In today's economy, a lot of things are broken. He's broke. She's broke. We're broke.
Being "broke" myself, I get very offended when people claim to be broke who aren't. I mean, really, it's not like it's a status we all strive to be, so give yourself more credit. Lord knows I don't have any to give you. *BA-DUM-BUMP-CHH* : )
When our boys started their medical treatments, we wiped out our savings and credit cards and went to one income. We are the definition of "broke." We have nothing to pull from. We have no back-ups. If our checkbook shows $3.87 the day before payday, then all the money that we have access to in the world is $3.87. So, if you tell me, "We went to the movies and didn't even buy popcorn, because we're so broke. We even had to decrease the amount of money we're putting into the kids' college funds," I will probably punch you in the face. In an effort to weed out the fakers, I feel it is my duty to clarify what it really means to be poor.
And these are not made up to be funny, these are true stories of life in the trenches of the lower-middle class.
To the tune of Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck," here are my qualifications of being broke:
If you sit down to do the monthly bills and make three piles: "Pay Now," "Pay Next Month," and "Must've Gotten Lost in the Mail"....
you might be broke!
If you consider "Date Due" as the date that you know they send the shut off notice....
you might be broke!
If you know how to siphon gas....
you might be broke!
If you can't remember the last item of clothing that you bought that wasn't purchased on ebay or at a yard sale...
you might be broke!
If your child receives a check from a relative for his birthday and you tell him his present is keeping Cable for another month...
you might be broke!
If you've ever held a yard sale in January...
you might be broke!
If you have ever needed gas in your car and looked around your house for something to sell on Craigslist....
you might be broke!
If your strongest investment is the $1.00 you spend on a Powerball ticket each week...
you might be broke!
If you've ever been tempted to cash in your child's Savings Bonds, fifteen years early...
you might be broke!
If you use hospital stays as an opportunity to stock up on bandages, thermometers, and baby wipes...
you might be broke!
If you can make an entire meal out of four slices of bread, and a little bit of butter...
you might be broke!
If an appliance in your home breaks, and you head out to a yard sale with $1.50 in your pocket and a heart full of hope...
you might be broke!
Most of you who read my blog probably have money and find no amusement in this whatsoever. But believe me when I tell you that while each one of these statements are true, I giggled as I wrote each one. And I am sure that those of you who know what it's like to struggle will laugh as hard as I did. Poor people are happy people, because we appreciate the little things and are proud of what we have. Don't feel sorry for us. We live with the hope that things will get better. We know how to fend for ourselves and we know what to do to take care of our children. We do what we have to, to survive. And one thing I can tell you, it certainly makes life interesting.
