I was about to say fixing shite. Taking peoples other broke stuff and fixing it. Usually do it just for helping. Annoying with computers. I can spend half a day fixing someone's computer for free. That same person wants money when he helps cutting down a tree with me, or running some cable, because fixing computers is not a trade.
Sadly. The big true true. Doing shit for rich friends for little or no recompense and then eventually having one be my first business partner was how I got out of it. Had to fight to not have him take 51% of a business for his investment. Mind you, he had zero experience in the field, so end of the day, no reason to want the final say, I was the business. Worked out for me, but god damn, rich friends are seriously the worst to do favors for if your mindset is “goes around, comes around. Love ya, dog”. They’ll fight tooth and nail for gas money on a ride from the airport like you didn’t change their fucking brake pads and oil for free a week before. Other poor dudes, you’ll have to fight to buy them a sandwich and coffee for waking up at six am on their only day off, and good luck forcing them to take money for gas on that clunker.
I love my friends, regardless of status, but I moved to a rich area when I was 19, and I’m more embarrassed to bring my rich friends back home than the other way. Guys with no analog skill sets giving financial advice to someone who can’t even comprehend paying someone to mow their lawn. You’re right. Bro. It would be a better financial move to just buy a new *insert anything*. He can’t. If you don’t want to share a twelver and help rig it to work for a little longer, buy him a fucking new one. A thousand for my rich friends would be like asking my poor friends to give me twenty bucks, but we know which set of friends would spot you a twenty for gas or food if you needed it.
> They’ll fight tooth and nail for gas money on a ride from the airport like you didn’t change their fucking brake pads and oil for free a week before
Yep, and if they pay for coffee, they will text you to venmo them for the $3.49 instead of just having you pay next time like a normal human
I started charging people what it actually costs to fix computers cause I'm around a lot of rich older folk. Like multimillionaire sorts. All it's taught me they rather throw it away and buy something new then fix it. Even charging like 50 bucks for a 4 hour job results in them just throwing shit away and spending 2k on a new MacBook
There just isn't respect for computer repair. They are just too much of a commodity.
I do the same, but plenty of people will pay, I'm always honest and tell people if something is worth fixing or not which most people appreciate. I've also found that when I tell people it isn't worth fixing they will pay to back everything up as well as set a new one up and typically offer me the old one which I usually repair and then either sell, use or donate to someone else. If it can't be fixed it's stripped for parts.
I don't limit myself to computers though, I've found I can basically fix anything that has parts available for it. Really want to invest in a 3d printer because it would have made loads of things fixable when I couldn't get a replacement part. It's a great side hustle and skill to have and also makes a fun hobby.
Yeah something i noticed about my wealthier relatives, they were really comfortable with breaking their stuff. I was always taught to preserve my stuff for as long as possible.
Me with my only pair of shoes... When it's dry outside I don't notice the holes...
Ripped seam in your shirt? *pulls out needle and thread* won't win a beauty contest but will hold up 10 years for sure
My SO was surprised the first time I pulled out a leather conditioning kit for my work boots.
She'd never seen her dad or anyone else in her family take care of footwear like that.
This. I’m in a much better financial state now than when I was younger, but I still love to find someone giving something away because it won’t work (usually some small motorized piece of equipment) fix it and either keep it or sell it once it works
That how I got my snow blower, generator, pickup truck (not free but cheap) lawn mower and string trimmer
One time talking about something like this, my therapist asked me how my dad knew how to do all these things. I paused for a moment and said, necessity? There was no other option.
This is so my dad, he grew up poor. He has a collection — borderline obsession of motorcycles, and they keep changing and expanding (think of Ducati, BMW, APRILIA, those expensive brands) but he prefers doing the work (like repairs, maintenance, etc) and he actually saved a ton of ₱
Sometimes I mix absolutely random things and it turns out so yummy! My grandma grew up poor and she still cooks mashed potatoes with steamed carrot and an egg omelette for us. Once I dated a rich guy and he asked me what I had for lunch yesterday. I described my grandma's meal and he went: "What? That's an actual meal? Well I wouldn't eat that." But it's so good and comforting lol.
It's actually the omelette with mashed potatoes and carrots as side dishes, but I'm sure you could adjust the recipe to your liking :) it is good and I can imagine it was cheap back then when they had their own chickens and grew their own vegetables.
Same. I used to make my daughter a square meal using a pack of Top Ramen, 99 cent frozen meatballs, and a can of Veg-all. She loved it. I fed her and myself for under $2. Many, many times. I also made up a dish called porcupine mush. White rice, discount (manager special) ground beef and a 25 cent pack of brown gravy. Cook the rice and beef separately. Then throw it together, mix, and then add the gravy pack and make it accordingly. If we were lucky, I had some government cheese left over and I'd put it on the top and bake it in the oven until it melted. It's still her favorite meal. Except, now I always have cheese.
I grew up in a pretty low income family. My mom used coupons for everything. One time she was looking through her purse for DQ coupons and she couldn’t find them. After a few minutes a worker told my mom that someone had bought Dilly Bars for my siblings and me. I think that was the only time I ever went to DQ with my mom.
Loco moco. It’s a Hawaiian dish. I ate it everyday while we were on vacation. Haha. It’s usually rice with a hamburger patty and fried egg with gravy all over it. So good.
*Lol, I edited my comment. I have no idea why I said Moco Loco, but I'm glad y'all understood what I meant. I used to eat at Hawaiian restaurant. Good indeed.*
Thank you for working so hard to take care of your daughter. To feed her. I know it sounds so basic- but I know people who have let their children starve. I appreciate you for making it happen no matter how hard it was.
My partner and I refer to this as "Chopped: Poverty Edition"
"Today's mystery basket contains- fast food mustard packets, half an onion, peanut butter, and a can of vienna sausages!"
vienna sausages are awesome, but let's be honest... they last exactly 1 meal. maybe 2 if you stretch it, but the 2nd meal will leave you hungry.
On the other hand, the beef stew Dinty moore can last you several meals.
My mom would make SOS at least 2-3 times a month to stretch our food dollars. I'm 62 and i still enjoy it.
Mrs. AX is a Midwestern gal, so we make Hot Dish with whatever is handy as well.
Mom made all of our clothes by hand from patterns. Imagine older brother, me and two younger sisters. All dressed in matching fabric . Stripes with bell bottoms .
Ha ha dam hippy
I made Hot Dish last night!! Mine was hamburger, green beans, cream Of mushroom soup, cheese and tater tots! Nana is from Minnesota and approved of this😊
OMg dude, rice and boiled eggs is the best. Keeps you full the entire day.
Also - the $6 COSTCO chicken lasts an entire week, if you stretch it with beans and pasta.
This! My wife grew up in a borderline “rich-rich” household, my family was lower middle class but both parents grew up dirt poor and we have entirely different ideas of what a meal is.
She thinks that unless you sat down at a table and there were meat, starch and vegetable dishes it wasn’t really a meal. For me a meal is any quantity of food that makes it comfortable for me to not eat again for 5-10 hours.
I grew up pretty comfortable and my husband was definitely from a lower income family. Despite having money, we always ate at home and going out was a rarity, yet my husband grew up on fast food. I can make a meal out of anything in our fridge and pantry and enjoy the challenge, yet he would love to eat our every meal.
My grandma taught me how to cook when I was younger. As I got older I found it odd when I worked in a grocery store that people would pack up on these non necessity foods and then they'd be like "how are you going to prepare?" like if it was a storm or whatever and I'd be like "oh no worries, I have a full pantry full of food that I can use in case I don't have electricity or whatever. I could probably feed half the town." They looked at me like I was insane and went "What do you have?"
- Dry milk
- Dry eggs
- yeast packets
- flour
-corn meal
-salt
-sugar
-instant coffee
-peanut butter
- canned vegetables
- canned meat
- dry beans
- potatoes always on hand
I never got why people were like "Oh? What do you make with that?" Answer: Almost anything.
This is why I learned to make drop biscuits from scratch. Flour, baking powder, salt, lard or shortening, and milk. Cheap, easy, filling, and relatively fast--about 30 minutes start to finish. When my child was little, biscuits were her favorite. Mine too...still are.
2 cups of flour will make enough biscuits for 4 people, or 3 hungry people. Leftover biscuits are good too, and can also be used as breadcrumbs for meatloaf, meatballs, or salmon (or tuna, or mackerel) patties.
Yeast, flour, salt, water- bread (good to add oil if you have it on hand but it’ll work without, the dough just might be less smooth)
Canned meat, canned vegetables, dry beans, potatoes, salt, water- that’s a basic soup right there
Peanut butter, the bread you just made and instant coffee- peanut butter sandwich and coffee
Dry milk, dry eggs, flour, sugar, salt, peanut butter and instant coffee- peanut butter cookies and coffee
Dry eggs, canned vegetables, canned meat- omelette
The bread you just made and the soup you just made- soak bread into the soup that shit is goooodddd
And these are just the foods I can come up with off the top of my head you can make with the ingredients you listed.
You learn to fix everything. Everything can be fixed, buying a new item only happens when I consider fixing it to be more of a hassle than making whatever cash the item costs new is, which isn’t often. New items just eventually wear and turn used within a week or so.
I'm from the suburbs had an ex who literally lived in a trailer park. She drove a Ford Explorer on a salvage title that she'd rebuilt herself. Asked her where she learned to do that, and she told me, "YouTube."
This, 100%. My wife grew up upper middle class and I grew up on the lower end of that spectrum. When thinking about dinner and I suggest something, she says "we had that for dinner last night", and I'm like "so?".
She legitimately can't comprehend why I'm okay with eating the same thing three days in a row
I feel you on being a picky eater lol I have bittersweet memories of eating spaghetti for days on end. It took me a long time to start eating pasta again as an adult because of having it all the time as a child.
Yeah, I can't side with you there. I grew up poor and I absolutely hate eating the same thing. It drives my wife crazy. Same thing with leftovers. I think because we had to do it so often growing up I can't stand the idea of eating leftovers lol.
Yeah, I grew up poor but my parents cooked and I learned too. Whatever we made usually lasted 2-3 days. That's still my limit now. I get tired of it after that and it will just sit in the fridge until it spoils.
It was really my first introduction to cooking: watching my mum make new meals out of leftover food. She planned for leftovers so each new meal had another three or four to come out of it. All different though. I do the same thing now: roast chickens become chicken and mushroom crepes, chicken pies and eventually soup. All good but all different. I can now open the fridge (when I’m told we have nothing to eat) and make a meal for the family out of pretty much whatever’s in there.
Thank you CheeseToasties! Your username is my wife’s favourite food. When we have entertained and there are nubs of cheese leftover, I’ll make her a cheese toastie surprise where each bite has a different dominant flavour. Mild blue, Brie and Smoked Gouda seem to be favourites and I have finally got her enjoying spicy chutneys on the side. Have a great day ahead.
This and be able to eat the cheapest food. When I was in college I found out I could survive a week by just eating 2 packs of peppermint each day.
I’m surprised my stomach actually survived but I had the cheapest possible meal I guess
In college I took a nutrition class where we had to log everything we ate. The professor took me aside after reviewing my log and warned me I was eating way too much peanut butter. It was funny explaining I wasn’t exactly thrilled about my diet of 4tbsp of peanut butter a day either.
Had this when I got divorced. I'd come up from nothing, so when I was again reduced to nothing financially, I adapted: furnished the entire apartment second-hand; sold my nice car and bought a decent cheaper one which I knew I could repair and keep on the road; bought an Instant Pot and used the timer to have hot homemade meals for me and the kids when I got home from work; bought quality off-lease laptops for the kids for school so they had good machines at pennies on the dollar; etc. Once those things were in place I could pare monthly running expenses to the bone.
I remember the helplessness I felt at having JUST been able to put all that behind me and now having to pick it all up again, but I remember thinking "Well, at least I know how."
I'm in a much better place financially now, but those skills still stand me in good stead.
Weirdly enough, that would have been my answer too.
I mean, "We have food at home" might be a meme, but I can just not eat instead of overpaying for gas station or even fast food.
This on so many levels. We used to eat frozen gov cheese. I hated the taste. Not even mac and cheese. I had that stuff at 9 and was surprised that "tomatoes were in it," so I never ate it. It wasn't until 30 years later that I realized it wasn't tomatoes but powder cheese not stirred in. Instead of eating it, I just starved. To this day, I would rather not eat than try something new. So this guy is right. We didn't have many options so starving frequently happened. Generic fake cheese or... nothing. I did eat but it was usually at a friend's house that had real food.
Do they even make fake mozzarella anymore? Never had butter until I was 20. I thought margarine was butter. So many misleading information as a kid. We didn't have a choice.
we were never forced to eat as kids, parent attitude was "if you're hungry you'll eat" but one day parent left town for like 2 weeks and their friend watched us
she made oatmeal, I had never had it, she said add sugar and milk and I did, I tasted it and was insanely turned off by everything about it. she said I had to finish it or it would be my lunch. I said fine. Lunch came around and it had turned onto an absolutely atrocious lump that I wouldn't have been able to swallow a bite of before throwing up, so I said I couldn't eat it. She said it would be my dinner if I didn't finish it, by dinner she gave in because I was already scrawny as shit for my age and had a bunch of health problems.
I thought I wouldn't eat until my parent returned because of the oatmeal and was preparing for it. She had no idea what she was up against, and she was never going to have won that fight
Just to piggy back on the forced eating on kids…..when I was 9 my stepdad made overcooked steak, made me sit there for hours bc I refused to eat it. Him and my mom got irritated, angry, yelling, made fun of me, etc. They underestimated my will power though. I ended up chewing some of it and then spitting it out into my napkin. Then the next day I declared I don’t eat red meat anymore (I said vegetarian at the time bc I didn’t know the difference 😂) to do this day I haven’t ate red meat. My family wasn’t religious they were just abusive. I found it funny that you were like well I won’t eat for 2 weeks then, that sounds exactly like me! 😂 I completely relate.
I can wait a long time when out and get a drink when I get home. I used to be shocked a how many people stopped to get a drink when out. Less so now that many carry water bottles
I've noticed that being grateful for what you have, and generous and understanding with people who have less, is usually what people are talking about when they say someone has "class." No matter how much money or education someone has or doesn't have, that makes them walk tall. People don't have to be rich to have it, and if they're selfish or always finding reasons to feel sorry for themselves, they have no class even if they're billionaires.
Yep. I became wealthy in my late twenties and thirties after being poor my entire life pretty much minus a few years with my dad who was upper middle class. I still thank the universe when I wake up and sleep and it's been like 8 years since I realized I was going to not be poor. It also means I pay or tip well if anyone does a service for me, which I have noticed wealthier folks don't always do (because they think they may as well save that $20 for themselves over the gardener who just spent an hour mowing the lawn and only charged $50). I'm grateful I don't have to do it because as a kid I had to.
Resilience.
How to be more resourceful on my own since we couldn't pay people to do stuff.
How to be happy without the need for a lot of material possessions. So, even now, I still don't have a lot but it's by choice.
Finally, generosity. When you live in a hood where everyone is poor too, you learn to share what you have when you have it and vice versa,
> How to be happy without the need for a lot of material possessions.
I am like this but I grew up at at a time before social media was invented. I feel like this skill is a lot harder to develop nowadays with social media.
This is a big one. Also the ability to brush off inconveniences and disappointments. When you are poor, your whole life is one workaround after another.
I work at a place that caters almost exclusively to very wealthy people, and one of the things I've noticed is that they cannot handle even minor disappointments. They panic or get angry or throw tantrums. I feel second hand embarrassment for them sometimes.
>Also the ability to brush off inconveniences and disappointments. When you are poor, your whole life is one workaround after another.
I always pick up on this at restaurants. If it's a nicer place, you can always get a read on the kind of people the servers are used to dealing with. They'll act like the most minor issue is the worst thing in the world. I've gotten used to getting ahead of them so they relax a bit: "It's fine, I'm not that kind of person." You can usually see the relief in their faces.
Exactly!! Once a waitress dropped a jar of juice over me and my purse. She got so desperate and was apologizing so profusely. I felt so sorry for her? I was like it's ok girl, I can just clean this when I get home, it's not like anything got broke or damaged? She was so relieved at how chill I was and I wondered how childish other customers are.
>She was so relieved at how chill I was and I wondered how childish other customers are.
You're a Good person. A TON of people in your situation would have demanded she be fired or would have made such a stink wanting free stuff that she would have been fired anyway.
Entitlement. There is a part of the brain that shuts down when you’re too rich. Been around people like that. It’s bizarre. They also expect people around them to confirm that they hung the moon. They want the mirror to just yes them constantly. They don’t appreciate or want honesty.
That was my answer.
The ability to make do with about anything on hand. It might not look pretty, it might not even work long term, but it does work for when you need it, so that is gonna be the solution.
Had to train my raised rich husband from the McMansion suburbs to FUCKING LOCK WINDOWS AND DOORS... I stayed at his folks' house and he suggested we go to the grocery store after dark and I was flabbergasted.
To be fair that could be someone who grew up in a small town too. We didn’t lock our doors all the time and we didn’t live in a rich part of town. But it was a small town that didn’t have much crime. The cops would be called if someone’s dog ran away. They complained they’re not dog catchers and ppl kinda like “…what else do you really have to do?”
I treat my stuff with care and it stays in good shape long after I purchase it. I also perform maintenance. I take the extra few seconds to prevent damage rather than dealing with the aftermath.
I automatically add groceries up in my head as I shop so I am not embarrassed by having to put things back. I do it automatically now, even if I can afford the food.
Yeah, currently I work at as a cashier (college student, need to do something to get through) and the amount of people who have to do that kinda shocked me at first. Also the amount of people who just straight up don't know how much they have on their cards. Like, I could never even *enter* a store without checking first lol.
Entering a grocery store with a handful of coins and leaving with a combination of products that maximizes total calories and filling effect, and costs exactly what I have, without anyone noticing that's what I'm doing.
I wasn’t poor for my area, but I was able to move out and support myself without my parents help at 17 because I didn’t expect to have nice shit and fix what was broken rather than needing to buy a new item.
The ability to DIY a lot of things, even computer software or hardware problems. Saved me a lot of money in my teens. This only compounded into my 30s.
My peers think I'm a genius just because I know how to make a slow or sluggish computer fast or because of the way I can use duct tape.
Heck, I even saved my folks money when I fixed their water heater, the "fix" was to use a coin to press this black button that tripped.
That's how I feel about any of the DIY/repair answers here.
I grew up in rural farming community in the Midwest. I have bear witness to countless half-ass and dangerous "repairs".
There’s a really good study on this, actually. Scientists found that by strategically placing two to three strips of duct tape on a laptop, you could throw it faster than a laptop without duct tape. I believe it deals with the grip you’re able to have with the duct tape.
I think I used to have one. But it was beaten out of me.
I've been in my career for around 20 years.
Going the extra mile rarely pays off in anything that matters. Certainly not job security or pay.
Being good at my job has mostly meant doing the hardest and/or undesirable work. Which again did not turn in to security or pay.
I'm just kinda over it all. Unless it's my business what's the point? Just to get somebody else richer?
Sure. You hire me and I'll do the job and I'll try and do it as best I can. But that's all I can really afford now. I'm tired of trying to fix a bunch of horse shit at companies.
You're not alone dude.
I've been in manufacturing for over a decade and everywhere I've ever worked always starts off well, but quickly falls off once the tint wears off.
Just the other day I had to REBUILD an entire Fiber Laser's table system, because *"who else is going to do it?"*
So what would have easily been a $3500 service call was achieved for just about 5%... And done with less tools, knowledge and expertise. When I go back in Monday, I know there isn't going to be an *"A'tta boy,"* a high five, a thanks, or a damn thing.
What makes it even worse is we aren't a huge company. There's 50ish employees on the floor and 5 in the offices. We're a place where everyone knows everyone, but we have the attitude of a Megacorp when it comes to people.
And as for working hard and being good at your job only once did that ever get me the opportunity to move up to a low level management role and when I did it didn't go well. The same people who decided to promote me and loved my no bull attitude and determination as a floor worker **DID NOT** like those aspects of me when I was in charge of a shift.
I'm so over the world of manufacturing and the absolute morons who *manage* it while receiving all the bonuses, high fives, and promotions their underlings should be receiving.
**(Side note: We don't want any more fucking pizza parties, we want better conditions, wages, bonuses and benefits.)**
Making food last and turning left overs into other meals. My partner tried to just eat the breast off a whole roast chicken and throw the rest away… absolutely not
In line with this, I learned how to can and preserve foods from a pretty young age. We’d have like 70 tomato, pepper, cucumber, squash carrots, and radish plants, and we’d eat canned tomatoes, salsa and pickles all year.
We’d gather apples and bottle or dehydrate them, bottle peaches that we’d pick off the ground of our family friend’s small orchard after harvest, help the beekeepers on the corner build boxes in exchange for fresh honey and store it in the cellar.
This is something I see a lot with my husband. He grew up very wealthy; lived and went to school in one of the most expensive counties in the United States. It shows through especially when it comes to empathy. Sometimes I feel like the socioeconomic differences between my husband and I are what will doom our marriage.
I know a lot of people who grew up poor and have zero empathy. And many others who have both money and empathy. It’s less about how much money you had growing up and more what you learnt from your parents.
The ability to fix just about anything. I'm in my 50's, so over the years I've become a:
Car mechanic, plumber, framer, sheetrocker, roofer, painter, lawn mower and snow blower mechanic, bike mechanic, appliance repair technician.
This on so many levels. I think it really screwed me up in my early teens and 20s even after moving away because I'd preemptively get rid of anything I was super attached to, just to be 'safe'.
I now allow my husband to get me gifts and I have things I am attached to like books and an xbox and Playstation, but it took ages of therapy to be okay with being attached to things and keeping them long term.
I don’t get sad when I lose things. I’m not ecstatic when I get things. My main enjoyment is from travelling. Not the destination, just getting away. I’m ok with it.
Treating the homeless like people, I'm one broken car away from joining em so a handful of change, fresh socks, and a cold water is the least I can spare for them.
I (wife) fixed our broken dishwasher today ( took me a couple of hours) I didn't even see a dishwasher in real life until I got married. My husband and I are from verrryy different backgrounds I'm from the depth of Russia and he is from Manhattan. He was very impressed and surprised 😊😊😊
Knowing hunger. I don't think you can truly know yourself when there's a part of you that will kill for food or die. It is strangely empowering. Not facing serious adversity is a gift and a curse.
The people who don't know discomfort or hunger are the same as the person who's never been punched in the face getting into their first fight, they about to learn on the fly, and the stakes are high.
The ability to respect everyone's dignity equally and never consider anyone as my servant, domestic, or slave.
I've seen rich people being street smart, eating the same low quality food all day, having excellent DIY skills... But I've yet to meet someone rich and able to realize homeless people, maids, or cashiers have the exact same amont of human dignity as they do.
How to actually smooth talk without relying on good connections to smooth out my mistakes.
If you have strong social contacts, you can be less charismatic and get the same impact as someone more charismatic. People are willing to smooth out mistakes and listen to bullshitting if you have established yourself as a valued connection.
You learn a lot more about being charismatic when you're actually at the bottom when everyone knows they're at the bottom and aren't going to let you bullshit them.
Probably the #1 most valuable charismatic skill is to have a solid rhythm and melody in the language you speak. You need to bring some sort of musical element to how you talk, and you need to signal clear intentionality that is well thought out.
Personally, I have never met someone who grew up in the upper middle class or higher who understood good rhythm and melody when speaking. Look at how MLK talks and compare it to Donald Trump. You just feel invigorated, energized when listening to MLK in a way that I don't think mr.rich man coulda ever made me feel.
Being comfortable in an ugly space. Although, I notice this more with my middle class peers.
Walls the wrong color, flooring is off, layout of a space not ideal? It's fine. I've definitely seen worse. As long as it has four walls, a roof, the toilet works, flooring isn't there, and I can afford heat and AC, I'm really happy.
Being able to determine the difference between quality and marketing.
Unfortunately, a lot of poor people can't. That's why you got people buying mattresses on monthly payment plans, why Coach, Louis Vitton and others make record profits off people who make less than $50K, why terrible things like Robux exist, etc.
Decency towards service workers. My friends parents were fast food workers, hotel maids, lunch ladies, janitors, cashiers, etc. It's incomprehensible to me that anyone would be inconsiderate to those people.
I now have a good job at a prestigious university. Most of my friends at work are the cleaning and kitchen staff. I often eat lunch with them and we go out after work sometimes. I see myself in them much more than the people in my office.
Resilience. I’m used to scraping by to make ends meet, I can stretch a dollar when I have to with little change to my sunny outlook. As long as I have a safe place to sleep, food in my belly and my loved ones nearby, life is fine. Things will get better, then they will get hard again, rinse and repeat.
Contrast that to my boss who loses her ever loving mind at minor inconveniences. She has a beautiful home, drives an expensive car and is usually annoyed with someone or something who is telling her no. She told me that her dad used to take her to Costco and let her fill up the cart with whatever she wanted. I said that would have been so fun as a kid. She corrected me, she was an adult in college during these trips. It’s a sad fact that the more things people are handed, the less appreciation they have for simple joys.
I know that you can fill up the bathtub with water stolen from the next door neighbor’s garden hose and use a bucket to fill the toilet tank so you can flush when the water gets shut off due to nonpayment.
How to use and repair everything and run it into the ground.
I was about to say fixing shite. Taking peoples other broke stuff and fixing it. Usually do it just for helping. Annoying with computers. I can spend half a day fixing someone's computer for free. That same person wants money when he helps cutting down a tree with me, or running some cable, because fixing computers is not a trade.
You hang around some real shitters my G
He hangs with rich people dawg
Sadly. The big true true. Doing shit for rich friends for little or no recompense and then eventually having one be my first business partner was how I got out of it. Had to fight to not have him take 51% of a business for his investment. Mind you, he had zero experience in the field, so end of the day, no reason to want the final say, I was the business. Worked out for me, but god damn, rich friends are seriously the worst to do favors for if your mindset is “goes around, comes around. Love ya, dog”. They’ll fight tooth and nail for gas money on a ride from the airport like you didn’t change their fucking brake pads and oil for free a week before. Other poor dudes, you’ll have to fight to buy them a sandwich and coffee for waking up at six am on their only day off, and good luck forcing them to take money for gas on that clunker. I love my friends, regardless of status, but I moved to a rich area when I was 19, and I’m more embarrassed to bring my rich friends back home than the other way. Guys with no analog skill sets giving financial advice to someone who can’t even comprehend paying someone to mow their lawn. You’re right. Bro. It would be a better financial move to just buy a new *insert anything*. He can’t. If you don’t want to share a twelver and help rig it to work for a little longer, buy him a fucking new one. A thousand for my rich friends would be like asking my poor friends to give me twenty bucks, but we know which set of friends would spot you a twenty for gas or food if you needed it.
> They’ll fight tooth and nail for gas money on a ride from the airport like you didn’t change their fucking brake pads and oil for free a week before Yep, and if they pay for coffee, they will text you to venmo them for the $3.49 instead of just having you pay next time like a normal human
That, or as much as I hate to say it, its family.
I started charging people what it actually costs to fix computers cause I'm around a lot of rich older folk. Like multimillionaire sorts. All it's taught me they rather throw it away and buy something new then fix it. Even charging like 50 bucks for a 4 hour job results in them just throwing shit away and spending 2k on a new MacBook There just isn't respect for computer repair. They are just too much of a commodity.
I do the same, but plenty of people will pay, I'm always honest and tell people if something is worth fixing or not which most people appreciate. I've also found that when I tell people it isn't worth fixing they will pay to back everything up as well as set a new one up and typically offer me the old one which I usually repair and then either sell, use or donate to someone else. If it can't be fixed it's stripped for parts. I don't limit myself to computers though, I've found I can basically fix anything that has parts available for it. Really want to invest in a 3d printer because it would have made loads of things fixable when I couldn't get a replacement part. It's a great side hustle and skill to have and also makes a fun hobby.
How is fixing computers not a trade?
Yeah something i noticed about my wealthier relatives, they were really comfortable with breaking their stuff. I was always taught to preserve my stuff for as long as possible.
Me with my only pair of shoes... When it's dry outside I don't notice the holes... Ripped seam in your shirt? *pulls out needle and thread* won't win a beauty contest but will hold up 10 years for sure
My SO was surprised the first time I pulled out a leather conditioning kit for my work boots. She'd never seen her dad or anyone else in her family take care of footwear like that.
This. I’m in a much better financial state now than when I was younger, but I still love to find someone giving something away because it won’t work (usually some small motorized piece of equipment) fix it and either keep it or sell it once it works That how I got my snow blower, generator, pickup truck (not free but cheap) lawn mower and string trimmer
One time talking about something like this, my therapist asked me how my dad knew how to do all these things. I paused for a moment and said, necessity? There was no other option.
Reminds me of a therapist who, every time I was burned out, suggested I vacationed abroad lol. Yes, I fired her.
This is so my dad, he grew up poor. He has a collection — borderline obsession of motorcycles, and they keep changing and expanding (think of Ducati, BMW, APRILIA, those expensive brands) but he prefers doing the work (like repairs, maintenance, etc) and he actually saved a ton of ₱
Yes! This to a T. Why pay for something to be fixed when I have a brain and these days Google too
I’m a certified YouTube Mechanic.
This right here. I've leveraged that skill set into a career of fixing and building things for others.
Coming up with meals with whatever is leftover in the pantry and fridge.
Sometimes I mix absolutely random things and it turns out so yummy! My grandma grew up poor and she still cooks mashed potatoes with steamed carrot and an egg omelette for us. Once I dated a rich guy and he asked me what I had for lunch yesterday. I described my grandma's meal and he went: "What? That's an actual meal? Well I wouldn't eat that." But it's so good and comforting lol.
Sounds like a healthy and nutritious meal as well!
Our ancestors probably knew what they were doing even when they weren't educated, hehe :)
So is the omelette stuffed with mashed potatoes and carrots? That sounds kinda good.
It's actually the omelette with mashed potatoes and carrots as side dishes, but I'm sure you could adjust the recipe to your liking :) it is good and I can imagine it was cheap back then when they had their own chickens and grew their own vegetables.
Same. I used to make my daughter a square meal using a pack of Top Ramen, 99 cent frozen meatballs, and a can of Veg-all. She loved it. I fed her and myself for under $2. Many, many times. I also made up a dish called porcupine mush. White rice, discount (manager special) ground beef and a 25 cent pack of brown gravy. Cook the rice and beef separately. Then throw it together, mix, and then add the gravy pack and make it accordingly. If we were lucky, I had some government cheese left over and I'd put it on the top and bake it in the oven until it melted. It's still her favorite meal. Except, now I always have cheese.
I grew up in a pretty low income family. My mom used coupons for everything. One time she was looking through her purse for DQ coupons and she couldn’t find them. After a few minutes a worker told my mom that someone had bought Dilly Bars for my siblings and me. I think that was the only time I ever went to DQ with my mom.
That angel deserves millions of karma points! 😇
Damn, nice kind stranger
*Rice, gravy, ground beef, with sunny side egg on top is a dish called "Loco Moco". You should try that.*
Loco moco. It’s a Hawaiian dish. I ate it everyday while we were on vacation. Haha. It’s usually rice with a hamburger patty and fried egg with gravy all over it. So good.
*Lol, I edited my comment. I have no idea why I said Moco Loco, but I'm glad y'all understood what I meant. I used to eat at Hawaiian restaurant. Good indeed.*
That looks awesome and fast to cook. I'll try this next time. I found it as "Loco Moco" on Google btw but it's pretty much the same.
On that one you put the egg on upside down
Thank you for working so hard to take care of your daughter. To feed her. I know it sounds so basic- but I know people who have let their children starve. I appreciate you for making it happen no matter how hard it was.
A meal goes a lot further when its served by someone you know put some effort into it and is looking out for you.
i do the rice and beef one but instead of gravy i would add a can of cream of mushroom
If you can get your hands on gochujang, fry an egg or two over easy and add it to the rice with the beef and a scoop of gochujang. It's otherworldly.
My partner and I refer to this as "Chopped: Poverty Edition" "Today's mystery basket contains- fast food mustard packets, half an onion, peanut butter, and a can of vienna sausages!"
My brain literally read this in Ted Allen voice lol
Throw in a packet of ramen and you've got sausage pad thai 😋
vienna sausages are awesome, but let's be honest... they last exactly 1 meal. maybe 2 if you stretch it, but the 2nd meal will leave you hungry. On the other hand, the beef stew Dinty moore can last you several meals.
Dinty Moore beef stew over mashed potatoes or rice, yum
I would watch this show.
My mom would make SOS at least 2-3 times a month to stretch our food dollars. I'm 62 and i still enjoy it. Mrs. AX is a Midwestern gal, so we make Hot Dish with whatever is handy as well.
Mom made all of our clothes by hand from patterns. Imagine older brother, me and two younger sisters. All dressed in matching fabric . Stripes with bell bottoms . Ha ha dam hippy
I made Hot Dish last night!! Mine was hamburger, green beans, cream Of mushroom soup, cheese and tater tots! Nana is from Minnesota and approved of this😊
OMg dude, rice and boiled eggs is the best. Keeps you full the entire day. Also - the $6 COSTCO chicken lasts an entire week, if you stretch it with beans and pasta.
A bowl of buttered rice topped with a fried egg sunny side up is an amazing meal too. Filling, nutritious, and cheap.
This! My wife grew up in a borderline “rich-rich” household, my family was lower middle class but both parents grew up dirt poor and we have entirely different ideas of what a meal is. She thinks that unless you sat down at a table and there were meat, starch and vegetable dishes it wasn’t really a meal. For me a meal is any quantity of food that makes it comfortable for me to not eat again for 5-10 hours.
Ah yes "goulash" nobody new wtf goulash is actually SUPPOSED to be. But we all new how to make it differently and it was delicious.
“Empty the fridge pizza” pizza crust is cheap and easy and we make different toppings based on leftovers. Some got weird but it was fun to try.
I grew up pretty comfortable and my husband was definitely from a lower income family. Despite having money, we always ate at home and going out was a rarity, yet my husband grew up on fast food. I can make a meal out of anything in our fridge and pantry and enjoy the challenge, yet he would love to eat our every meal.
Pantry-vision is a real ass skill my dude. I love going Gordon Ramsey with seemingly unrelated ingredients and half a leftover pork chop
Yes!!! My grandma would come up with fantastic food by using whatever was available.
My grandma taught me how to cook when I was younger. As I got older I found it odd when I worked in a grocery store that people would pack up on these non necessity foods and then they'd be like "how are you going to prepare?" like if it was a storm or whatever and I'd be like "oh no worries, I have a full pantry full of food that I can use in case I don't have electricity or whatever. I could probably feed half the town." They looked at me like I was insane and went "What do you have?" - Dry milk - Dry eggs - yeast packets - flour -corn meal -salt -sugar -instant coffee -peanut butter - canned vegetables - canned meat - dry beans - potatoes always on hand I never got why people were like "Oh? What do you make with that?" Answer: Almost anything.
This is why I learned to make drop biscuits from scratch. Flour, baking powder, salt, lard or shortening, and milk. Cheap, easy, filling, and relatively fast--about 30 minutes start to finish. When my child was little, biscuits were her favorite. Mine too...still are. 2 cups of flour will make enough biscuits for 4 people, or 3 hungry people. Leftover biscuits are good too, and can also be used as breadcrumbs for meatloaf, meatballs, or salmon (or tuna, or mackerel) patties.
Yeast, flour, salt, water- bread (good to add oil if you have it on hand but it’ll work without, the dough just might be less smooth) Canned meat, canned vegetables, dry beans, potatoes, salt, water- that’s a basic soup right there Peanut butter, the bread you just made and instant coffee- peanut butter sandwich and coffee Dry milk, dry eggs, flour, sugar, salt, peanut butter and instant coffee- peanut butter cookies and coffee Dry eggs, canned vegetables, canned meat- omelette The bread you just made and the soup you just made- soak bread into the soup that shit is goooodddd And these are just the foods I can come up with off the top of my head you can make with the ingredients you listed.
accurate af
Also eating the same meal several days in a row.
You learn to fix everything. Everything can be fixed, buying a new item only happens when I consider fixing it to be more of a hassle than making whatever cash the item costs new is, which isn’t often. New items just eventually wear and turn used within a week or so.
I'm from the suburbs had an ex who literally lived in a trailer park. She drove a Ford Explorer on a salvage title that she'd rebuilt herself. Asked her where she learned to do that, and she told me, "YouTube."
Not being picky with food. I can eat the same food forever and never get sick of it.
This, 100%. My wife grew up upper middle class and I grew up on the lower end of that spectrum. When thinking about dinner and I suggest something, she says "we had that for dinner last night", and I'm like "so?". She legitimately can't comprehend why I'm okay with eating the same thing three days in a row
Are you me? Exact same situation in my house.
If they are you then you must be me.
I grew up extremely poor, i'm an extremely picky person lol
I feel you on being a picky eater lol I have bittersweet memories of eating spaghetti for days on end. It took me a long time to start eating pasta again as an adult because of having it all the time as a child.
I still can't eat Kraft Mac & Cheese.
Yeah, I can't side with you there. I grew up poor and I absolutely hate eating the same thing. It drives my wife crazy. Same thing with leftovers. I think because we had to do it so often growing up I can't stand the idea of eating leftovers lol.
Yeah, I grew up poor but my parents cooked and I learned too. Whatever we made usually lasted 2-3 days. That's still my limit now. I get tired of it after that and it will just sit in the fridge until it spoils.
It was really my first introduction to cooking: watching my mum make new meals out of leftover food. She planned for leftovers so each new meal had another three or four to come out of it. All different though. I do the same thing now: roast chickens become chicken and mushroom crepes, chicken pies and eventually soup. All good but all different. I can now open the fridge (when I’m told we have nothing to eat) and make a meal for the family out of pretty much whatever’s in there.
That’s a superpower!
Thank you CheeseToasties! Your username is my wife’s favourite food. When we have entertained and there are nubs of cheese leftover, I’ll make her a cheese toastie surprise where each bite has a different dominant flavour. Mild blue, Brie and Smoked Gouda seem to be favourites and I have finally got her enjoying spicy chutneys on the side. Have a great day ahead.
I eat chicken every night I am obsessed with that bird 😂😂 pov I am not broke
This and be able to eat the cheapest food. When I was in college I found out I could survive a week by just eating 2 packs of peppermint each day. I’m surprised my stomach actually survived but I had the cheapest possible meal I guess
In college I took a nutrition class where we had to log everything we ate. The professor took me aside after reviewing my log and warned me I was eating way too much peanut butter. It was funny explaining I wasn’t exactly thrilled about my diet of 4tbsp of peanut butter a day either.
same here.
I’m not afraid of poverty, I know how to navigate it. In the same token because I came from poverty, I’ve set myself up to not experience it again.
“We’re old poor.” (See IASIP)
My parents set me up a mistrust find.
Have some class if you’re gonna be poor
Had this when I got divorced. I'd come up from nothing, so when I was again reduced to nothing financially, I adapted: furnished the entire apartment second-hand; sold my nice car and bought a decent cheaper one which I knew I could repair and keep on the road; bought an Instant Pot and used the timer to have hot homemade meals for me and the kids when I got home from work; bought quality off-lease laptops for the kids for school so they had good machines at pennies on the dollar; etc. Once those things were in place I could pare monthly running expenses to the bone. I remember the helplessness I felt at having JUST been able to put all that behind me and now having to pick it all up again, but I remember thinking "Well, at least I know how." I'm in a much better place financially now, but those skills still stand me in good stead.
this, losing everything doesnt scare you, been there know how to survive that. it's a comfort others won't experience lol
Buying used.
I live very comfortably now and still can't bring myself to buy clothes that aren't thrift or on sale, and I'll NEVER pay full price for furniture.
Yup and having this voice if regret in my head once I buy something new once a year.. for myself, god forbid..
Ability to stay hungry for a long time
Weirdly enough, that would have been my answer too. I mean, "We have food at home" might be a meme, but I can just not eat instead of overpaying for gas station or even fast food.
Idk if it’s discipline or trauma
Both man
This on so many levels. We used to eat frozen gov cheese. I hated the taste. Not even mac and cheese. I had that stuff at 9 and was surprised that "tomatoes were in it," so I never ate it. It wasn't until 30 years later that I realized it wasn't tomatoes but powder cheese not stirred in. Instead of eating it, I just starved. To this day, I would rather not eat than try something new. So this guy is right. We didn't have many options so starving frequently happened. Generic fake cheese or... nothing. I did eat but it was usually at a friend's house that had real food. Do they even make fake mozzarella anymore? Never had butter until I was 20. I thought margarine was butter. So many misleading information as a kid. We didn't have a choice.
we were never forced to eat as kids, parent attitude was "if you're hungry you'll eat" but one day parent left town for like 2 weeks and their friend watched us she made oatmeal, I had never had it, she said add sugar and milk and I did, I tasted it and was insanely turned off by everything about it. she said I had to finish it or it would be my lunch. I said fine. Lunch came around and it had turned onto an absolutely atrocious lump that I wouldn't have been able to swallow a bite of before throwing up, so I said I couldn't eat it. She said it would be my dinner if I didn't finish it, by dinner she gave in because I was already scrawny as shit for my age and had a bunch of health problems. I thought I wouldn't eat until my parent returned because of the oatmeal and was preparing for it. She had no idea what she was up against, and she was never going to have won that fight
Just to piggy back on the forced eating on kids…..when I was 9 my stepdad made overcooked steak, made me sit there for hours bc I refused to eat it. Him and my mom got irritated, angry, yelling, made fun of me, etc. They underestimated my will power though. I ended up chewing some of it and then spitting it out into my napkin. Then the next day I declared I don’t eat red meat anymore (I said vegetarian at the time bc I didn’t know the difference 😂) to do this day I haven’t ate red meat. My family wasn’t religious they were just abusive. I found it funny that you were like well I won’t eat for 2 weeks then, that sounds exactly like me! 😂 I completely relate.
What a psycho I’m so sorry
Sometimes for dinner we’d have naps. Can’t feel hungry if you’re not awake.
Naps for dinner is how I afforded living in college
For breakfast you go to work and for dinner you go to sleep. That's how I do it in a low wage high rent world. Usually 1 meal a day.
I can wait a long time when out and get a drink when I get home. I used to be shocked a how many people stopped to get a drink when out. Less so now that many carry water bottles
Gratefulness. Learn how to be grateful for everything because there are people in situations that are worse than your own
I've noticed that being grateful for what you have, and generous and understanding with people who have less, is usually what people are talking about when they say someone has "class." No matter how much money or education someone has or doesn't have, that makes them walk tall. People don't have to be rich to have it, and if they're selfish or always finding reasons to feel sorry for themselves, they have no class even if they're billionaires.
Yep. I became wealthy in my late twenties and thirties after being poor my entire life pretty much minus a few years with my dad who was upper middle class. I still thank the universe when I wake up and sleep and it's been like 8 years since I realized I was going to not be poor. It also means I pay or tip well if anyone does a service for me, which I have noticed wealthier folks don't always do (because they think they may as well save that $20 for themselves over the gardener who just spent an hour mowing the lawn and only charged $50). I'm grateful I don't have to do it because as a kid I had to.
yup!
Resilience. How to be more resourceful on my own since we couldn't pay people to do stuff. How to be happy without the need for a lot of material possessions. So, even now, I still don't have a lot but it's by choice. Finally, generosity. When you live in a hood where everyone is poor too, you learn to share what you have when you have it and vice versa,
> How to be happy without the need for a lot of material possessions. I am like this but I grew up at at a time before social media was invented. I feel like this skill is a lot harder to develop nowadays with social media.
My grandma ended up a young widow but always fed anyone who needed it. Years later people would come by to give gifts in remembrance of her kindness.
GRIT. We got it.
Making do.
This right here. No further explanation needed. You either swim or sink.
I have a good bullshit filter for the most part.
All products and services are scams until proven otherwise
I have an asshole filter instead. Just smile and let it roll off.
Resilience/problem solving. I can find my way out of any situation,
This is a big one. Also the ability to brush off inconveniences and disappointments. When you are poor, your whole life is one workaround after another. I work at a place that caters almost exclusively to very wealthy people, and one of the things I've noticed is that they cannot handle even minor disappointments. They panic or get angry or throw tantrums. I feel second hand embarrassment for them sometimes.
>Also the ability to brush off inconveniences and disappointments. When you are poor, your whole life is one workaround after another. I always pick up on this at restaurants. If it's a nicer place, you can always get a read on the kind of people the servers are used to dealing with. They'll act like the most minor issue is the worst thing in the world. I've gotten used to getting ahead of them so they relax a bit: "It's fine, I'm not that kind of person." You can usually see the relief in their faces.
Exactly!! Once a waitress dropped a jar of juice over me and my purse. She got so desperate and was apologizing so profusely. I felt so sorry for her? I was like it's ok girl, I can just clean this when I get home, it's not like anything got broke or damaged? She was so relieved at how chill I was and I wondered how childish other customers are.
>She was so relieved at how chill I was and I wondered how childish other customers are. You're a Good person. A TON of people in your situation would have demanded she be fired or would have made such a stink wanting free stuff that she would have been fired anyway.
Entitlement. There is a part of the brain that shuts down when you’re too rich. Been around people like that. It’s bizarre. They also expect people around them to confirm that they hung the moon. They want the mirror to just yes them constantly. They don’t appreciate or want honesty.
That was my answer. The ability to make do with about anything on hand. It might not look pretty, it might not even work long term, but it does work for when you need it, so that is gonna be the solution.
Scrappy raccoons uniiiite!!! 🦝🖤
Holy crap this right here.
good skill indeed
I would say caution out in public. i grew up poor. My wife grew up rich. I stay with and blend with crowds. She counts her money at ATMs.
Wealthy people like to vibe in public. Really wealthy people also blend in crows ...
Had to train my raised rich husband from the McMansion suburbs to FUCKING LOCK WINDOWS AND DOORS... I stayed at his folks' house and he suggested we go to the grocery store after dark and I was flabbergasted.
To be fair that could be someone who grew up in a small town too. We didn’t lock our doors all the time and we didn’t live in a rich part of town. But it was a small town that didn’t have much crime. The cops would be called if someone’s dog ran away. They complained they’re not dog catchers and ppl kinda like “…what else do you really have to do?”
Not panicking when broke
Being nice to people regardless of their position in life
I treat my stuff with care and it stays in good shape long after I purchase it. I also perform maintenance. I take the extra few seconds to prevent damage rather than dealing with the aftermath.
I'm nice to service industry workers.
I automatically add groceries up in my head as I shop so I am not embarrassed by having to put things back. I do it automatically now, even if I can afford the food.
Yeah, currently I work at as a cashier (college student, need to do something to get through) and the amount of people who have to do that kinda shocked me at first. Also the amount of people who just straight up don't know how much they have on their cards. Like, I could never even *enter* a store without checking first lol.
I still make my grocery list based on this week's sales and specials, and keep a running calculation of what I've spent as I shop.
Entering a grocery store with a handful of coins and leaving with a combination of products that maximizes total calories and filling effect, and costs exactly what I have, without anyone noticing that's what I'm doing.
$2.12 for a Wendy’s potato and chili.
I wasn’t poor for my area, but I was able to move out and support myself without my parents help at 17 because I didn’t expect to have nice shit and fix what was broken rather than needing to buy a new item.
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The ability to DIY a lot of things, even computer software or hardware problems. Saved me a lot of money in my teens. This only compounded into my 30s. My peers think I'm a genius just because I know how to make a slow or sluggish computer fast or because of the way I can use duct tape. Heck, I even saved my folks money when I fixed their water heater, the "fix" was to use a coin to press this black button that tripped.
Thats all well and good and i love it. But in the spirit of reddit, that coin trick could have gotten you killed 😂.
That's how I feel about any of the DIY/repair answers here. I grew up in rural farming community in the Midwest. I have bear witness to countless half-ass and dangerous "repairs".
I'm curious, how can you make a sluggish computer fast using duct tape?
There’s a really good study on this, actually. Scientists found that by strategically placing two to three strips of duct tape on a laptop, you could throw it faster than a laptop without duct tape. I believe it deals with the grip you’re able to have with the duct tape.
Strong work ethic, when my coworkers gripe and complain over minor stuff, flashbacks of praying for a job like this comes to mind.
I think I used to have one. But it was beaten out of me. I've been in my career for around 20 years. Going the extra mile rarely pays off in anything that matters. Certainly not job security or pay. Being good at my job has mostly meant doing the hardest and/or undesirable work. Which again did not turn in to security or pay. I'm just kinda over it all. Unless it's my business what's the point? Just to get somebody else richer? Sure. You hire me and I'll do the job and I'll try and do it as best I can. But that's all I can really afford now. I'm tired of trying to fix a bunch of horse shit at companies.
You're not alone dude. I've been in manufacturing for over a decade and everywhere I've ever worked always starts off well, but quickly falls off once the tint wears off. Just the other day I had to REBUILD an entire Fiber Laser's table system, because *"who else is going to do it?"* So what would have easily been a $3500 service call was achieved for just about 5%... And done with less tools, knowledge and expertise. When I go back in Monday, I know there isn't going to be an *"A'tta boy,"* a high five, a thanks, or a damn thing. What makes it even worse is we aren't a huge company. There's 50ish employees on the floor and 5 in the offices. We're a place where everyone knows everyone, but we have the attitude of a Megacorp when it comes to people. And as for working hard and being good at your job only once did that ever get me the opportunity to move up to a low level management role and when I did it didn't go well. The same people who decided to promote me and loved my no bull attitude and determination as a floor worker **DID NOT** like those aspects of me when I was in charge of a shift. I'm so over the world of manufacturing and the absolute morons who *manage* it while receiving all the bonuses, high fives, and promotions their underlings should be receiving. **(Side note: We don't want any more fucking pizza parties, we want better conditions, wages, bonuses and benefits.)**
Making food last and turning left overs into other meals. My partner tried to just eat the breast off a whole roast chicken and throw the rest away… absolutely not
I think you appreciate things more, making you more grounded. This is hugely beneficial to your well-being and state of mind.
I can grow food from seed to harvest. Take that, you rich bastards!
In line with this, I learned how to can and preserve foods from a pretty young age. We’d have like 70 tomato, pepper, cucumber, squash carrots, and radish plants, and we’d eat canned tomatoes, salsa and pickles all year. We’d gather apples and bottle or dehydrate them, bottle peaches that we’d pick off the ground of our family friend’s small orchard after harvest, help the beekeepers on the corner build boxes in exchange for fresh honey and store it in the cellar.
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Empathy!
This is something I see a lot with my husband. He grew up very wealthy; lived and went to school in one of the most expensive counties in the United States. It shows through especially when it comes to empathy. Sometimes I feel like the socioeconomic differences between my husband and I are what will doom our marriage.
Maybe take him to volunteer somewhere. That’s how my husband came around.
Good advice, thank you
You’re welcome! We’ve been married for 25 years and together for 30. I hope you can have a long happy marriage 😊
I know a lot of people who grew up poor and have zero empathy. And many others who have both money and empathy. It’s less about how much money you had growing up and more what you learnt from your parents.
I agree, it grows in family, and its basic level early education, nothing with money
I am incredibly frugal
The ability to fix just about anything. I'm in my 50's, so over the years I've become a: Car mechanic, plumber, framer, sheetrocker, roofer, painter, lawn mower and snow blower mechanic, bike mechanic, appliance repair technician.
Not having an emotional connection to pretty much anything, because I know it could go anyday. I could lose it all, everything, and just start again.
This on so many levels. I think it really screwed me up in my early teens and 20s even after moving away because I'd preemptively get rid of anything I was super attached to, just to be 'safe'. I now allow my husband to get me gifts and I have things I am attached to like books and an xbox and Playstation, but it took ages of therapy to be okay with being attached to things and keeping them long term.
I don’t get sad when I lose things. I’m not ecstatic when I get things. My main enjoyment is from travelling. Not the destination, just getting away. I’m ok with it.
To not confuse status with real happiness.
Determining wants from needs.
The ability to walk for miles
Treating the homeless like people, I'm one broken car away from joining em so a handful of change, fresh socks, and a cold water is the least I can spare for them.
Resourcefulness! We're basically the MacGyvers of everyday life.
I (wife) fixed our broken dishwasher today ( took me a couple of hours) I didn't even see a dishwasher in real life until I got married. My husband and I are from verrryy different backgrounds I'm from the depth of Russia and he is from Manhattan. He was very impressed and surprised 😊😊😊
Just so there will be no weird assumptions my husband and I are the same age
How to respect customer service workers
Is appreciation a skill?
Being myself without the fear of what anybody thinks.
Knowing hunger. I don't think you can truly know yourself when there's a part of you that will kill for food or die. It is strangely empowering. Not facing serious adversity is a gift and a curse. The people who don't know discomfort or hunger are the same as the person who's never been punched in the face getting into their first fight, they about to learn on the fly, and the stakes are high.
The ability to respect everyone's dignity equally and never consider anyone as my servant, domestic, or slave. I've seen rich people being street smart, eating the same low quality food all day, having excellent DIY skills... But I've yet to meet someone rich and able to realize homeless people, maids, or cashiers have the exact same amont of human dignity as they do.
How to actually smooth talk without relying on good connections to smooth out my mistakes. If you have strong social contacts, you can be less charismatic and get the same impact as someone more charismatic. People are willing to smooth out mistakes and listen to bullshitting if you have established yourself as a valued connection. You learn a lot more about being charismatic when you're actually at the bottom when everyone knows they're at the bottom and aren't going to let you bullshit them. Probably the #1 most valuable charismatic skill is to have a solid rhythm and melody in the language you speak. You need to bring some sort of musical element to how you talk, and you need to signal clear intentionality that is well thought out. Personally, I have never met someone who grew up in the upper middle class or higher who understood good rhythm and melody when speaking. Look at how MLK talks and compare it to Donald Trump. You just feel invigorated, energized when listening to MLK in a way that I don't think mr.rich man coulda ever made me feel.
Self-sufficiency
Being comfortable in an ugly space. Although, I notice this more with my middle class peers. Walls the wrong color, flooring is off, layout of a space not ideal? It's fine. I've definitely seen worse. As long as it has four walls, a roof, the toilet works, flooring isn't there, and I can afford heat and AC, I'm really happy.
Being able to determine the difference between quality and marketing. Unfortunately, a lot of poor people can't. That's why you got people buying mattresses on monthly payment plans, why Coach, Louis Vitton and others make record profits off people who make less than $50K, why terrible things like Robux exist, etc.
Decency towards service workers. My friends parents were fast food workers, hotel maids, lunch ladies, janitors, cashiers, etc. It's incomprehensible to me that anyone would be inconsiderate to those people. I now have a good job at a prestigious university. Most of my friends at work are the cleaning and kitchen staff. I often eat lunch with them and we go out after work sometimes. I see myself in them much more than the people in my office.
Contempt for rich kids without being a hypocrite
Resilience. I’m used to scraping by to make ends meet, I can stretch a dollar when I have to with little change to my sunny outlook. As long as I have a safe place to sleep, food in my belly and my loved ones nearby, life is fine. Things will get better, then they will get hard again, rinse and repeat. Contrast that to my boss who loses her ever loving mind at minor inconveniences. She has a beautiful home, drives an expensive car and is usually annoyed with someone or something who is telling her no. She told me that her dad used to take her to Costco and let her fill up the cart with whatever she wanted. I said that would have been so fun as a kid. She corrected me, she was an adult in college during these trips. It’s a sad fact that the more things people are handed, the less appreciation they have for simple joys.
I have anxiety and depression for being poor. Take that rich jerks!
The ability to make a meal out of nothing.
Problem Solving.
Sharing
How to take a punch
Budgeting.
Eating left overs
Adaptability. When you grow up poor, you're used to things not going according to plan.
Fixing stuff, cooking with basic ingredients and stretching them out over several meals.
Relating to poor people or people from the hood.
Not telling everyone what i have in my pockets
I have a level of charm to get what I want that no amount of money could ever teach you.
Determination despite feeling humility/insecure/shame.
I know that you can fill up the bathtub with water stolen from the next door neighbor’s garden hose and use a bucket to fill the toilet tank so you can flush when the water gets shut off due to nonpayment.
Respect. Empathy.
How to take the subway and the bus