Film Buffs Describe The Worst Movie They Ever Sat Through Hoping It Would Redeem Itself
Perhaps the worst film I've ever had the misfortune to sit through is Sam Mraovich's Ben and Arthur (2002). It's a story about a loser, jealousy, his strangely disconcerting boyfriend, some woman wearing a Julia Roberts wig, palm trees in Vermont, and the saddest striptease you'll ever see.
I didn't mean to make it sound so appealing or so-bad-it's-good; trust me, it's the worst. Truth be told, I can't say I really expected it to get any better, and I've lived to regret it since. Perhaps this is why I'm keen to avoid things that look terrible from the getgo.
After Redditor Bocephalus asked the online community, "What is the single worst movie you sat through hoping it would get better, but didn't?" people shared their (very) painful memories.
"It was the double combo..."
After Earth with Will and Jaden Smith. It was the double combo of being bad but getting the sense that they thought it would be groundbreaking.
"Nothing actually happens..."
Allegiant. Nothing actually happens in the film. I could've watched paint dry for two hours and it would've been a more productive use of my time than watching that film.
Super disappointing especially since the first two films were fairly decent.
"The only reason I didn't leave..."
The Dark Tower. The only reason I didn't leave was cause I was in southern Florida for a trip and went to the movies to get out of the heat for while. The movie AC was the only good thing I found with that movie.
"Kept waiting..."
Skyline. Kept waiting for it to have a redeeming quality. Somehow just kept getting worse.
"It's been 10 years..."
The Last Airbender, the movie. It's been 10 years and I still become enraged when I think about it.
"Take your pick..."
Fantastic Four.
Take your pick on which one... they're all pretty abysmal. The 2005 one in particular sticks out to me. It's about an hour and a half of them being depressed about getting super powers, followed by 5 minutes of bland action.
"The credits roll..."
Percy Jackson.
I'm not sure how enjoyable it is if you haven't read the books but if you have, Jesus Christ, it's unbearable. The only similarity to the books are the names of the characters. That's it. The story has absolutely nothing to do with any of what happens in the books. It's just pure disappointment.
It starts off pretty weak and then gradually gets worse and with each passing second it simply gets more and more depressing. You don't want to stop watching because you're still hoping that maybe it'll turn around for the better and actually make sense for once. But no. It doesn't. The credits roll and there's a deep feeling of depression caused by disappointment but also relief because the horrors are finally over.
"What an abomination to humanity."
Green Lantern. What an abomination to humanity. I will never get over that they flashbacked to a scene that was in the movie 10 minutes prior.
"The most eventful thing that happens..."
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. It was getting some good press at the time and was newly released on Netflix... but I try to avoid spoilers so all I knew about it was that it was horror, people liked it, and it's got something to do with a house. Probably haunted.
The movie is terrible. I watched it to the end thinking that something was going to happen that would make me like it... because hey, people liked it for some reason right? And they were spending a lot of time building suspense, so there must be a really great payoff near the end of the movie, right? ...right? No.
Nothing happens in the movie. Turns out the people who liked it just liked the setting and costumes. The most eventful thing that happens if I recall it right is that some mold grows in a corner of a room. Someone should probably clean it before it becomes a health hazard.
"I was pretty excited..."
The Dead Don't Die.
I was pretty excited to see a not so serious Bill Murray zombie movie but all I got was a hamfisted and surreal message on humanity or something. I'm not entirely sure what I saw.
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People Reveal The Pettiest Reason They Ever Refused To Date Somebody
Reddit user bigdawgcat asked: 'What is the pettiest reason why you wouldn’t date somebody?'
Anyone who has gone on a few dates knows a few things that they like and don't like to see in a relationship, and they definitely know what some of their dealbreakers are.
But there are some dealbreakers that, when looked at from the outside, are totally petty in nature.
Redditor bigdawgcat asked:
"What is the pettiest reason why you wouldn't date somebody?"
Food Allergies
"I have a friend who stopped dating someone because he found out they were lactose intolerant."
"His example of why was, what if I taste a really great dessert, and I want to share the experience with her, and she can’t even taste it."
- Horknut1
"I know someone who is allergic to alliums (garlic, onions, etc.). I could never date this person as there is no meal I could make which doesn't include them in some amount."
- Fixes_Computers
"Same with peanut allergies. I love peanut butter too much to start a relationship with someone who couldn't be in the same room with it, not when there are plenty of other wonderful people who can. If the allergy suddenly developed long into the relationship, that would be a different case."
- cottagecheeseobesity
The Ups and Downs of Physical Fitness
"A college friend of mine was dating a girl who was amazing, smart, and funny, and she had put on a few extra pounds recently, which bothered him (don’t shoot the messenger)."
"We were driving at night down a big hill on a hot summer night and saw a young woman running up the hill toward us, really sweating, face purple, and looking pretty haggard, huffing and puffing."
"He made a comment like, 'Holy s**t, this girl is struggling.' We got closer and realized it was her."
"Long awkward pause. 'Well, I’m going to have to break up with her,' he said."
"Fast forward six months, and we ran into her at a pub, and she was in absolutely perfect shape."
"When he tried to make a move, she told him aloud, in front of a table full of her friends, 'That she wasn’t interested in him, and that he had dumped her for getting fat.' Top five funniest takedowns I’ve ever seen."
"Fast forward 10 years, he’s been divorced twice and has had a long list of s**tty relationships. The end."
- Much_Progress_4745
Conspiracy Theory Investment
"If they’re into conspiracy theories. I dated a guy who was and it consumed his life. It’s all he talked about."
"I couldn’t even watch a movie with him because he would talk through the whole thing about how it relates to certain conspiracy theories…"
"I also could never enjoy my food. We would make a big dinner on Friday nights to start the weekend, we both had a long day at work... we’d sit down to finally eat and he’d pull out his phone and put on conspiracy videos, and he’d make me watch them sooo loudly while I ate. And he’d talk through all of them too."
"I could never tell him that I wasn’t interested or I just wanted to eat because he’d get mad. It ruined my whole meal... I think most people like to eat in peace.. also he’d spend hundreds of items he needed in case we ever got attacked by 'skin walkers'... Never again."
- Low-Sky-4812
Eating Noises
"They slurp when they drink or smack when they eat."
- just-say-it-
"Soup should be seen and not heard."
- Playful-Profession-2
Same Names, Same Problems
"I will never date or f**k another Anthony ever again. I’ve dated or had a relationship with three different Anthonys at three different ages and they all turned out badly."
- SylphofBlood
"I had a friend years back that had three bad boyfriends, one after the other, each more of a D-bag than the last. Each one was named Rob."
"When talking to her one night, having a few beers, she complained that she always attracts d**kheads and then she asked what she should do. So having had a drink or six, I just blurted out, 'Maybe don't date anymore Robs.'"
"Anyway, the next guy she dated was Steve... they got married."
- vejbok
Love for Animals
"My cat said hello to her and she didn't say hi back."
- StephenHawkings_Legs
"I had a one-night stand kick my cat off of the bed. First, never ever have I kicked a cat. But I did kick that guy out of my house and my life. Instantly. GET THE F**K OUT. NOW."
- e11spark
"Not petty. If someone ignored my dog greeting them, I would be put off, too."
- A-Yandere-Succubus
Unexpected Sleeping Arrangements
"He slept in those tiny no-show socks. Let me be clear, he didn't wear them any other time than when he went to bed."
"There were some other, more real, red flags, but when I saw him whip them out and put them on the second time we slept together, I legitimately thought to myself: 'Actually, I don't think I can fix this one.'"
- Potential-Plastic-66
Matching Clothes
"He wore the same shirt on both of our dates.
Get this, years later, I get into the elevator at work and he's there. IN THE SAME SHIRT."
"I wanted so badly to demand to know if he has multiples or just one! Or find out which department he was in and stalk him. Unfortunately, I had given in my two weeks and didn't work in that building often."
- SunflowerSeed33
Different Interests
"If a woman has a horse in her dating profile, you will never be more important than that horse."
"(It may be petty, but it's backed up by personal experience)."
- No-Hat-689
"Horse girls do really love their horses, so I believe you. And I can't blame you."
- dumpster_cherries
"Worst of all, if you break up with the girl you won't be able to see the horse again! Imagine how heartbreaking that would be."
- one-eye-fox
Social Media Schemes
If they have emojis like their signs, or money signs, or airplanes, or some s**t like that in their bio. Just seems like some scammer or Ponzi scheme s**t."
- UrinePulp
Weakness?
"Wasn't me, but a female friend broke up with a guy because 'his allergies were a sign of weakness.'"
"Yeah, I responded the same way you did."
- Street-Comb1000
"My brother believes this about my allergies. He thinks I 'shoulda grown out of it by now.' Infuriating."
- I_Stan_Kyrgyzstan
Finals Week Troubles
"Because her eye was twitching while we were talking to each other. I was a dumb freshman in college. This girl was super attractive and smart, and we got along great."
"For some unfathomable reason, this made me want to not talk to her again."
"Later it dawned on me that it was during finals and she was heavily caffeinated and that can be a side effect. She dodged a bullet because I was a complete dingleberry, lol (laughing out loud)."
- Atlas88-
Deal-breaking Voices
"I briefly dated a young woman who was insanely out of my league. People stared when we went out."
"Anyway, her voice was like Minnie Mouse, and I just couldn't take it. I still feel bad about that one."
- Pickleliver
Dental Preferences
"Not me, but I had a friend who wouldn’t date this guy because he had one crooked tooth. He was the nicest guy truly a wonderful person. Like if I hadn’t been in a serious relationship I would’ve dated this guy."
"Fast forward, he meets a wonderful woman, and they get married, and my friend was all weird about it."
"I asked why and she said, 'Well, I thought he liked me enough to get his twisted tooth fixed.'"
"It was the silliest thing I’ve ever heard."
- Foxy_locksy1704
Preferred Facial Features
"I knew and almost dated a girl who talked out the side of her mouth. I’m not sure if that’s the best way to describe it, but that’s all I thought about when she spoke."
"Like, the front of her lips barely moved, and it was like a weird little smirk kinda thing when she spoke. I couldn’t get past it."
- newadventures96
"Weird ick: people with big/wide mouths. Why can I see all of your teeth and the back of your throat while you’re talking? You don’t need to open it that much just because you can."
- burritoboles
When one Redditor wanted to hear others' "petty" reasons for not wanting to date someone, their fellow Redditors really delivered. While some of these could simply be a matter of taste, like finding some facial features attractive where others do not, some of these, like allergies, are pretty, pretty petty.
Mischievous military recruits in the process of basic training may not always be seriously punished unless they commit a serious crime like stealing.
Instructors punish those in training with an assortment of disciplinary tactics, which can include yelling and "getting dropped"–or being ordered to do push-ups.
Some instructors, however, like to get creative.
Curious to hear about some unique forms of military punishment, Redditor Defiant_Concert_9542t_9542 asked:
"What's the most hilarious punishment you've ever heard of someone receiving in the military, and how did they end up in that absurd situation?"
These recruits were made to be the laughing stock.
"Forgetting The Hat"
"A couple of guys hated wearing their cover (hat), so they kept 'forgetting' to put it on when going outside."
"Sgt made them each 'wear' the other guy's hand as cover for a few days. They looked so ridiculous/miserable walking around holding another man's bald head."
– Scaphismus
Bad Hat
"Had a guy forget to put on his hat when coming outside during basic training. Instructor told him that it wasn't his fault but that it was the hats fault. He made the guy spank the hat and yell 'Bad Hat' over and over. After that he said even though the hat was bad he still needed to let the hat know that he loved him. He then made him caress the hat and tell him that he loves him."
– Kmo78
Importance Of Being On Time
"So this guy was constantly late to everything. Never out of bed on time, never in formation when he was supposed to be, etc."
"The Sargents pulled a clock off the wall, attached a bike chain to it, and make it look like a big a** necklace. (If you were a rap fan back in the day you may know where this is going)"
"They made the dude wear it like a Flava Flav clock chain. They would constantly scream at him 'Flava Flav what time is it?!?'"
"He learned to be on time real quick."
– LeluWater
Things get more creative.
Perfect For The Gullible
"We would tell every new person in our squadron that they had to set up an appointment with 'Captain Dees.' We'd give the person the local number of the Captain D's restaurant. They'd call the number and ask to speak with Captain Dees. It was hilarious every time."
– Kmo78
Ladybug Story
"I once had a ladybug land on my desk during morning inspection. When staff found it. I had to write a 500 word biography of who the bug was etc. and then had to make sure he was there for the rest of the week in good health for every morning inspection that week. Lol"
– withoutwarningwood
How Touching
"Newly promoted to Sergeant me and my buddy got the task of pre barracks inspection prior to our new CSM barracks inspection which was to be after our 1SG barracks inspection. Ya... anyway, the new CSM wanted troops to actually have their rooms decorated and lived in looking which whatever right? So everything is going fine we're still in good with the E4 Mafia so we're given heads up on whose rooms actually need inspected and which we could just skip cause they were squared away. Last room of the evening and it's bare as a prison cell. Troop was using his woobie (poncho liner) as a blanket, no pillows and literally nothing in this room that wasn't issued not a thing in his fridge etc. Come to find out he has been sending all like seriously ALL his money home to his mom to help raise his 4 siblings. Me and the other Sergeant ordered him to come with us to the PX, we got on the horn to our 1SG explained the situation and he met us at the PX with our entire upper NCO chain and the Commander. We forced this kid to buy over 1000 dollars of items/food/tv/etc for his room and all the money was donated by the NCO chain and the Commander. That was a great leadership was very sad to leave that unit. Sorry long winded lol"
– geriatric-sanatore
Free Concert
"We had a guy who could just not get his sh*t together. We all know that troop. Even the easy things were hard, etc etc."
"The cadre found out he was a former opera singer and also fluent in German. So they made him write and sing opera songs about his f**k ups. This was the only thing he was good at."
"Now here’s where this gets hilarious, beyond one dude singing self-deprecating songs in a marching formation. The cadre would bark 'German style!' and he’d seamlessly switch his lyrics to German. They’d yell 'underwater style!' and he’d take his index finger and flip it up and down on his lips as he sang, making the song sound bubbly."
"Not only could the cadre not hold it together, the guys in his company would absolutely lose it. Complete breakdown in military bearing, and no one cared. Other cadre and instructors would come just to listen and they would be in tears laughing."
"I don’t know where you are now homeboy, but thanks for the laughs."
– vmikey
Environmentally Conscious
"Having to carry a plant to make up for the oxygen he was wasting."
– International_Set522
"I remember one of the others on my intake being sent over to the nearest tree to deeply apologise for wasting the good oxygen this tree produced and explain to said tree why he was such an utter t*t...."
– The_Burning_Wizard
Lesson to be learned: don't lose or forget things that are essential.
What's The Big ID-a?
"Guy kept losing his ID/leaving it sitting in the computer. Chief 'borrowed' it, took it to one of those one hour print job places, had it blown up to like 3 feet across, cut the picture out, and made the idiot walk around all day holding his enormous ID up with his face in the cut out hole. He stopped misplacing his ID after that."
– HakunaYouTaTas
Don't Lose The Rock
"We had a tradition when you were new to the unit and went on our first summer exercise (National Guard) that you would need to carry a rock around with you. It was an inspectable item so it needed to be with you at all times. You were not to let anyone else have this rock. The trick was if you lost the rock, you'd get another rock chosen by the platoon sergeant."
"One guy had a hard time with the 'Don't give this to anyone else' and kept losing his rock. After the 4th or 5th time, the platoon sergeant gave him what I can only describe as a small Boulder. This kid had to lug that rock around for the next week but he made damn sure not to lose it."
– Lawson470189
The Long Road March
"1995 - At mile 4 of an 12 mile hump (quick water break), my assistant gunner forgot the tripod for the M60. The platoon sergeant made him hug and apologize to every tree along his side of the road for wasting oxygen for the rest of the road march. 8 miles of this and no one could go past him. A road march that should've taken three hours ended up taking 12. There's a lot of trees at Ft. Campbell"
– MrL1970
The road from being a recruit to soldier is a tough but rewarding one in the end.
While some of the punishments and actual training tactics seem insurmountable, they build character, better physical endurance, and resilience.
It may be grueling, but it's all part of the military world.
Are you up for the challenge?
It feels like everything under the sun is expensive these days.
So maybe when we look at price tags, we're just having a little financial PTSD.
Some items and services that were once doable have turned into a years-long savings plan.
Like where do the cable and internet people get these price points?
Especially for their "services."
Please.
Redditor Jarvis_Strife wanted to hear about the times the price tag left people a little shook, so they asked:
"What turned out to be A LOT more expensive than you anticipated?"
Used cars.
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD?!
How does a 20 year old car with 250,000 miles on it cost THOUSANDS of dollars?!
MADNESS!
Open Wide
Dentist GIFGiphy"Root canal with a crown. I understand now why a lot of people just get the tooth pulled."
Bitey_the_opossum
"Dental insurance barely covering anything is crazy to me. It’s extremely important to keep teeth healthy, being that an infection can kill you, so you think it would be covered under preventative care, but nope."
Jamie9712
The Usual
"Car repairs."
BlackLesbianTroll
"My usual shop tried to charge us $700 for a coolant flush, engine air filter, battery, and spark plugs. I did all of it but the spark plugs myself in an hour for about $120. I have started doing my own oil changes and it's about 50% cheaper. It's crazy how much places by me charge for cheap and easy stuff."
gaybatman75-6
"The fact that every service ends up being an extra $100+ is frustrating sometimes too 😮💨."
-Tired_Phoenix-
Flooring
"Rugs. Biggest shock when I got my own place."
spnginger3
"One of those things I can’t believe people pay full price for. Those things are like 85% margin if you buy them from retail. Find a local auction website and search through it to find a rug distribution center that usually does quarterly (or so) liquidations at auction. You can get thousands of dollars in rugs for a couple hundred bucks."
FairState612
Window Dressing
"When I bought my first house about 5 years ago it was a new build, as such it had no blinds or curtains etc. I’m a blinds guy so we got a company Dunelm Mill to make us measure blinds for the whole house. It was a couple thousand pounds but we had allowed for it when buying."
"The blinds ended up being a little delayed, not a crazy amount but a bit of a frustrating amount - maybe 2 months or so. They straight up gave them to us (and still fitted them for us) literally for free, and they had given us a temporary more basic blind for our bedroom in the meantime!"
jw205
Why so much?
Angry Organized Crime GIF by Law & OrderGiphy"Kitchen garbage can. Why are they $50+!?"
redheadscorp
"Man mine was double that! Options are apparently either a five-dollar plastic bin with no lid that is borderline useless or a $100+ Ferrari trash can. I just wanted one with a lid and a foot pedal to open it."
BellicosePost
Seriously garbage bag prices have gotten out of control.
There has to be a better way to sell this product.
Get Another Quote
Doors Doorways GIF by Joe MerrellGiphy"I had someone come out to the house and he quoted me almost $20k to replace four doors. I passed."
stoneman9284
"I'd get another quote. I spent $1,500 to have an exterior door replaced last year. I had quotes come in from $1,500 to $7,500 for the same scope of work."
Milehighcarson
In the dirt
"Landscaping. Even by yourself."
alwaysyardening
"There's that saying 'cheap as dirt' but soil/dirt is expensive AF."
notjanelane
"Getting quotes on having some landscaping done and wow... it is insane. Four quotes ranged from $1500 to $8500 for the same work. To the point where I called the $1500 and told them maybe I forgot to include stuff because their quote was so much lower. LOL!"
Miserable_Emu5191
"Landscaper quoted us $20k to re-rock flower beds that already had [some] rock in them. We were getting more of the same rock to just freshen it up. I laughed them out of my house. We did it ourselves... very. very. slowly. And very painfully. Still spent $12k after everything was done."
thatChickinBFE
Chronic
"Being sick/chronic illnesses/becoming disabled. Everyone thinks that having a chronic illness or becoming disabled is a great excuse to sit at home and watch TV all day. The constant doctor visits, surgeries, prescriptions, medical devices, and therapies add up to thousands a year."
"And the more you make the more you spend, when I could still manage to work I’d pay for or buy any type of treatment or device I could that promised some relief. $100 massages every week? Ok fancy chiropractor at $40 a visit, sure. $100 massager tool, ok. I’ve spent tens of thousands just because I got in a car accident that left me with chronic back pain and surgery that left me disabled."
"And these are just the monetary costs, there are plenty of costs that aren’t money. Want to enjoy a day out, well now you need to be on bed rest for a week. It’s constant and unrelenting, and unless a miracle happens it will be the rest of my life."
PinkPrincess1224
Every Week
"Seriously, groceries, it's insane how high the prices have risen on everything."
Ddowns5454
"The really shi**y thing is it keeps going up basically on a weekly basis. I work for a major national grocery store and I hang the sales tags for the grocery department. We apparently have this AI that will see how much money they can milk out of customers."
"It will set a price higher and I think based on how much we well over a specified amount of time the system will lower the price if the changed price cuts too much into their profits. I've seen crazy price jumps of like $2 or $3 because they are just trying to f**k with the prices until they hit that sweet spot."
jpaugh69
Every Breath
life GIFGiphy"Life. Even just sitting in my apartment doing nothing costs $2000 a month."
Eyfordsucks
"For real. I pay 1600 for half of a beat-up duplex. After everything, it's like I have my Xbox and that's it."
Lovetopuck37
Life. What a scam.
Even breathing feels expensive.
For many people, the difference between being housed and unhoused is a single paycheck.
For some it's a matter of money management, but for most it's the lack of a living wage for many jobs. Add a poor social safety net and poverty is always a footstep away.
Let's face it—many people have lived with a zero balance in their bank account and bills to pay and empty cupboards.
Reddit user Krisrunnintina asked:
"What’s the brokest you’ve ever been?"
Dumpster Dining
"Found four unopened packages of pasta while dumpster diving."
"Nearly cried."
~ WhimsicalError
"I found like 10 pounds of NAVY BEANS."
"The next week my EBT was approved."
~ LiveLaughTosterBath
Thou Shall Not Steal
"The lowest I’ve been is sneaking around looking for unlocked cars so I could take any change they had."
"I never stole any personal items or whatever. Just change and food if there was some."
"I had too much embarrassment to ask people for money."
"Now, over 15 years later, I still feel like sh*t for doing that. Stealing is stealing."
~ xithbaby
Portion Control
"My most vivid memory from college was eating half a hot dog and saving the other half for the next day."
"That probably cemented my decision not to ever have kids."
~ Sobriquet-acushla
Predatory Lenders
"I got caught up in the housing crisis back in 2006."
"It looked like I had enough to afford a cute little house nothing extravagant. I was surprised when they gave me the loan and as I didn't have much in the way of credit and I was in my early 20s."
"When I went to sign and saw the monthly note, my heart sank. I should have refused to sign and cut my losses but I was dumb and went ahead with it. I figured I could just budget like hell and make it work."
"It lasted about a year. Ant any given point I was either behind on my note or my electricity or gas was cut off. Sometimes all three. Got caught up in an endless cycle of payday loans."
"Came home to an empty house that was with dark or cold every day after 12 hour manual labor shifts, usually taking cold showers with the light from an old hurricane lantern."
"Don't even get me started on food. It usually consisted of rice and beans cooked over an old camp stove I rigged to a propane tank on my back porch."
"Eventually they foreclosed and I had to start everything from scratch. But I learned a lot during that period."
"Took me almost 15 years to get stable enough where I could finally buy a house again."
~ OkaySureBye
Making Do
"I worked as a bank teller for two years, and was able to collect many American silver coins, such as quarters dimes and nickels made during certain years. Had probably $75 worth of silver coins, worth much more to collectors."
"For those wondering, the bank didn't care if I took those coins as long as I replaced them for the same face value - it's all legal tender to them."
"But one day my gas tank was empty. I needed gas, had $0 in my account and no other money. I went to a pawn shop and barely got over face value for all my silver coins. Got 3/4 a tank of gas."
"It wasn't about the money though, it was about those 2 years searching and collecting and getting excited when I'd come across one... all to trade it away for something my car burned off in less than a week."
~ Redditor
It All Falls Apart
"My dad had a coin collection he started in the late 80s. He had probably saved 20lbs of every coin when I finally found his collection."
"His sketchy girlfriend sold it off along with my book collection (lots of first editions like Harry Potter), my n64 and games, along with all my Disney movies, entire first and second round Pokémon’s (most with regular and shiny), and beach cruiser bike."
"She sold the lot of movies for like $3, my Pokémon card collection for about $20, and all my books were basically <$1. I don’t know what she gave the n64 and bike away for."
"I think in total she managed to get about $300 or so for the entirety of my lifes collections up to that point."
"She did it while my dad was at work one day. They did indeed break up, but I’ve never been more broke in my life."
"My dad passed away shortly after, along with the rest of my family and a bunch of lawyers stole my inheritance. All in all I’d frequently have $4 in my account on a Tuesday that needed to last until Friday."
"I had roommates, slept on couches, rented cheap motels until I finally grasped some stability. Still hurts every time I think about what could have been. Completely altered my life."
"I’m in a wonderfully successful and happy place, but I absolutely 100% would look back to see what would have been had none of that happened."
~ otterpop21
Food Shortage
"Really didn't have enough money to eat regularly."
"My mother kept giving me articles about anorexia, couldn't get it into her head I was broke."
~ Sea_Firefighter_4598
Get Out
"An eviction. Watching all my stuff being carried to the curb at 20 years old."
"It definitely changed my perspective and priorities."
~ damnedspot
Hidden Treasures
"'Happy to find some forgotten rice and spinach in a cupboard so I had something to eat until my next paycheck' poor."
~ Hakar_Kerarmor
Counting It Out
"Giving change to a gas station attendant definitely doesn’t feel good."
~ anonomousername
"I did that once but buying packets of ramen. The man behind me in line had the audacity to try to lecture me about how unhealthy they were."
"If you are buying ramen with change, you are not caring about how healthy it is."
"Thankfully I’m in a better place but it certainly didn’t feel good."
~ Draginia
Collateral Damage
"Probably when I was a kid and my parents divorced. My father left us in debt and didn't contribute financially to helping my mother raise me."
"I've never been particularly well off but nowadays I have a job and can afford to do things."
"My mum did as best she could so I didn't go hungry."
"I remember when I got my first paycheck, I went and bought some £2 Ravioli and felt fancy as heck."
~ PKblaze
Starting Over
"I was a single mom of two after just leaving my children’s dad. He cleaned my bank account out from spite and stopped paying for the car that he was driving that was in my name."
"Worked some stuff out with the bank and they took the car without impacting my credit, but I still had to pay an $8500 loan off."
"My 2 year old son and I shared a futon for a year and we had no refrigerator, but we made things work."
"I broke down and cried that first Christmas alone because I barely had anything to give my kids."
"It took a few years, but I was able to rebuild financially and just bought my first home two years ago. My kids are thriving and they are my entire world. They drive me to be a better me every day."
"I learned a lot about how sh*tty people can be from that situation and time."
~ NoodleSpooner
United States Healthcare
"Rolling Pennies for insulin in college before Obama care. My single mom was poor and couldn’t help."
"Back then if you were not insured when you were diagnosed in childhood, insurance didn’t cover insulin because it was a pre-existing condition."
"One month I was so so broke from getting laid off that I applied for emergency Medicaid for my insulin but made 4 dollars over the poverty limit."
"I asked what I was supposed to do for insulin, and they told me to go to the emergency room, which would have put me further in debt."
"I called the local ADA in tears to ask if there was any way someone could get me some expired insulin. The lady gave me a number and told me I could only call it once."
"It turned out to be a man who owned a small private pharmacy that had been a family business. He gave me 4 months of insulin and others supplies that was enough to not only get me through but get me ahead in my rent and groceries."
"Back then over half my money went to insulin and test strips."
"Sir, if you are out there THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. Your kindness restored my hope. I couldn’t pay you back but I do pay it forward."
~ Nova_Tango
While these stories are heartbreaking, the people came out the other side.
As the saying goes, when you're going through Hell, the best thing to do is keep going.