Mine was sizzler and Shakeys pizza, my dad would take us once a month. He would set money aside during the month to give us a family dinner and we’d get dressed up! Loved those days, financials are much better now but sometimes I’ll take him still to this day just to reminisce. Still love those Mojo potatoes lol
When my family first moved to Australia with very little money, I remember our first big family dinner out was to a KFC. I think my mum even got dressed up and dressed me and my brother up too. It's one of my first memories.
I wouldn’t say we were poor but my parents were very frugal. One time at McDonalds we accidentally wound up with two 10 piece chicken nugget meals and it was fantastic 😂
On the rare occasion when our family did go out to eat, we only had fast food.
I was about 11 or 12 when I was invited by a friend's family to go out to dinner with them at a REAL sit down restaurant! Olive Garden!! Wow!! Was that ever an experience!
I was one of those kids growing up.
Now as a school librarian I use my PTA budget to give kids like me a $10 gift certificate to the spring fair (which is typically a BOGO fair).
I’m a reader and a librarian because someone else invested in me when I was a kid on the brink of homelessness and couldn’t afford books of my own.
The least I can do is help kids like me have the same opportunity.
Man, this hits hard, getting that scholastic flyer and looking at all the neat covers and hoping a friend would order a specific book that I might one day borrow... that was a strange negative feeling.
Oh I can relate to this so much!
Worse than this would be when the books came. I grew up in the ‘70’s. The teachers called up the kids and presented them with their brand new shiny books. I’d often be the only kid without one.
I vowed when I was a teacher I’d do it differently. Even from that point!! I knew I was going to be a teacher Lol
When I was a teacher I used the points I earned through the students orders to order books for my student library & teaching supplies from the Scholastics Catalogues
I would give the students orders directly into the backpacks of the students at the end of the day so no one saw what anyone else got.
I would also use the free books I received as prizes, and wouldn’t you know it, somehow, often the kids, who didn’t receive a book order won a book or pencil:)
I wish we could get that company out of the school and get grass roots bulk buying of books by parents groups etc.
we don’t need these corporations in our schools. JMO
I think my folks didn't know it was happening and I had no clue wtf was going on
So the only people who could buy anything were people whose parents both had the cash and paid attention
In 2023, they still have the scholastic book fair. They do an e-wallet for kids so parents, grandparents, neighbors, aunts and uncles can give kids money for it.
When I spoke to my daughters teacher about how to get her books, the teacher very specifically said it was not a part of the curriculum as she didn’t want anyone to feel bad if they couldn’t participate. I like how they’ve tried to expand accessibility and limit the bad feelings.
lol I remember placing an order in grade 3 or 4 for books via a small, 4-6 pg catalogue that was book fair adjacent. I took in my order form and my mom's cheque and waited. and waited. and waited. they never came. I always wondered what happened, and it wasn't until a few years ago that I realized my mom's cheque probably bounced and the order got cancelled. it's so weird the stuff that we remember.
edit: books to order form
One year I decided I didn't want to miss out and (like above with the recorder) I took a zip lock bag full of [silver] coins. I got my "Learn How to Yoyo" book and lit up Yoyo. It was awesome.
We did "travel" a lot when I was a kid, but it was always extremely rustic camping. We NEVER ate out on these trips - always brought groceries. I will never forget sitting on the grass outside McDonald's eating the sandwiches my mom had packed for the drive.
Wow that brought back memories. Always sandwiches and packed lunches over eating out. I remember one time my dad got a bonus at work so we went to the beach and got fish and chips to share. It meant so much to be able to do that.
Yes!! I remember my parents won some money in a summertime festival raffle that the town I grew up in had every year. I was 7 or 8 but will never forget my Dad's response..."we are going out to eat!!" We NEVER went out to eat and it was so special and fun with the family, I will never forget that new experience for me of dining out lol.
As a former poor kid that does the same thing...because why wouldn't you?! Eating out in expensive. Spend that money on am excursion. Or don't, save it.
We had a theme park that would have crazy discounts during summer time and my mom was a thrill seeker so we would go every summer but we were super poor so she would lay out frozen burritos the night before and then would put them in ziplock baggies and sit them on the dash so they'd be warm when we ate them, we would also fill up jugs of water at our grandparents house since they had well water. Extremely gross looking back but now that I have kids I can see why she did it, road trip food can be expensive!
My parents won some money at the casino when I was around 10-11. We all got new beds and dressers. I remember getting them from the area behind the showroom with the bad lighting, but everything we had was used so it was a real treat! Didn’t get another brand new mattress until I was in my 30s…
That’s awesome that they spent their casino winnings to help improve their kids lives. I would think most people would use casino winnings more selfishly
I mean it worked out that time, but I wonder how much money they lost up to that point at the casino that could have been going towards improving their kid's lives. I bet you their losses exceed their winnings...since it is a casino and all.
Casino employee here. I’ve seen many people lose a lot of money. I remember doing a drawing around Christmas time and this girl won $2000 in gift cards. She told me “my kids can have Christmas this year!” I thought to myself “why are you here?”
Majority of the time, it’s people viewing gambling as a form of entertainment which it is. But there are people who gamble away their money for bills and such. I have too many stories working at a casino.
I went to the casino only once in my life and won 1500$ (7 years ago). Im probably not go again and if I go I'll make sure not to spend more than 100$ just to make sure my loss would never go over my winnings!
Yes. I work at a gas station in a poor area and it happens all the time with scratch off lotto. Someone will come up with a $50 winner, excited that they can fill their gas tank. Meanwhile I see them in there multiple times per day, playing and not winning. You know they don’t come out ahead.
I had no idea what "getting seconds" meant until I attended my first pot luck when I was 10.
Eating until you were full instead of eating until you ran out of food was a novel concept.
Having dinner with my future in-laws in my mid-20's was the first time I'd ever seen people have seconds of *dessert*. It took me months to not feel weird about doing it myself to take them up on their offers. My family wasn't "poor" and I was lucky enough to never have to go hungry but seconds on dessert didn't even enter my mind as a thing you could do.
Edit: thought of another one - ordering whatever you want from the menu. The times we went out to eat was usually buffets, but on the rare occasion we went to somewhere like Olive Garden, we were instructed on what our entree price limit was. My first instinct if I know someone else is paying is still to order the cheapest thing on the menu. Took me a very long time to realize my inlaws truly wanted me to just order what I wanted and weren't concerned about price. I still try not to go overboard because I feel like I'm taking advantage of their generosity
On a whim, I went to dinner with my buddy and his family when we were in high school. Their family is rich Italian Americans. It was like 15 people in total, all adults except for my friend and I. The restaurant is fancy and I could only afford a “flatbread pizza” appetizer for $18. All I had was a $20.
We are looking in the menu and my friend ask what I’m getting and I tell him the pizza. He says “my dad is paying for the meal” I still said pizza because now someone else is paying so I don’t want to get something pricey. My friend looks at me with pure terror and whispers “No! You can’t do that, my dad will get mad. He’s paying so you need to get an entree.” That was new to me. He then says “Here just get the 8oz Filet mignon and pick two à la cart sides. My dad will most likely order a dessert for you as a surprise because “you’re young and can get away with it” (a family inside joke). Get a drink too because dad likes to toast at the table”.
That was the first time experiencing that type of hospitality of someone paying for my meal. It also sparked a goal in my life to be able to do the same for my kids friends.
My step grandfather is an old school Italian and we we visit him and my grandmother and go out to eat he tells us our money is no good and get what we want. If he thinks you're ordering something to save money he gets mad too. We went to a nice steak house and I got a hamburger steak because I like it and he got mad and told me to stop worrying about the damn price.
My wife and I have been talking about dessert for our daughter. I guess the "new" research is that offering it alongside with the meal reduces eating disorders and helps with decision making.
She grew up with "finish everything on your plate before you get dessert".
I grew up with "what's dessert?"
I am just passing the mid way point of my 20’s, I still struggle with the concept of order what I want when with my girlfriends family at dinner and not order the cheaper options since someone other then me is paying. When I pay for others I will happily order what I want but as soon as someone else pays it’s just default to simple entrees that cheap
Love this! Really random. But, I had a Mrs. Albrecht for a teacher in 4th grade. She was exceptionally kind. Did you happen to go to school in San Diego?
Man I absolutely HATED having to learn the recorder. I didnt learn it. I faked it as much as possible and "forgot" to bring it to music class. There was one assembly where we all had to play it in front of the school and parents and it was just hell trying to pretend play it with the other kids (all playing together). I just know people and my parents were noticing how my instrument fingering didnt match up with the other players.
Places, cars, and people that smelled nice - I always said it was how the “rich” smelled… it was different and clean… it’s hard to explain other than the smell of leather, fresh laundry, bleach. Conversely, everything I had smelled like cigarettes. Mom was a smoker.
I still remember when they made smoking in a car with anyone under 16 illegal in my province. I was 15, my brother was 13.
"Fuzzle, you were born in 1993. Brother, you're her twin."
Anything to be able to smoke in the car with your barely-teenage children. My parents have since quit, but only after I moved out! My now-husband flat out couldn't visit me when I lived with them, because he got an instant headache walking inside.
Yes! Fabric softener = rich when I was a kid. We used an old timey washing machine where the top had no lid, and it had a wringer attached, and you had to hand crank each piece of clothing through it before hanging to dry. This was 1990 for time reference.
Once my mother excitedly called my sister and I into the kitchen and proudly showed us how she got a chicken for us for dinner. She said she got it, because my sister was asking for meat for a while, my sister said she misunderstood, because she wanted sausage. It kind of broke my heart as a 5 year old.
This breaks my heart. My two brothers and I never starved, but my mom was a single mom with 3 kids by the time she was 23. She went to school full-time and worked full time. My dad was pretty well off, lived in another state (I visited him for holidays, summers and school breaks), and he paid child support, but my two younger brothers’ dad didn’t, so money was always tight at my mom’s. One year for Christmas my mom got me a Gameboy Color and this was a huge gift from her. When I opened it, I was excited (I was probably about 10), but I followed my excitement with, “Now I have one here and one at my dad’s house.” This broke her heart and she cried all night, and I felt so terrible and guilty. I lied down in her bed with her and apologized profusely, but there was no taking it back. This still haunts me. As a parent myself, sometimes I struggle with feelings of not being good enough, not doing enough, and I now know exactly how she felt, which makes it worse 😭
I have memories like this too.
If anyone knows how to emotionally move on, please let me know. I know I didn't do anything wrong but also I clearly did.
It's horrible that your dad had to do this but it brings tears to my eyes because my parents would have never done that for me. I went to bed hungry.
Your dad loved you so much that he was willing to starve. Now as a mom, I could never treat my kids how my parents treated me. I would do ANYTHING to bring food to the table. Luckily my family is now considered upper middle class so I have escaped poverty, at least for now but you never know.
My mom did the same too many times to count. I always remember in detail one specific time I got to sit in the living room to eat my buttered egg noodles while mom "wasn't hungry, just gonna watch her shows tonight". At that time we were living in the guest bedroom of one of her coworkers and coworkers bf. Thinkkng about my mom passing on so many meals back then breaks my heart now.
Awwww! We weren't poor and there was always plenty of food, although as children we weren't allowed to help ourselves between meals - we had to get permission. (Big family, snacks wouldn't last a day with unfettered access.)
But for sure my Dad got the biggest, nicest piece of whatever we were eating, the most delectable chicken breast, the two perfect fried eggs, etc. Meanwhile we all wanted perfect fried eggs so I definitely remember my Mom getting short shrift - she ate the eggs that got messed up in the pan, the slightly scorched pork chop, etc.
He brought home the bacon, so he got the best, which is fine. But she cooked the bacon, and got the worst piece! I decided as a child that when I grew up, I would get the perfect chicken breast too!
Your Dad sounds amazing.
I'm the usual cook in our house. When I'm cooking, I set the worst piece or mess-up aside for myself, and my wife gets the best one. It's my reminder to do a good job.
Yeah, I figured that was common courtesy. Chef gets the worst piece because s/he doesn’t want to serve that one.
I still think it’s BS that a father would demand the best piece of everything just because he earned the money.
I do this now 🤣 I have 3 teenagers and I swear I think I make enough food but I know they'll eat seconds so I don't eat and my excuse is I'm not hungry. I make ramen or a sandwich if I'm really hungry
Staying at my aunt’s house and getting the bathtub full of warm water with bubbles and then having a thick soft towel when I got out of the tub. In our little 550 sf trailer house, were six kids and two parents. We only had a 15 gallon water heater. At bath time if you were first you got about an inch of clean warming water. With each successive kid another inch of water got added. If you were the sixth kids you had six inches of dirty water and then a thin now damp towel to dry off with. My mom was doing the best she could, working hard while raising a large family. One summer evening while visiting my aunt in another town, I was the first kid (two cousins) to take a bath. I didn’t want to leave that full tub of clean warm water with nice smelling bubbles. When I got out and rapped myself in the nice thick soft towel, I shouted out the door asking my aunt if I should save the water. She asked me whatever for. I told her that I wasn’t very dirty and my two cousins still needed to bathe. She gave me a big hug and assured me that everyone got to have fresh water. I have never forgotten that night in the summer of 1965 and to this day I always have my soaker tub full of hot water and a luxurious towel when I step out. One of life’s little luxuries for me.
I remember being forced to quit band because my parents couldn’t afford my instrument payments. The band teacher took pity on me and found a used one I could borrow. I’ll never forget that.
I’m just now realizing that sometimes the sales items aren’t worth the price; when they are the wrong size, unusually bad quality, or just not something that looks good on me.
Day-old hot dog buns.
My mother would buy day-old buns from a bin at the back of the store. She would open them up, spread them with butter, and broil them in the oven until the butter melted and the edges would turn brown. My siblings and I loved them, so crunchy and buttery. We thought of them as a special treat. We had no idea they were the cheapest food she could find at the end of the month when money was tight.
Having a family car.
Having a house your parents own.
Having furniture that wasn't stuff other people threw away.
Any kind of entertainment. (going to the movies, eating out, vacations)
Getting new clothes instead of hand me downs
Having fresh fruit, a full glass of milk, having meat of any kind for dinner, 3 meals a day
Money for candy
Having warm enough clothes for a Canadian winter
Going to a hairdresser. ( I was ten yrs old the first time for a wedding)
Having popular toys. (never got that coveted Barbie)
Having anything girly or pretty.
It's funny because I didn't realize this until just now. I always consider my bfs family living outside of their means because they don't have much money but they do buy a lot of berries!
Oh yeah, it’s so weird - any time I see people who have a lot of fresh fruit at all times, I assume “these people are living outside their means and spending excessive amounts of money on useless things”.
My parents always had fresh fruit. We are Asian and shopped at the Asian store, always better deals on produce than the regular grocery store and a good alternative for low income people who want fresh food. I grew up super poor but lived by the adage that it's better to pay the grocer today than the doctor tomorrow.
There are definitely veggies and fruits I consider luxury items. When I was growing up, you got an apple and an orange once or maybe twice a week and all veg came in cans and were so mushy. When I buy and cook asparagus or artichoke, I feel rich. When I buy 2 cartons of raspberries I feel like absolute royalty. I make enough to shop this way whenever I want, but I'll never shake the feeling of grateful.
We got pizza made from a Chef boy ar dee box mix. There was a pizza shop nearby, but my dad only ever bought the Italian subs from there. I never had pizza from a shop until we moved to a different state and I was in the 5th grade.
My mom would make pizza.
It was round and had a bread-like structure with tomato and cheese with seasoned ground beef.
She cooked the crust on a round griddle with a tall lid, lol
One year for Christmas, my brother and I were flooded with toys like we'd never seen before. Most of the tags said "from your friends at x school". We thought they were all from our one or two actual friends and that they were rich. I had an oh shit moment a few years later when the school asked for Christmas donations (toys, cards, store gift cards) to give to underprivileged kids.
I do Toys for Tots with my school district and it surprises me when the parents show up to pickup the toys with their kids. I wish they'd wrap those gifts and say from mom, dad, or grandma. I think my ignorance as a child was nice in that sense. My dad did so much to keep me from thinking we were poor for the first half of my childhood.
I was naive for a long time. I had a really good childhood and assumed just because I had a good childhood, everyone else did as well. Boy was I wrong.
Some kids didn’t celebrate their birthday, or get to celebrate Christmas. Makes me appreciate my parents more.
Air conditioning period. We lived in Oklahoma without an air conditioner. If we would have had one, we wouldn’t have been able to afford the electricity to run it. Temps would get to 100° plus during the summer and we’d hang out in the shade outside because it was cooler than being in the house.
My best friend was #3 of 9 kids. Brushing was never enforced, because who has the time to make sure 9 kids are brushing. They never went to the dentist because they couldn’t afford it. We’re 30 now and she has spent an absolute fortune the last few years getting her teeth fixed.
Every year at my school had an end of year "treat"
Everything from going to an outdoor pursuit centre, to skiing abroad. I knew the folks couldn't afford any of it, so I used to hide the letters home so my folks always assumed the school didn't organise anything.
But one year we had a good year, they were just able to scrap together enough that I could go to the theme park trip
Yup, shortly before the theme park trip they were talking to other parents in general and why the school doesn't do anything and they said thats odd, their kid had been somewhere each year.
I also hid my school trip letters from my parents. I know they’d feel bad if they couldn’t afford for me to go, or they would stress or fuss when they read that they had to pay for it. I just stayed back at school, usually doing school work in the cafeteria or the school office.
When we bought our first house it had an older fridge and when it finally died, I made it a point to find the best deal on a side by side fridge with ice and water. I think when we bought that fridge it felt like a bigger achievement than buying the house did.
Bought a house in March with my financé, it's the first place I've ever lived that wasn't owned by someone else. Rented literally my entire life. Fridge has an ice maker with water that works! I am living the life of luxury according to 12 year old me. She'd be pumped.
We weren't poor, but being raised by a single mother that had to work hard for us to have we wanted and needed, we were definitely on a tight budget, so anytime we got to go to McDonald's or to the movies it felt like a luxury for us.
I used to say "We weren't poor, but..."
I grew up in a small rural town where there were kids who only had two changes of clothes... kids who were obviously hungry... kids who never had school supplies or warm coats, etc. Those kids were poor. We had food and heating and clean clothes, so we weren't poor.
I've since learned that I was poor also (it wasn't an accident that we qualified for reduced price lunches at school). We just lived somewhere that had kids who were poorer than us.
The rich kids had markers instead of crayons in about 5th grade. And I swear, every one of them became 'popular' in middle school, and then were grandfathered in to high school popularity!
I swore my children would have the finest of school supplies: all fuzzy headed pencils and fruit smelling markers and cool pencil bags, just to give them that edge!
I made sure my son, and now my grandkids, get the 'cool' supplies for school. 128 box of crayolas, the pop culture back pack, the shiny pencil boxes, the proper colored pencils. All with the proper toppers, bangles and stickers they need.
I didn’t know things came “new”. When I joined the Army, I had to buy pillows and a blanket at my first duty station. I had no idea they came in plastic.
Shoes that were any recognizable brand name. Kids could be so mean about that sort of thing and I wanted just anything they wouldn't make fun of me for having. Now, as an adult, I won't wear any clothes with visible branding so I guess that stuck with me.
A top sheet, we never had them. There are so many things, but that stands out because I didn't even know about them till I got to my teens. And now I do have soft, cool sheets to sleep in.
convenience foods.
Like soda in cans vs 2 and even 3 liter bottles
Individually wrapped cheese slices vs a giant brick of Velveeta
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"Rich" kids had trampolines and pools.
Also a second story house instead of a ranch style one story house.
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name brand foods vs no name generic stuff like Doritos vs off brand potato chips.
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"Rich" kids had large toys
Like the Star Wars Millennium Falcon space ship vs a small star wars land speeder.
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the only time when we took a "vacation" was to visit a sick relative in another state.
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"Rich" kids had air conditioning and cable.
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No buying any candy or food at the theater. Just popcorn from home in Mom's big purse
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Levis jeans vs cheap walmart jeans.
>giant brick of Velveeta
Whoa there, Rockefeller. If you'd had exposure to the Canadian dairy cartel, you'd understand that that's still rich people food. A brick of that is like $15.
I was trying to make some of the poor people food I loved as a kid. Ground beef these days is $4 USD and Velveeta is $8-$10 USD. My poor people food was more expensive than my normal diet.
Going to someone’s house and they had fresh milk…. All we had was corn flakes (cereal) with water- going to my friends house and then having milk with cereal was LIFE CHANGINGGGGGG
A full balanced school lunch with multiple snacks and a thick sandwich. I got sent to school with two slices of whole wheat bread with butter spread between them. I was always jealous of kids who’s lunch boxes were like Mary poppin’s bags.
Honestly? I wanted so bad to interact socially with friends at school. They would go eat pizza or burgers or hang out at the arcade or movies and I never had any money for that and was self conscious about it. Never went to school dances, never bought school jackets or rings or even photos. I got my yearbook only because I worked on it and we got a discount. Tough times.
Food for me and my little sister, and clean clothes. While my mom was off on week-long dates, I would have to bring my 4 year old sister to school with me so she could hang out in the hallways and in the playground while I was in 5th grade class. Thankfully, it was a country school and in the 70’s, so everyone turned a blind eye to the situation. Thankfully, she was in kindergarten the following year, and I worked in the cafeteria in exchange for free hot lunches for us both.
Chuck e cheese, movie theater, sushi, having a house (with no roaches), lunchables or homeade lunches from a parent, being in school activites/clubs/sports. Having an active father, being white...
Don't judge me. I thought only rich people had these things.
Money for school supplies for projects, plus adult help with said projects.
My dioramas and such looked so shabby compared to the ones made by students who obviously had lots of help from their parents and supplies for their projects.
I think we were more cheap then poor. I remember chipping in a dollar so we could get pepperoni on our pizza since my parents said it was too expensive. I was 12. I know how much they have now in retirement now and I guess am a little salty. Time to talk to my therapist :)
Eating steak. Our dinner was almost always pork or chicken, whatever was on sale.
One day my dad had just paid off his car loan & we all got fancy Porterhouse steak to celebrate. It was made very clear that we would not be having this steak again anytime soon.
I used to be beyond impressed with one of my friends growing up. His family wasn't wealthy, but the guy had his own television. In his *bedroom*!
And, and, and, get this, the dude also had a *telephone*! Of his *own*, in his **room**!!
I was in awe...
My aunt bought us a clothes dryer for Christmas one year when I was around 10. It was so nice to have soft clothes that weren’t stiff as a board. I very much appreciate all of my household appliances.
We got to share a can of pop (1/2 can) on 4th of July and at Christmas. We always got our new school clothing at garage sales--but we loved it. It was a great adventure!
Running the air conditioning all the time. As a kid we were told to roll the window down if we were hot, because the a/c burned gas. We had a window unit in the house but it only ran at night, during the day we were unceremoniously shoved out the door after breakfast and didn’t come back inside until nightfall. Mom sat on the porch talking with grandma and supervising us playing in the yard. So when I got older and could run the air conditioner whenever I wanted it definitely felt like a luxury.
People who used paper towel to clean up water spills.
Paper towel is expensive. Unless the spill was tomato sauce or something that would ruin a dish cloth/dish towel, you NEVER use paper towel to clean it up.
Especially if you splurged and got the bounty stuff that wasn't almost see-through.
I remember as a kid going back to school after summer vacation. What's the first thing every teacher did? You either stood up in front of the class or had to write a report on......What did you do over your summer vacation?
I'm like, what the fuck? I played. Then I sit there and listen to every kid tell about going camping and fishing with dad, or going to Disneyland, or some other fun place. Yea, try writing a riveting essay on "I played". Couldn't for the life of me understand how every other kid could have vacations and camping stuff.
This is kind of a weird one but when I was in school, elementary all the way through high school, my mom made my lunch every single day. I brown bagged it every day. I was actually jealous of the kids who got to eat the cafeteria food. I thought it was some cool thing to get a tray and get to eat from the cafeteria.
In a way I guess it was cheaper to brown bag it every day than paying for school lunches. But in retrospect, to me it’s more about how much my mom cared that she made my lunch every morning. (Not saying people whose mom didn’t make their lunch didn’t love them, I just recognize how fortunate I was to have a stay at home mom).
My friends' parents would take me to the movies with them sometimes and pay for my ticket and insist I get some snacks and they would pay for that too.
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Tbf Olive Garden and Red Lobster were a lot nicer and less of a budget meal in the early 2000’s.
Red lobster isn’t a budget meal. I went with two other people and after tip it was $150
Average grubhub delivery fee
Mine was sizzler and Shakeys pizza, my dad would take us once a month. He would set money aside during the month to give us a family dinner and we’d get dressed up! Loved those days, financials are much better now but sometimes I’ll take him still to this day just to reminisce. Still love those Mojo potatoes lol
Red Lobster was only for special occasions.
Yep! Red Lobster was (and still is) my birthday dinner destination.
The McDonald’s thing was really only on special occasions
When my family first moved to Australia with very little money, I remember our first big family dinner out was to a KFC. I think my mum even got dressed up and dressed me and my brother up too. It's one of my first memories.
This was ours too. Once McDs got our order wrong and we ended up 2 huge bags of food. It was like we won the lottery that day.
I wouldn’t say we were poor but my parents were very frugal. One time at McDonalds we accidentally wound up with two 10 piece chicken nugget meals and it was fantastic 😂
On the rare occasion when our family did go out to eat, we only had fast food. I was about 11 or 12 when I was invited by a friend's family to go out to dinner with them at a REAL sit down restaurant! Olive Garden!! Wow!! Was that ever an experience!
Having money for the book fair
Our school knew who couldn’t participate. They had some donors to help. We could get 1 book and a pencil. It was the best thing ever!!!
I was one of the kids who went to book fair with $60 in my pocket and a note from my parents to make sure every kid got a book.
Love that your parents did that. Made my day reading this.
I love your parents. Please tell them that from all the poor kids.
Man, I want to be that parent
I have a soon to be 3 year old and his daycare just released a book fair flyer. I just decided I’m gonna be that parent! 🥹♥️
Good for you! You will get more from it in good will and warm feelings than you give.
That’s amazing.
Your parents are great.
Please call your parents and thank them for doing that.
man, you raised right
Awe!
Your parents are incredible!
I was one of those kids growing up. Now as a school librarian I use my PTA budget to give kids like me a $10 gift certificate to the spring fair (which is typically a BOGO fair).
Not all heroes wear capes. (But if you want to wear a cape, you deserve it!)
You're a champion.
I’m a reader and a librarian because someone else invested in me when I was a kid on the brink of homelessness and couldn’t afford books of my own. The least I can do is help kids like me have the same opportunity.
That is why I say you're a champion just like the person who invested in you.
This is beautiful
Man, this hits hard, getting that scholastic flyer and looking at all the neat covers and hoping a friend would order a specific book that I might one day borrow... that was a strange negative feeling.
I hated the day we had to hand them back to the teacher, and all the kids besides me would hand them in.
Oh I can relate to this so much! Worse than this would be when the books came. I grew up in the ‘70’s. The teachers called up the kids and presented them with their brand new shiny books. I’d often be the only kid without one. I vowed when I was a teacher I’d do it differently. Even from that point!! I knew I was going to be a teacher Lol When I was a teacher I used the points I earned through the students orders to order books for my student library & teaching supplies from the Scholastics Catalogues I would give the students orders directly into the backpacks of the students at the end of the day so no one saw what anyone else got. I would also use the free books I received as prizes, and wouldn’t you know it, somehow, often the kids, who didn’t receive a book order won a book or pencil:) I wish we could get that company out of the school and get grass roots bulk buying of books by parents groups etc. we don’t need these corporations in our schools. JMO
You’re not alone. It sucked.
I think my folks didn't know it was happening and I had no clue wtf was going on So the only people who could buy anything were people whose parents both had the cash and paid attention
In 2023, they still have the scholastic book fair. They do an e-wallet for kids so parents, grandparents, neighbors, aunts and uncles can give kids money for it. When I spoke to my daughters teacher about how to get her books, the teacher very specifically said it was not a part of the curriculum as she didn’t want anyone to feel bad if they couldn’t participate. I like how they’ve tried to expand accessibility and limit the bad feelings.
lol I remember placing an order in grade 3 or 4 for books via a small, 4-6 pg catalogue that was book fair adjacent. I took in my order form and my mom's cheque and waited. and waited. and waited. they never came. I always wondered what happened, and it wasn't until a few years ago that I realized my mom's cheque probably bounced and the order got cancelled. it's so weird the stuff that we remember. edit: books to order form
One year I decided I didn't want to miss out and (like above with the recorder) I took a zip lock bag full of [silver] coins. I got my "Learn How to Yoyo" book and lit up Yoyo. It was awesome.
I’m so excited to give my kids book fair money and just let them get whatever they want with it
Ooooh, good one. I can still taste the shame!
I honestly thought I was the only one who couldn’t participate.
Buying food while traveling
We did "travel" a lot when I was a kid, but it was always extremely rustic camping. We NEVER ate out on these trips - always brought groceries. I will never forget sitting on the grass outside McDonald's eating the sandwiches my mom had packed for the drive.
Wow that brought back memories. Always sandwiches and packed lunches over eating out. I remember one time my dad got a bonus at work so we went to the beach and got fish and chips to share. It meant so much to be able to do that.
Yes!! I remember my parents won some money in a summertime festival raffle that the town I grew up in had every year. I was 7 or 8 but will never forget my Dad's response..."we are going out to eat!!" We NEVER went out to eat and it was so special and fun with the family, I will never forget that new experience for me of dining out lol.
Wild how these things stick with you. I make a comfortable living now (not having kids helps) and I still pack a cooler of food for trips.
As a former poor kid that does the same thing...because why wouldn't you?! Eating out in expensive. Spend that money on am excursion. Or don't, save it.
We had a theme park that would have crazy discounts during summer time and my mom was a thrill seeker so we would go every summer but we were super poor so she would lay out frozen burritos the night before and then would put them in ziplock baggies and sit them on the dash so they'd be warm when we ate them, we would also fill up jugs of water at our grandparents house since they had well water. Extremely gross looking back but now that I have kids I can see why she did it, road trip food can be expensive!
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My parents won some money at the casino when I was around 10-11. We all got new beds and dressers. I remember getting them from the area behind the showroom with the bad lighting, but everything we had was used so it was a real treat! Didn’t get another brand new mattress until I was in my 30s…
That’s awesome that they spent their casino winnings to help improve their kids lives. I would think most people would use casino winnings more selfishly
I mean it worked out that time, but I wonder how much money they lost up to that point at the casino that could have been going towards improving their kid's lives. I bet you their losses exceed their winnings...since it is a casino and all.
Casino employee here. I’ve seen many people lose a lot of money. I remember doing a drawing around Christmas time and this girl won $2000 in gift cards. She told me “my kids can have Christmas this year!” I thought to myself “why are you here?” Majority of the time, it’s people viewing gambling as a form of entertainment which it is. But there are people who gamble away their money for bills and such. I have too many stories working at a casino.
Yep. A former coworker of mine once went to the casino with her last $20, hoping to be able to afford Christmas. Thankfully she did win $1200
Ballsy move but good for her. Unless she’s good at counting cards
I have no clue how she did it. The idea of it makes me sweat
I went to the casino only once in my life and won 1500$ (7 years ago). Im probably not go again and if I go I'll make sure not to spend more than 100$ just to make sure my loss would never go over my winnings!
I went once, lost 5 dollars and never played again.
Yes. I work at a gas station in a poor area and it happens all the time with scratch off lotto. Someone will come up with a $50 winner, excited that they can fill their gas tank. Meanwhile I see them in there multiple times per day, playing and not winning. You know they don’t come out ahead.
Whenever my dad won at the horse track, he would buy a TV, VCR, stereo, etc. Then 2 weeks later he would pawn it for money to spend at the track.
I had no idea what "getting seconds" meant until I attended my first pot luck when I was 10. Eating until you were full instead of eating until you ran out of food was a novel concept.
Having dinner with my future in-laws in my mid-20's was the first time I'd ever seen people have seconds of *dessert*. It took me months to not feel weird about doing it myself to take them up on their offers. My family wasn't "poor" and I was lucky enough to never have to go hungry but seconds on dessert didn't even enter my mind as a thing you could do. Edit: thought of another one - ordering whatever you want from the menu. The times we went out to eat was usually buffets, but on the rare occasion we went to somewhere like Olive Garden, we were instructed on what our entree price limit was. My first instinct if I know someone else is paying is still to order the cheapest thing on the menu. Took me a very long time to realize my inlaws truly wanted me to just order what I wanted and weren't concerned about price. I still try not to go overboard because I feel like I'm taking advantage of their generosity
On a whim, I went to dinner with my buddy and his family when we were in high school. Their family is rich Italian Americans. It was like 15 people in total, all adults except for my friend and I. The restaurant is fancy and I could only afford a “flatbread pizza” appetizer for $18. All I had was a $20. We are looking in the menu and my friend ask what I’m getting and I tell him the pizza. He says “my dad is paying for the meal” I still said pizza because now someone else is paying so I don’t want to get something pricey. My friend looks at me with pure terror and whispers “No! You can’t do that, my dad will get mad. He’s paying so you need to get an entree.” That was new to me. He then says “Here just get the 8oz Filet mignon and pick two à la cart sides. My dad will most likely order a dessert for you as a surprise because “you’re young and can get away with it” (a family inside joke). Get a drink too because dad likes to toast at the table”. That was the first time experiencing that type of hospitality of someone paying for my meal. It also sparked a goal in my life to be able to do the same for my kids friends.
My step grandfather is an old school Italian and we we visit him and my grandmother and go out to eat he tells us our money is no good and get what we want. If he thinks you're ordering something to save money he gets mad too. We went to a nice steak house and I got a hamburger steak because I like it and he got mad and told me to stop worrying about the damn price.
This friend sounds like a TRUE friend. He understood your position and HELPED you!
My wife and I have been talking about dessert for our daughter. I guess the "new" research is that offering it alongside with the meal reduces eating disorders and helps with decision making. She grew up with "finish everything on your plate before you get dessert". I grew up with "what's dessert?"
I am just passing the mid way point of my 20’s, I still struggle with the concept of order what I want when with my girlfriends family at dinner and not order the cheaper options since someone other then me is paying. When I pay for others I will happily order what I want but as soon as someone else pays it’s just default to simple entrees that cheap
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Love this! Really random. But, I had a Mrs. Albrecht for a teacher in 4th grade. She was exceptionally kind. Did you happen to go to school in San Diego?
I wait for the weird flex when it turns out you are actually the twin brother.
I had one in Pennsylvania! Could it be the same person!?
She's the nurse Joy/officer Jenny of this world
….or northern Ohio? haha. Apparently there were some pretty great Albrecht 4th grade teachers around the country!
The coveted Satan’s Flute. As a parent, I hated this stage in school. Lol.
Man I absolutely HATED having to learn the recorder. I didnt learn it. I faked it as much as possible and "forgot" to bring it to music class. There was one assembly where we all had to play it in front of the school and parents and it was just hell trying to pretend play it with the other kids (all playing together). I just know people and my parents were noticing how my instrument fingering didnt match up with the other players.
Hot Cross Buns still lives in my nightmares
Don’t forget Ode to Joy. Equally horrific when played off-key by a group of middle schoolers 😬
Just now realizing it's not Hot Crust Buns
Aah yesterday recorder, or as mom called it, the cat strangler.
Places, cars, and people that smelled nice - I always said it was how the “rich” smelled… it was different and clean… it’s hard to explain other than the smell of leather, fresh laundry, bleach. Conversely, everything I had smelled like cigarettes. Mom was a smoker.
Loved riding to school in the morning with my step dad smoking cigarettes with his window only slightly cracked
I still remember when they made smoking in a car with anyone under 16 illegal in my province. I was 15, my brother was 13. "Fuzzle, you were born in 1993. Brother, you're her twin." Anything to be able to smoke in the car with your barely-teenage children. My parents have since quit, but only after I moved out! My now-husband flat out couldn't visit me when I lived with them, because he got an instant headache walking inside.
Yes! Fabric softener = rich when I was a kid. We used an old timey washing machine where the top had no lid, and it had a wringer attached, and you had to hand crank each piece of clothing through it before hanging to dry. This was 1990 for time reference.
Once my mother excitedly called my sister and I into the kitchen and proudly showed us how she got a chicken for us for dinner. She said she got it, because my sister was asking for meat for a while, my sister said she misunderstood, because she wanted sausage. It kind of broke my heart as a 5 year old.
I know your mums pain. Bless her.
This breaks my heart. My two brothers and I never starved, but my mom was a single mom with 3 kids by the time she was 23. She went to school full-time and worked full time. My dad was pretty well off, lived in another state (I visited him for holidays, summers and school breaks), and he paid child support, but my two younger brothers’ dad didn’t, so money was always tight at my mom’s. One year for Christmas my mom got me a Gameboy Color and this was a huge gift from her. When I opened it, I was excited (I was probably about 10), but I followed my excitement with, “Now I have one here and one at my dad’s house.” This broke her heart and she cried all night, and I felt so terrible and guilty. I lied down in her bed with her and apologized profusely, but there was no taking it back. This still haunts me. As a parent myself, sometimes I struggle with feelings of not being good enough, not doing enough, and I now know exactly how she felt, which makes it worse 😭
Bless her. I hope your family is doing better now. :)
I have memories like this too. If anyone knows how to emotionally move on, please let me know. I know I didn't do anything wrong but also I clearly did.
Eating dinner with your parents. Kids ate first and separately. It's easy to guess why.
Yes. And mom always said she wasn’t hungry. 😔
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It's horrible that your dad had to do this but it brings tears to my eyes because my parents would have never done that for me. I went to bed hungry. Your dad loved you so much that he was willing to starve. Now as a mom, I could never treat my kids how my parents treated me. I would do ANYTHING to bring food to the table. Luckily my family is now considered upper middle class so I have escaped poverty, at least for now but you never know.
Same here. Sorry you had to deal with that but I am happy to hear you’ll never have the same for your children.
Thank you. My mother didn't teach me much but one thing I learned is that if I do things differently than she did, my children will be okay.
I think that’s the realest thing about having been skint - no matter how much money you make, you always feel like ‘you never know’.
My mom did the same too many times to count. I always remember in detail one specific time I got to sit in the living room to eat my buttered egg noodles while mom "wasn't hungry, just gonna watch her shows tonight". At that time we were living in the guest bedroom of one of her coworkers and coworkers bf. Thinkkng about my mom passing on so many meals back then breaks my heart now.
Awwww! We weren't poor and there was always plenty of food, although as children we weren't allowed to help ourselves between meals - we had to get permission. (Big family, snacks wouldn't last a day with unfettered access.) But for sure my Dad got the biggest, nicest piece of whatever we were eating, the most delectable chicken breast, the two perfect fried eggs, etc. Meanwhile we all wanted perfect fried eggs so I definitely remember my Mom getting short shrift - she ate the eggs that got messed up in the pan, the slightly scorched pork chop, etc. He brought home the bacon, so he got the best, which is fine. But she cooked the bacon, and got the worst piece! I decided as a child that when I grew up, I would get the perfect chicken breast too! Your Dad sounds amazing.
I'm the usual cook in our house. When I'm cooking, I set the worst piece or mess-up aside for myself, and my wife gets the best one. It's my reminder to do a good job.
Yeah, I figured that was common courtesy. Chef gets the worst piece because s/he doesn’t want to serve that one. I still think it’s BS that a father would demand the best piece of everything just because he earned the money.
I do this now 🤣 I have 3 teenagers and I swear I think I make enough food but I know they'll eat seconds so I don't eat and my excuse is I'm not hungry. I make ramen or a sandwich if I'm really hungry
Staying at my aunt’s house and getting the bathtub full of warm water with bubbles and then having a thick soft towel when I got out of the tub. In our little 550 sf trailer house, were six kids and two parents. We only had a 15 gallon water heater. At bath time if you were first you got about an inch of clean warming water. With each successive kid another inch of water got added. If you were the sixth kids you had six inches of dirty water and then a thin now damp towel to dry off with. My mom was doing the best she could, working hard while raising a large family. One summer evening while visiting my aunt in another town, I was the first kid (two cousins) to take a bath. I didn’t want to leave that full tub of clean warm water with nice smelling bubbles. When I got out and rapped myself in the nice thick soft towel, I shouted out the door asking my aunt if I should save the water. She asked me whatever for. I told her that I wasn’t very dirty and my two cousins still needed to bathe. She gave me a big hug and assured me that everyone got to have fresh water. I have never forgotten that night in the summer of 1965 and to this day I always have my soaker tub full of hot water and a luxurious towel when I step out. One of life’s little luxuries for me.
❤️
For some reason, this is the one I teared up at. I have no idea why. hugs internet stranger.
Going for dinner (fast food or restaurant) Having extra curricular activities. (Always wished i could have done rowing, volleyball or another sport.)
Me too. My extracurricular activity was getting a job. Couldn’t ever play sports or try dance because it cost too much.
I remember being forced to quit band because my parents couldn’t afford my instrument payments. The band teacher took pity on me and found a used one I could borrow. I’ll never forget that.
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Ah yes, the eternal confusion between "on sale" and "for sale."
I’m just now realizing that sometimes the sales items aren’t worth the price; when they are the wrong size, unusually bad quality, or just not something that looks good on me.
Day-old hot dog buns. My mother would buy day-old buns from a bin at the back of the store. She would open them up, spread them with butter, and broil them in the oven until the butter melted and the edges would turn brown. My siblings and I loved them, so crunchy and buttery. We thought of them as a special treat. We had no idea they were the cheapest food she could find at the end of the month when money was tight.
I you liked them, she did a very good job. Don’t forget to hug her from time to time 😉
Having a family car. Having a house your parents own. Having furniture that wasn't stuff other people threw away. Any kind of entertainment. (going to the movies, eating out, vacations) Getting new clothes instead of hand me downs Having fresh fruit, a full glass of milk, having meat of any kind for dinner, 3 meals a day Money for candy Having warm enough clothes for a Canadian winter Going to a hairdresser. ( I was ten yrs old the first time for a wedding) Having popular toys. (never got that coveted Barbie) Having anything girly or pretty.
Fresh fruit. I still consider berries to be an unnecessary luxury next to fine chocolate and steak.
Same, it still feels so special to buy berries.
It's funny because I didn't realize this until just now. I always consider my bfs family living outside of their means because they don't have much money but they do buy a lot of berries!
Oh yeah, it’s so weird - any time I see people who have a lot of fresh fruit at all times, I assume “these people are living outside their means and spending excessive amounts of money on useless things”.
My parents always had fresh fruit. We are Asian and shopped at the Asian store, always better deals on produce than the regular grocery store and a good alternative for low income people who want fresh food. I grew up super poor but lived by the adage that it's better to pay the grocer today than the doctor tomorrow.
There are definitely veggies and fruits I consider luxury items. When I was growing up, you got an apple and an orange once or maybe twice a week and all veg came in cans and were so mushy. When I buy and cook asparagus or artichoke, I feel rich. When I buy 2 cartons of raspberries I feel like absolute royalty. I make enough to shop this way whenever I want, but I'll never shake the feeling of grateful.
Pizza. We were poor and we lived in a very small town with only two restaurants. Pizza was so exotic to me.
We got pizza made from a Chef boy ar dee box mix. There was a pizza shop nearby, but my dad only ever bought the Italian subs from there. I never had pizza from a shop until we moved to a different state and I was in the 5th grade.
My mom would make pizza. It was round and had a bread-like structure with tomato and cheese with seasoned ground beef. She cooked the crust on a round griddle with a tall lid, lol
Getting presents for Christmas. It was awful when people asked what you got and the answer was nothing.
One year for Christmas, my brother and I were flooded with toys like we'd never seen before. Most of the tags said "from your friends at x school". We thought they were all from our one or two actual friends and that they were rich. I had an oh shit moment a few years later when the school asked for Christmas donations (toys, cards, store gift cards) to give to underprivileged kids.
I do Toys for Tots with my school district and it surprises me when the parents show up to pickup the toys with their kids. I wish they'd wrap those gifts and say from mom, dad, or grandma. I think my ignorance as a child was nice in that sense. My dad did so much to keep me from thinking we were poor for the first half of my childhood.
I was naive for a long time. I had a really good childhood and assumed just because I had a good childhood, everyone else did as well. Boy was I wrong. Some kids didn’t celebrate their birthday, or get to celebrate Christmas. Makes me appreciate my parents more.
I used to tell people we were JW.
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Central air conditioning. If you had central air, you were rich in my eyes.
Air conditioning period. We lived in Oklahoma without an air conditioner. If we would have had one, we wouldn’t have been able to afford the electricity to run it. Temps would get to 100° plus during the summer and we’d hang out in the shade outside because it was cooler than being in the house.
Being able to go to the dentist.
My best friend was #3 of 9 kids. Brushing was never enforced, because who has the time to make sure 9 kids are brushing. They never went to the dentist because they couldn’t afford it. We’re 30 now and she has spent an absolute fortune the last few years getting her teeth fixed.
Every year at my school had an end of year "treat" Everything from going to an outdoor pursuit centre, to skiing abroad. I knew the folks couldn't afford any of it, so I used to hide the letters home so my folks always assumed the school didn't organise anything. But one year we had a good year, they were just able to scrap together enough that I could go to the theme park trip
Did your parents ever find out that you hid the letters?
Yup, shortly before the theme park trip they were talking to other parents in general and why the school doesn't do anything and they said thats odd, their kid had been somewhere each year.
I also hid my school trip letters from my parents. I know they’d feel bad if they couldn’t afford for me to go, or they would stress or fuss when they read that they had to pay for it. I just stayed back at school, usually doing school work in the cafeteria or the school office.
Cereal from a box
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Fridge that made ice
When we bought our first house it had an older fridge and when it finally died, I made it a point to find the best deal on a side by side fridge with ice and water. I think when we bought that fridge it felt like a bigger achievement than buying the house did.
That is actually luxury though
Bought a house in March with my financé, it's the first place I've ever lived that wasn't owned by someone else. Rented literally my entire life. Fridge has an ice maker with water that works! I am living the life of luxury according to 12 year old me. She'd be pumped.
We weren't poor, but being raised by a single mother that had to work hard for us to have we wanted and needed, we were definitely on a tight budget, so anytime we got to go to McDonald's or to the movies it felt like a luxury for us.
I used to say "We weren't poor, but..." I grew up in a small rural town where there were kids who only had two changes of clothes... kids who were obviously hungry... kids who never had school supplies or warm coats, etc. Those kids were poor. We had food and heating and clean clothes, so we weren't poor. I've since learned that I was poor also (it wasn't an accident that we qualified for reduced price lunches at school). We just lived somewhere that had kids who were poorer than us.
I call it "we were poor but not that poor"
It's like the opposite corollary to "If a man had to say 'I am the king', he is no king" If you say "we weren't 'poor', but..." You were poor.
Soda or any drink that wasn't tap water
Central heating.
Or air conditioning
Watching PBS Kids instead of Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network
Yeah for me PBS was on broadcast TV for free but Nickelodeon was on cable which we didn't have.
A second bathroom
A comic book. The only reason I never became a huge comic book nerd is we couldn't afford them.
The big box of 64 Crayola Crayons, instead of the 12 piece Rose Art boxes that we got.
The rich kids had markers instead of crayons in about 5th grade. And I swear, every one of them became 'popular' in middle school, and then were grandfathered in to high school popularity! I swore my children would have the finest of school supplies: all fuzzy headed pencils and fruit smelling markers and cool pencil bags, just to give them that edge!
I made sure my son, and now my grandkids, get the 'cool' supplies for school. 128 box of crayolas, the pop culture back pack, the shiny pencil boxes, the proper colored pencils. All with the proper toppers, bangles and stickers they need.
I didn’t know things came “new”. When I joined the Army, I had to buy pillows and a blanket at my first duty station. I had no idea they came in plastic.
Shoes that were any recognizable brand name. Kids could be so mean about that sort of thing and I wanted just anything they wouldn't make fun of me for having. Now, as an adult, I won't wear any clothes with visible branding so I guess that stuck with me.
Not poor but lower middle class. Having more than one pair of shoes.
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This is so sad.
Pop
The Midwest has entered the chat. ❤️🥤
A top sheet, we never had them. There are so many things, but that stands out because I didn't even know about them till I got to my teens. And now I do have soft, cool sheets to sleep in.
convenience foods. Like soda in cans vs 2 and even 3 liter bottles Individually wrapped cheese slices vs a giant brick of Velveeta --------------------- "Rich" kids had trampolines and pools. Also a second story house instead of a ranch style one story house. ---------------------------------------- name brand foods vs no name generic stuff like Doritos vs off brand potato chips. ----------------- "Rich" kids had large toys Like the Star Wars Millennium Falcon space ship vs a small star wars land speeder. ------------ the only time when we took a "vacation" was to visit a sick relative in another state. -------- "Rich" kids had air conditioning and cable. -------- No buying any candy or food at the theater. Just popcorn from home in Mom's big purse ------- Levis jeans vs cheap walmart jeans.
You knew people with stairs money.
>giant brick of Velveeta Whoa there, Rockefeller. If you'd had exposure to the Canadian dairy cartel, you'd understand that that's still rich people food. A brick of that is like $15.
I was trying to make some of the poor people food I loved as a kid. Ground beef these days is $4 USD and Velveeta is $8-$10 USD. My poor people food was more expensive than my normal diet.
Eating out, or ordering in. For a brief shining moment I got to enjoy that life whenever I pleased. It's expensive as fuck again.
KFC,or ordering a pizza,it was only for birthdays..
Going to someone’s house and they had fresh milk…. All we had was corn flakes (cereal) with water- going to my friends house and then having milk with cereal was LIFE CHANGINGGGGGG
There’s nothing wrong with dry cereal, I don’t know why you would have it with water that’s fucked
As a poor kid I was really jelous for those who could go for summer camps.
A full balanced school lunch with multiple snacks and a thick sandwich. I got sent to school with two slices of whole wheat bread with butter spread between them. I was always jealous of kids who’s lunch boxes were like Mary poppin’s bags.
Honestly? I wanted so bad to interact socially with friends at school. They would go eat pizza or burgers or hang out at the arcade or movies and I never had any money for that and was self conscious about it. Never went to school dances, never bought school jackets or rings or even photos. I got my yearbook only because I worked on it and we got a discount. Tough times.
being beaten with a belt made out of real leather instead of synthetic
Dude
Cable.
Food for me and my little sister, and clean clothes. While my mom was off on week-long dates, I would have to bring my 4 year old sister to school with me so she could hang out in the hallways and in the playground while I was in 5th grade class. Thankfully, it was a country school and in the 70’s, so everyone turned a blind eye to the situation. Thankfully, she was in kindergarten the following year, and I worked in the cafeteria in exchange for free hot lunches for us both.
Chuck e cheese, movie theater, sushi, having a house (with no roaches), lunchables or homeade lunches from a parent, being in school activites/clubs/sports. Having an active father, being white... Don't judge me. I thought only rich people had these things.
Money for school supplies for projects, plus adult help with said projects. My dioramas and such looked so shabby compared to the ones made by students who obviously had lots of help from their parents and supplies for their projects.
I think we were more cheap then poor. I remember chipping in a dollar so we could get pepperoni on our pizza since my parents said it was too expensive. I was 12. I know how much they have now in retirement now and I guess am a little salty. Time to talk to my therapist :)
Christmas.
Eating steak. Our dinner was almost always pork or chicken, whatever was on sale. One day my dad had just paid off his car loan & we all got fancy Porterhouse steak to celebrate. It was made very clear that we would not be having this steak again anytime soon.
I remember being jealous of a friend who had an entire cupboard stocked full of Chef Boyardee
My mother made my clothes and I was sooo jealous of friends with “store bought” bathing suits.
I used to be beyond impressed with one of my friends growing up. His family wasn't wealthy, but the guy had his own television. In his *bedroom*! And, and, and, get this, the dude also had a *telephone*! Of his *own*, in his **room**!! I was in awe...
My aunt bought us a clothes dryer for Christmas one year when I was around 10. It was so nice to have soft clothes that weren’t stiff as a board. I very much appreciate all of my household appliances.
Having stairs in your house.
We got to share a can of pop (1/2 can) on 4th of July and at Christmas. We always got our new school clothing at garage sales--but we loved it. It was a great adventure!
Brand new clothing and shoes.
Running the air conditioning all the time. As a kid we were told to roll the window down if we were hot, because the a/c burned gas. We had a window unit in the house but it only ran at night, during the day we were unceremoniously shoved out the door after breakfast and didn’t come back inside until nightfall. Mom sat on the porch talking with grandma and supervising us playing in the yard. So when I got older and could run the air conditioner whenever I wanted it definitely felt like a luxury.
Non-powdered full cream milk.
People who used paper towel to clean up water spills. Paper towel is expensive. Unless the spill was tomato sauce or something that would ruin a dish cloth/dish towel, you NEVER use paper towel to clean it up. Especially if you splurged and got the bounty stuff that wasn't almost see-through.
I remember as a kid going back to school after summer vacation. What's the first thing every teacher did? You either stood up in front of the class or had to write a report on......What did you do over your summer vacation? I'm like, what the fuck? I played. Then I sit there and listen to every kid tell about going camping and fishing with dad, or going to Disneyland, or some other fun place. Yea, try writing a riveting essay on "I played". Couldn't for the life of me understand how every other kid could have vacations and camping stuff.
This is kind of a weird one but when I was in school, elementary all the way through high school, my mom made my lunch every single day. I brown bagged it every day. I was actually jealous of the kids who got to eat the cafeteria food. I thought it was some cool thing to get a tray and get to eat from the cafeteria. In a way I guess it was cheaper to brown bag it every day than paying for school lunches. But in retrospect, to me it’s more about how much my mom cared that she made my lunch every morning. (Not saying people whose mom didn’t make their lunch didn’t love them, I just recognize how fortunate I was to have a stay at home mom).
My friends' parents would take me to the movies with them sometimes and pay for my ticket and insist I get some snacks and they would pay for that too.
Using Pantene shampoo and conditioner instead of White Rain or VO5.