a Teaching Assistant to get some extra money.
Get good grades, go to university, get a career. There is business for Science, there is Computational Biology, depends what you would like. In Europe they have bunch of scholarships for international students; university and grad school is very cheap compared to other countries.

Do not buy things that you want, rather buy what you need.

Look at weworkremotely to look for some jobs that you can work from home. It is a trustable website.
Best payed career that is always in demand for people is related to Computational work. Pick up a skill.
Look on Udemy for "Python from begineers to advanced" or something similar to that and use this coupon for a 100% discount: FBFREE18

Look up, look for things to help yourself. Learn skills that will come in handy.
I started applying for remote jobs recently. A little bit of extra income will be so welcome.

All the best!

Oh man. Growing up, my family was dirt poor. Had my dad not been in the military and therefore given housing, we'd probably be homeless.

For food, we had food stamps. I cannot tell how thankful I was for food stamps. Also, the school free lunch program. Even with those, food wasn't always something we had access to. A lot of the times, we'd only have one meal a day, but sometimes we'd only have a small snack or nothing at all. Soda and juices were never in the house. All we had was water and milk, but the milk was strictly for cooking, especially cheap boxes of Mac and cheese. Restaurants were unheard of, and even fast food chains were pricey for us.

The military paid for our bills, but at a set price, so we couldn't go over a certain amount. We only turned lights on when we really needed them and sometimes when we got too close on the water, we'd fill up a tub and then take turns bathing and the last person would drain the water (gross, I know, but better than not bathing at all).

Almost all our clothes were from thrift stores or gifts from friends. Our shoes were from Walmart and we'd wear them until we either outgrew them or the bottoms began to fall apart. Our toys were donated to us around Christmas time. Yes, we were those kids. People would come by and drop off a trash bag full of gifts for each of us. One year, my dad had saved enough to buy my brother and I each a DS along with a Pokemon game. We had to let our little sisters play on it sometimes since they didnt get one until years later when we were no longer poor. That thing was a prized possession to me. I still have that old thing even though I have a 3DS now.

We had to put my youngest brother up for adoption when he was born because our family could barely care for four children. Five children would be terrible. We just couldn't afford to keep him. It was the hardest decision my mom had to make. We still have 7 years before we're allowed to try to contact him.

It was really rough, but we made it through it. It took a lot of conserving power, saving what money we could, relying on others, and rarely ever getting wants since we barely had needs. This was before any of us kids were old enough to get jobs and the Internet wasn't as big as it is now, so our resources were limited.

We're not poor now, but we do have some financial troubles still, especially now that I'm in college. (You'd think that FAFSA would be able to cover just enough so my dad isn't having to literally pull from his retirement account, but I guess not). Being poor, you learn to tell what is actually needed and what you can wait to get. Coupons are helpful as hell, and paying attention to sales can get you some cheap but quality groceries. I also now have a RedBubbpe shop and if you have any ounce of artistic ability, I'd recommend setting one up yourself. The money I make from there goes to treating myself while any other money I earn goes directly to necessities. There's plenty of websites that you can earn some extra cash on, like the one Minus mentioned. If you're good with children, care.com is also a good option. I know fast food chains will sometimes have a deal on receipts for a free sandwich with a purchase of a drink (which is usually around $1), so you can start a cycle of getting free food through the receipts.

If you need money for something big, like a car, an apartment or house, or tuition, loans can be helpful, but pay attention to interest rates and when the loan will need payments started and stuff like that. Loans should always be a last resort, if possible. Debt is not a fun thing.

Basically, cut back on things that aren't necessary, spend money on needs wisely while taking advantage of sales, save money when possible, look for ways to earn extra cash alongside having a job, and mostly, just be smart about what you do.