23 “Poverty Habits” That Are Honestly So, So, So Real — Especially In This Trash-Fire Economy

As we get older and unpack our childhoods, we start to realize the habits we picked up from our parents or guardians.

1. “The amount of times I stress over a purchase — like, I used to have to make sure whatever I bought was worth every penny. Now, I have the resources to buy what I need without hesitating, and yet I’ll make myself sick with anxiety over whether or not I should buy the item or if I’m buying the right one.”

—u/WhisperingHope44

2. “Clean plate syndrome. I always eat everything on the plate and never throw food away.”

—u/[deleted]

3. “Adding water to the last bit of the hand soap bottle and shaking. Unlimited soap glitch.”

—u/laaumaster

4. “I don’t think I’ll ever give up using the containers that lunch meat comes in as ‘Tupperware.'”

—u/Repulsive-Owl-9466

“For me, it’s glass jars for jelly/pickles/jams. Those can all be washed and reused. Some of the jelly jars from when I was a kid are used as small glasses to this day at my parents’ house, so I do the same in my apartment.”

—u/SI7Agent0

5. “Waiting until something is completely unusable/broken/dead before I replace it. People sell old stuff at yard sales or on Facebook Marketplace, but that concept is foreign to me. If I’m not using it anymore, it’s because it’s trash and nobody else would want it anyway.”

—u/PrudentOwlet

6. “I put used parchment paper in the freezer so I can reuse it. It works great for nachos.”

—u/PolyJuicedRedHead

7. “When shopping, I look at the tiny tags that show dollars per ounce and also consider dollars per calorie.”

—u/MisterDonkey

8. “I’m finally doing well financially and making more than I ever have. I love video games, but I just can’t bring myself to buy a new release at $70. It’ll be on sale in six months to a year, and then I can justify it.”

—u/aarplain

9. “Cutting open toothpaste tubes to scrape them out. There’s a surprising amount left that doesn’t come out the normal way. I can go a week sometimes just off what was stuck to the tube.”

—u/MisterDonkey

10. “Saving extra condiment packets from fast food places.”

—u/4lien4ted

11. “I have every gift card I’ve ever been given, just in case I can’t afford groceries or my kids’ school supplies. I have two gift cards for Toys ‘R ‘Us from when I was pregnant with my son. He just turned 13. And I have so many Visa gift cards that I had to make a spreadsheet. They’ve come in handy many times over the years, but for the last couple, I’ve been able to buy what I need and still save. I just don’t know when I’ll stop feeling like the floor will fall from beneath me.”

—u/babygotthefever

12. “I still buy more groceries than I need during sales. My husband calls it ‘food hoarding.'”

—u/avettestingray

13. “Wearing my contacts way longer than I should be.”

—u/ohnotheskyisfalling5

14. “It’s impossible for me to pass up free food. I can have just eaten lunch at work, and if free food suddenly shows up, I have such a hard time turning it down.”

—u/rockycore

15. “I can definitely afford new things, but I prefer thrifting and don’t get the appeal of buying new.”

—u/fridakahlot

16. “Growing up, my mom went to the grocery store once a week and got one thing of chips/cereal/cookies/juice/etc. to last for the week. If we ran out, oh well, gotta wait for the next grocery trip. Oh, you don’t like that flavor? Too bad, maybe next week will be one you like. It wasn’t until a few years ago, when I was at the grocery store with my husband, that I saw a flavor of chips I really wanted, but we already had a different bag of chips in the cart. He said, ‘Well, just get it.’ I was like, ‘I can just get it?’ And then I struggled with having two bags of chips open at the same time. Like, I wanted one to be empty before I opened the other one, but why should I have to wait when those were the chips I wanted?”

—u/lycosa13

17. “Shopping for things like insurance every six to 12 months. Amazing how much you can save by switching. I’ll also call up my TV and internet providers and threaten to leave to get discounts. And I always pick up to-go food instead of paying exorbitant prices for DoorDash to have it delivered.”

—u/Three3Jane

18. “I still eat like I’m poor. Beans, rice, pasta, potatoes. Meat is a flavoring, not a main course.”

—u/mofomeat

19. “Hoarding things. Growing up, the few things I did have were hard-won, and if anything happened to them, they’d never get replaced. Therefore, if I get hold of anything, I feel like I must hang onto it or I’ll never have it again. I’m getting better about it, but while getting rid of stuff, some choices are easy, some are not.”

—u/mofomeat

20. “Not eating to save money is definitely a poverty mindset. Like, SUCH a poverty mindset. Definition of.”

—u/anatomizethat

21. “I still can’t bring myself to spend money on purely decorative things. If it doesn’t have a practical use, I can’t spend money on it. My apartment has zero wall decorations due to this mental block.”

—u/tannels

22. “I still make my lunch for work every day. The cost to eat out every day is wild. Assuming a reasonable lunch is $10 per day, that’s $50 per week, $200 per month, $2,400 per year. I still socialize and will go out with coworkers and stuff, but day-to-day, nah.”

—u/supergooduser

23. And finally, “A lot of ‘poor people habits’ are actually sustainable habits that are better for the environment. Hang drying clothes. Sitting in the dark. Taking short showers. Recycling cans for cash. Walking or taking public transport.”

—u/maxtacos

Are there any “poverty habits” that you’ve held on to from your upbringing? Let me know in the comments or using the anonymous form below. Your response could be featured in a future BuzzFeed post!

Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.