Is there a pejorative word for "poor" that can be used in a self-deprecating way?

Solution 1:

Some expressions going around the Internet are:

• Not to have a penny to one's name
• Not to have a red cent
• To be flat broke/flat busted
• Not to have a pot to piss in

The third link gives an example that could fit what you are looking for: Sorry, I'm flat broke. Not a cent on me.

Solution 2:

I'm not sure it meets your criteria for pejorative or self-deprecating, but there is the idiom "does not have two nickels to rub together" meaning "to be very poor."

I've always heard it as "nickels" (mid-west U.S.) but the linked source shows it can also be "pennies" in other regions.

The origin is due to the fact that if one has multiple coins in one's pocket, those coins will rub together and jingle as one walks. The very poor however, will not have more than one coin, not even relatively low-valued coins.

Solution 3:

Consider poor wretch

Definition: a miserable person, one who is in great misfortune.

Example: “Oh!” says Henry, “I do not know where I shall get my dinner tomorrow; I am a poor wretch.” And William responded, "So you may be, my dear friend; But you are not so poor as you deserve to be".

Solution 4:

Since "pé rapado" in Portuguese is a noun, a noun in English that means more or less the same thing would be "pauper." More informally, such a person is often called a "bum," but this tends to mean that the person is either homeless or unemployed and possibly drawing benefits from the government.

In reality, English has many, many nouns for a poor person. There are formal words, informal words, and slang words. However, most of those words don't describe a poor person in general but a certain type of poor person, for example, a poor person who moves from place to place is often called a "transient" or sometimes a "hobo". As for being pejorative, in America, any noun that defines someone as poor is probably going to be considered pejorative, whereas the more pejorative words tend to center around bigotry, such as "white trash."

By the way, the term you used in your question should be "self-deprecating," not self-depreciative."