One time I was so broke that I smashed my gel deodorant with a hammer to get to the last of it that wouldn't come out by twisting the dispenser wheel. Then I used my hands to apply the gel for a few days to get me through to pay day.

My family used to do that, but mostly because they were penny pinchers. Like we had money to buy toothpaste, they just wanted to save it for some nebulous reason. They also paradoxically used up a fuck ton of toothpaste every brush and that's why they ran out so often. I just used a pea-worth and managed to stretch it out

Be cautious with doing this too often though. Baking soda has the same hardness as dentin and can wear away teeth with exposed dentin even more.

I was watching the show Good Times about the struggle of poor black family. But after some episodes I felt it wasn't realistic and the family isn't really poor.