In America, nearly 11 million children are poor. That’s 1 in 7 kids, who make up almost one-third of all people living in poverty in this country. After growing up, none of those kids take things for granted, and they can clearly see the obvious prerogatives that the privileged and rich are lucky to have.
So when someone posed a question to people “who grew up poor, what do you associate with being rich?” on r/AskReddit, it immediately turned into an eye-opening thread. Below we selected some of the most interesting and thought-provoking responses that make us question simple things like going to Disneyland, buying new, not used furniture, and not having to dread grocery shopping.
Scroll down below, and after you’re done, be sure to check out our previous post with small subtle things about wealthy people that scream they are insanely rich.
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Eating pizza because you want to not because it's $2. That and mom eating along with us normally instead of pretending that the crust is her favorite part and that's why she'd eat the crust we leave.
There's a line from Nick in new girl that describes being well off as 'filling your gas tank up all the way rich.' That was the rich I wanted to be. Comfortable. Also not having to do math in the grocery store to see what food you can buy.
Bored Panda reached out to the Redditor Awkward_Name5898 who said that “being able to buy something you need without having to ask yourself how badly you need it” is something they associate with being rich.
When asked what was the hardest part of growing up poor, the Redditor was honest to say that it was the “feeling like you’ve failed, you think you’ll always be poor and won’t be able to get yourself out of that situation.” They also added that “as a kid, I remember feeling like a burden and that was hard to deal with.”
Having enough money to go to a psychologist for mental health.
Hiring moving men. Especially if they're the ones who pack all your s**t for you, too.
So many times, I would borrow a friend's pickup (and buy my friend's help with offers of pizza and beer) to move from one s**tty place to another.
For my most recent move, my wife and I packed everything, but hired professionals to load and unload it. I felt like a king.
Being able to buy something you need without having to ask yourself how badly you need it
The Redditor shared that growing up on a tight budget made them learn some life hacks. “I did learn how to maximize my food purchases, if I was able to buy food I’d buy things that would have leftovers and be filling, Spaghetti noodles, instant mashed potatoes, hamburger helper or Mac n cheese if I had milk. I lived in a house that didn’t have AC, so in the spring/summer I’d get a towel, wet it, and then lay it over me to keep me cool, the house didn’t have blinds so I used foil to cover the windows to keep out the sun and help keep the room cooler,” they recounted.
Indifference. I realized what real wealth meant in high school when we cleaned up trash from a creek and the rich kids wore their Polo shirts, Guess jeans, and Jordan's because if they were trashed they simply would get new. The poor kids wore their grubby clothes they do labor in.
Wealth is shown most acutely by indifference, nothing matters because money will fix it and there is plenty enough to fill black holes.
Having nice teeth that don't cause constant, debilitating pain
Regular doctor's office visits or seeing a dentist at all for anything other than an emergency.
“The rich assume money isn’t an issue for anyone simply because they have lots of it. They tend to think that poor people stay poor because they don’t invest their money as they do,” the Redditor said. For anyone who’s struggling to make their ends meet, Awkward_Name5898 urges not to feel ashamed to ask for help. “People are more kind and generous than you might think. Hold onto hope, things won’t always be this way,” they concluded.
Those fridges with the water dispenser on it
Not knowing EXACTLY how much money you have at any given time.
Going to a store to pick out furniture. Like, actually buying NEW stuff, not just taking whatever you can find at thrift stores or garage sales. That seems so luxurious!
Hiring people to either cook, clean, mow the grass or do snow removal in the winter.
Showing my age but rich people didn't need lay away to afford back to school or Christmas shopping
I don't remember ever having name brand items, food or clothing. It was all generic Kmart. I bought my son a pair of Nike shoes and thought I felt rich for doing so.
Going back to school was always embarrassing because the other kids had new supplies and we didn't. My mom did the best she could.Teachers would get onto us for not having things on the list and humiliate us in front of the other kids, and the other kids could be so mean. On the other hand, sometimes there would be a kind teacher who would discreetly hand me some things, or a fellow student who would share.
Everyone having their own room. We all slept in a single room.
Getting an appetizer and/or dessert at a restaurant in addition to an entree.
Why do Americans call the main course an "entree"? It literally means 'entry', as in the first part of the meal.
When i was a child my mom (single mom) and i would eat at home first and then go to a restaurant for dessert when we celebrated something special. That way we could save money on food but still go out.
I'm not rich, but I definitely can't put away an app, a main AND a desert! That's a lot of food, especially by American standards
I was just taking to my husband about this. It feels so extravagant to be able to just go to a restaurant whenever, not just special occasions, and the get entree and dessert, plus drinks if I want. I'm living the dream😊
If I eat my apple pie from McDonalds before my food does that count as an appetizer?
Rarely ever ate out. Too expensive even for my family and we were kinda well of. Y'know America if you paid more people in the lower classes more money... you'd have a lot more people spending money on things like going out to eat and actually participating in the economy... which would make the economy better/healthier as a result. Just sayin... the best way to boost the economy is to raise the min wage
just being able to afford eating outside... at least I can still dream of it
Nice that you can afford to eat at a restaurant, moneybags. (Kidding, we go once every couple of months, mostly because I can cook better than 99.99% of "Italian" restaurants. We go out only for Indian, Thai or, very seldom, Chinese, and only if they have fried banana as dessert).
My husband and I both came up poor. This is still a big argument between us. He wants to flaunt that we're not poor by ordering appetizers. I want to keep us from being poor again by not ordering them.
Going to a restaurant full stop. My first time at a restaurant was when I was 21 and keen to impress my girlfriend (now my wife of 30 years) I took her to a budget Italian place. Completely new experience for me.
We skipped the appetizer and didn't order drinks, and got something to share usually. Families buying kids' meals for each individual child still baffles me.
Parents that didn’t fight. Mine and my other poor friends’ parents were always fighting. Most of the time my parents fought it was over money. You could tell that they were just scared whether or not we were going to make it and that’s how it manifested. You just never really saw that same type of fighting at the friends parents who were comfortable.
Like obviously there’s more factors but there’s a unique chaotic tension in poor households that is hard to describe.
Paying all your bills without eating Ramen noodles.
Lol, brings back a sharp memory of mine from college. One week before a paycheck or national guard check arrives, no gas in the tank, and absolutely no food. Scrounge around car seats and couch and find $1.35. Free pop at work so I work extra shifts, and walk to grocery store and Ramen on sale for 12 for a dollar, (1990). That is what I did all week, walk to school and work, and ate Ramen at home. I now appreciate having $20 in my pocket and credit cards. Its a life changing experience to be THAT broke. It teaches you discipline when it comes to money.
Stairs. I've always lived in an apartment, so for me, I really hope that I'll one day have a house with stairs.
Also well balanced meals, three meals a day.
After you fall down the stairs a couple of times ( particularly if you wear socks but no shoes) you will find they are overrated.
Not having to worry about food or bills. Paying out of pocket at the dentist
Being allowed to go in the fridge and get something to drink or eat without having to ask or worry about being yelled at
This was my entire childhood. A lot of “food” issues as a result of this.
Fresh fruit and vegetables. Anything we ever got was frozen or from a can. Frozen and canned last longer too.
People that openly had fruit bowls on their tables was the epitome of lavish for me as a kid.
We only had that because we grew our own oranges, grapefruits, and peaches.
Kids that went to summer camp. I got sent to long distant family and worked on family farm.
Eating out. Birthday presents and Christmas presents that's not clothes or school supply. New clothes that's not hand me downs. And haircuts at a hair dresser.
Having food delivered. $5-$10 mark up?? Are you kidding?
For that matter, just going OUT to eat was a luxury.
Knowing what a duvet cover is and owning one. I remember when my wife and I were newly weds and she was telling me how we needed a duvet cover for our bed. I had no clue what a duvet cover was prior as I always though people just purchase sheets and/or the big ass blankets with the lion/tiger prints. Suffice to say, my mind was blown away.
Showing my age but having a shower in your house. Back in the day only people with money had showers, we all only had baths.
Note: this post originally had 73 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I once heard someone say "If you have to ask the price then you can't afford it" and for some things it's true but it sounds very arrogant.
Many rich people are extreme penny pinchers... so I don't know if the saying is true or not. But I guess they don't HAVE to ask, they just choose to ask.
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Anxiety caused by growing up poor is also such a big thing. Not wanting to do something or buy something because you're scared you wouldn't have enough in case something happens. This still plagues me to this day and I can't take risks or invest because of it.
This! The real damage is after growing up poor (we) continue to "think poor," and do things like settle for lower pay than we are worth, don't dare to spend money (the whole save it for a rainy day thing but it gets spent on fixing cars/ replacing appliances, so never ends up for fun)... Yeah, the poor thing is W A Y overrated, Highly NOT recommended!
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I am 58, and it has been many years since my desperately poor childhood. But those anxieties still reside in my personality. I can't stand it when anyone throws out food or leaves lights on when they leave the room or uses too much water for something, etc. It is definitely a neurosis.
The world would be such a better place if everyone stopped such wasteful habits! Regarding food, about 40% of food in the US is wasted. With such disregard being so commonplace, we can imagine how much of our other resources are wasted as well.
Load More Replies... I don't have much, but I appreciate what I do have. My background of growing up in poverty has helped me to see the big picture. It also taught me how to budget and stretch a dollar.
All of these things, for most of them are actual necessities. Things all humans need equally. Crazy that we've been made to think needs are a luxury or you have to be rich to afford them.
Parents needing to feed you food that would fill you up versus healthy food. It's much cheaper and goes much further to buy a cake mix than to buy fresh fruit. It's expensive to eat healthy, not to mention embarrassing and stressful. Poverty trauma is real.
Yes. It can lead to really screwed-up behaviors as a result: Controlling attitudes about money, food, possessions, and it's terrifying how it can manifest. Some people become downright abusive due to it. I know poverty led into my dad's abusive behaviors. (His childhood.)
Load More Replies... not be stuck to a job you hate because you can't affort to not working for few weeks or days to looking for a new job
Which is why you look for a new job before you quit. Who quits before they have something new?
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I appreciate so much what I have now after my relatively poor childhood. Choosing the products I want in the supermarket, eating out whenever we feel like it, going on vacations to foreign countries, going to the hairdresser and decent clothing stores, buying new pieces of furniture, buy a house instead of lifelong renting. All things that were certainly not evident when I grew up. I know my parents have been struggling to make ends meet for a long time. Fortunately, healthcare was never a problem in my country. I feel lucky about that, it could have been worse. Now I'm definitely not literally rich, as in being a millionaire or so. But I do feel rich, just because of all those things I can do now, knowing I can afford them.
For me growing up I considered my friends rich if there was fresh cooking every day and because the kids had ballet and piano lessons...
These examples remind me of the kind of modest life we lived as a family when I was a child/teenager. I find it interesting that some examples that could be considered part of a "rich lifestyle" holds no interest for me. If I ever win the lotto, no one will be able to tell from my lifestyle!
Going to McDonalds as a child and getting a happymeal, not a single cheap item. We would get just a hamburger, or just small fries, and wouldn't even think of asking for a happymeal.
Single mom, here. When my son was young there were some cereal boxes had a coupon for one free item from the kids menu. That coupon, plus the change in my purse, was enough to feed my son dinner between paydays. I had a full time office job but still couldn't afford both rent And food; yet I made too much money for government assistance. I went hungry as a child and I went hungry as a young mother. Now I'm pushing 55, (too old to hire, too young to retire) and I'd really like to turn on the heat but, ya know.
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lots of so called rich people or people with money are doing it for show...they dont have the money but spoil their kids to shut them up..they have massive dept. living within your means is hard but doable. keeping up with the jones is just foolishness. People with less are generally happier and love each other more.....
Agree...if you have to use a credit card or take out a loan to buy it (other than a house of course) then you shouldn't be buying it. You're only paying twice as much anyway once you pay the interest. Shutting your kids up by spoiling them pretty much guarantees they won't appreciate anything and worse they will expect this treatment the rest of their lives...I don't know about you but I've had enough of spoiled, entitled, whiny adults who don't want to work but expect to collect a paycheck to last this and my next lifetime!
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For me it was having a car from the current decade. Doesn't matter if it was a small economy car; just the fact that it was less than 10 years old made it look like 'the cars on TV'. I even struggled to understand new car dealerships; I see them everywhere, but they felt completely inaccessible to mortals.
First time I bought something ina furniture store... it was 50% off b/c it was a return. I couldn't make myself buy actually-all-new.
Being able to have real milk in your breakfast cereal, not powdered milk mixed with water.
Or being even richer and being able to shell out extra for the more responsibly sourced, sustainable milk. Regular dairy farmers get a raw deal when it comes to selling their milk, because the supermarkets want to sell it at a budget price.
Load More Replies...
I grew up in a tiny old house that we rented that was falling apart around us. The rent was cheap because it was not in great condition, an apartment would have been amazing! We had to avoid parts of the floor that were rotten. No air conditioning in south Florida, couldn't afford to use the heat in the winter but there was a fireplace and we'd sleep around it when it got cold, which wasn't a lot thank goodness! We could see our breath in some parts of the house when it got cold enough. My brother and I thought it was neat! My mom was great at figuring out cheap meals. She got chicken necks and boiled all the meat off and made casseroles and such. We had a retired neighbor who would bring us fresh fish from his fishing excursions. Hot dogs can go a long way sometimes. I've really learned to appreciate everything I have now. My husband and I don't have kids, and we rescue dogs. We currently have 3, we have had 5 at a time in the past. I would love to rescue more, but my health isn't goo
I'm very and i really haoe every person going through poverty gets the help they need.
Ok, many of the things on this list can definitely be considered "luxuries" but some of this stuff and some comments is what rich people do to GET rich (penny pinching, counting every dollar, living as cheap as possible, eating as cheap as possible, using hand-me-downs, etc).
When my dad was going to med school we lived in a housing project. Rent was 35 bucks a month. Two bedroom, one bath, kitchen and living room. We only got candy on Christmas when our Papa would send a box of stuff for us. We were poor, but so was everyone else, it never occurred to us that we were poor. I thought that the girl who lived next door was rich because her grandmother gave her 5 cents to buy an ice cream bar when the ice cream man came around. I wore hand me downs until I was a senior in high school, never bothered me because, why should it? I rode the bus to school and before that I babysat at 50 cents an hour and bought all my own stuff.
I personally loved hand me downs because I was the eldest in the family and the clothes I got usually came from families that were more well off so were better quality and lasted longer than ones we could afford.
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Once again, some people really ought not to reproduce. And this list is a competition to see who grew up poorer. The people who grew up the poorest aren't even going to be on this list.
I once heard someone say "If you have to ask the price then you can't afford it" and for some things it's true but it sounds very arrogant.
Many rich people are extreme penny pinchers... so I don't know if the saying is true or not. But I guess they don't HAVE to ask, they just choose to ask.
Load More Replies... Anxiety caused by growing up poor is also such a big thing. Not wanting to do something or buy something because you're scared you wouldn't have enough in case something happens. This still plagues me to this day and I can't take risks or invest because of it.
This! The real damage is after growing up poor (we) continue to "think poor," and do things like settle for lower pay than we are worth, don't dare to spend money (the whole save it for a rainy day thing but it gets spent on fixing cars/ replacing appliances, so never ends up for fun)... Yeah, the poor thing is W A Y overrated, Highly NOT recommended!
Load More Replies... I am 58, and it has been many years since my desperately poor childhood. But those anxieties still reside in my personality. I can't stand it when anyone throws out food or leaves lights on when they leave the room or uses too much water for something, etc. It is definitely a neurosis.
The world would be such a better place if everyone stopped such wasteful habits! Regarding food, about 40% of food in the US is wasted. With such disregard being so commonplace, we can imagine how much of our other resources are wasted as well.
Load More Replies... I don't have much, but I appreciate what I do have. My background of growing up in poverty has helped me to see the big picture. It also taught me how to budget and stretch a dollar.
All of these things, for most of them are actual necessities. Things all humans need equally. Crazy that we've been made to think needs are a luxury or you have to be rich to afford them.
Parents needing to feed you food that would fill you up versus healthy food. It's much cheaper and goes much further to buy a cake mix than to buy fresh fruit. It's expensive to eat healthy, not to mention embarrassing and stressful. Poverty trauma is real.
Yes. It can lead to really screwed-up behaviors as a result: Controlling attitudes about money, food, possessions, and it's terrifying how it can manifest. Some people become downright abusive due to it. I know poverty led into my dad's abusive behaviors. (His childhood.)
Load More Replies... not be stuck to a job you hate because you can't affort to not working for few weeks or days to looking for a new job
Which is why you look for a new job before you quit. Who quits before they have something new?
Load More Replies... I appreciate so much what I have now after my relatively poor childhood. Choosing the products I want in the supermarket, eating out whenever we feel like it, going on vacations to foreign countries, going to the hairdresser and decent clothing stores, buying new pieces of furniture, buy a house instead of lifelong renting. All things that were certainly not evident when I grew up. I know my parents have been struggling to make ends meet for a long time. Fortunately, healthcare was never a problem in my country. I feel lucky about that, it could have been worse. Now I'm definitely not literally rich, as in being a millionaire or so. But I do feel rich, just because of all those things I can do now, knowing I can afford them.
For me growing up I considered my friends rich if there was fresh cooking every day and because the kids had ballet and piano lessons...
These examples remind me of the kind of modest life we lived as a family when I was a child/teenager. I find it interesting that some examples that could be considered part of a "rich lifestyle" holds no interest for me. If I ever win the lotto, no one will be able to tell from my lifestyle!
Going to McDonalds as a child and getting a happymeal, not a single cheap item. We would get just a hamburger, or just small fries, and wouldn't even think of asking for a happymeal.
Single mom, here. When my son was young there were some cereal boxes had a coupon for one free item from the kids menu. That coupon, plus the change in my purse, was enough to feed my son dinner between paydays. I had a full time office job but still couldn't afford both rent And food; yet I made too much money for government assistance. I went hungry as a child and I went hungry as a young mother. Now I'm pushing 55, (too old to hire, too young to retire) and I'd really like to turn on the heat but, ya know.
Load More Replies... lots of so called rich people or people with money are doing it for show...they dont have the money but spoil their kids to shut them up..they have massive dept. living within your means is hard but doable. keeping up with the jones is just foolishness. People with less are generally happier and love each other more.....
Agree...if you have to use a credit card or take out a loan to buy it (other than a house of course) then you shouldn't be buying it. You're only paying twice as much anyway once you pay the interest. Shutting your kids up by spoiling them pretty much guarantees they won't appreciate anything and worse they will expect this treatment the rest of their lives...I don't know about you but I've had enough of spoiled, entitled, whiny adults who don't want to work but expect to collect a paycheck to last this and my next lifetime!
Load More Replies... For me it was having a car from the current decade. Doesn't matter if it was a small economy car; just the fact that it was less than 10 years old made it look like 'the cars on TV'. I even struggled to understand new car dealerships; I see them everywhere, but they felt completely inaccessible to mortals.
First time I bought something ina furniture store... it was 50% off b/c it was a return. I couldn't make myself buy actually-all-new.
Being able to have real milk in your breakfast cereal, not powdered milk mixed with water.
Or being even richer and being able to shell out extra for the more responsibly sourced, sustainable milk. Regular dairy farmers get a raw deal when it comes to selling their milk, because the supermarkets want to sell it at a budget price.
Load More Replies... I grew up in a tiny old house that we rented that was falling apart around us. The rent was cheap because it was not in great condition, an apartment would have been amazing! We had to avoid parts of the floor that were rotten. No air conditioning in south Florida, couldn't afford to use the heat in the winter but there was a fireplace and we'd sleep around it when it got cold, which wasn't a lot thank goodness! We could see our breath in some parts of the house when it got cold enough. My brother and I thought it was neat! My mom was great at figuring out cheap meals. She got chicken necks and boiled all the meat off and made casseroles and such. We had a retired neighbor who would bring us fresh fish from his fishing excursions. Hot dogs can go a long way sometimes. I've really learned to appreciate everything I have now. My husband and I don't have kids, and we rescue dogs. We currently have 3, we have had 5 at a time in the past. I would love to rescue more, but my health isn't goo
I'm very and i really haoe every person going through poverty gets the help they need.
Ok, many of the things on this list can definitely be considered "luxuries" but some of this stuff and some comments is what rich people do to GET rich (penny pinching, counting every dollar, living as cheap as possible, eating as cheap as possible, using hand-me-downs, etc).
When my dad was going to med school we lived in a housing project. Rent was 35 bucks a month. Two bedroom, one bath, kitchen and living room. We only got candy on Christmas when our Papa would send a box of stuff for us. We were poor, but so was everyone else, it never occurred to us that we were poor. I thought that the girl who lived next door was rich because her grandmother gave her 5 cents to buy an ice cream bar when the ice cream man came around. I wore hand me downs until I was a senior in high school, never bothered me because, why should it? I rode the bus to school and before that I babysat at 50 cents an hour and bought all my own stuff.
I personally loved hand me downs because I was the eldest in the family and the clothes I got usually came from families that were more well off so were better quality and lasted longer than ones we could afford.
Load More Replies... Once again, some people really ought not to reproduce. And this list is a competition to see who grew up poorer. The people who grew up the poorest aren't even going to be on this list.
