Glory to God in all things.
Quasi-poverty. I say quasi because it was situational not generational, and we had family to keep us from true poverty -- from losing our home, being without utilities, or going hungry. In a way, I was still spoiled. It's nothing like what many people deal with here and around the world, so I usually just say we were broke. But we were below the federal poverty level and qualified for food stamps, WIC, Medicaid, and mortgage assistance. My mom once said during that time that I could pinch pennies until they bled, though I'm not sure how objectively true that was. I (kind of) learned to crochet my own rugs, cook everything from scratch, unit cost shop and freeze the extra, fix and build things, homeschool on a shoestring, and generally do without or do things the hard way because it was cheaper. I broke the cable obsession and still don't have TV, became more of a minimalist, and made a commitment to donate everything we didn't need vs. reselling it -- homeschool curriculum being the exception. In the worst dips, we couldn't afford the gas to go that many places, so the lockdown really didn't affect us the way it did many. I'm perfectly capable of spending money, too, but it's easier to say no and to splurge strategically. I definitely prayed more about little daily things and clung to God more. It also brought a personal understanding of Proverbs 30:8b-9 (NKJV):
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9 Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.
But in a way, all of that was easier than it has been trying to manage a higher income and juggle all the choices and opportunity costs. That is its own frustration.
