I'm a bartender on a $12000/year salary, tips are what keep me alive

My partner and I had a 2 hour conversation with a couple about how we are literally TOO POOR to afford a gym membership. We were so persuading that they ended up giving us two free gym memberships that will last us for the next two years. And you know what, we are never going to use those gym memberships.<br><br>The funniest thing about it is that those customers were actually so poor they cant even afford a gym membership themselves, their gyms are literally a bunch of pigeon-holes with weights on the walls, and everyone kind of does everything together (this is exactly how it works). And you know what, they still gave us 2 gym memberships because they saw how poor we were and how we cant afford a gym membership. <br><br>That's how my life has been for the past 5 years. Me babysitting my niece and my nephew, because their mother (my sister) is an alcoholic who cant afford to pay for any babysitting services. Me helping my parents move into a different house, because they are living paycheck to paycheck and can't afford to hire any movers. Me driving my friend to the hospital, because they don't own a car. Me helping my roommate move into our place, because he can't afford to hire movers, and I happen to have a car.<br><br>I guess it makes you feel like a burden sometimes. <br><br>I earn around $700-$1000 a month (with health insurance). My roommate earns around 30% more than that. I was talking about maybe stopping drinking alcohol and how it would save me a few hundred bucks a month. I was saying how it's not that hard to stop, you can do anything if you have enough willpower.<br><br>My roommate told me that he himself is struggling to pay for bills every month, and that he couldn't care less whether we drink alcohol or not, he's not going to stop drinking.<br><br>He's also the one who keeps telling me that I could stop working at my job if I was more frugal with money in general, and if I invested it better.<br><br>And you know what? He earns 30% more than me. I don't know how he's going to survive with poverty level wages, but I'm not going to be too hopeful for his success.<br><br>When you're poor, you don't realize that you're poor. It's only when you meet rich people that you realize how poor you are.<br><br>But don't get me wrong, I'm not ashamed of my current lifestyle. I wouldn't trade it for anything.