Cheap! The Good Ol' Days...

When my daughter was very little, it was rough, low on cash trying to make ends meet and our house was always full of kids, nieces, nephews, cousins, neighhood kids always were at the house. Though low on money, my daughter always had the best, all the good games and toys and all the best video consoles, the kids loved it.. and families were always secure with their children being there, well taken care of and watched. Her father was cheap about eating out, he always made me cook.. blaaah.. but when we did we took everyone with us, car piled high, children noisey and on our way to.. Yes.. McDonalds ..
As we'd walk in, kids are like.. "i want a happy meal, no a big mac, can i have a chocolate shake, i want big fries, happy meal to small for me, can i have a 9 piece chicken mc nuggets 6 just don't fill me up, i want a quarter pounder, i dont want anything but fish sandwich, can i have a strawberry sundae, if you get a sundae i want an ice cream cone, one child was always like.. do they have whoppers?"
Anyways after that we'd walk up to the counter, her father looking over us counting 6 alltogether..finally he'd make the order, Yes i'd like 3, 69 cent cheeseburgers, kids got quiet.. "would you like anything to drink?".. he'd look over at us and back to cashier.. "Yes, i'd like 6 waters". Kids walking away to the playground area.. "why he get 3.. theres six of us, maybe he's tricking us.. let's just go play"
He took those 3 cheeseburgers and halfed them each of us got a half, and we all got good cold water in our own cups. That man took a party of six and fed us for $2.25.. the kids got to play and eat and truely enjoyed themselves. This little scenario became a weekly tradition, the kids loved it and couldn't wait to go each week, they'd pick who they wanted to have the half with, or we'd draw names from the hat, they'd play for hours and they had McDonalds!!!
I myself would say.. he is so cheap.. now i say it's one of our best memories..and we all laugh about it.

Once my nephew was over hanging with some friends, he was on the porch and i could hear them all talking, he says "my auntie vivi is magic" kids were like really? he says.. "yea she can turn one gallon of milk into two".. kids were like.. wwwoooooww..
I couldnt stop laughing..


I thought about this when i was thinking about the Goodwill.. second hand store, i was the type that would never go near that kind of store..until one day.. man i loved that store, i'd stay in there for hours, everyone wanted to go to "The Will".. so many treasures i found in there.. i remember coming out hands and clothes all dirty,loaded down with all kinds of stuff... but those were the good ol' days.. .. i miss them


Can you bring back some cheap good ol days, trying to cut corners?

that's a cool story viv...
i grew up kinda poor too.  i never really think about it, and i definately never think of it as good ole days, but you reminded me of it when you said "turning one gallon of milk into two"  what about powdered milk?  did anyone else drink this crap other than me?
you know you have to be poor to drink powdered milk 
my moms best friend was down on her luck, so my dad let her, and her three kids move into our house.  they took up residence in my room, so that part of it was kind of fun. but i tell you, things definately got stretched very thin.  but we survived.  lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and spam for supper.  not good ole days 

When we were kids growing up, we never got huge gifts like the kids do today and I recall my Mum telling me (when I was a lot older) how she cried on my 12th birthday because all she could afford was a book and the fact that I was so thrilled with it made her cry.  I have loved this book from the day she gave it to me and I still have it to this day.  It reminds me of my Mum and that, to me, is priceless.

Moving forward from my childhood, my son was at university which was about 3 hours from where I live and he had no money and no food.  All I had was £30 so I got it transferred into his bank account so he could eat.  It makes me sad to think of that phone call from him because no Mum wants their kid to go without food or to hear them in such distress and to be so far away.  I had to go without food for 3 days because I'd given him everything I had until my next payday but it didn't bother me at all.  I've never told him this and I never will.

blue

My mom mixed powdered milk with regular milk thinking we wouldn't know the difference.  We did though and called her on it, but had to drink it anyway.  My mom could make a nickel go a long way.  She was great.  When I grew up kids didn't realize there was not much money.  A lot different today I think.

medtrans

I agree, we never really thought "We are pooor" but sure, we didn't have the things others did. I don't think I ever really looked at what we didn't have, just accepted it.

Oh and Nal, yes we also did the powered milk thing. Yurk! The only thing I HATED was when Mom would buy the cheap hot dogs. Lord, I would try and get her to just buy more hamburger.

It wasn't till years later, that I did realize that we weren't poor, just having to be careful with money. Mom being the sole moneymaker..I only wish now I'd been more cognizant of our situation and been more helpful...:(

Genenco - hindsight is a wonderful thing and when you are kids, you just don't "realise" how tight things can be.  It's just not important to a kid because they can't possibly understand.  So you shouldn't feel bad at all.

blue

yes gene...i think this is just how it was here too.  and i grew up in a house full of love, so we were always happy.  even when we had 4 extra people in a small house, in everyones way, we were still happy, and my mother definately was magic  making a meal stretch.

Nal and Gene, we had the powdered milk thing going on too.
Oh and my favorite breakfast (still to this day) white rice with sugar!!! 

When I think about it now, I know mom did without so that I could take Ballet and my brothers could play football.  But I think that is what makes me the person I am today.

LOVE YA MOM!!!

hi shell 

do you mean hard rice, not the cream of rice? 

YUP, the regular old white rice, mom would just make it like oatmeal!! lol

hmmmmmmmm...i'd probably like that.  i really like rice, love cream of rice, and i used to make this rice drink in a blender that i loved but i can't remember what it is called, i think it had almonds in it and sweetened condensed milk.  so good, but can't remember.  i always think about it.  maybe i should just experiment.  :-\

I don't think kids appreciate all the wonderful things they have. I, like the rest of you, grew up poor. I remember eating commodities and powdered milk and the powdered eggs. I wore raggedly clothes but in the grand scheme of things, money wouldn't have made my life better or happier. And Blue,  your son is lucky to have a mother who loves him so much. And at the end of it all, it isn't how much stuff we have, but how much love we gave.

you're right...i wouldn't have even thought about this stuff if viv didn't bring it up.
just makes me think of how much easier kids have it now than we did.

but i wouldn't change anything.  it's part of what built this wonderful character 

Same here ladies!!

I know that being raised like I was made me work harder and teach my sons to appreciate EVERYTHING!!