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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
#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 3 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.
#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.
#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 3 years ago
And still make it taste good. Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention.
#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.
#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.
#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…
#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.
#10
Have you ever had a sugar sandwich? Because I have.
LivingTheDream 3 years ago
mix in a little cinnamon and it became breakfast
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N G 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 years ago
Yeah, sounds good. They're not talking about eating it by choice tho
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Claudia Dugral 3 years ago
Bread butter sugar. I liked that very much. But we had good bread and enough butter. And we did it by choice.
Stacey Montebello 3 years ago
We would have sweet rolls at restaurants for dessert. Save the free dinner rolls that Ryans, take a knife and make a hole in one side almost all the way through, put some butter in the hole and sprinkle some sugar in there.
Tri Wahyu Yulianto 3 years ago
It's not too poor, even our former president likes breakfast with sugar sandwiches
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Oh my God. I had forgotten these. We rarely had bread or sugar, but this was a staple dessert if we could afford them... Man, this brings back a ton of memories.
kim morris 3 years ago
Once had left-over cake from a wedding shower my aunt went to, she brought the cake for us. We thought 'Oh Cool! Cake for supper! it wasn't until DECADES later did I realize it was because of how poor we were that we had cake for supper.
Persephone 3 years ago
Didn't try it as a sandwich but as a slice of bread with some butter on it and some sugar sprinkled on top. I still love it and eat it as a dessert from time to time. Yum!
_*U~$~e~l~e~$~$*_ 3 years ago
I’ve had sugar toast it’s when you get toast and then butter it and then add sugar it’s was really good
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
I had them too. Not because we were poor, but we liked to eat them.
Casey Burns 3 years ago
I have not. However. Brown sugar, cinnamon, buttered toast is amazing.
FlamingoPanda 2 years ago
I just learnt that other people had this too, growing up these often appeared in my lunch box at the end of the month and I just thought it was my dad been weird since he seemed to really like them.
Jelo Alconaba 2 years ago
😋 At 54 still love this. Best midnight snack if you forgot, or in my case too lazy, to buy some. Just spread butter on bread sprinkle some sugar or if available some cinamon...et voila!! Now if I could only buy some Nido (powdered milk).
Kristopher French 2 years ago
Yes, put butter on a piece of bread, sprinkle sugar, microwave for 30 seconds.
Yolande Labbé 3 years ago
Yes and I like it ,we were just middle class and we could eat what we want. When I was a kid I use to make sugar sandwich and I thought that it taste good. Some time I top it with strawberries.
Leesa DeAndrea 3 years ago
Yes. And we were not poor but middle class. We called it a sugar bread sandwich & it was a treat we could make for ourselves.
lakitha tolbert 3 years ago
And other kinds of sandwiches as well, especially when all you got in the house is bread, and some condiments. I had ketchup sandwiches, and mayonnaise sandwiches, and fried bologna. I mean, we liked those things, but you couldn’t get me to eat such things as an adult today.
Quynh Tam Nguyen Ngoc 3 years ago
I eat this for breakfast all the time with my grandparents- My family wasn't rlly poor though, it just tasted delicious
Sandy Miles-Blaxland 3 years ago
If it was a payday week, it was brown sugar bread! If it was inbetween, we'd get ketchup sandwiches! (I hated ketchup sandwiches.)
Lynn Morello 3 years ago
Sugar butties, Yummmmmm, Bread and Dripping, The fat from cooking a roast used to have a brown Gel collect under solidified Fat, this was known as dripping, Loved it as much as those Sugar sandwiches/butties.
Rhonda Beraun 3 years ago
My sister and I fixed the lunches for the younger ones, usually PB&J, if there wasn't enough, we made ours with whatever we could find, she made a mustard and mayo one, I tried cottage cheese and pickle. But if we ran out of bread, things got weird, sometimes a can of sardines and crackers (which meant our friends didn't want us to eat near them) once we found some small cans of cranberry sauce that our mom found somewhere, so ate those....btw, I'm the oldest of 13
Nicole Holt 3 years ago
I did! My grandma started those :) My kids had them every now and then, too, but for them those were special treats reserved for special occasions.
Elizabeth Gardner 3 years ago
No but breakfast was often bread pieces and sugar with milk over it.
Kimberly Buchanan 3 years ago
I made those all the time when I was a teenager. People look at me funny when I tell them that. My birth giver, did not cook for us kids or anything for that matter. She would for whatever man of the month was though. Or should I say week.
Roberto Durante 3 years ago (edited)
yes me to, to take for my school time and I love it, and even now as adult, I do it sometime
Robert Thompson 3 years ago
Even recently,... a customer of mine handed me a food box with a loaf of bread in it. I had a salt and pepper sandwich for lunch that day.
T J 3 years ago
Yeah I have. Bread, butter and sugar. We were lower middle class. Everything we had was form discount stores. Hand- me-down Clothes. Cardboard inserts in our shoe because of holes in the soles. We grew up to be self sufficient. I never envied better off folks it's just life. I am happy and able to enjoy life
Rodrigo “centoventicinque” Boschi 3 years ago
i grown up in a small town, there was a huge parking with 0 cars every time and me and my classmates used to play in that parking spot, we used it as soccer field, tennis field, racetrack or whatever comes in our mind in mild 90's . there always was a grandmother of someone bring a plate of buttered bread with sugar for everyone !
Cami Ereth 3 years ago
Once, on my own, I had one of these for dinner. Pregnant, starving, I hated this. Dinty Moore Beef Stew was my idea of heaven on earth.
Samantha Becker 3 years ago
I've had mustard sandwiches. Even tried peanut butter and mustard once. And had a lot of lo-carb lettuce wraps before they were cool.
The Cute Cat 3 years ago
That still look very delicious for me.. I don't event eat bread back in my childhood..
k1ddkanuck 3 years ago
For me it was a bit of butter, cinnamon and icing sugar on toast. Still a nice snack.
Eric Mac Fadden 3 years ago
We call it "Poor's Dream" (a kind of fried pastry with cream fill) - Sonho de Pobre - in Brazil.
Dawn Sardella-Ayres 3 years ago
Yup, a regular after-school snack. This or a peanut butter sandwich. Sometimes a mayo sandwich. During 6th grade, my lunch was almost exclusively PB&J on graham crackers.
John Montgomery 3 years ago
We did cinnamon toast that was sugar sprinkled on buttered bread and broiled for a few minutes. I did do a honey sandwich at times.
Catlady6000 3 years ago
I still do this. Piece of white bread, margarine (butter too pricey) and sugar, it's major comfort food for me. Same with saltines and mustard
BoopDaBirb 3 years ago
I literally used to steal and make these as a kid. We had chocolate chewy bars in a cupboard and cookies in a box that I could easily get but no. Sugar sandwiches sometimes with butter.
infinite upvote 3 years ago
Tortilla chips and mustard on bread. My sister and I made it a joke and called it the "found object sandwich" so we wouldn't be sad about our family not having food
Suzanne Haigh 3 years ago
I loved sugar sandwiches when I was young and nothing to do with being poor, we always had plenty to eat.
Chewie Baron 3 years ago
I remember one day when I was about 4 years old, and my sister would have been 2 years old, woke up to find no one around. We were hungry but I did t know how to cook or work a toaster, so I made us both sugar sandwiches. No idea who's bread I used as it was a shared kitchen in a hostel for homeless families.
Mark Howell 3 years ago
Sugar butty was a must have after getting home from school in the 70's, or on a wealthy day a ketchup butty. ;o)
Dave Morris 3 years ago
Loved a sugar sandwich when I was young. Nothing to do with being poor!
Uncommon Boston 3 years ago
With cinnamon it was breakfast. Never thought of it as a sugar sandwich, but there wasn't much cinnamon included
Christopher Columbus 3 years ago
In belgium, the most famous brown sugar brand has a painting of a kid on the packaging eating this kind of sandwich. We ate this a lot as kids. 25 years later it does seem kind of crazy.
Arthur Waite 3 years ago
How about Mashed-Potato sandwiches? They're so bland, that you can actually taste the butter on the bread.
Sue Simmons 3 years ago
Yep. All the time as a kid. And none of us are fat. We were very poor.
Psycho Cat 3 years ago
Till now, I didn't know that was a thing only poor people do. So maybe, my parents did a really good job making sure I don't notice the financial situation.
Kirsten Kerkhof 3 years ago
It may sound weird, but that was something that was a treat exactly because we had money. Brown whole-grain bread was healthier and we could afford it so my mother never bought white bread. But my grandma had white bread because as a child white bread had been the luxury item. So at her place we got to eat white bread sugar sandwiches. Such a treat!
Jo Johannsen 3 years ago
We often had a flour tortilla, buttered, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar (or cocoa powder and sugar), and rolled up. We were not really poor and not Mexican, so don't know where we picked this up.
#11
How bad powdered milk tastes after you've had real milk, and how good powdered milk tastes when you're truly hungry.
#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 3 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
#13
Margarine and cinnamon on bread? Cinnamon toast! Ate that all the time growing up
#14
McDonald's can be a place for special occasions only.
Mihai Mara 3 years ago
39, been to McD only once to meet with a friend. Never understood the hype.
#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?
#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.
#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.
#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.
#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.
#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 3 years ago
I still use toiletpaper. It's convenient and contains storage space for used paper.
#21
Feeling guilty about getting Xmas presents as a child
#22
Never answer the phone. It was always the bill collectors looking for money. Same with the front door. Go away nobody's home.
#23
We reused aluminum foil.
Yeah, you heard 3 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
#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.
#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 3 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.
#26
Drinking a lot of water before or during a meal makes you feel much more full
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
And the food digests slower so you're not feeling hungry for a longer time.
#27
The generic isle at the grocery store. White boxes with black lettering.
Vasana Phong 3 years ago
Oh man memories, back then our Pathmark super market had their own black and white label brand , was called no-frills
#28
My parents dumpster diving at the mall for birthday presents for us.
#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 3 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.
#30
being excited to watch a Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network show at a friend's house
#31
Picked up soda bottles from along the roadside to turn in for the deposit money.
#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 3 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.
#33
Good hygiene isn't always an easy thing to have.
MellonCollie 3 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.
#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.
#35
We cut open the toothpaste to get every last drop out of the tube.
#36
Did you have lettuce and mayonnaise sandwiches? On a good day we had bologna on it, too.
#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.
#39
How to invent foods based on the limited amount of what you already have
K Killian 3 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.
#40
Boiled wieners for lunch... wiener water soup for dinner
What do you think ?
Kayla Halleur 3 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 3 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.
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Rhea 3 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 3 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.
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Kat 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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
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Blakkur Sverrir 3 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 3 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.
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yesyes? 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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.
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Carol Emory 3 years ago
Ironically enough, my grandparents were young adults at the time of the Great Depression. They learned how to be frugal. So it wasn't that their family was poor, just scared of a repeat of history. Their fear was instilled on my Dad. He never threw out old paperwork, he had an unhealthy obsession with Costco even after us kids had grown up and were out of the house. His basement would be packed with canned food and a large freezer stuffed to the brim with food even though he lived alone. He also kept every box for every counter top appliance and electronic he owned. The only good thing that came from it was, when he passed after a long bout with Alzheimer's, my sister (his caretaker) had enough food to last for a few months while she worked at cleaning up his affairs.
Catlady6000 3 years ago
My Mil is the same way. However, in the nineties , her 20year old hot water heater, that she had a life time warranty on, died. The company required original paperwork, receipt and box. Guess who had all of that. Still using the replacement hot water heater, that she still has the paperwork and original box for.
Load More Replies... travis Lopez 3 years ago
As a child me and my siblings all slept on the blankets on the floor, or couches if we were lucky.When my mom finally was able to get a house she also bought us all beds, but me and my siblings were still trying to lay on the couches in the living room.. it took us awhile to get used to sleeping in beds.
Ivana 3 years ago
I am a very successful 32 year old who owns their own home and can easily pay all of my bills, but I still can't answer a phone and have anxiety attacks when someone knocks on my door after spending most of my life in poverty and having bill collectors threaten me, being evicted, homeless, and having the cops come out to serve us court summons. No matter how successful I become, I still can't overcome my fear of a phone ringing. I refused to even own a phone for years and years because they cause me to have panic attacks.
Todd Hunter 3 years ago
One thing I didn't see posted was expired food bank food. Every time my mom came home from the food bank or if a church dropped off donations we would have to go through and find the expired stuff, some was many years expired and would make you sick or could kill you. I'm talking about bubbled out cans. To this day I'll never understand how someone donates that and can't comprehend how bad it can be.
rabbitsrabbit 3 years ago
Having a mild existential crisis now - is my family poor but my parents simply hid it really well or are they just frugal?
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Sometimes, if one generation is poor the next will be really frugal, is my guess.
Load More Replies... Yeah, you heard 3 years ago
Some of these are not evidence of poverty, but of being sensible with money and resources. Not buying branded cereals, reusing foil - these things are good sense; I do them even though I can afford not to.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
You aren't grasping the concept. Yes, you can do them by choice. But when you *have no choice*.... see?
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Blackheart 3 years ago
Based on my experience and what I see today, the things in this list are quite common. I do not know if that means people are getting poorer, or that this is simply the way life is for most of America.
Derek Clark 3 years ago
I had to live off 10 euros a week for groceries, it was always a challenge. I made a lot of stews with cheap vegetables and instant mashed potatoes since I could live on that for three days. Baked beans with rice, ragout with rice, cheap spaghetti sauce in a jar with cheap veggies and pasta for another three days. The rest of the day I ate bread with lettuce or sugar. If asked for gifts, I'd ask for socks or underwear since I couldn't afford those and I'd get a pair of shoes for my birthday from my mom. It has certainly made me grateful now and I never take anything for granted.
Cat Bessing 3 years ago
I was the youngest of three kids, and the only girl. My brothers could share clothes and hand me downs, but I couldn't wear their clothes. The solution? My family's friends with daughters would give their daughter's old clothes to me. I'm sure it was a godsend to my parents, but wearing the neighbor girls' clothes to school was really no fun at all.
Jro308 3 years ago
I grew up poor, I used to eat just lettuce dipped in Miracle whip, at the end of the month there was very little food in the house, I used to try to arrange to stay the weekends at a friends house so I could eat. And we NEVER had paper towels or tissues in the house that was too much money. All my clothes came from K-mart and was always put on lay-away. I worked really hard to pull myself out of that situation and now I HAVE to have paper towels and tissues in the house at all times.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
My grandparents were quite poor when they were young, and even though they weren't later in life, they still had that mind-set. My grandfather regularly made me his 'favorite sandwich when he was a boy' which consisted of two slices of strange bread (thinner than regular sliced bread, and with no discernable "top," like there was no round puffy bit, it was completely square), bologna and margarine. I can't find anything that resembles that bread, and nobody knows what I'm talking about when I ask. I assume it was the very cheapest bread available in the early '90s. Every now and then I make one as close as I can, and get a bit teary thinking about it.
Catlady6000 3 years ago
Once upon a time the US used to give out commodities, this was before food banks. It was a big box of basics-dry beans, peanut butter, eggs, milk, powdered milk and some of the most amazing American cheese I have ever tasted. Most folks who remember the commodity boxes remember that cheese. It took me years to find anything even close. (It's Kroger American that they cut to order in the deli) I can't remember if there was bread in the box, but it sounds like something that would be
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Jessica Malone 3 years ago
My family was on the run, we lived a lot in a VW camper van. It was four people, my mother, two brothers, and myself. S*** on a Shingle (S.O.S) was a luxury. If you don't know its whatever protein you have on toast. To make sure we had weight she would give us all saltiness with margarine. I'm still impressed with her.
Catlady6000 3 years ago
I still snack on saltines with mayo, mustard or margarine. The 3Ms
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Mad Mar 3 years ago
Sugar and butter on white bread. Government cheese shared from my grand mother's wic. Bag cereal not boxed. Can concentrate oj. Bikes made from scrap from dump. Play in the yard or at friends house. No trips. Dad was on strike. Mom worked part time. Mid 70s gas hike/shortage. Pile on pile of troubles. Hurricane an power out for weeks. Extension cords from neighbors because we were on separate line. Found out it was in a few days later but dad was trying to save on the bill. Always have a gas stove. You will have hot water an food can be cooked.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Blizzards, not hurricane, and my mom worked f/t for all the good it did us. No gas stove. Cold enough the wood stove was smarter all around. OJ was a luxury even frozen.
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Cleo Neufeld 1 year ago
My husband said that when he was growing up in a family of 11 kids. They had to have lard sandwiches with salt and pepper. The whole family had to use the same bath water.
Rich McCormick 3 years ago
I was born poor, adopted and raised with everything I could want except for a good parent as she was too busy with career and drinking. When I was finally of age and back living in my original home town (LONG STORY) I was an out gay living in Bradenton Florida. I had a job at a car dealership and was so poor I ate ketchup sandwiches and fried onions (like a whole onion, breaded with flour and deep fried). Then a little while later I was out of a job, my own stupidity, and went to live with a friends mom in their Trailer and for food I would clean the house and help with shopping. She did make this one thing once a week, it was pork, sauerkraut, potatoes and the usual veggies like onion, carrot and celery, salt and pepper. Sounds yummy to some, gross to others, but when your hungry and that's the only good meal you have for an entire week, it's heaven! So been there, done that! I live in California now, retired and have a roof over my head and food in my belly. I survived!
Purr·maid 3 years ago
𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅, 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒎𝒂 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 & 𝒎𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 & 𝑰 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌•𝒐𝒓•𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 - 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝑺𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆 & 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝑷𝒂𝒑𝒂 𝑺𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒇, 𝒍𝒐𝒍. 𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔 - 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒔. 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕. 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔.
Rosesinmyhair 3 years ago
When I first moved out of home and "managed" my own finances. I always kept flour and a jar of Jam in the pantry for when my pay ran out before pay day. Flour/Water/salt kneaded into dough and cooked in the oven made great filling Damper (flat bread) that I would have with Jam. Lifesaver with no money and no groceries in the house.
Brian Bennett 3 years ago
Ya know what bad as it was I really didn't know it then we still had a good time!
The Cute Cat 3 years ago
My dad is an elementary school head master.. So we are technically wealthier to the other family. But I still remember that we are too considered poor by today standard in my country. Things like milk is a novelty. Books is inherited for years. I still remember that some of our friend in class only have one uniform given by their neighbor.. We all love to go fishing because then get extra food.. And also it is common that fruit plant in someone yard stolen in the night..
I is rainbow 3 years ago
I just learned this: my parents got food stamps when I was really tiny. And I had to get my finger pricked to make sure I was getting enough nutrients. But, we have a house now! From not having my own room for the first 10-ish years in my life, I have one right now! (I have 3 siblings and both my parents were broke an unemployed when my older brother was born)
Lemuel Hill 3 years ago
Grandma made tortillas with water and flour. The made gravy with flour and water, salt and pepper. Dinner. Flour was our savior for a long time back then. No plumbing but an outhouse on the side of a hill and forget going to the bathroom at night. rattlesnakes, black widows and scorpions at night so you held it til morning.
Lemuel Hill 3 years ago
Grandma made tortillas with flour and water then made gravy with flour and water with salt and pepper...dinner. Flour was our savior for a long time.
Miss Frankfurter 3 years ago
Months ago on BP there was a Hey Pandas & I talked about how if I didn't like something & refused to eat it, it was a war of the wills because my dad would make me sit there until I ate it. I was incredibly stubborn & I would sit there until my mom told him I needed to go to bed & I went to bed hungry. A lot of Pandas thought that was pretty sick. But here's why that happened. My father grew up during the depression. Nuff said there. But after getting his mom & brother out of an abusive home & running to the other side of the country, my dad, who had to quit school at 15, the only way they occasionally ate meat was if he went out & killed some squirrels. I didn't realise that before I was 9 we were poor.. Food wise, what I have read here is so familiar. He had lived not knowing if the next meal might come. So now we had money & for sure 3 meals a day, I was going to eat it, come hell or high water. Dont blame him. I laugh now. He never understood that I was ALWAYS going to win.
Catlady6000 3 years ago
Frankly, whenever I look at all I learned from being poor, I don't mind it. I actually wind up feeling sorry for those who didn't learn the same lessons. I learned to cook amazing food from nothing, to reuse and turn trash into something beautiful. I have compassion and empathy that I might not have had with a more "normal" life. I may be in the minority, but I am actually grateful for growing up poor. It even made 2020 easier to handle
Sean Harrison 3 years ago
I remember when I was a kid I had to make milk from powder and water so I could have cereal in the morning, I thought that was normal till one day my Mom started buying jugs of milk. Turns out we were dirt poor till my Dad got a better job.
Ross Duncan 3 years ago
Lots of soups... lots of porridge.... mind you. 6ft 2 and 17 stone so I don't think it stunted my growth!
Sergio Bicerra 3 years ago
Went to a field trip in 2nd year of school. Were told to use our worst clothes cause we will get really dirty. Used my best clothes and still managed to be the worst dressed. I learned to saw by hand at the age of 7, cause my clothes couldn't bear to stay together.
Christine M Quigley 3 years ago
My mom was pretty inventive with food- Spam fried with maple syrup was delicious! That government cheese was awful. Using tomato soup as sauce for pasta. To this day I hate tomato soup, no matter how you dress it up. Peanut butter that tasted like burned peanuts. Mustard Mayo & ketchup sandwiches. When I was a teenager, my mom's friends would give her clothes for me to wear. I remember the orange sneakers for 99 cents. Cutting out old copy books to put inside your shoes after you get holes in the soles.
Catlady6000 3 years ago
The government cheese was either the best or the worst depending on who you talked to. I loved it and hunted for anything close to it for years
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Q B F T 3 years ago
All my toys were second-hand (and broken/parts missing) - either hand-me-downs from slightly better off cousins or picked up for dirt cheap from yard sales etc. If I wanted the latest toy that was only available from shops, my mother would draw a picture of it on cardboard, cut it out and I would play with that.
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
Don't have children when you can't afford them. "Love" is not enough to raise a kid on. You're setting them up for a hard life and for what? So you can spread your genes? As if that is useful somehow.
Aunt Messy 3 years ago
Don't be a stupid bitch. How's that? In the US, people die because they don't have medical insurance. Getting birth control is difficult because if you don't have medical insurance, you can't see a doctor, and even if you could, there's no money for prescriptions. Planned Parenthood is a good resource, but the Republicans hate women so much that they're determined to shut down the clinics who gave out birth control for free.
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Ranch Dressing 3 years ago
Grew up poor because you used off-brand cereal? That doesn't sit right with me
Call Me Mars 3 years ago
You need to re-read that post. They didn't have enough money to buy brand cereals, like Fruit Loops and Cheerios.
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Call Me Mars 3 years ago
Actually, people in America can be poor. My birthdad is poor, and he lives in America. Not everybody on this post may have grown up in a third-world country.
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Kayla Halleur 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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? 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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... Carol Emory 3 years ago
Ironically enough, my grandparents were young adults at the time of the Great Depression. They learned how to be frugal. So it wasn't that their family was poor, just scared of a repeat of history. Their fear was instilled on my Dad. He never threw out old paperwork, he had an unhealthy obsession with Costco even after us kids had grown up and were out of the house. His basement would be packed with canned food and a large freezer stuffed to the brim with food even though he lived alone. He also kept every box for every counter top appliance and electronic he owned. The only good thing that came from it was, when he passed after a long bout with Alzheimer's, my sister (his caretaker) had enough food to last for a few months while she worked at cleaning up his affairs.
Catlady6000 3 years ago
My Mil is the same way. However, in the nineties , her 20year old hot water heater, that she had a life time warranty on, died. The company required original paperwork, receipt and box. Guess who had all of that. Still using the replacement hot water heater, that she still has the paperwork and original box for.
Load More Replies... travis Lopez 3 years ago
As a child me and my siblings all slept on the blankets on the floor, or couches if we were lucky.When my mom finally was able to get a house she also bought us all beds, but me and my siblings were still trying to lay on the couches in the living room.. it took us awhile to get used to sleeping in beds.
Ivana 3 years ago
I am a very successful 32 year old who owns their own home and can easily pay all of my bills, but I still can't answer a phone and have anxiety attacks when someone knocks on my door after spending most of my life in poverty and having bill collectors threaten me, being evicted, homeless, and having the cops come out to serve us court summons. No matter how successful I become, I still can't overcome my fear of a phone ringing. I refused to even own a phone for years and years because they cause me to have panic attacks.
Todd Hunter 3 years ago
One thing I didn't see posted was expired food bank food. Every time my mom came home from the food bank or if a church dropped off donations we would have to go through and find the expired stuff, some was many years expired and would make you sick or could kill you. I'm talking about bubbled out cans. To this day I'll never understand how someone donates that and can't comprehend how bad it can be.
rabbitsrabbit 3 years ago
Having a mild existential crisis now - is my family poor but my parents simply hid it really well or are they just frugal?
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Sometimes, if one generation is poor the next will be really frugal, is my guess.
Load More Replies... Yeah, you heard 3 years ago
Some of these are not evidence of poverty, but of being sensible with money and resources. Not buying branded cereals, reusing foil - these things are good sense; I do them even though I can afford not to.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
You aren't grasping the concept. Yes, you can do them by choice. But when you *have no choice*.... see?
Load More Replies... Blackheart 3 years ago
Based on my experience and what I see today, the things in this list are quite common. I do not know if that means people are getting poorer, or that this is simply the way life is for most of America.
Derek Clark 3 years ago
I had to live off 10 euros a week for groceries, it was always a challenge. I made a lot of stews with cheap vegetables and instant mashed potatoes since I could live on that for three days. Baked beans with rice, ragout with rice, cheap spaghetti sauce in a jar with cheap veggies and pasta for another three days. The rest of the day I ate bread with lettuce or sugar. If asked for gifts, I'd ask for socks or underwear since I couldn't afford those and I'd get a pair of shoes for my birthday from my mom. It has certainly made me grateful now and I never take anything for granted.
Cat Bessing 3 years ago
I was the youngest of three kids, and the only girl. My brothers could share clothes and hand me downs, but I couldn't wear their clothes. The solution? My family's friends with daughters would give their daughter's old clothes to me. I'm sure it was a godsend to my parents, but wearing the neighbor girls' clothes to school was really no fun at all.
Jro308 3 years ago
I grew up poor, I used to eat just lettuce dipped in Miracle whip, at the end of the month there was very little food in the house, I used to try to arrange to stay the weekends at a friends house so I could eat. And we NEVER had paper towels or tissues in the house that was too much money. All my clothes came from K-mart and was always put on lay-away. I worked really hard to pull myself out of that situation and now I HAVE to have paper towels and tissues in the house at all times.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
My grandparents were quite poor when they were young, and even though they weren't later in life, they still had that mind-set. My grandfather regularly made me his 'favorite sandwich when he was a boy' which consisted of two slices of strange bread (thinner than regular sliced bread, and with no discernable "top," like there was no round puffy bit, it was completely square), bologna and margarine. I can't find anything that resembles that bread, and nobody knows what I'm talking about when I ask. I assume it was the very cheapest bread available in the early '90s. Every now and then I make one as close as I can, and get a bit teary thinking about it.
Catlady6000 3 years ago
Once upon a time the US used to give out commodities, this was before food banks. It was a big box of basics-dry beans, peanut butter, eggs, milk, powdered milk and some of the most amazing American cheese I have ever tasted. Most folks who remember the commodity boxes remember that cheese. It took me years to find anything even close. (It's Kroger American that they cut to order in the deli) I can't remember if there was bread in the box, but it sounds like something that would be
Load More Replies... Jessica Malone 3 years ago
My family was on the run, we lived a lot in a VW camper van. It was four people, my mother, two brothers, and myself. S*** on a Shingle (S.O.S) was a luxury. If you don't know its whatever protein you have on toast. To make sure we had weight she would give us all saltiness with margarine. I'm still impressed with her.
Catlady6000 3 years ago
I still snack on saltines with mayo, mustard or margarine. The 3Ms
Load More Replies... Mad Mar 3 years ago
Sugar and butter on white bread. Government cheese shared from my grand mother's wic. Bag cereal not boxed. Can concentrate oj. Bikes made from scrap from dump. Play in the yard or at friends house. No trips. Dad was on strike. Mom worked part time. Mid 70s gas hike/shortage. Pile on pile of troubles. Hurricane an power out for weeks. Extension cords from neighbors because we were on separate line. Found out it was in a few days later but dad was trying to save on the bill. Always have a gas stove. You will have hot water an food can be cooked.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Blizzards, not hurricane, and my mom worked f/t for all the good it did us. No gas stove. Cold enough the wood stove was smarter all around. OJ was a luxury even frozen.
Load More Replies... Cleo Neufeld 1 year ago
My husband said that when he was growing up in a family of 11 kids. They had to have lard sandwiches with salt and pepper. The whole family had to use the same bath water.
Rich McCormick 3 years ago
I was born poor, adopted and raised with everything I could want except for a good parent as she was too busy with career and drinking. When I was finally of age and back living in my original home town (LONG STORY) I was an out gay living in Bradenton Florida. I had a job at a car dealership and was so poor I ate ketchup sandwiches and fried onions (like a whole onion, breaded with flour and deep fried). Then a little while later I was out of a job, my own stupidity, and went to live with a friends mom in their Trailer and for food I would clean the house and help with shopping. She did make this one thing once a week, it was pork, sauerkraut, potatoes and the usual veggies like onion, carrot and celery, salt and pepper. Sounds yummy to some, gross to others, but when your hungry and that's the only good meal you have for an entire week, it's heaven! So been there, done that! I live in California now, retired and have a roof over my head and food in my belly. I survived!
Purr·maid 3 years ago
𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅, 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒎𝒂 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 & 𝒎𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 & 𝑰 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌•𝒐𝒓•𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 - 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝑺𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆 & 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝑷𝒂𝒑𝒂 𝑺𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒇, 𝒍𝒐𝒍. 𝑩𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔 - 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒔. 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕. 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔.
Rosesinmyhair 3 years ago
When I first moved out of home and "managed" my own finances. I always kept flour and a jar of Jam in the pantry for when my pay ran out before pay day. Flour/Water/salt kneaded into dough and cooked in the oven made great filling Damper (flat bread) that I would have with Jam. Lifesaver with no money and no groceries in the house.
Brian Bennett 3 years ago
Ya know what bad as it was I really didn't know it then we still had a good time!
The Cute Cat 3 years ago
My dad is an elementary school head master.. So we are technically wealthier to the other family. But I still remember that we are too considered poor by today standard in my country. Things like milk is a novelty. Books is inherited for years. I still remember that some of our friend in class only have one uniform given by their neighbor.. We all love to go fishing because then get extra food.. And also it is common that fruit plant in someone yard stolen in the night..
I is rainbow 3 years ago
I just learned this: my parents got food stamps when I was really tiny. And I had to get my finger pricked to make sure I was getting enough nutrients. But, we have a house now! From not having my own room for the first 10-ish years in my life, I have one right now! (I have 3 siblings and both my parents were broke an unemployed when my older brother was born)
Lemuel Hill 3 years ago
Grandma made tortillas with water and flour. The made gravy with flour and water, salt and pepper. Dinner. Flour was our savior for a long time back then. No plumbing but an outhouse on the side of a hill and forget going to the bathroom at night. rattlesnakes, black widows and scorpions at night so you held it til morning.
Lemuel Hill 3 years ago
Grandma made tortillas with flour and water then made gravy with flour and water with salt and pepper...dinner. Flour was our savior for a long time.
Miss Frankfurter 3 years ago
Months ago on BP there was a Hey Pandas & I talked about how if I didn't like something & refused to eat it, it was a war of the wills because my dad would make me sit there until I ate it. I was incredibly stubborn & I would sit there until my mom told him I needed to go to bed & I went to bed hungry. A lot of Pandas thought that was pretty sick. But here's why that happened. My father grew up during the depression. Nuff said there. But after getting his mom & brother out of an abusive home & running to the other side of the country, my dad, who had to quit school at 15, the only way they occasionally ate meat was if he went out & killed some squirrels. I didn't realise that before I was 9 we were poor.. Food wise, what I have read here is so familiar. He had lived not knowing if the next meal might come. So now we had money & for sure 3 meals a day, I was going to eat it, come hell or high water. Dont blame him. I laugh now. He never understood that I was ALWAYS going to win.
Catlady6000 3 years ago
Frankly, whenever I look at all I learned from being poor, I don't mind it. I actually wind up feeling sorry for those who didn't learn the same lessons. I learned to cook amazing food from nothing, to reuse and turn trash into something beautiful. I have compassion and empathy that I might not have had with a more "normal" life. I may be in the minority, but I am actually grateful for growing up poor. It even made 2020 easier to handle
Sean Harrison 3 years ago
I remember when I was a kid I had to make milk from powder and water so I could have cereal in the morning, I thought that was normal till one day my Mom started buying jugs of milk. Turns out we were dirt poor till my Dad got a better job.
Ross Duncan 3 years ago
Lots of soups... lots of porridge.... mind you. 6ft 2 and 17 stone so I don't think it stunted my growth!
Sergio Bicerra 3 years ago
Went to a field trip in 2nd year of school. Were told to use our worst clothes cause we will get really dirty. Used my best clothes and still managed to be the worst dressed. I learned to saw by hand at the age of 7, cause my clothes couldn't bear to stay together.
Christine M Quigley 3 years ago
My mom was pretty inventive with food- Spam fried with maple syrup was delicious! That government cheese was awful. Using tomato soup as sauce for pasta. To this day I hate tomato soup, no matter how you dress it up. Peanut butter that tasted like burned peanuts. Mustard Mayo & ketchup sandwiches. When I was a teenager, my mom's friends would give her clothes for me to wear. I remember the orange sneakers for 99 cents. Cutting out old copy books to put inside your shoes after you get holes in the soles.
Catlady6000 3 years ago
The government cheese was either the best or the worst depending on who you talked to. I loved it and hunted for anything close to it for years
Load More Replies... Q B F T 3 years ago
All my toys were second-hand (and broken/parts missing) - either hand-me-downs from slightly better off cousins or picked up for dirt cheap from yard sales etc. If I wanted the latest toy that was only available from shops, my mother would draw a picture of it on cardboard, cut it out and I would play with that.
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
Don't have children when you can't afford them. "Love" is not enough to raise a kid on. You're setting them up for a hard life and for what? So you can spread your genes? As if that is useful somehow.
Aunt Messy 3 years ago
Don't be a stupid bitch. How's that? In the US, people die because they don't have medical insurance. Getting birth control is difficult because if you don't have medical insurance, you can't see a doctor, and even if you could, there's no money for prescriptions. Planned Parenthood is a good resource, but the Republicans hate women so much that they're determined to shut down the clinics who gave out birth control for free.
Load More Replies... Ranch Dressing 3 years ago
Grew up poor because you used off-brand cereal? That doesn't sit right with me
Call Me Mars 3 years ago
You need to re-read that post. They didn't have enough money to buy brand cereals, like Fruit Loops and Cheerios.
Load More Replies... Call Me Mars 3 years ago
Actually, people in America can be poor. My birthdad is poor, and he lives in America. Not everybody on this post may have grown up in a third-world country.
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