John Cullum and Em remember when they bought a second-hand television set, had to walk, rather than spent money on the subway -- days when they didn't even have money for phone calls.
They describe their first Christmas -- how they promised not to spend more than $5 on gifts -- how chuck steak meals helped them save money on groceries.
They explain how Emily, administrator of her newly formed dance company, managed to pay off a fine she got from the Internal Revenue Service.
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7 comments:
Enjoyed your video today! You and JC are quite a pair. Memories of being poor hit home with me. Times are hard but we get by and count our blessings. Your bracelet and cat toy sound so pretty and cute. Your meals you invented sound wonderful even now. Thanks for sharing this time in your life. kam
I LOVE watching the two of you every week!
This one was especially sweet.
Keep 'em coming!
Julie
Been there. Done that. I remember a couple of years when I worked on Lexington and 58th St in NYC and lived on 53rd St also off of Lexington Avenue.
Once a week I treated myself to what I called "a pretty" and it was not to cost over $ 1. I would spend Fridays after work, on my walk home, in Alexander's Department Store searching for "a pretty". It was actually a lot of fun.
I remember being poor in my 20s, living with my boyfriend in a single room in somebody else's house. My boyfriend was unemployed and I had a very low-paying clerical job. I took two buses to work (this was in Tacoma, Wa where public transportation was not that good in the 1970s). We couldn't drive because the car we bought for $180 quickly broke down. On Friday nights we celebrated by going out to eat--at a fast-food hamburger place.
You two are down to earth and honest and that is what I love about you two. You talk about something that is still here and I mean here. However with a roof over my head and shoes on my feet and food on my table I am blessed.
You two make me smile. Thanks for sharing and being real to your readers. Be Blessed my new found friends. Keep sharing stories that touch the heart.
Hi Em and John,
My most abiding memory of poverty would be the huge vegetable pot on the stove, always bubbling away.
If we managed to get hold of some meat, that would be added to our plates separately so the vegetable pot could keep going.
It was a great way to save money and any friends with an allotment would bring round the odd carrot of turnip and that would be added to the pot.
Also, on cold nights, we would all huddle around the pot for warmth too.
Wonderful memories and, as a child, I never felt that we went without. I think that is the main thing I remember, only being aware that we didn't have a lot of money when I got older. My parents did a wonderful job and I will always be grateful to them.
I guess that's why I appreciate the value of things, not the cost.
Thanks guys, keep up the good work!
Dan :)
Watching that video Em made me smile. WE didn’t have anything either when we were first married and it didn’t seem to matter at all to us then. It’s funny but I look at the young couples now starting out and they have to have everything new. All new furniture etc. When we first got married we had bit’s and pieces from everyone in the family that was older. We sure knew how to have fun though :)
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