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Research suggests that it takes an average of 66 days to form a habit. Do something consistently for a little over two months, and it will be part of your system, whether it’s cold showers, 20-minute meditations, or three-minute planks upon waking up.
Now, imagine doing something your entire life growing up. There’s a good chance you carry these traits over for the rest of your existence, even when circumstances have changed. For these people, it’s unique, even quirky practices they’ve adopted, being raised in a less-affluent environment.
If you went through a similar experience, feel free to share your insights in the comments!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Honestly? The more generous someone is, the more I think they’ve likely grown up without money. The people I know who grew up rich will remind you that you owe them £2 and chase you up for it. The people who grew up broke (and still are) will give you their right arm if they felt you’d need it more.
Little Bit 6 months ago
People who grew up broke or are broke will always recognise someone who is in need. They have a greater sense of empathy and will do whatever they can to help, unlike some (but not all) wealthy people who are very much at the centre of their own world.
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#2
Not buying things you really want, even if you have the money, because they aren't essential needs.
#3
Thinking very basic things are "fancy" or expensive. I always wanted to try baby bells as a kid and my mom would tell me they're way too expensive and for only wealthy families. As a teenager I was at a friend's house and his mom offered me one. I got so excited. Then after I ate it I was filled with guilt because I couldn't stop thinking about how much money they just wasted on me. Over a baby bell.
T'Mar of Vulcan 6 months ago
My cousin got Nutella on her sandwiches. When I asked my mom why I didn't get Nutella, she said it was too expensive. So to me, Nutella was rich people food (cousin's parents both worked, in a time when this was unusual, so of course they had more money). One of the first things I did when I had my own money was buy a jar of Nutella (and a Barbie doll).
#5
Not using products you have in fear of it running out. You don’t know when you can get more. then it eventually expires and becomes unusable anyway.
#6
Hoarding things to "use later." Like believing i can make use of an egg carton later. Food and clothes- it hurts me physically deep to my core to throw those things out. Even as I've gotten better with it, I have to push through that feeling. It never left.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 6 months ago
I keep a couple pairs of blown out old pants around because I can use the material to patch the pants I wear every day when they are also falling apart.
#7
General anxiety around money. Always attempting to fix something instead of just throwing it away and buying a replacement.
Pittsburgh rare 6 months ago
I always attempt to fix things because I don't want to over consume. Using things until their last breath makes me happy, I don't know if it's past trauma but I feel it's more responsible.
#8
Checking the price for everything.
Pittsburgh rare 6 months ago
That's just common sense. Also, comparing price per kg instead of price per unit
#11
Lack of Self control with spending money once you start making some.
DennyS (denzoren) 6 months ago
This happened to me when I first started working and realizing I can buy whatever I wanted but then some tough times brought me back down to reality.
#12
Changing into old clothes the second you get home and hanging up your good clothes.
roddy 6 months ago
I always wear the clothes I don't much like so I can "save" the nice ones. Which virtually never get worn as I worry I won't be able to replace them and don't want any wear and tear on them. I remember being like that as a child. I would save my coloring books and not color in them so as not to spoil them. I'd be frustrated if a friend came over and colored in my special saved books, even though that's what they were meant for.
#13
Cutting mold off cheese or just throwing out the moldy slices of bread.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 6 months ago
I cut it off. I also will buy the biggest brick of cheese and slice it into smaller chunks and freeze what I'm not going to use before the mold catches. You can freeze most cheeses. Sharp Cheddar handles it quite well.
#14
Washing hair in the sink. I still do it at 29. Didnt realise it was "odd" until exes pointed it out.
We never had a shower unit until 25 as that was classed as a massive luxury we could never afford.
Alternatively, saving bath water for the next person instinctively.
Saving salt and pepper packets, sauces etc when out so we could use them at home.
Not turning on the heating ever, as again, a luxury that wasn't possible when a child.
Pulling the mould off of bread sides etc every morning to make use with what was left and edible. Still check every slice of bread to this day, expecting to do the same each time.
Buying/living like still poor even when having more money. I.e. tinned tomatoes on toast, cereal for dinner, saving any scraps for use in the next meal etc, not wasting leftovers even when it's probably better to.
Holding on to clothes until literally falling apart.
Some personal experiences growing up poor myself alongside my other friends at the time.
Uncle Panda 6 months ago
I dated a woman who grew up poor poor, as in they licked the plates because they needed that nutrition. She had a good income when I met her but was shy about licking the plate in front of me until I declared it a competition.
#15
People from poor families often show resilience and resourcefulness, adapting creatively to challenges with limited resources.
#16
Being over the moon when finding some change in your pockets.
#17
Never getting rid of things and holding on to literally everything.
Renno Lillemets 6 months ago (edited)
Or just grow up in normal family and just be a hoarder. Dated one girl like that, grew up in upper middle class family, still had to keep every magazine, every paper bag aso...
#18
Turning off lights when they leave a room/house.
#19
Constantly worrying about saving money, the next check, and putting that over everything else in life!
#20
Not accepting help from others because you’re “not a charity case”. I know people with money love free stuff 😭
#21
Hoarding stuff that you think you'll use, but will eventually sit in the garage for years.
T'Mar of Vulcan 6 months ago
My mother used to keep used KFC containers (when they were still all plastic). Half our pantry was KFC containers. Another room was half-filled with shoe boxes. "We might need that."
#22
Believing that self care is wasteful expenditure. .
Rick Murray 6 months ago
Depends on the self care. Some of it very much is wasteful expenditure dressed up with a healthy dose of snake oil.
#23
Buying cheaper versions of everything, even if you end up buying 2 or 3 in the same year.
My gf wasn't as fortunate as I was growing up, and getting her to understand that it's worth spending the extra money on quality household items (pots, pans, utensils, toaster, etc) is much better down the line since they'll last you longer. She had a 30$ toaster that ended up breaking, she replaced it with the same brand twice and it broke again. I went and bought a 120$ toaster and it's been with us for over 3 years, no issues since.
Kim Kermes 6 months ago
Commander Vimes' theory of boots. We may only have got one pair of shoes, snow boots, and gym shoes a year, with last year's being play shoes, but my mom was adamant they were quality and fit properly.
#24
Going to “the bread store”. I only recently realized this when thinking about how I’ve never seen a bread store as an adult but saw them as a kid.
Spoiler: there used to be stores specifically for bread inventory that was close to expiration you could get for extremely low prices. They may still exist but I haven’t seen any.
#25
Saving all leftovers even if no one was really fond of the meal, to not waste the food or money.
superfluous 6 months ago
What is this 'fond of the meal'? If it was good enough to eat once, heck yeah it's gonna be eaten.
#26
Basic manners!
you can disagree with me but the people in poor family face too many restrictions while the grow up, the become more mannered and behave politely in any kind of settings apart from their friends circle.
#28
Value every little thing they own, not replacing it until it’s no longer functional.
#29
Guilt for not finishing food, like a bite of toast. i see friends throw away half their plate, couldn’t be me.
#30
Eating food really quickly.
T'Mar of Vulcan 6 months ago
I'm a teacher. Our breaks are 15 minutes long. By the time you get to the staffroom, you only have 10 minutes left. So all teachers I know eat like they're the Flash.
#31
My girlfriends mom fled from a communist country in the seventies and she still has some behaviors left from then. She has an allotment to grow things, all Swedes there grow strawberries, herbs, fancy stuff that's expensive to buy or that are nicer fresh. She grows regular potatoes and onions mostly. I try to explain that onions and potatoes are very cheap and it would be better to grow maybe rocket, cilantro, oregano or something, but no, potatoes is a "good base food" so she keeps at it. She is also very "economic", never any restaurant food for instance, "we have food at home". My girlfriend told me about when she was a kid and they drove for like two days to eastern Europe, and they would bring sandwiches from home and sleep in the car every summer, and then stay at relatives, pick mushrooms and berries that they brought home, and of course buy all the staple goods that where cheaper there, and really fill up their car with so much c**p. Like powdered soups and sugar and jam.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 6 months ago
That last bit reminds me of loading up in the family wagon and driving for two days when I was a kid to go to Costco. My home town was so remote it was 4hrs from the nearest McDonalds. So once or twice a summer we'd head for Costco and Bimart. The was a Toys R Us in that city too. I never got to go to it.
#32
I grew up in a very low income household. The power or water was always getting shut off, never any food in the kitchen, but we survived.
Now, I’m doing quite well for myself, and I’m providing my daughter a life I couldn’t have when I was growing up.
But I hate spending money. I never want to buy anything or splurge on something because I always revert back to, “I may need this for the power or water or whatever bill didn’t get paid this month” when in fact it’s not something I have to worry about anymore. I wear clothes that I’ve had for 10 years. If I want something, I convince myself I don’t need it. If there is something I really want I’ll try to find every excuse not to buy it.
It’s probably not something that’s overtly apparent but I think it’s a mindset that more than just myself sits with.
#33
Fixing everything. Auto mechanics, gardening, sewing, carpentry, paint, even electrician work. If you can’t afford to replace it or hire a pro to fix it, you learn to do it yourself.
#34
Using soap until it is a transparent sliver.
#35
No shame in repeating clothes for multiple days. i kinda envy that.
Rick Murray 6 months ago
My wardrobe is mostly black. It would be hard to tell if I was repeating or not. Spoiler: I am, there's only so much laundry I'm prepared to deal with.
#36
Preferring food like Mac N Cheese, Spaghetti, PB&J or cheap takeout over a 5 star French restaurant.
I don’t care how good the food presentation is, there’s little to no taste and I’d take a PB&J sandwich over Foie gras or Escargot any day.
superfluous 6 months ago
I am not a discriminating eater. I could literally eat the same meals for days. I don't have a "sophisticated palate". I have been moving away from processed foods, so I've been doing a lot of rice and beans and chicken and pasta meals, all home made.
#37
Using a teabag more than once.
Rick Murray 6 months ago
I have my morning tea beside me as I write this. The teabag is still floating in it. When is cool enough to chug it down, it will be about strong enough. Note - this is a proper British bag of Tetley, not that weak rubbish they sell here in France. There's a special place in hell reserved for the makers of Lipton Yellow Label, a well known tea here that is so insipid that you can see the design on the bottom part of the cup many minutes afterwards and adding milk makes a drink that looks like used dish water. British Tetley, by contrast, makes the water opaquely brown in a matter of seconds, and adding milk makes a drink that could be mistaken for a coffee with milk.
#39
Cutting open the toothpaste container 🫣
Pittsburgh rare 6 months ago
I do it, no shame. I get a couple more brushes from it. I also have three tiny spatulas to get the last of every tube of body cream/ hand cream/ you name it. I paid for it and l'm going to use it. Pump bottles are designed to leave almost a third of the product at the bottom, so...🤷🏻♀️
#40
Eating food that was dropped on the floor.
superfluous 6 months ago
I cook the food. I clean the floor. I don't see a problem with this. I would NEVER feed it to someone else, though.
#41
Using a calculator at the grocery store to make sure you can afford things
Science Nerd 6 months ago
I’ve gotten good at mental math estimations to compare unit prices and I keep a running total of the basket’s cost in my mind. Not elitist, just helps me keep the calculator hidden.
#42
Asking permission to eat the last of something.
Rika 6 months ago
Isn't that simply being considerate of other people living in the house ? If I want to make toasts at midnight but there are only two slices of bread left, I find it normal to ask anyone I'm living with if it's okay with them. We can afford to buy more bread, but if they were planning to use those two slices to make a sandwich for their lunch, it's bound to be a big inconvenience for them to stop by the store on their way to work to grab something else to eat.
#43
Finding a second use for bread bags.
#44
Garage sales for 90+ percent of clothing. I get 'thrifting' can be good for your wallet, but thrift stores are around the same as new clothes these days. So, garage sales and estate sales are better options.
Also, my mom's "slide past neighbor's trash slower because she wants to see what's in it" when driving. No, it's because she wants to see if there's anything she can trash-pick to use out of it.
I got we got my desk that way but shouldn't be needed for cardboard boxes when you work at Walgreens - dammit!
#45
Cutting the paper towels in half out the pack.
Rick Murray 6 months ago
You can now buy paper towels cut like that. I prefer it as you can take as many pieces as necessary for what you want to do - often a whole piece of paper towel is too much.
#46
Calculating your money before you get it.
Brian Droste 6 months ago (edited)
I am retired so I get a certain amount from. Social Security and I get a smal amount from a retirement plan so I know how much I get each month. Even before I retired I work pretty much a straight 40 hr week so I would get the same amount each pay check. But still try to calculate my expenses each month. Certain things you would not know the exact amount you would be paying, like groceries and gas. Certain bills. Like the gas bill and water bill.
#47
You have an unreasonable amount of cords of all kinds, and are certain they will be of use.
#48
I don’t go to the doctor more than twice a year
Anonymous Female 6 months ago
I only go to the doctor for my yearly check up (unless I am SUPER sick) and the dentist for the bi-annual check ups because it is all that is 100% covered by insurance
#50
Taking home the smallest amount of leftovers that you know you’re not gonna eat but you don’t want to “waste” them…including the bread.
DennyS (denzoren) 6 months ago
If I'm not eating it, my pet would eat it. I paid for it so it ain't going in the trash.
#51
Only half filling their cup when pouring juice or soda.
T'Mar of Vulcan 6 months ago
I dilute all juice. A third juice, then water. No one needs that much sugar in one go.
#52
When on payday they don't pay themselves first.
Rick Murray 6 months ago
? Pay just goes into my bank account and every so often a direct debit is paid from it.
#53
Eating your cereal with a fork so you can reuse the milk.
#54
Drinking the leftover milk in your cereal bowl.
#55
Buying clothes, keeping the tag on it while you wear it to your particular event, and then returning it. I had a friend who did this all the time, they were basically taught as children to do this.
Emilu 6 months ago (edited)
Call me out here (and I'm sure BPers will if need be! lol) but I think that's tacky and dishonest. If you're going to an event where people actually give a s**t that you're attending, they're not going to look at your whatever and go "OMG that poorly-dressed biatch". And if they do; they're not your friends so f**k them and don't go to their events because in five years they won't give you the time of day anyway.
#56
Holding a fork like a kid with a fat crayon while cutting food with the other hand. Hard to describe, but basically with a fist.
superfluous 6 months ago
What is the purpose of this poor person habit? Or is it just a stereotype of how to spot a poor person?
#58
Putting bleach and water in your car’s gas tank to make it stretch a littler further until you can actually fill it up.
#59
Gross eating habits, not just eating fast, also how someone holds cutlery and sits or behaves during a meal.
Speech and speech patterns in general are a giveaway.
Pittsburgh rare 6 months ago
I think that's classist and inaccurate. I teach kids from all social extractions and the ones from well off families can be just as gross. And people without money can still have manners at the table and pass them down on their kids
#60
Have no decency, don’t bring gifts to baby showers or kids birthdays parties.
superfluous 6 months ago
And that's why you don't attend if you can't afford a gift - so people don't judge you (go to hell, OP)
What do you think ?
Kim Kermes 6 months ago
Theses are not quirky or weird habits. These are life habits which are quite reasonable except for eating spoiled food. Know how to store it, keep track of it and use it time.
Emilu 6 months ago (edited)
And the stealing. That's reprehensible. IMO. Sorry to any sensitive BPers that may think otherwise! ... not really. There are numerous food banks and places that help people without enough money to feed themselves without resorting to stealing. Hell, people will do GoFundMe for people that are broke. For the a******s that assume I'm trolling and I'm some rich b***h, I work with homeless and financially impoverished people every day. There are many sources of food and whatnot available (sadly, not so much for the former -- referring to homes).
Load More Replies... Rika 6 months ago
I feel like so many people nowadays are brainwashed by influencers who love wasting money: they throw out clothes after they wore them once, they get a lot of food and half of it ends up in the trash, they crash their sportscar and buy a new one the next day... "True" rich people don't do all that. They could afford it, they simply see no reason to get rid of clothes they like or trash food they could still eat the next day.
Kim Kermes 6 months ago
Theses are not quirky or weird habits. These are life habits which are quite reasonable except for eating spoiled food. Know how to store it, keep track of it and use it time.
Emilu 6 months ago (edited)
And the stealing. That's reprehensible. IMO. Sorry to any sensitive BPers that may think otherwise! ... not really. There are numerous food banks and places that help people without enough money to feed themselves without resorting to stealing. Hell, people will do GoFundMe for people that are broke. For the a******s that assume I'm trolling and I'm some rich b***h, I work with homeless and financially impoverished people every day. There are many sources of food and whatnot available (sadly, not so much for the former -- referring to homes).
Load More Replies... Rika 6 months ago
I feel like so many people nowadays are brainwashed by influencers who love wasting money: they throw out clothes after they wore them once, they get a lot of food and half of it ends up in the trash, they crash their sportscar and buy a new one the next day... "True" rich people don't do all that. They could afford it, they simply see no reason to get rid of clothes they like or trash food they could still eat the next day.
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