The Art of Being Broke

I'm convinced that being broke takes talent. Or, to be be clear, being broke and happy, being able to survive on very little and still feed your family, still keep the lights and water on, and still maintain a place to live, is an art form. Not everyone is good at it. It's kind of like writing or dance, in the sense that you can definitely teach it to the uninitiated, but the best writers, dancers, and broke people are always going to be the ones who started young, the ones who were steeped in the art at an early age.

By now, most of us have figured out that it's going to be a rough four years ahead. Already, there's massive layoffs, rumors of war, and threats to the social services that keep a lot of our people afloat. I'm sensing that a lot of us are going to have to get used to a very different standard of living than we've been used to, and I also sense that a lot of us aren't ready to do what it takes. If people were complaining about rising prices and inflation when the economy was actually growing and jobs were more plentiful, then what's going to happen when none of those problems are addressed, and millions of us are out of a job? Aside from all the government jobs getting cut, just think of all the harm to businesses and payroll when those same people aren't spending their federal paychecks any more.

For those of us who grew up poor, this is nothing new. We were so nourished by struggle meals that we consider them comfort food. To this day, I still catch myself craving a fried bologna sandwich with mustard and cheese. I'd even put an egg on it if I could afford them. A pristine yellow banana slathered in peanut butter is still my go-to breakfast. 

I'm not worried about my family. I'm confident in our ability to get by when the flow of money dries up and everything starts costing more. The ones I'm worried about are my neighbors who never had to make meal planning decisions based on coupon availability, if they planned meals at all.

I'm genuinely concerned about my countrymen who will spend the next four years putting restaurant tabs on credit cards instead of eating at home. Or the people who will refuse to back out of expensive outings or trips because they're too embarrassed to tell their friends that they lost their job or just can't afford it anymore. I'm afraid for parents who can't bring themselves to have tough, honest conversations about money with their kids, who might not even know about all the free options for family fun and extracurriculars in their cities. I'm worried about all the people in my community, regardless of who they voted for, who might take a serious financial hit because of all the changes happening now, and won't be able to adapt, because they've never had to live with less.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

So, from someone who grew up poor, who did my time as a single parent with two kids and survived without a ton of debt, here's my top five tips for being broke.

1) Frosted Flakes and Snowy Cereal or whatever grocery store knockoff are probably made in the same factory. Don't buy anything because of the picture on the box. Heck, the kids don't even need that sugar anyway, and the healthy cereals taste exactly the same - brand name or not.

2) Meal planning will save you a ton of money. You know what you can afford to buy, you don't spend on extra, unnecessary items, and you don't throw stuff out. Every meal has to be healthy, not fancy.

3) Your parents were right. We don't need lights on if nobody's there to see them. Make it a challenge to get your light bill down every month. (One exception: that AC is more vital than drinking water in the South, but if you have a smart thermostat you can just turn it down when you're gone and turn it back up before you get home.)

4) Do not put restaurant food or alcoholic drinks on credit. This might be the season you go sober. You can tell people you're fasting and praying if you want. If you have to charge anything, ask yourself if you would apply for a loan from the bank for it, because that's exactly what you're doing. 

5) Exploit every hookup you have, and hook up your neighbors as well. For the next four years, we're going to be bartering child care for hairstyling, tutoring for handyman work, and whatever skill you have for whatever service or commodity you need. Just think, after four years, our communities are going to be so tight we could print our own currency.

For those of us who grew up broke, I'm so sorry to bore you with all these things you already know, but I'm betting that some of our neighbor's need it. For those of us who might feel embarrassed or undignified by drastic economic cuts to your budgets and hard conversations with your family and friends, try shifting your thinking. Instead of thinking of it as deprivation, think of it as resistance. Personally, I believe that better days are coming, that if we can get through this short time, the country is going to hate these years so much, they'll do anything to get us out of it, including electing officials who aren't billionaires.

Until then, I'm going to live like St. Paul. Remember everybody's favorite Bible verse, Philippians 4:13? "I can do all things through him who gives me strength," right? What nobody seems to remember, though, is that Paul's not talking about getting superpowers or buying Lambos. The verse right before 13 is "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Those of us who have learned to live broke, learned to enjoy struggle meals and not be ashamed to ask our passengers for gas money, we know that secret, too. And like
Saint Kendrick said, "We gon' be alright."