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When we’re kids, we all feel the same—little courageous adventurers ready to soak in the world with open arms. Children have no prejudice about the world, and no sense of disparity that only emerges later in life.
When looking back at your childhood years, mixed emotions may come up. For some it’s nostalgia of carefree days, for others it’s things that they didn’t notice back then that struck a chord. Like, eating chili beans for days in a row or taking it as a usual thing not to expect anything fancy for Christmas.
In fact, these are among the tweets that people shared when Twitter user Trevor Donovan asked people “Tell me you grew up poor, without telling me you grew up poor.” The thread is an eye-opening read about growing up impoverished as told by the little details that often stay unnoticed from an outsider's eye.
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#1
Didn’t have enough food because mother spent our money on church. Paid tuition to parochial school. Put cash in 2 collection plates & an envelope for The Bishops Fund special collection on Sundays. Paid coins to light candles. Her piety kept her kids hungry & cold
I hate religion
Marianne 4 years ago
This is so twisted! Shouldn't a church care for those people and not the other way round?
Aunt Messy 4 years ago
Less than 3% of money given to churches actually goes to charity work.
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Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago (edited)
I'm not religious but you don't need to hate religion itself, instead hate organised religion. In saying that though, your mother neglected your basic needs and doesn't deserve the mother title.
Uncommon Boston 4 years ago
Blanket hate is not productive. Dismiss all church work because of a few bad examples? Do the research
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Patty Squarepants 4 years ago
Y'all assuming Mom actually asked the parish for help. Bet she didn't. Probably kept paying all that to keep up appearances.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
As I said elsewhere ----- they can't read minds. You have to ask. Pride can be a problem in that respect.
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Valisbourne Spiritforge 4 years ago
We pass a multi-million dollar church facility that takes up an entire city block every week. I can't help but think how many homeless or hungry that money could help. I keep hearing "Not all religions" (so to speak) but the ones that look to be out for profit only sure ruin it for any who aren't.
Zophra 4 years ago
When I was still churched, we had to vote on the church staff's salaries. They always were making more than the vast number of people in the congregation - with free housing - and many job expense write-offs. Used to piss me off because if someone voted "no" by ballot there was this admonishing that "you aren't supporting the Lord's work."
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Chucky Cheezburger 4 years ago
Yeah,this is why I have a problem with churches. Not religion...Not with the faith people have and such, but the organizations. Charity begins at home. You can't take care of others if you don't take care of yourself. I don't think it's so much the religion that's bad, it how it gets twisted through peoples interpretations of it.
Arctic Fox Lover 4 years ago
My mom always says to give at least 10% to the church. This woman took it too far.
RELATED:
#2
One Christmas, all three of us kids each got only a letter from my mom. Beautifully handwritten with her ink pen. I still treasure it to this day, 45 years later. I can only imagine how painful that was for her, working so hard but still always broke.
Mohammad Ammar 4 years ago
Not a Christian or even someone from the west, but I find gift giving on Christmas kind of materialistic. I don't like the idea of expecting something from someone at a particular time. The best gifts are the ones given with genuine consideration ,when you least expect it.
Giovanna 4 years ago
In a way it is, but giving simple and thoughtful gifts to the ones you love is a way to tell them you love them
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Barbara Baldwin 4 years ago
When I did acknowledge Christmas I had one rule----> every present had to be hand made
Fred Burrows 4 years ago
I love seeing gifts wrapped in brown Kraft paper. It seems to be a wrapped with more love or something ,I reckon.
Biana Weatherford 4 years ago
Mom would make our presents. And ask for homemade gifts or coupons for services. As an adult, that's exactly what I want. If I had kids/grandkids at home, I would want someone to wash my dishes or bake pb cookies or brush my hair.
#3
Making lots of friends meant you could go to other kids houses and get invited to stay for dinner. I would always sneak something to eat back home for my mom. She never asked me to do that, but I knew she was hungry.
Alberto Cevallos 4 years ago
yeah! me too... because I feel these things very close to me...
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Collette Johnson 4 years ago
My mum used to try and send me round my friends house and hope I got fed. Trouble was they resented it and could take the piss when I was in another room but deliberately loud enough for me to hear. I felt absolutely awful but also very hungry. Sometimes they made enough for me sometimes they didn't but would give the dustbin ( me ) the left overs. Now I'm a mum I happily feed any kids that come to the house
Tim Pillinger 4 years ago
If I thought this was going on I'd make absolutely sure that I served this kid far too much, and insist that they take some more for later since they like it so much.
Louloubelle 4 years ago
That's a sweet thought, but as someone who didn't have a lot of money growing up, you get embarrassed when people want to help.
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James Arvidson 4 years ago
Used to save the lunch money to give back to Mom because I knew we couldn't pay the rent. Did not understand when we got free lunch I could eat. I thought my Mom would get her money back. In my 50's and still do not feel hunger and forget to eat.
#4
Day 1 chili no beans Day 2 chili with beans Day 3 add macaroni to the remaining chili Day 4 add tomato juice to day 3 leftovers with paprika, it becomes goulash! Day 5 spoon remaining goulash over a baked potato How to Stretch your groceries at the end of the month
Jo Johannsen 4 years ago
And still make it taste good. Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention.
Katia Murillo 3 years ago
It doesn't mean they were poor. They had plenty of staples. It was just they cooked once every week.
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Premislaus de Colo 4 years ago
Buy one chicken. Day1&2 chicken cutlets, day 3&4 fried drumsticks, day 5 chicken broth from what was left + a bit of meat, day 6 chicken stew made with reminder of meat and the broth
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Ah yes. The tomatoes and egg noodles diet. Hate those two items to this day. It was *every* week for over a year there. (Note: My dad still had beer money, of course. *sigh*)
MyCatsTheRealPanda 4 years ago
Sad how that works isn't it? They have money for beer, drugs, lottery, and/or other unnecessary stuff but groceries!? Nope! Happens entirely too often!
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Niffler_13 4 years ago
I like to turn leftover chili into tacos or burritos. In my household mom made a big family dinner on Sunday and we survived on it until Friday. Friday we'd get pizza, survive off the pizza until Sunday and repeat.
James Arvidson 4 years ago
Never thought about this one until a friend asked why we always ate Chili. It was embarrassing. Over 40 years ago and still remember what it felt like.
#5
Used to pray for clothing that my mom didn’t sew. Now that I’m older I look back and marvel at how she did all of those things for us and I just see so much love.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Mine was a grandma b/c we didn't have a sewing machine, but yes. Anything that fit, wasn't from Goodwill? Magical.
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JK 4 years ago
My mom was an amazing seamstress. When I was young, she made a bright-yellow jacket for me with a rainbow patch on the front (70's high fashion!). I loved it so much until the older girl down the street made fun of it. I never wore it again. That must have broken my mom's heart! I finally learned to appreciate her skills when I wore the best bespoke prom dresses that made everyone envious!
Mindy Keys 4 years ago
It makes me sad I can only see these things now - and couldn't then. I wish I could thank my Gran for all these things she did. I was too young and stupid to understand.
I want cake 4 years ago
I think I'm a very rare specimen, I always loved wearing clothes my mother made for me.
Sue Hazlewood 4 years ago
We were lucky in that Mum was a Tailoress so our clothes looked so professional
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago (edited)
A lot of my clothes were either made by my nan or hand me downs from a co worker of my mums.
Amyah Labrèche-Docq 4 years ago
I am sewing/knitting/etc since I am around 3-4 years old and never stop since. I dressed all my kids, reproducing patterns of Pierre Cardin and othe designers so my kids were always very well dressed and warm with their knits. Yes, there is a hUGE load of love in those garnments 💞
#6
We had a school uniform, so that was fine. But the occasional 'non-uniform day' would be horrifically embarrassing. I often pretended to forget and turn up in uniform anyway. Now I earn a reasonable amount, I still can't believe I can buy stuff whenever, like a book or a coffee or a new shirt. Part of my 32 year old head of department brain is still a poor 8 year old waiting patiently for Christmas.
Eslamala 4 years ago
In my country, all schools have uniforms exactly for that reason, so that kids who don't have as many clothes as others don't get bullied or don't feel different.
Ozacoter 4 years ago
Its stupid. Kids still bully you. Because of your shoes or jacket or backpack. Bullies always find a way to find victims
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lakitha tolbert 4 years ago
People don’t understand that when you’re poor as a child, it is a mindset you carry with you your whole life. My mother grew up poor in a house with ten other kids, and you can see her “poverty mindset” in how she shops, and what she buys. I’ve been fortunate enough to have money, after being poor as a kid (not as poor as my mom, but still) and I do have to think differently about hoarding things like food, and other things I need. The idea of buying things in bulk when it’s just yourself, is hard to get rid of...
J 4 years ago
I wear clothes until my wife throws them away on laundry day for being unwearable, in her terms. It frustrates her that I just don't replace clothing until its tread bear. Another area is leftovers, she generally doesn't eat them and prefers to throw them away. It kills me when they go to waste. Guess old habits die hard. At least I rubbed off on my kids, they save their money and almost have to be forced to buy the basic things that they need.
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Lynn Morello 4 years ago
Mum would have us change out of our school uniforms as soon as we got home from school, She would sponge down our uniforms to freshen them up for the next day.
Katy 4 years ago
When I read "...waiting patiently for Christmas." it reminded me how I hated Christmas on primary school, bc I had no money from my mother for gifts for my beloved schoolmates. I got some small presents but I had nothing in return, I looked like miser, because at that age we werent't (luckily) familiar with the concept of fortune/poverty. I was very sad for me. Inside I felt always smh guilty. Till now, I am very uncomfortable when I got presents :(
Amyah Labrèche-Docq 4 years ago
When you missed something for a while, you become aware and grateful when you have it now. The important thing is to be grateful of everything we have.
Persephone 4 years ago
I go to a school and I have wear a uniform. Sometimes we have a “Free Appropriate Dress Day.” I can relate to this one.
Vasana Phong 4 years ago
I believe a lot of public schools here in the US have done this so the other less fortunate kids don’t feel left out or get bullied
Sandra Givens 3 years ago
School uniforms are often unaffordable for low income families, who might dress their kids from thrift shops or discount places with off brands. Kids will still bully over everything from shoes to hairstyle to backpack brand to what you bring for lunch to simply wearing eyeglasses.
Load More Replies... Fred Burrows 4 years ago
My best Christmas gift ever was an arctic military coat my sister put in the bag at the one dollar a bag thrift store . It took up a lot of space in that bag that she could have used for herself and her then infant daughter .
Cindy Snow 4 years ago
I wasnt that poor but my mom had no fashion sense and my everyday clothes were totally funny to other kids. Still remember getting made fun of over my pink fuzzy coat.
#7
Every piece of produce I ate at home, from 8-18 was grown in our backyard (and trust me we had it all). Seeds are cheaper, and weeding is a great punishment that doesn’t involve hitting your kids…
Eslamala 4 years ago
This. Exactly this. And, on the plus side, you know exactly what's in your food.
Daniel Atkins 4 years ago
And you eat good stuff that is why i raise my own green beans and tomatoes today they just taste better.
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yourdailydoseofcrazy 4 years ago
i think it’s a great idea, even without being poor. you know what you’re eating, it’s fun to harvest and grow, makes your yard/balcony look nice, and is cheaper :)
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Yep, bu ty'know what, I never took it as punishment! Weeding was just normal if you wanted to eat. Also, if you weeded, you ate as you worked. Fresh off the vine peas are still my fave way to eat peas!
Signe Manat Hansen 4 years ago
That's greeeeeeeat if you're privileged enough to have a garden
Viau Anna 3 years ago
I know poor people (usually immigrants )living flats, who grow veggies on unused/unloved public lands or between out-of-service train tracks. And the excuse of not having a yard is rather b******t, because many poor people do have a yard, but it's usually paved and/or cluttered with piles of junk 🤷♀️
Load More Replies... Niffler_13 4 years ago
My grandparents had a large garden, my grandmother would can the vegetables and live off them all year. I remember she would by cases of tomatoes (the vegetable my grandfather didn't like growing) from a local farm and make hundreds of jars of canned tomatoes.
Thalia Lovering 4 years ago
And yet if you live in big cities having a place to grow your own veggies is only for rich people.
Nomadus Aureus 4 years ago
I never knew how privileged I am to have free access to quality fruits and vegetables until I moved to the UK and saw how expensive healthy food is. Whenever I came back home during the school holidays, I would be practically shovelling fruits into my mouth. Now that I'm back in my home country, I'm so much more appreciative of what we have.
Dawn Sardella-Ayres 4 years ago
My grandma used to say the same thing about growing up on a farm. She said between the garden/crops and fishing, she had no idea how poor they actually were. She just thought they were having fun.
Load More Replies... #8
You can skip a meal by just going to sleep.
Adam C 4 years ago (edited)
I never thought about it as a kid but we only eat twice a day in weekends since we don't get lunch in school.
I I 4 years ago
i still as an adult only eat one main meal a day then eat fruit or have a cheese sarnie for the other two , might have oats if i have any
Load More Replies... DDmaybeandor 4 years ago
THIS! Pisses me off when people say somthing like, "it's ok to be picky". Nah, you've just never been hungry.
Ivana 4 years ago
I only eat once a day out of habit. No breakfast or lunch, just dinner. If you super broke, then you go to bed early.
Helen Haley 4 years ago
Because just being awake costs money. Water, electricity, toilet paper, food, and that is if you're just staring at a wall, doesn't include any type of entertainment.
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Panda-riffic 4 years ago
I'm not able to go to bed hungry. I have to have a little something in my stomach. Otherwise I can't sleep. Just a few crackers or a handful of nuts helps.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
You can function normally on 2 meals per day. I did it for over 30 years. 7 AM 1 sandwhich and a glass of milk. Work from 8 AM to 9PM. Return home: 10 PM dinner.
Anonymous 4 years ago
But you SHOULD eat every four hours, or your body go s to survival mode and feeds off your muscle
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#9
That teachers and lunch ladies are godsends. My teachers always asked me if I was hungry, had clothes, etc. The lunch ladies always gave me my lunch and breakfast for free, with extra food, because they knew it was the best opportunity for me to eat that day.
El muerto 4 years ago
in many countries people send the kids to school mostly because they'll get fed at least ones a day...
Daniel Shea 4 years ago
"In many countries" and also places like West Virginia and other poorer states. We have a tremendous 'food insecurity' problem in the US for poor states. When the pandemic hit and schools closed, one of the big concerns was, "How will these kids eat?", because school was their only guaranteed meal of the day. Many states set up food delivery programs using the National Guard.
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Claire Elizabeth 4 years ago
When my mom was a kid, her family couldn't always afford to have good meals. She works as a lunch lady now and makes sure that everyone has food not matter how much money they have
bxttery_bxby 4 years ago
Our school ended up implementing free breakfast and lunch for all students because a lot of people were having problems.
Hunglike Jesus 4 years ago
This is because food is not considered a human right but guns are. Humanity is so disappointing.
Viv Hart 4 years ago
This is so strange to me, in my schooldays in South Africa, you took your lunch of sandwiches to school, you might get a bottle of juice to drink, and a fruit, we didn't have lunchrooms. In junior school, we would get a 1/4 pint of milk, and some dried fruit from the school, I think this dated from after WW2, to build children up as we also had rationing, but it stopped in the late 50's. In winter we got hot cocoa to drink.
Elizabeth Gardner 4 years ago
all we got at school was cocoa in Winter and cold milk in summer.
Maartje Wenting 4 years ago
In The Netherlands you bring your own food, school lunches are non-existant. In elementary school you have about an hour lunch break where kids can go home, or most did when I was that age. Nowadays I believe many go to a sort of daycare between/after c ok asses.
#10
Have you ever had a sugar sandwich? Because I have.
LivingTheDream 4 years ago
mix in a little cinnamon and it became breakfast
Load More Replies... N G 4 years ago
The paradox of a lettuce sandwich. Dad grew lettuces on the allotment, so they were free, and a source of Vitamin A and fibre (white bread being cheaper than brown in those days). The paradox is comparing cucumber sandwiches eaten by the well off - they can afford to be nutritionally poor, the rest do it by necessity.
Stacy Scott 4 years ago
I had one last night. It's one of a few foods I remember with fondness from childhood.
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LadyDelynn 4 years ago
I would lightly butter a piece of bread, sprinkle on the sugar, and pop it in the toaster until the sugar/butter starts to bubble. *Chefs Kiss
elStiJneriNO 4 years ago
why do you need to be poor for that. i had a sweettooth. i loved them sandwich with butter and brown cassonade sugar
infinite upvote 4 years ago
Yeah, sounds good. They're not talking about eating it by choice tho
Load More Replies... #11
How bad powdered milk tastes after you've had real milk, and how good powdered milk tastes when you're truly hungry.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
I never even thought of this, but before we moved to the family farm? Powdered milk. Then it was that-day-from-the-cow milk. No comparison. but when hungry? Powdered milk it is!
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222T111 4 years ago
My mom use to mix the two and put in a milk jug so we were none the wiser. I’m 47 and still call my mom and dad, every single day, to thank them for all the sacrifices they made for us. My dad went on to open a food bank, meal on wheels for the elderly and an unwed mother’s home for teenagers. All because of our struggles growing up. I didn’t realize until I was 17 how incredibly poor we were. I moved 500 miles to help my dad and mom, when they opened all their charities. The best part is he ran them purely on donations from good hearted people. Why? Because if you get grants from the government for such things, they restrict who you can and can’t help. F that!!! My dad helped everyone. At times if it weren’t for hunters, donating deer meat, we wouldn’t of had meat to hand out. Yes, we told the people what it was and they could have cared less (sorry if that offends anyone but when you are hungry you are hungry and when you want to feed your kids, you don’t care where it came from.✌🏽
Jackie Porter 4 years ago
My mum used to make powdered milk so watery to stretch it out. It tasted horrible on cereal.
Sharon Ingram 4 years ago
That's all we drank growing up. Ice cold. And if you forgot to make a new pitcher so it had time to cool....yuck!
Vicissitude of Fate 4 years ago (edited)
You'd be surprised what you'd be willing to eat if you got hungry enough. Powdered milk is just the tip of the iceberg.
Randy Volz 3 years ago
From the age of 7 until 18, powdered milk was the only kind of milk in our home. And we drank it out of the little glass jars which had formerly held Kraft Pimento Spread.
#12
Going to bed hungry. Or purposefully leaving food so your parents could eat the leftovers since that would be their only meal... That hurts to think about, even now.
Vasana Phong 4 years ago
When we first immigrated here back in the early 80’s, my parents of course spoke no English, they worked then went to night school, I remember my parents would have all of us 5 eat first, then whatever was left they would eat, after seeing that I only ate less to make sure they had enough
J. Normal 4 years ago
But... These people who know the struggles, are much kinder to others than the ones who always got their way. If we look at the people in the news... we can generally see if they were raised with or without privilege.
Load More Replies... Vicissitude of Fate 4 years ago
I remember when I was younger myself, my uncle (2 years older than me, so like a big brother) and grandma used to go behind grocery store dumpsters to get food after they were closed and had dumped all the products past "sell by" date. Of course this was BEFORE the ridiculous law changes that prohibit leaving food out for homeless or sprinkling Borax or another chemical on everything, spoiling it so it's inedible.
Hunglike Jesus 4 years ago
I can remember going to bed hungry and thought it was because I was always hungry. I have since come to find out we were poor. It never entered my mind going up.
#13
Margarine and cinnamon on bread? Cinnamon toast! Ate that all the time growing up
Sandy D 4 years ago
I still love that, but I won't use margarine. It shouldn't even qualify as food. Butter isn't that expensive, especially if you use smaller acts per serving. Ate nasty margarine as a kid, tho.
Jade Lynn - Panda's Brat 4 years ago
Butter is $5 most of the time, compared to margarine which you can find for around a dollar. Some people need the $4 to get other food.
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Lauren Caswell 4 years ago (edited)
This was better than sugar sandwiches for sure! We had a specially labelled repurposed jar for cinnamon and sugar mixed together, for sprinkling on toast. Always Katherine(edit:margarine wtf autocorrect), butter was and still is very expensive. Considering our heavy exporting of dairy products here, it's actually nuts. Milk and petrol are roughly the same price most of the time
Bobert Robertson 4 years ago
We weren't poor growing up but I ate this all the time, we mixed in a little sugar with the cinnamon to sweeten it up
Kathryn Baylis 4 years ago (edited)
My parents were adolescents when the Great Depression started. Though my father’s family—-the immigrants who came to the US with nothing—-ended up fine because they didn’t play the stock market, they were still thrifty from sheer habit. However, my mother’s family went bust. So, being raised by two Depression Babies meant that my mother would also mix cinnamon and sugar with butter and spread it on toast for our “cinnamon bread”. She also shared baby clothes with the neighborhood, passed toys and bikes down from her oldest to youngest (me), served leftovers if there were any (5 kids, 4 of whom were boys), used coupons and took her time comparison shopping to save money on groceries, made sure we all got plenty of socks and underwear at Christmas, and no matter what it was, she’d “use it up and wear it out”—-even though my father was a pharmacist and made really good money. My father simply accepted her extreme thriftiness as normal, and never complained about having leftover stew for dinner—-again—-and wearing darned socks and old sweaters with patched elbows. Being poor just sticks with most people, no matter how well off they become later in life.
#14
McDonald's can be a place for special occasions only.
Mihai Mara 4 years ago
39, been to McD only once to meet with a friend. Never understood the hype.
D D 4 years ago
Yes, sure. It's overrated and absolutely bad Food. Not gonna argue with that. But this is a topic about peoples memories about being a poor kid. Not about what you think of mcd, narcissus...
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ChinmayGhule 4 years ago
Hmm.... In India only rich people go to Mc. Donald's, Dominoes and other places like that.
sivanphoenix 4 years ago
For us it's for special occasions or some friends are paying
Load More Replies... Niffler_13 4 years ago
For people who live in food deserts, McDonalds is a cheap and filling source of food. For low income individuals food being filling is often more important than it's overall nutritional value. A child with a full stomach is better than one with nutritional inadequacies in the moment.
Amanda Sherland 4 years ago
Uh oh, my kid eats a happy meal about once a month, just because we feel like it. Send me to jail.
Slinkman 4 years ago
Or it van be just the place to get your food when you're poor. Fastfood, sadly, is often cheaper then healthy food from the store.
Dawn Sardella-Ayres 4 years ago
Yes, this is something that has really changed since I was a kid. In the 70s, fast food was much more of a luxury item, and there were affordable options. Now, so many areas, especially in poorer parts of cities, will have one crap grocery store, and six fast food places. There are literally no other options unless you have the luxury of owning a car.
Load More Replies... Robert Thompson 4 years ago
Yup. And there was never soda at my house except Christmas and Easter. The rest of the time we drank water or Kool-Aid.
elStiJneriNO 4 years ago
my least favorite burger chain. We dont' have that much chains here. Just burger king, five guys, mcdo from the big american ones.
#15
Packages of socks and underwear and other necessities wrapped up under the Christmas tree. Funny thing was, I thought those were the standard Christmas gifts until I got married and my husband was like, what’s with the socks and underwear for Christmas?
Samuel 4 years ago
one rich christmas and few weeks later I noticed that some of my mom's jewelleries are gone.
Mihai Mara 4 years ago
Adult me: but but but.... socks and underwear are a nice present (Xmas or Bday)
N G 4 years ago
We still do socks and underwear at Christmas. Not everything has to be a source of joy - although, decent socks can come close!
Auntriarch 4 years ago
Especially the socks that don't have a seam across your toes - bliss!
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Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Yep. Non-school-uniform clothes came at Christmas. Socks are still a thing in our Christmases.
Anyone-for-tea? 4 years ago
I have a great photo of me about 6 or 7 looking delighted with a red ball of wool!
Lynne Stark 4 years ago
Long ago, I got an Easter Basket with pastel colored socks rolled up placed like eggs! I still remember, I loved it!
Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago
I thought that was normal too. And my dad had one heckuva tie collection.
#16
For fun, I would go to the city dump with my grandpa to peel proof of purchase labels off cereal boxes to be redeemed for refunds or prizes. I still have some of the dolls my grandpa got for me.
Niffler_13 4 years ago (edited)
My family regularly went and still goes to the dump to find salvageable items. My parents live in a community with higher income individuals, who constantly throw away items that are in very good condition or require minor repairs. My dad got a riding lawn mower that just needed a new ignition switch.
Mindy Keys 4 years ago
We would stop at the cemetery and go through their compost pile to get the freshest, best looking flowers to take home to my Gran. (The cemetery would pull them off to mow - fresh or not, they all went into the pile) She never let on, but I am sure she knew where we got them.
Catlady6000 4 years ago
I still trash pick on big pick up day. Reuse, refurbish, resell. I have found some amazing pieces. Just picked up a solid oak nightstand with two drawers. All it needs is a little sanding and some new knobs, beautiful piece
Laurie Ostergaard-Overbey 4 years ago
we used to find real usable 'treasure' at the dump! good stuff gets thrown out all the time. now they wont even let you near the place. liability and all that. rather waste waste and more waste
Robert Thompson 4 years ago
My Dad built his first pipe-organ using stuff from the dump. His mom (my grandma) sold it one day while he was at school.
#17
I am not attached to the concept of "liking" everything I eat. My son hates it, because I'm like "It's what we're having, and if you don't like it, better luck tomorrow." He's never had to learn from actual experience to be grateful he was getting anything at all.
Bizianka 4 years ago
This is messed up mentality. "I was forced to eat any food regardless how it was, and now I will force my kids to eat any food regardless how it is". There is a healthy middle ground, you know, between rising spoiled brats who don't appreciate anything and rising submissive souls who think their wants and desires don't matter.
Iggy 4 years ago
It's amazing when choice is removed how long the list of liked food becomes. You ate what you were given.
Kira Okah 4 years ago
Think you've got the wrong word there. The food wasn't liked, it was tolerated. Most of the food I ate as a child I am unable to anymore. I had never liked it, most of it was actually a severe texture trigger that I would gag on every day, but I tolerated it.
Load More Replies... Ozacoter 4 years ago
It's important to teach kids to eat different foods and be open to new dishes. My partner is a picky eater and cooking for him is very difficult
J. Normal 4 years ago
We had a 2 bite rule. All food you had to take two bites of, then you did not have to eat any more. Good way to have kids try different foods, and also go hungry when the food was awful.
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Louis Wright 4 years ago
I'm not so sure that's a good thing. Life was hard, but we learned from it.
#18
My classmates used to make fun of me because I would wear the same shirt every day and my sneakers had holes in them. This is one of the reasons why we started our charity, Alice's Kids. Thanks for raising this issue, Trevor.
Mewton’s Third Paw 4 years ago
I will never forget this boy in my kindergarten class, Victor. He wore the same couple of shirts all the time and he was really quiet because the kids avoided him. I regret not getting close to him to be his friend. I remember he cried when his turtle died and nobody comforted him but the teacher. This was like 30 years ago but I regret not stepping up all the time. I hope he is happy and successful now. I’m sorry Victor.
Dawn Sardella-Ayres 4 years ago
"Are you waiting for a flood?" "Why doesn't your shirt have a polo player on it?" "Did you know your sneakers have holes?" "Those aren't REAL Nikes/Jordache/Levi's/Trapper Keepers."
Marie Bland 3 years ago
In highschool I was known as the poor kid with no shoes, I got 1 pair of shoes per year
Fred Burrows 4 years ago
A lady came to my classroom once when I was about 8 or 9 and took me out of class and we went downtown to the shoe store and she bought me a pair of Buster Brown shoes. I still had to borrow a friends sneakers to get time on the basketball court, Funny now how I thought it was all so normal.
Robert Thompson 4 years ago
I remember working for an old man as a teen. After he paid me for the day, he asked to examine my shoes. I assumed he was impressed with how I had repaired them. Nope. He tore the repair wide open and instructed me to buy a new pair. I re-repaired them.
#19
The guilt and anxiety in adulthood when you buy anything for yourself.
The need to not feel like you could lose everything at any minute.
Limiting your processions on the chance that any moment you may need to gather everything and leave never to come back.
Thay 4 years ago
Still living like this... Had a decent run for a couple months then lost it all again.
Lauren Caswell 4 years ago
I don't know what to say but I want to express support for you, and my hopes that your next upturn is much closer than you may expect
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Lauren Caswell 4 years ago
I'm 11 years on, and but for my having a child with the person all other things are much better than they were at 3 years, just like 3 years is way better than zero years ❤ good on you Rens I know that in my heart that if you have found the bravery to leave, and to continue being gone, then you are a very strong person
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Cosmetica Solist 4 years ago
I relate to this. I'm fairly well off now, and I'm always anxious about money, feeling like I could go broke any minute. My husband who grew up in a wealthy family is the complete opposite. Even when we've had less money he's never scared and just basically trusts things will work out. Poverty is traumatizing!
Jackie Porter 4 years ago
My mum struggled so much when we were kids, she'd always made sure we wouldn't go without clothes as she was neglected as a kid. However when it came to clothing for herself she made do with charity shop purchases. She still does now even though she's comfortable off. She can't get out of the mind set that she only deserves charity shop clothes. It's a struggle to get her to buy anything new for herself.
#20
Got a cold? Grab a roll of toilet paper. I still feel like kleenex is a luxury item for the Queen of Sheba but my partner has chipped away at that, apparently it's not actually that expensive.
Pan Narrans 4 years ago
I still use toiletpaper. It's convenient and contains storage space for used paper.
Gregg Bender 4 years ago
I use TP for cleaning up after working on a messy painting project I'd I don't have a rag around. Much cheaper than paper towels.
Load More Replies... Hunglike Jesus 4 years ago
Using toilet paper was normal in my family and I still use it today. I thought everyone did.
danielw 4 years ago
and flushable, after it's been used. Can't do that with a kleenex.
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Ania Barrett 4 years ago
I only use toilet paper. Tissues in little individual packets are not eco-friendly. You don't need to be poor to blow your nose in toilet paper. You should be grateful you can afford it, some people use old newspaper.
Vicki Perizzolo 4 years ago
plus tp is made to go down the toilet & biodegrade and kleenex often has lotions etc in it making it 'not nice' for the environment... they both kill trees tho (yay for 'who gives a crap?' 100% recycled paper no trees involved)
Kathryn Baylis 4 years ago (edited)
I call toilet paper a “roll of tissues”. Close enough, plus you can flush it without clogging the pipes.
Pungent Sauce 4 years ago
My biggest splurge in life is Charmin instead of Scott. Because I’m worth it, dammit.
ultravioletmaglite 4 years ago
First year at uni, i bring a roll of toilet paper in the winter 'cause i hate having my nose stuffed. Classmates laughed. At the end of the week, a consequent number asked me if they can take few sheets. Now, same classmates - and friends, we are only 17 in master degree - complain when i i don't show up in class, or bring their own roll.
Guy MacGregor 4 years ago
Same. I use TP for everything but still don't get used to my friends jokes about having TP on every room (Especially on my office desktop)
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
I can't remember the last time I bought a box of tissues, we always use toilet paper.
#21
Feeling guilty about getting Xmas presents as a child
Bardhi's Dad 4 years ago
Even now, I'm 59, I feel uncomfortable when somone gives me a present
M O'Connell 4 years ago
I really don't like receiving presents, but very much enjoy giving them when I can.
Load More Replies... Vasana Phong 4 years ago
It shows that you’re not a selfish kid, one thing i can’t stand is someone growing up poor, so poor, but this has never humbled your ass as a grownup
Lori Ballard 4 years ago
I felt the same my dad would work an extra seasonal job at Christmas to get us presents. I still wish he hadn't overworked himself do hard because he passed away 4 days before my 20th birthday at age 50.
SoozeeQ 4 years ago
Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that Lori. My dad died when I was 8, so I know how you feel. You have my deepest condolences.
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Claudia Dugral 4 years ago
Even today I pretend not to want or need anything because there is no money for gifts. I am very embarrassed when people ask me what I got for Christmas or my birthday. And no, we are not poor. I work full time but money is always tight! But roof over my head and enough to eat.
sofacushionfort 4 years ago
Getting beaten on Christmas because the parents were stressed and angry
Matheus Oliveira 4 years ago
A cake that was not homemade (even a simple one) had the same effect on our birthdays.
#22
Never answer the phone. It was always the bill collectors looking for money. Same with the front door. Go away nobody's home.
Call Me Mars 4 years ago
Yes, but it is the reality some people had to live through and some people are still living in right now. My birthdad Craig is super poor. His phone doesn't work, has no job and no income. The only reason that he isn't on the street is that his ex-girlfriend (aka my birth mom) lets him live with her. (Yes, I am adopted.)
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Ivana 4 years ago
OMG I still can't answer the phone. I went without a cell phone for 5 years because every time a phone rings it is instant anxiety. Only phone I can stand to answer is the one at work. I have a cell phone now, I still have never answered a call after 2 years. I have to call people back because I just can't answer. Won't answer the front door either. Been 15 years since I moved out and I still hide when someone knocks on my door.
Scagsy 4 years ago
Yep, I'm with you there Ivana. I'm 44 now and comfortable without being well-off. We have some meagre savings and zero debt - which was a real achievement for me having been in debt all my life. But I can't answer the phone, it terrifies me. Whenever there is a knock on the door I start to panic and go into 'fight or flight' mode. It's been nearly 20 years since my last eviction but it's something I can't seem to shake. I'm starting therapy again soon so maybe that will help.
Load More Replies... Hunglike Jesus 4 years ago
I still don't answer my phone to numbers I don't recognize which probability stems from hiding from bill collectors
Marie Bland 3 years ago
Or having to go from neighbour to neighbour to see if they could spare a few pennies
#23
We reused aluminum foil.
Yeah, you heard 4 years ago
I do this. Not because I'm so poor i have to, but to be less wasteful. Everyone should reuse foil if they can
Mimi777 4 years ago
Same here! Just doesn’t make sense to toss it when it barely has anything on it. Just rinse it off some.
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Michelle C 4 years ago
Still do this even though we're not poor anymore...if it's still good reuse it
Niffler_13 4 years ago
My grandpa reused paper towels. If you just used it to dry your hands or used it as napkin, You'd rinse it under hot water, ring it out, then he had a clothes line in the kitchen and you would pin the paper towel to dry, and then use it again later.
Debbie Chapman 4 years ago
Definitely reuse Christmas bags and pretty Christmas wrapping paper. My sister spends a fortune on her wrapping paper. She always gets it back the next year!
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Pungent Sauce 4 years ago
Yep. And I wash and reuse store-brand Ziplock baggies, they last for months.
#24
Everything around you can be a toy. My action figure collection included a stick, a mason jar, an off brand Barbie given to me by an older cousin, and a bunch of melted green army men that looked like a giant. We had the best adventures.
Andrea Briski 4 years ago
I grew up in the 80s and my parents were smokers, so my favorite game was "lighter people". Once their lighters ran out of fluid, I would take them, pretend they were people, play with them and build them little houses out of household objects (an old perfume bottle would be a lamp, etc...). Definitely wouldn't fly today, but it was so much fun. It's amazing how creative you can get with just a little imagination.
Amanita Muscaria 4 years ago (edited)
I drew faces on jenga! Was funner (and funnier, ) than the Barbie I used to have!
NatalieC 4 years ago
I remember we had a bookshelf and I would pull a few books forward every 10-12 inches and those were the rooms in my "dollhouse."
Dawn Sardella-Ayres 4 years ago
Ikea bookshelves make PERFECT Barbie apartments.
Load More Replies... Jelo Alconaba 3 years ago
Those jars are from Nescafe. Great as drinking glass or coffee in. Have a couple of them from the 70s. My parents were great Nescafe fans back then. Great nostalgic collector's item. Sorry, note selling them.
yellowphantom 4 years ago
My grandmother was never poor but came through the depression and picked up the waste not vibe. If there was 1/4 cup of something leftover, it was reused. Would be eating tuna casserole and find a few spaghetti-o's in it.
Isabel Care 4 years ago
Instead of a teddy bear I had a "dolly blanket". My mum folded and rolled my baby blanket into a cylindrical shape that could be cuddled
Fred Burrows 4 years ago
I lived in the city and got toys from the thrift store dumpster. It was lots of fun .
#25
The only cheese we could get was the government commodities cheese ( which made delicious grilled cheese sandwiches BTW ) and the peanut butter that came with the commodities made yummy cookies
grotesqueer 4 years ago
This breaks my heart. 💔 All these were kids had to worry about the money and wanted to / felt the need to help their parents financially.
Wendy McCallister 4 years ago
Government cheese also made the best homemade Mac and cheese...yummy
TrickQuestion 4 years ago
It's what they gave poor families. Large quantities of easy to produce food you'd go to a facility to get.
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#26
Drinking a lot of water before or during a meal makes you feel much more full
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
And the food digests slower so you're not feeling hungry for a longer time.
CrunChewy McSandybutt 4 years ago
This is actually a good nutrition tactic, but I know that isn't the point.
sylvanticx 4 years ago
this is great for fast days too. on yom kippur or tisha b'av you arent' supposed to eat unless you have to for medical reasons, so if it's too hot or you're pregnant, you're supposed to drink. drink a ton of water and you won't be hungry.
#27
The generic isle at the grocery store. White boxes with black lettering.
Vasana Phong 4 years ago
Oh man memories, back then our Pathmark super market had their own black and white label brand , was called no-frills
Bill 4 years ago
Most of the store and name brands are just different boxes halfway through the same batch
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WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
You do not pay for a fancy package but the contents is just as good and sometimes even better. We still buy "House brand" because of the amounts of money you save.
Cybele Spanjaard 4 years ago
I buy generic wherever possible . Only use brands when I find them a better choice. I am not poor. It has been a logical choice to allow more for other things not related to poverty.
Mark Kelly 3 years ago
But that's okay, sometimes those foods are even made in the same factories as the brand name.
Isabel Care 4 years ago
Tesco red label margarine...we asked mum not to put anything on the bread if that was the only choice. One economy too far.
#28
My parents dumpster diving at the mall for birthday presents for us.
LottieH 4 years ago
I still dumpster dive for furniture! Someone else's trash is my treasure.
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Susan Price 4 years ago
I remember going with my mom to do this and we'd hit the ones behind the mall for all sorts of things but I LOVED finding books - covers were ripped off but still free books!
Karl Baxter 4 years ago
I used to go skip raiding at night with my dad - that’s where my first bicycle came from 🙂
Gregg Bender 4 years ago
Too many people have to dumpster dive for their next meal in this country.
Kirstin Stein 4 years ago
We called that "trash pickin" and we got the best things that way - often still new in the package-
#29
When you're at the end of your pay it is possible to live off instant coffee and biscuits stolen from the office tea room just so your cat can have food.
Adam C 4 years ago (edited)
Two colleague from Poland was in London for training for a week. Company would pay for the food if you get receipt. Course-leader only said there's only 1 vending machine. So they never had lunch they just had some free biscuts from hotel. Day 3 I found a food truck and you'll get a receipt.
Lindsey Turner 4 years ago
This was me , but instead of a cat it was my dog. I always made sure she had food
Vicissitude of Fate 4 years ago
My husband and I were homeless last year due to some crappy circumstances, but even when we had no money or food we'd do whatever it took to make sure our cat was fed. I've had her since she was 8 weeks old and she just turned 18, so there was NO WAY I was giving her up. The situation might've been shitty but she always had shelter, food, water, and love.
Lisa Shelton 4 years ago
When I was in my early 20s, I worked the evening shift at a company and there was a coffee machine they would turn off the coin slot for so we could have free coffee at night. It also had that horrible fake chicken broth. A lot of nights that was my meal, chicken broth with a few packets of crackers I snitched from the closed cafeteria. If I was having a good day I had a dollar for a boiled egg from the vending machine, which I could make into egg salad with a packet of mayo and mustard also from the cafeteria.
#30
being excited to watch a Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network show at a friend's house
_*U~$~e~l~e~$~$*_ 4 years ago
I still watch the ads when my moms has a show on
Load More Replies... Melissa TO 4 years ago
Omg, watching MTV at a friends house was life changing when I was 12/13!!!
Fred Burrows 4 years ago
I watched 'The Incredible Hulk' at my friends house each week and it usually was about suppertime and his Mom would fix me a plate too.
Robert Thompson 4 years ago
It was hard to chose from so many channels. I had 5 channels to chose from at home, and there was always something to watch.
Mewton’s Third Paw 4 years ago
The Simpsons wasn’t on cable though, it was on free over-the-air TV
Load More Replies... Amanita Muscaria 4 years ago (edited)
I remember going to my friends house taking out our jenga-people and her my-little-ponies but I didn't play much because I was mesmerized by the ads on the tv. She kept trying to get attention. Haha always wondered why she didn't fall under the spell but the tv was always on so she was probably used to it! We had been friends since we were five or four years old, still are.
MagicalUnicorn 4 years ago
up untill 8 years or so TV had only 2 channels (post soviet country), so anything after that was pretty nice
#31
Picked up soda bottles from along the roadside to turn in for the deposit money.
Call Me Mars 4 years ago (edited)
I feel this should be normal everywhere. People who need deposit money get deposit money, and we are doing a (very) small part to help clean the Earth.
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Dave P 4 years ago
Where I live there are poor people who come around to collect the bottles and cans the night of Recylcing pick up. I have seen them walk around, they set ups they have, they can fit a few hundred bottles and soda cans. At a 5 cent deposit, I am sure it helps. Its why we dont knot the bags closed in the can, but leave it with just a slip.
Mark Kelly 3 years ago (edited)
I do property maintenance and collect the recyclables from there. It doesn't take long cuz they're already consolidated. sometimes it can work out to about $60 an hour.
Nicole Holt 4 years ago
We would go hiking on weekends and collect empty beer bottles with my parents for that same purpose (Germany)
Martha Higgins 4 years ago
I still do that. I do it to clean up the roadsides and donate the money to my local volunteer fire department.
Robert Thompson 4 years ago
I remember making (collecting) $10/hour doing this. I never wanted anyone to see me doing it though.
#32
Our Christmas toy was from the S&H Green Stamp store. New PJs & underwear completed the gifts. Fridays was soup Mom made from little bits left over during the week. It was pretty random. It emptied the frig, Sat was grocery day. She knew the price of everything in the store.
Kathryn Baylis 4 years ago
My mother was a faithful S&H Green Stamp saver! I remember her stamp books, and how happy she’d be when the6 were finally full.
Gordon Hopper 4 years ago
I remember filling out the books to help Mom, not that I didn't enjoy doing it anyway....
Load More Replies... Cheryl Ramsay 2 years ago
My Mom always saved S&H Green stamps. I still have 3 sets of sheets she got from them. This was in 1962. Sheets are percale and have no rips or tears.
Sandra Givens 3 years ago
We got a few Christmas presents from Green Stamps. When I was in high school and doing a lot of cooking, my mom got me a set of mixing bowls with them. Long gone, but a few years ago found a set in the same pattern, so now when I use them, I think of my mom and that Christmas.
Dorothy Cloud 4 years ago
I still have a couple of items that I got back in the 60's with Green Stamps & Blue Chip. It was kind of fun to go "shop" at their centers!
Lynn Morello 4 years ago
Mum used to make new clothes out of old clothes and blankets, sheets and curtains. She would collect odd balls of wool from where ever she could pick the up for free, we had everything hand made. Dad used to make toys out of scrap wood and cardboard.
Martha Higgins 4 years ago
I am still using the white Corning Centura dishes and Oneida stainless steel flatware every day that I got with S&H Green Stamps in 1969, 52 years later.
#33
Good hygiene isn't always an easy thing to have.
MellonCollie 4 years ago
I want to refer to a deleted comment about how personal hygiene is not a difficult thing. For someone who does not know anything about poverty, it may be difficult to understand that it can in fact easilt become a difficult thing. Dental care for example can be expensive, and the fear of needing an intervention can keep people from making an appointment, leading only to more problems and more fear of the costs. People in poverty do not always have access to the necessary information that seems so obvious to those in a better situation. This lack of access (or even knowing you can access this information) can lead to all sorts of missed opportunities. Good hygiene is not always an easy thing to have, and that's a sad truth.
Kelli Girouard 4 years ago
Exactly. I'm literally paying (a lot!) for the poor dental hygiene I had as a child. We didn't have dental insurance as a kid. Six month check-ups and cleanings?! Nope. The only time we went to the dentist was when we were in excruciating pain.
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Vicki Perizzolo 4 years ago
fresh water should be available for everyone - without having to fight over it.
Mewton’s Third Paw 4 years ago
Things like affording deodorant or proper shampoo come to mind.
Red Hair Blue Soul 4 years ago
This is sad but true. Basic hygiene products cost money that we didn't always have.
Helen Haley 4 years ago
That and it can be pointless if you don't have the money to do laundry.
Mark Kelly 3 years ago
I'm glad here in Canada I get dental benefits from my job paid for my job. When I was a kid both my parents had union jobs so luckily we had that dental Care.
#34
Used plain bread for hotdog AND hamburger buns. Also had a big container of powdered milk in the pantry for the kids to use.
Martin Krogh 3 years ago
We pretty often had bread with some quickly made tomato sauce and a slice of cheese on - oh and a dash of oregano on top to make the pizza a truly gastronomic masterpiece :-) I loved it! We weren't even poor. Not rich, but absolutely not poor...
Brian Bennett 4 years ago
Yeah I remember bread soup! In England we had ration books they used to cancel each thing with a pencil X through it, we would take a piece of bread to rub the X out.
Jackie Porter 4 years ago
Mum always made us eat wholemeal bread as it was the only bit of fibre we'd get.
#35
We cut open the toothpaste to get every last drop out of the tube.
grotesqueer 4 years ago
I refuse to believe this is a poor thing. Why would you waste toothpaste? (or anything of course, like lotions etc.) I cut open my "empty" lotion bottle and get on average two weeks worth of lotion still!
#36
Did you have lettuce and mayonnaise sandwiches? On a good day we had bologna on it, too.
Daria Z 4 years ago
I eat lettuce and cream cheese sandwiches for breakfast because I love them :)
Stacy Scott 4 years ago
I used to fold dry rolled oats into lettuce leaves & eat them with a little salt.
#37
Nothing was name brand. Instead of Fruit Loops we had Fruity O's
Instead of Fruit Punch we had Red Juice (gallon with a sticker on it that said Red Juice), instead of Chip Ahoy we had Captain Chipleys.
Slinkman 4 years ago
I still get the cheaper knock-offs when they taste good. Some of these even taste better then the product they're based on. Not al that is more expensive is automatically better or tastier.
BorPand8 4 years ago
And quite often both products are literally made at the same factory, just with different labels.
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JuJu 4 years ago
It's paying for the brand and not the ingredients. And often the brand has a lot more crap in it than the knock-offs.
Mewton’s Third Paw 4 years ago
Not for cereal. The cheaper ones always have a way way way way higher sugar content.
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Andrew Gibb 4 years ago
Some copies of the brand are the actual brand made for supermarkets...
Mark Kelly 4 years ago
Sometimes the name brand is it been made in the same factory. Both pretty much nutritionally identical.
Karl Baxter 4 years ago
My Ma would buy gallon bottles of cheap Ketchup and Brown Sauce and fill up brand name bottles with them. She also used to buy in bulk at the local market and that’s what we’d be eating until it ran out. I recall the summer of Curry Flavoured Pot Noodle followed by the long winter of Spam 😉
Mark Kelly 3 years ago
But that's okay, sometimes some of these products are even made in the same factory.
#38
My mother washed aluminum foil.
Dorothy Cloud 4 years ago
I still reuse plastic bags & foil. If you don't, it just fills the trash.
Jane Moore 4 years ago
I still do and wash plastic bags etc. Old Bottles are great storage jars
Martha Higgins 4 years ago
Why add to the waste stream when you can reuse perfectly good things again?
Mardie Mohamed 4 years ago
Me and my mum wash and reuse zipper/resealable bags, and we're not considered poor where we at.
Cybele Spanjaard 4 years ago
I still do and never been poor . I call it recycling commonsense. Same with plastic bags I recycle
Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago
We used to unkrinkle and platten out wax paper. Can always be used to wrap another sandwich in.
Sarah Trusty 4 years ago
I wash and reuse it, plastic bags and I have had the same straws for about 15 years.
Vicki Perizzolo 4 years ago
I reuse plastic bags all the time - so many people don't bother to even recycle them.. or bottles
#39
How to invent foods based on the limited amount of what you already have
K Killian 4 years ago
My favorite childhood meal came as a result of no money for groceries. My mother found a leftover half can of kidney beans and half a tube of breakfast sausage and threw them both in the pot with a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese. Thinking about it still makes my mouth water.
Daniel Atkins 4 years ago
My mother made mac and cheese with tuna and green peas. I still make it on occasion and have classed it up a bit.
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Susan Bosse 4 years ago
Now that is a hit tv competition. Chopped. We do it for fun at holidays. Never thought about it being for survival. Man. I grew up more privileged than I realized.
Jane Alexander 4 years ago
Made a different sort of 'English toffee' one night with molasses and some shortning.
#40
Boiled wieners for lunch... wiener water soup for dinner
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
I think I threw up in my memory just now. My sister would drink the hot dog water on egg noodles. ....
Debbie Palmer 4 years ago
They boiled the wieners to eat. Then had the wiener water, from boiling the wieners, for dinner.
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Jenny King 4 years ago
Wiener soup for 7 people: 2 hot dogs, sliced, 3 cups instant mashed potato flakes, 10-12 cups water (or if real lucky, chicken broth made from drumstick bones saved after everyone gnawed the meat off at a previous meal), any stray vegetables you have (or scavenged edibles from yards), pepper, hot sauce (packets snagged from the local taco shop), onion powder. Eaten way too many times.
Fred Burrows 4 years ago
Not these fancy wieners but the skinny red ones , Also used sliced with macaroni
Dawn Sardella-Ayres 4 years ago
My mom would make stuffed hot dogs, which involved instant mashed potatoes and generic cheese slices in the oven.
#41
Every day from age 7 to 14, Breakfast & Dinner were cooked cereal & milk. Lunch didn’t happen. I ate fruit or vegetables when the friendly produce vender tossed me a treat on my way to & from school. (@ 14 I ran away bc of Aunts psychotic behavior- not bc of the food/poverty) In retrospect all things considered, I was very lucky to have that supply of milk. Many people living in poverty who manage sufficient caloric intake, may still lack a steady source of protein- potentially leading to grave nutritional deficiencies. For the milk, I am grateful.
#42
Eating the same thing every day. My SO can't believe I can eat one meal for days and not get sick of it. It was mostly spaghetti. Thankfully I love spaghetti.
Antz Online 4 years ago
I hate wasting food and still do the same. When visiting extended family and I do that there, they look at me weird, because they must have freshly cooked food everyday and they don't even give the leftovers away, they throw it. That makes me both angry and sad
Kevin Camp 4 years ago
There is no viable reason to waste food no matter how well off you are.
Load More Replies... #43
Wear your coat inside to save on the heat bill
BorPand8 4 years ago
It's nice that you live in a country where you don't freeze to death in the winter without heat.
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Wear it to bed with hat, mittens, and sleep with at least one dog/two cats each on the bed for warmth. The "heat" was exactly enough to prevent pipes from freezing.
Vasana Phong 4 years ago
Remember them kerosene heaters? My parents invested in that to save on the heating bill, man now that I look back, that was so dangerous
#44
That a ramen noodle packet with the flavoring plus cut up hotdogs with canned corn, carrots, and peas or some other combination of caned vegetables was the best dinner ever. Makes me truly appreciate my parents all that I have now and I treat my parents or cook dinner for them every chance I get.
#45
2 meals a day were beans and rice and we skipped the third all while the foster parents ate chicken and steak as did their kid. To this day I can’t stomach the thought of beans and rice
Libstak 4 years ago
How do people like that qualify to foster? There needs to be proper checks and balances in the system. Surely social workers should be eagle eyed about these type of behaviours 1st , 2nd and 3rd priority. It's not like it's not common knowledge that there are money hungry burger a who foster just to sort the system.
Simzabandz 4 years ago
you know what, foster parents are full of s*#t sometimes because to think about it, the money from government to support these kids is the one they use for the steak they have nxla... GO DIE! (If you're an evil foster parent)
Holes2Heaven 4 years ago
I'm sorry, that's just wrong!!! They should never of become foster parents just for the check.
#46
You’re still 12 for three years after you actually turn 12.
Jennifer Norris 4 years ago
Because at some US restaurants kids 12 and under eat free (with purchase of any adult meal.)
#47
Being on free lunch and the shame that goes along with it. It's not like the kids with money didn't know. It's basically an "I'm poor" label.
Fluffy Griffin 4 years ago
We didn't have free lunch when I was growing up, but they did have a program where students could help with setup and teardown of the lunch room and those students would get a free lunch. I signed up for this whenever I could. The down side was that it ate into recess time.
Nicola Roberts 4 years ago
I remember getting free school meals from about 5 until 10 years old. I didn't feel any shame, I guess I was too young. However, I've just realised that my father was in the military. This is shocking to think in the 1970s the UK weren't paying a living wage to their Air Force?!
Simzabandz 4 years ago
I was gangsta in primary, and a propagandanist (dont know if the word exists but go figure) the children in the school started going to eat the school provided lunch because of me painting it in such a light that they would never refuse it, thats how I got confident nd took pride in my poverty.
#48
my dad skipped lunch once a week so he could save $1 and get my 3 siblings and I a $.25 vending machine drink after church on sundays
#49
I feel guilty for buying anything more than the cheapest version of whatever thing it is I need to buy.
Helena Houzarová 4 years ago
Sometimes the cheapest thing is actually more expensive because it's worse quality. Try to reframe it like that in your head to get rid of the guilt; you don't deserve to feel bad because you can afford to buy better quality that will last longer or support your health!
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
That is one of the biggest problems when you have to scrape to get by. You can't afford to buy a better car but your current car is a bottomless pit but you need it or you can't work.
Load More Replies...
#50
Your mom having to borrow money from you to pay for food/bills. Also the embarrassment of people comparing Christmas gifts with you when they got expensive electronics and toys. I used to hate when teachers asked the class what they got for Christmas.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
I've worked in primary schools and in a lot of them teachers weren't allowed to organize any activity that would reveal how rich or poor the parents were. I think it should be an official rule instead of a rule set by the school. We're all about inclusiveness but often the children from poor families are overlooked and excluded.
Kari Panda 4 years ago
Same to both. I remember getting a cassette player for my birthday once, and a kid from my street was completely baffled that I hadn‘t gotten anything else and then asked me how much it had cost.
#51
When we were super poor and getting Koolaid or pop was a rare treat. Sometimes we’d get iced tea powder from bulk at the grocery store as well. I remember asking my dad if we had anything to drink either than water and he dug through the cupboards and he found some iced tea powder - just enough for a glass. I was so excited! He mixed it up and noted that it wasn’t mixing super well but finally he gave it to me and I took a big chug. It was beef bouillon powder :( Funny looking back now but I remember how disappointed I was.
#52
The crushing fear of asking for anything, even when it was a necessity. My thighs have always rubbed together and I’d only have one pair of jeans that fit, so I’d wear through the thighs in a couple months and end up chafing my thighs for weeks, and try to patch them by crummily sewing socks over the holes. It was a nightmare. Now that I’m financially secure and have like 6 different pairs of well fitting jeans, I’ve had them all for well over a year and none have worn through yet.
Samantha Lomb 4 years ago
I'm lucky the repair shop in Russia will reinforce them. Jeans are expensive and they do rub right through. I was supposed to take a pair to be fixed today but my cat decided she would pull them down and pee on them last night, so they have been washed and now have to dry.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Oh yeah. My fear was for a different reason, but... till our looking bad made our dad look bad? Forget the idea of even *one* pair of jeans to last two years. On a farm no less. SMH
#53
Finding our mum crying in the kitchen counting pennies when you can't afford a loaf of bread. As the eldest of three (at the time, now four) I was the confidant. Up until I was seven it was a constant struggle to afford food, worse between the ages of five and six.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Yeah. Then we could have enough food but my dad was into controlling us by way of controlling the food we ate, and we still didn't get enough.
LottieH 4 years ago
Because life likes to throw curve balls at inconvenient times. Most people can afford to have children when they do, but s**t happens that can turn things upside down drastically. Don't be so quick to judge what you don't know.
Load More Replies... #54
How embarrassing it was when friends would ask for your phone number (or a teacher) and you didn't have a home phone. It felt like everyone in the world had a home phone but us. Also, not wearing trendy clothes. I got made fun of for that. Kids are mean.
Kari Panda 4 years ago
In 5th or 6th grade, we were supposed to write an essay about our family’s car. When I told my teacher we didn‘t own a car, he told me to 'just make something up'. We had never owned a car, my mother didn’t even have a driver’s license and the essay was to include things like how many kilometers a year your family was driving etc. One of the few times I skipped school by pretending to be sick...
#55
I knew that you had to pay an extra fee on top of your bill if your electricity got turned off for non payment.
222T111 4 years ago
And! You have to pay the full amount of the Previous bill. You are allowed to be behind 1 bill but god help you if you don’t pay it before the second bill is due. Then you have to pay both bills plus a $50 reconnection fee. That fee is BS! It take 1 minute to turn power back on but sure, charge me $50.
Load More Replies... Pungent Sauce 4 years ago
Where I live you can turn off everything but you’ll still get a $40 bill just for even being connected to the grid. “Service and connection fees”
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
It's all those fees, surcharges, fines and administrative costs that make life extremely difficult when you're already on a very tight budget. Just a little bad luck and your financial plan, that you calculated to the last cent, goes up in smoke.
#56
lunchables, fruit rollups and dunkaroos were the most incredibly luxurious school lunch items, fit for a saudi prince
#57
My dad could only go to work 4 days a week because he couldn’t afford the gas to get to work. My house didn’t have heat so I slept next to a fire place to keep warm.
#58
Never having any new clothes of your own, but only worn hand-me-downs from your older siblings.
#59
I’ve hated the government since i was 9 bc i wasn’t allowed to get tampons, rotisserie chicken or any premade item cause food stamps didn’t want us to eat a lot of certain things. Reasoning? None, they just hate poor people. I coined the term “register anxiety”
Nicola Roberts 4 years ago
Sadly, and this is the exception and not the rule, if there is a way of abusing the system some will. I remember during a lockdown in 2020 the UK government offered vouchers to families that would have received free school meals. I saw a sign in a budget supermarket that said they would not accept these vouchers for alcohol. WTF . On a very positive note I want to give Scotland a big shout out for the first country in the world to make sanitary products free. Not Scottish but credit where credit is due.
Uber Mensch 4 years ago
Speaking from experience: you can buy all kinds of junk food with food stamps - but not multivitamins. Does that even *begin* to make sense?
Tala Koala 4 years ago
You can’t eat tampons, food stamps are for food! You need food to live, tampons aren’t mandatory vs. other sanitary means.
Brandy Dor 4 years ago
It's FOOD stamps, not necessity stamps, tampons are not food! And the reason you can't get premade food is it discourages food stamp sales because it limits what a buyer can actually buy with them. However there are some exceptions in some states for people without the means to actually cook.
Dave P 4 years ago
medically pads are more sanitary and lower risk of infections. Plus many religious people when they are single prefer pads. Also did you know tampons are actually an older tech than the pads? the Pads we know of are from the 1930's, tampons are from the 1910's. I know at my local pharmacy (because I know the owner) pads outsell tampons.
Load More Replies... #60
The “check engine” light really isn’t that important. Beans and rice are everything. Parents can be really, really good at hiding how bad it is financially. There are so, so many alternatives to buying brand new household items.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
But by ignoring the "Check Engine" light the costs of the repairs will just go up. So poverty leads to more financial troubles.
KittyMommy 4 years ago
Yeah, but fixing the reason for the light is not always possible. Let's say engine repair is $300. Might as well be $30,000. That money is a significant portion of your rent, utilities, or food for the month.
Load More Replies... #61
Kraft mac and cheese and boiled hot dogs is a good quality dinner.
Vasana Phong 4 years ago
My son loves this today, I mix the cut up hotdogs in the Mac n cheese
#62
Me and one other kid had to stay at school and draw pictures of clowns while the rest of the class went to the circus.
Holes2Heaven 4 years ago
I feel like the school should quietly pay for the kids who can't afford to go. Or send a letter home with all the kids, asking for extra for kids who can't afford to attend field trips
Kristof De Smet 4 years ago
In Belgium, for this kind of thing, there are some solutions. Bigger trips however, like class going skiing for a week, not.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
But this is not the norm in all countries. A lot of countries don't even have legislation forcing schools to take all kids on trips. Mostly the school announces the trip and what the parents need to pay, if the parents can't afford it, the school provides an "alternative activity". In the Netherlands you can apply for some financial support from the government, but they won't finance a school trip abroad or any other very expensive activities.
Load More Replies... #63
Your location isn't certain. You might be here for another month or several. You will be uprooted and dragged along soon. You will lose all the friends you have made. You will lose any sense of security. It is all about how long you can hold this place before you get evicted.
MarcAngelina Alcober 4 years ago
we never made it any place longer then a year... once i started to make friends- we would pack up and move... it was terrible
#64
Going to your extended family’s houses usually resulted in leaving with bags full of tinned food.
#65
My parents used to buy expired canned goods in bulk.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Most canned food is still good months after the official expiration date. General rule of thumb: as long as the can isn't starting to expand, the contents is safe to eat.
#66
Any car 10 years old or newer is new
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Since the quality of cars have improved there's nothing wrong with driving an old car. My last car was 20 years old when I traded it in 2 years ago because I had to pay a shedload on taxes because it was a diesel. Not because it drove or handled badly. It was bought by some Polish bloke who exported it to Poland and took it back to the Netherlands. Because it's a Polish car now he doesn't pay any taxes in the Netherlands....
Emily Busch 4 years ago
My parents only bought used cars and kept them until fixing them became more expensive than getting another used car. My dad drove our Camry for 25 before getting another car.
#69
Milk was mixed with powder milk
#70
I used to think fried baloney was bacon
Kathryn Baylis 4 years ago (edited)
I love fried baloney! Makes great sandwiches as well as being a side meat with eggs for breakfast.
Kelli Girouard 4 years ago
Heck yeah! Fried bologna sandwiches with mustard. Throw on a slab of gov'ment cheese, if we were feeling indulgent.
Load More Replies... #71
Staples aren’t necessary if you just fold the top left corner of the stack of papers, make two small tears on the folded part, and fold the piece in between the tears. The method starts to fall apart when the stacks get too large though, but it’s great for school papers and minor projects. Just don’t hand in your PhD thesis using the method.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
There's even a gadget that does this. It's called , wait for it, the stapleless stapler. https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/japanese-stapleless-stapler
#72
This is going to wipe the competition
LAWLAWLAW 4 years ago
OMG izal aint touched my a**e since primary school, can also be used as tracing paper.
paul hawkins 4 years ago
That stuff is really expensive now, remember it not so fondly at primary school
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What do you think ?
Kayla Halleur 4 years ago
It's strange, I didn't realise how poor my family was when I was growing up until reading all of these and recognising so many of them as very common things we did. Just goes to show how much your parents can hide from you or make into a fun thing to do when you're little.
Ivana 4 years ago
I didn't know I was homeless until my friend's mother was dropping me off at the homeless shelter and said "Oh, your homeless." I told her no, that we were just waiting on our new place to get set up, this was the in-between place. She argued with a 9 year old to make sure I knew I was homeless. When we did get a place to live I had my first and last birthday party, it was my last because she convinced all the other parents that our trailer park wasn't safe and all of the parents wouldn't let my friends stay, so I ate my birthday pizza while watching my first and last ice cream cake melt for my 10th birthday. Kids don't know they are poor until someone shames them for it.
Load More Replies...
Rhea 4 years ago
A lot of people react with "I also do this" and "I enjoy eating Y". A huge difference is in the "why": Some people have the luxury of CHOOSING to do/eat certain things. It doens't compare to the situation of people who HAVE to go dumpsterdiving, or only wear secondhand clothing, or eat bread with lettuce as a meal.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Exactly. If your ONLY option is a five-year-old shirt already worn half-transparent by an older sibling... that isn't thrift. And if you want to eat like crap, fine, but kids should never have to eat poorly.
Load More Replies... Kat 4 years ago
My mother had me when our country was still under Russian reign. We gained independence in 1991 (in August, and January next year my sister was born) and times were really really hard for several years. Nobody knew that this was going to happen. Things were stabile until then and basically changed overnight. The whole system took time to rebuild. We actually had almost nothing to eat sometimes. I remember one birthday. My mother asked if I wanted cake or present and I said cake, because that was something we could all share. I remember how she redesigned her skirt for my first class beginning so that I had something fancier to wear. Things got gradually better with time and we could afford travelling, better life standards etc. But yeah, I remember hard times.
Eslamala 4 years ago
I will never understand the mentality of a country that throws money in the trash by invading other countries, rather than taking care of their citizens. It's not like the government doesn't have the money. They just don't care. No matter who the president is. Some people in the U.S have worse quality of life than people in south american countries... Also, I will never understand what kind of parent doesn't teach their kids that not everyone has the same things, and that it's never acceptable to laugh at your "poor" classmate, nor is it cool to worship or envy the ones who have more than you do. My mom had that talk with me when I was 4 or 5.
AzKhaleesi 4 years ago
My kids can tell you the sacrifices made when they were kids. I was a single mom and broke af, but they always had a roof, electricity and food. Was it steak? no. But they went to bed full every night, I may not have, but they sure as hell did. I work in a prison and I would eat the inmate meals (not like from the inmates, but what was being served that day) just so my kiddos could have more at home. Clothes came from thrift stores and garanimals at Walmart (cheap and cute) I refused to go to a brand name store when they'd grow out of it once they sneezed. Payless for shoes until they stopped growing. Why they closed that store I'll never get it. It saddens me to look back at those times but I made it work and for that I'm proud, now my kids are almost grown and they understand money, and we are way better off. I can say yes more than I say no now. They still won't eat their supper until I take the first bite because they remember all the times I skipped meals for them.
PixieVonBehr 4 years ago
At lot of comments about how sad and depressing this thread is but as a former poor child, there are lots of positives we took into adulthood! I'm super good with money, I save up for whatever I need, I can make a packet of mince last a week and I never break anything because in the back of my mind I still have the mindset that I can't afford to replace it. And I still get excited about visiting the dump 'for fun' in my 30's :)
Catlady6000 4 years ago
Frankly, I'm glad I grew up poor. More people should. We learn so much more and seem to have a greater appreciation, empathy and understanding. Not to mention the ability to create awesomeness from little or nothing
Load More Replies... Blakkur Sverrir 4 years ago
Well that was sobering. Did/still do at least 1/3 of those things and thought "Hey, gotta try that" multiple times. Don't even consider myself poor. I know I am, if you look at the numbers, but I don't "live" poor. A home, with heating enough to eat.. There are always people who got it worse. And then you see multi-million dollar assholes telling you bulshit about "poor life choices" and avocado toasts. Yeah, sorry I didn't choose to have rich parents and instead work 40 hours a week to feed my family. And on the same time I am thankful that here where I live 40 hours are sufficient to feed my family while people in other places can't. Beeing "poor" isn't that bad. But seeing people live in luxury and mocking others for beeing poor although thy work... That makes your train of thought run in "french revolution" direction...
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
My brain has trended to 1789 since I was about 10-11 years old. Sometimes you get left behind and it's nothing about your work ethic, etc. It's *luck*. And how many of these rich people got that way by taking advantage of the poor? Too many. (Payday lending is a crime, IMHO.) Et cetera.
Load More Replies...
yesyes? 4 years ago
We were homeless and lived in a mcds parking lot. They let us play on the playground and when food was made wrong, gave it to my mother. We washed up in the sink and slept in a lil tiny car called a rabbit. Ahhh the 80s lol.
El Dee 4 years ago
This level of poverty doesn't exist in my country any more but most of these look like they're in the US and from people much younger than me. America seems more like a developing nation than a superpower
Martha Meyer 4 years ago
They just have a much larger wealth gap. Next to these poor people you'll find some insanely rich and wasteful ones.
Load More Replies... Rens 4 years ago
I was forced to live in my car with 2 cats for 7 months. I had to lie about my address just so I could get a job. Moved into a new place just before winter hit, lost my car the next day, lost my job 3 days later.
Rens 4 years ago
It's all good now, I am now disabled but I have a home and an income. And no abusive ex to take it all away again.
Load More Replies... Kayla Halleur 4 years ago
It's strange, I didn't realise how poor my family was when I was growing up until reading all of these and recognising so many of them as very common things we did. Just goes to show how much your parents can hide from you or make into a fun thing to do when you're little.
Ivana 4 years ago
I didn't know I was homeless until my friend's mother was dropping me off at the homeless shelter and said "Oh, your homeless." I told her no, that we were just waiting on our new place to get set up, this was the in-between place. She argued with a 9 year old to make sure I knew I was homeless. When we did get a place to live I had my first and last birthday party, it was my last because she convinced all the other parents that our trailer park wasn't safe and all of the parents wouldn't let my friends stay, so I ate my birthday pizza while watching my first and last ice cream cake melt for my 10th birthday. Kids don't know they are poor until someone shames them for it.
Load More Replies... Rhea 4 years ago
A lot of people react with "I also do this" and "I enjoy eating Y". A huge difference is in the "why": Some people have the luxury of CHOOSING to do/eat certain things. It doens't compare to the situation of people who HAVE to go dumpsterdiving, or only wear secondhand clothing, or eat bread with lettuce as a meal.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Exactly. If your ONLY option is a five-year-old shirt already worn half-transparent by an older sibling... that isn't thrift. And if you want to eat like crap, fine, but kids should never have to eat poorly.
Load More Replies... Kat 4 years ago
My mother had me when our country was still under Russian reign. We gained independence in 1991 (in August, and January next year my sister was born) and times were really really hard for several years. Nobody knew that this was going to happen. Things were stabile until then and basically changed overnight. The whole system took time to rebuild. We actually had almost nothing to eat sometimes. I remember one birthday. My mother asked if I wanted cake or present and I said cake, because that was something we could all share. I remember how she redesigned her skirt for my first class beginning so that I had something fancier to wear. Things got gradually better with time and we could afford travelling, better life standards etc. But yeah, I remember hard times.
Eslamala 4 years ago
I will never understand the mentality of a country that throws money in the trash by invading other countries, rather than taking care of their citizens. It's not like the government doesn't have the money. They just don't care. No matter who the president is. Some people in the U.S have worse quality of life than people in south american countries... Also, I will never understand what kind of parent doesn't teach their kids that not everyone has the same things, and that it's never acceptable to laugh at your "poor" classmate, nor is it cool to worship or envy the ones who have more than you do. My mom had that talk with me when I was 4 or 5.
AzKhaleesi 4 years ago
My kids can tell you the sacrifices made when they were kids. I was a single mom and broke af, but they always had a roof, electricity and food. Was it steak? no. But they went to bed full every night, I may not have, but they sure as hell did. I work in a prison and I would eat the inmate meals (not like from the inmates, but what was being served that day) just so my kiddos could have more at home. Clothes came from thrift stores and garanimals at Walmart (cheap and cute) I refused to go to a brand name store when they'd grow out of it once they sneezed. Payless for shoes until they stopped growing. Why they closed that store I'll never get it. It saddens me to look back at those times but I made it work and for that I'm proud, now my kids are almost grown and they understand money, and we are way better off. I can say yes more than I say no now. They still won't eat their supper until I take the first bite because they remember all the times I skipped meals for them.
PixieVonBehr 4 years ago
At lot of comments about how sad and depressing this thread is but as a former poor child, there are lots of positives we took into adulthood! I'm super good with money, I save up for whatever I need, I can make a packet of mince last a week and I never break anything because in the back of my mind I still have the mindset that I can't afford to replace it. And I still get excited about visiting the dump 'for fun' in my 30's :)
Catlady6000 4 years ago
Frankly, I'm glad I grew up poor. More people should. We learn so much more and seem to have a greater appreciation, empathy and understanding. Not to mention the ability to create awesomeness from little or nothing
Load More Replies... Blakkur Sverrir 4 years ago
Well that was sobering. Did/still do at least 1/3 of those things and thought "Hey, gotta try that" multiple times. Don't even consider myself poor. I know I am, if you look at the numbers, but I don't "live" poor. A home, with heating enough to eat.. There are always people who got it worse. And then you see multi-million dollar assholes telling you bulshit about "poor life choices" and avocado toasts. Yeah, sorry I didn't choose to have rich parents and instead work 40 hours a week to feed my family. And on the same time I am thankful that here where I live 40 hours are sufficient to feed my family while people in other places can't. Beeing "poor" isn't that bad. But seeing people live in luxury and mocking others for beeing poor although thy work... That makes your train of thought run in "french revolution" direction...
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
My brain has trended to 1789 since I was about 10-11 years old. Sometimes you get left behind and it's nothing about your work ethic, etc. It's *luck*. And how many of these rich people got that way by taking advantage of the poor? Too many. (Payday lending is a crime, IMHO.) Et cetera.
Load More Replies... yesyes? 4 years ago
We were homeless and lived in a mcds parking lot. They let us play on the playground and when food was made wrong, gave it to my mother. We washed up in the sink and slept in a lil tiny car called a rabbit. Ahhh the 80s lol.
El Dee 4 years ago
This level of poverty doesn't exist in my country any more but most of these look like they're in the US and from people much younger than me. America seems more like a developing nation than a superpower
Martha Meyer 4 years ago
They just have a much larger wealth gap. Next to these poor people you'll find some insanely rich and wasteful ones.
Load More Replies... Rens 4 years ago
I was forced to live in my car with 2 cats for 7 months. I had to lie about my address just so I could get a job. Moved into a new place just before winter hit, lost my car the next day, lost my job 3 days later.
Rens 4 years ago
It's all good now, I am now disabled but I have a home and an income. And no abusive ex to take it all away again.
Load More Replies...
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