The Upside of Being FLAT BROKE

• You find out that your car is so economical that you can make a round trip to Mission Valley from Chula Vista AFTER your gas gauge goes below empty. Just don't take the steep 805 hill out of MV. I barely made it to Adams Ave. alive! :-o
• You realize the value of your coinbox.
• You find wonderful places like Grocery Outlet, Smart and Final, 99-Cent Only Stores and Save a Lot.
• You realize that NOTHING is free.
• You nevertheless find awesome almost-free things to do. Like flask-hour at Fiesta Island.
• You start to pack as many errands into your day as you can because you don't want to waste a trip to Mission Valley on JUST a drive to school. 
• You begin looking forward to Tuesdays because it's $1.25 Fish Taco Tuesday at Rubio's.
• You lose half a pound because you can no longer afford things like Carne Asada Fries, Gelato or LIFEBLOOD :-(
• You gain four pounds because you find out you can easily make things like eggnog, ice cream and croque-monsieur at home. 
• ...wait...that's not a good thing. Scratch that last one.

I think lots of rich people suffer so much because they've never had to deal with what we handle every day: the "what am I going to do" factor...the knowledge that we may not have a place to live or enough gas to drive. To many people, money means fuel. A fuel that's made for burning on the slightest whim. To me, at least now, it means opportunity. I hope I can remember that if I ever make a lot of it.