--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My mother paid eight dollars a month for…" description: "\"My mother paid eight dollars a month for rent. When she had it. Mostly we were evicted, because she couldnt afford to pay the eight dollars a month.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/walter-matthau-17641_dollars_my-mother-paid-eight-dollars-a-month-for_2718742.png" --- # My mother paid eight dollars a month for rent. When she… ![“My mother paid eight dollars a month for rent. When she had it. Mostly we were evicted, because she couldnt afford to pay the eight dollars a month.” quote by Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/walter-matthau-17641_dollars_my-mother-paid-eight-dollars-a-month-for_2718742.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/walter-matthau-17641_dollars_my-mother-paid-eight-dollars-a-month-for_2718742.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86b/walter-matthau-17641_dollars_my-mother-paid-eight-dollars-a-month-for_2718742.png) > “My mother paid eight dollars a month for rent. When she had it. Mostly we were evicted, because she couldnt afford to pay the eight dollars a month.” [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A mother struggles with low‑income housing, facing repeated evictions due to unaffordable rent. **In simple terms:** Living on a tight budget can cause constant instability. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of housing insecurity. Themes poverty housing resilience Mood somber reflective Type social political When to use this quote - budgeting - advocacy - housing assistance - financial planning Key Concepts economic hardship affordability social policy Questions to Reflect On - How can communities better support low‑income renters? - What policies could prevent repeated evictions? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic causes of poverty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) [Eight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eight/) [Evicted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evicted/) [Evicted Afford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evicted-afford-2865767/) [Month Rent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/month-rent-622415/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-paid-2865769/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Rent Evicted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rent-evicted-2865768/) ## Related quotes > [People should quit their jobs, move to Oklahoma, move in with 34 people, pay $100 a month in rent and start a band or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-jones/people-should-quit-their-jobs-move-to-oklahoma-move-in-with-34-people/) [Josh Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-jones/) > [There have been moments where I'm like, 'I don't know how I'm going to survive and pay next month's rent.' And the next month…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-micucci/there-have-been-moments-where-i-m-like-i-don-t-know-how-i-m-going-to/) [Kate Micucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-micucci/) > [I know my mom worked three jobs to pay $300-a-month rent. I know we shared cans of food for dinner - one can, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-gardot/i-know-my-mom-worked-three-jobs-to-pay-300-a-month-rent-i-know-we/) [Melody Gardot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-gardot/) > [I grew up with my parents screaming and yelling at each other for the rent in Bronx, New York City at the time. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dion-dimucci/i-grew-up-with-my-parents-screaming-and-yelling-at-each-other-for-the/) [Dion DiMucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dion-dimucci/) > [Next week, or next month, or next year I will kill myself. But I might as well last out my month's rent, which has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/next-week-or-next-month-or-next-year-i-will-kill-myself-but-i-might/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [“Dortmunder followed Kelp as he carried the tray down along the bar past the regulars, where the third was now saying, “The idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/dortmunder-followed-kelp-as-he-carried-the-tray-down-along-the-bar/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [What scared me was my mother getting evicted from my house. Seeing them repo my momma's car once. 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My mother was in a complete hole with no money, and we were evicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vidal-sassoon/during-the-late-20s-my-father-left-us-my-mother-was-in-a-complete/) [Vidal Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vidal-sassoon/) > [I know what it's like to be on public assistance and to be unemployed. And I know what it's like to be evicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-james/i-know-what-it-s-like-to-be-on-public-assistance-and-to-be-unemployed/) [Letitia James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-james/) > [It is a special kind of homelessness to be evicted from your dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/it-is-a-special-kind-of-homelessness-to-be-evicted-from-your-dreams/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) ## More by Walter Matthau > [I still think I'm 28. I'm 73. I think I'm 28, though, except that I won't get into a fight with anybody because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/i-still-think-i-m-28-i-m-73-i-think-i-m-28-though-except-that-i-won-t/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [To be successful in show business, all you need are 50 good breaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/to-be-successful-in-show-business-all-you-need-are-50-good-breaks/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [I was playing Russell Long, the senator from Louisiana. I had 12 speech teachers watching me. All the other passengers on the airplane were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/i-was-playing-russell-long-the-senator-from-louisiana-i-had-12-speech/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [Doing a movie is like eating five hundred canapes at a cocktail party - you're never really full. 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I got a lot of laughs, so I quit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/i-can-relate-to-anything-i-once-played-macbeth-i-got-a-lot-of-laughs/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [Sometimes it takes me six months before I find out what a line means, even if the writing is superficial... To do a play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/sometimes-it-takes-me-six-months-before-i-find-out-what-a-line-means/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [You see, my father was a Catholic priest, Greek Orthodox, but I think he started out as a Jew, then he became a Catholic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/you-see-my-father-was-a-catholic-priest-greek-orthodox-but-i-think-he/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [We're writing a book together. She just finished one. Did you read it? Among the Porcupines?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/we-re-writing-a-book-together-she-just-finished-one-did-you-read-it/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [I have more talent in my smallest fart than you have in your entire body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/i-have-more-talent-in-my-smallest-fart-than-you-have-in-your-entire/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [My doctor gave me six months to live, but when I couldn't pay the bill he gave me six months more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/my-doctor-gave-me-six-months-to-live-but-when-i-couldn-t-pay-the-bill/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [The first girl you go to bed with is always pretty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/the-first-girl-you-go-to-bed-with-is-always-pretty/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [When I was about eighteen, I saw myself as a rather sensitive, delicate, poetic, romantic figure. And then I got into the Civilian Conservation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/when-i-was-about-eighteen-i-saw-myself-as-a-rather-sensitive-delicate/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [I could play a cop, I could play a crook, I could play a lawyer, I could play a dentist, I could play an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/i-could-play-a-cop-i-could-play-a-crook-i-could-play-a-lawyer-i-could/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) [Explore all 36 Walter Matthau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) ## More Dollars quotes > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [This welfare for wealthy companies wastes taxpayer dollars, harms the environment, and makes a mockery of the recent reductions in federal social spending programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/this-welfare-for-wealthy-companies-wastes-taxpayer-dollars-harms-the/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [I love being in Malibu. It's so cool there, and the water is just, it's nice and, and I love the beach. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-love-being-in-malibu-it-s-so-cool-there-and-the-water-is-just-it-s/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [The greatest charity you can contribute to is yourself. Instead of spending a dollar to help feed hungry children, why not spend that dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-greatest-charity-you-can-contribute-to-is-yourself-instead-of/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [As far as Japan is concerned, I want to help all of our allies, but we are losing billions and billions of dollars. 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It was bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-pain/i-used-to-sit-in-front-of-mcdonald-s-and-ask-people-for-dollars-to/) [T-Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-pain/) [Browse all 2,882 Dollars quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My mother paid eight dollars a month for rent. When she had it. 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