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Someone Wondered “What’s A Sign That Someone Grew Up Poor?” And 26 Folks Online Delivered
Article created by: Monika Pašukonytė
According to the World bank, the number of people living below the poverty line in the world is gradually decreasing, but this is still far from enough to say there's been a serious improvement in the situation. On the other hand, several decades ago, everything was much, much worse.
Yes, if today in the world less than 10% of the population live below $2.15 a day, then forty years ago there were more than 40% of such people. In other words, almost half of the modern population of the globe grew in poverty. And, according to people in this recent viral thread, there are special behavioral patterns and signs by which such a person can be recognized.
More info: Reddit
- Read More: Someone Wondered “What’s A Sign That Someone Grew Up Poor?” And 30 Folks Online Delivered
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#1
A personal anecdote:
For backstory, I'm the primary financial provider for my wife and I, but I really don't care what she does with our money. If our bills are paid and we have food to eat, I'm fine.
I grew up fairly poor, so I never really bought anything for myself, or asked for anything to be bought for me. A few months ago a video game I had wanted to play was on sale for like.... $2.50, and I said to my wife "hey, can I buy this?"
Not really because I wanted "permission" but because I hadn't logged in to check our financial state and didn't know if the money was already set aside for bills. But she looked at me and said "did you just ask permission to buy a $2.50 game with your own money?...."
So I'd say the hesitance to buy anything for yourself, regardless of how stupidly cheap it was.
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#2
In USMC recruit training we had a dude in our platoon who was homeless for an extended period of time before enlisting.
Every morning at zero dark thirty the DIs would come in turn the light on, screaming, total chaos to wake us all up…. Every single morning for the first thirty days or so of basic this dude slept right through it 😂. Kid said he was so comfortable in his little rack and hadn’t slept so good in a long long time. He was always exclaiming how good the food was at the chow hall. It put a lot of things in perspective for me.
#4
having a vast skill set! trust me, when you cant afford a repair man/hairdresser/seamstress/builder/roofer/welder/mechanic etc, you learn yourself.
#5
Sentimentality. Not that wealthier people can't be sentimental.
But my dad, whose parents grew up in the rural South during the great depression, wants to keep every little thing of my mom's. Everything.
He would prefer to keep her bedroom as is.
I always wondered why he wanted to keep it like that. But then I realized, the only thing we have left is my mom's ashes in an urn.
There was no funeral, no memorial, (she didn't want any and there was no one to come anyways) no tombstone. Nothing that feels tangible, personal, etc.
We don't have the luxury of beautiful personal mausoleums, or headstones, or anything else in the Western death culture.
My mom's bedroom, and all her stuff is the closest we will ever have to a memorial for my mom. It's a tomb, without a body in it.
#6
For me, I have what I call "poverty mentality", while I can afford new shoes and clothes, they have to be falling apart for me to replace.
#8
The mental struggle to buy anything and not feel guilty.
Binky Melnik 8 months ago (edited)
I remember when I was married and found a cute fall jacket,; it came in ten colors and I had the most miserable time deciding on one. Christmas came and I was opening box after box of the same jacket, each a different color that I didn’t get. When I realized my then-husband had bought me all nine of the jackets I didn’t pick, I felt sick that we could throw money away like that. (We made waaay more money than we knew what to do with.) I couldn’t be happy about all those jackets until he told me it was okay to give ‘em away, so I went to a homeless shelter and gave ‘em to ladies wearing rags and felt sooo much relief. These days, I myself am the recipient of given-away clothes, and still feel bad when I find myself with two really nice winter coats. We weren’t poor growing up, exactly, but I still don’t want more than my share. It feels gross knowing others have nothing. 😞
#9
Will eat all of the food on their plate, even after feeling full because they can't waste food.
#10
I'm really surprised I haven't seen "condiment drawer" here. When eating out, you save all of the unused condiments in a drawer. It took me until I was about 40 to finally recognize and stop hoarding ketchup and sauce packets.
#11
I grew up poor and my husband grew up middle class. Whenever we have guests, I am constantly asking people if they got ENOUGH food. "Is anyone still hungry? I can make something else!"
My husband will inquire about the quality of the food and if it is to everyone's liking. I think when you grow up poor, food is very much quantity over quality.
#12
I went without food sometimes when I was growing up. It took a long time before I stopped hoarding food once I could afford it. My husband always commented on how long it would take me to go through the chocolate he would bring back from his international trips. I was always afraid it would be the last time we could get it and would make it last as long as humanly possible. I am quick to shut down spending and I am much better at saving money than my husband. I also keep our heat set at 63 for the day and I am usually the last in the neighborhood to turn on our air conditioning. I still shop sales and I don’t understand things like renovating a perfectly fine kitchen just because you don’t like the color of the countertop or cabinets.
Binky Melnik 8 months ago
The problem with hoarding food like that is that it gets less fresh (so less tasty) as time goes on. (Ask me how I know this.) These days, i sometimes hafta make a decision: Eat it now while it’s at its best or stretch it out so less joy but for a longer period? I usta feel guilty about the times I ate it all at once, but now I realize it’s a trade-off.
#13
Lack of exposure to cultural events. missing out on experiences that others may take for granted, such as attending concerts, traveling, or participating in extracurricular activities.
#14
When I was in elementary school a girl asked me why all my shirts were just solid color and not brand name logo shirts. Made me feel insecure. So im going to go with an obvious answer here, clothing and style. I still wear my clothes until they have holes and stains. I have the money to buy new brand name clothes, but why. I'm not trying to impress anyone.
#15
Odd hoarding behaviours of things you probably should have gotten rid of out of fear you won’t be able to replace them easily. I keep a stack of boxes broken down because there’s still this fear in the back of my mind that I’ll have to move again at a moment’s notice. I make a decent salary now and have lived where I am for nearly 7 years, but I still can’t part with those boxes despite the space they take up. Under the bed, behind the chest of drawers… Yeah. I still have ‘em.
#16
Enjoying cinnamon, sugar, and butter on a slice of bread because we couldn't afford sweet treats 🥲 it low-key slapped though
#17
Scanning the menu for the cheapest options possible when at a restaurant. “It’s ok the soup is really enough for me”
Binky Melnik 8 months ago
And having a heart attack when you’re with someone who dithers over the most expensive options, fearing that because you’re splitting, it’ll come to a total you can’t afford, and then quietly sighing in relief and trying not to cry happy tears when they announce they’re buying your meal. (Yeah, I’m one of those who’s been taken advantage of at meals by thoughtless and expensive eaters.)
#18
- Being hypersensitive to any light left on, door left open, opening the fridge too much, running water too long, etc, because you’re trained to minimize utilities.
- Never pouring more than 1/2 a glass of any drink when at someone else’s house (except water) because you don’t want to be seen as wasteful/gluttonous.
- Making weird snacks out of food that isn’t supposed to be a snack - ex. Eating dry ramen noodles like chips, koolaid with sugar and your finger to make your own fun dip, eating Kraft cheese slices/cold hotdogs/other things that are normally just a part of a meal.
Binky Melnik 8 months ago
When I was little, I’d get up in the middle of the night and take a hotdog back to my bed to snack on. My mom would find a half-eaten hot dog while making my bed. I thought nothing of it back then, but now, looking back, I wonder what she thought the first time a hot dog flew out of the sheets and onto the floor! 😳😆
#19
In the US I’d say poor dental history or teeth - dental work is a luxury
Overall, I’d say many hoarders grew up poor because they are so afraid of not having something if they’ll need it so they keep everything
#20
I was told recently I was crazy for using bread instead of hot dog buns. That's just something I always did as it's what we had. Burgers, hotdogs all bread fellas.
#21
There's quite a bit, I didn't see them in myself until I was an adult and went to therapy.
1. Lack of basic wellness, e.g. no primary care doctor or dentist. Rationalizing this because there's a "financial cost" to it.
2. Serious guilt from buying anything you don't absolutely need. It's a feeling of "you don't deserve this" or "you're being stupid to ever want something".
3. Working yourself to death because of a serious insecurity about "returning to poverty"; my therapist called this the "never again" work ethic, it's toxic.
4. Eating your food so fast like you will never have another meal again. It's a sign of food insecurity growing up. My fiance pointed this out to me that I did this, and it clicked when I talked with my therapist about it. It's very common
5. General anti establishment beliefs. The system failed you, so it's hard to trust something that put you through abuse. This can manifest in bad financial literacy, or lack of belief in banks/stock market, etc.
#22
I have ”poverty toes”. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up so shoes were worn until they died, regardless of fit. My toes are curled and with prominent knuckles from being scrunched into too-small shoes.
#23
Only shopping in the clearance sections even after I grew up and started making good money.
#24
Having duplicates of essentials. You develop a prepper mentality for every “just in case” situation.
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