CuriositiesJAN 7, 2022

30 People From Low-Income Homes Explain The Things That Rich Kids Would Never Understand

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While the United States is considered to be one of the richest countries in the world, it has a huge wealth gap—more than 34M of its residents live in poverty. Many of them are facing financial struggles every single day and can easily see the privileges others are lucky to have.

So when a couple of users asked people who grew up in low-income families to share things that the rich would never understand, it sparked quite a conversation on the r/AskReddit sub. Whether it’s talking about household items, chores, or food on the table, commenters quickly started telling the unwritten rules they had to live by.

Take a look below at some of the most illuminating answers we collected from the thread. And after you’re done, don’t forget to check out our previous posts about the subtle signs that show a person is rich here and right here.

#1

30 People From Low-Income Homes Explain The Things That Rich Kids Would Never Understand

That it never goes away. I want from homeless growing up to having a very comfy six figure job. I still find myself acting as if I am always living on the edge of homelessness again. Thinking I can't try new foods because it I don't like it then I won't get dinner. That I'm a bad person for throwing out things instead of trying to reuse them. I get serious panic attacks I think I did bad at work because my brain still tells me I'm one paycheck from the street.

AsexualAccountant, The Lazy Artist Galler

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603points

#2

True hunger. I don't mean that casual "I guess I should eat..." feeling, I mean that hollow, cramping pain deep in your stomach, the hunger that feels like your own body is eating itself from the inside out and that drives you crazy to the point you'll eat anything you can chew through just to try and keep the pain away.

Nobody should have to feel that, poor or not, especially a child.

korbah, cottonbro

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548points

Bored Panda reached out to the Redditor Leroy_Spankinz whose question “What’s something you’d find in a lower class home that rich people wouldn’t understand?” amassed more than 15.5K upvotes and 9.6K comments. The user was kind enough to discuss the idea behind this thread and the conversation that it sparked.

Leroy_Spankinz told us that they post on r/AskReddit a lot and are always interested to hear others’ thoughts and experiences. “I think a lot of people, the majority even, grow up in financially strained households,” they said.

“I wanted to hear about all of the different ways poorer families learned to adapt, and what they have in common with each other. Wealthier households just don’t have that same kind of creativity, and that was the basis for the question.”

#3

It’s expensive being poor.

saltierthancats, Emil Kalibradov

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496points

#4

A lifetime of clutter because it's so hard to throw anything away even when you're no longer poor.

HermitWilson, Alex Russell-Saw

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454points

They shared with us that one of their parents was very poor while they were growing up, and the other was financially secure. “I asked that question just because I’ve seen the differences between those households myself and I wanted to understand how other people viewed those differences as well,” Leroy_Spankinz explained.

The user also mentioned some examples that come to mind when discussing the differences between low and high-income households. In the former ones, you could find “a drawer full of condiment packets, a pile of old napkins from various fast food restaurants, old Slurpee/BigGulp cups used as normal kitchen cups, stuff like that.”

Meanwhile, wealthier households just buy the “proper” version of such items “and are even disgusted when they see other people living with these.”

#5

Seeing your mother wear 20+ year old worn out clothing and what amount to rags she collected from hospital visits, all so her child could have the best. Then the sadness of not being able to spoil her when you finally have your own money because she passed away too young.

Well... I just made myself sad lol

Nivasha, Joshua Fernandez

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446points

#6

“You didn’t make good choices, you HAD good choices.”

They seemingly always try to downplay the headstart they get, and how it boosts them throughout their life, versus someone who didn’t have that.

PringlePasta

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423points

#7

I've got one: not having vacations.

I'm in my thirties now. Work in tech. Work thing they had some trivia game and one of the questions was both "(senior leaders) A and B went to this same ski lodge last so and so".

Had been functioning as the team 'ace' with the more brainy questions- for that I just leaned back and went "Welp, no help to us here; I don't know any ski lodges"

My whole team, baffled prodded me going "wait, you don't know any? Just guess the one you went to as a kid with your family"

So . . . explained to like 3 other adults that poor families don't do that. I had never had a family vacation. Winter meant hauling firewood.

Sekret_One, David Vives

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415points

Leroy_Spankinz was truly impressed by how respectful and constructive the comments were: “It was so cool to provide a space for people to learn and laugh together over all the little things they didn’t know they had in common.”

We also contacted the author of another thread, Bobtheglob71, who was curious to ask people from low-income homes about things “that ‘rich kids’ will never understand.” They told Bored Panda that they came up with this post after spending a lot of time browsing the r/AntiWork subreddit, a community dedicated to discussing job-related struggles.

#8

This actually is painful to type, but, here goes.

Sometimes, only being able to see your mother for fifteen minutes a day when she picks you up or drops you off at school, because she has to work 18 hours a day just to support you. Having to wear shoes from Pay-Less because your mom can't afford anything better. Having to borrow food from other kids at school because your mom can't afford food, and the school lunches aren't free. Having to sometimes go a day or two without eating at all because you lost your food stamp card. Only having 12 channels of TV, and that TV is 30 years old, and only 14 inches. Having to watch other kids get everything they wanted for their birthdays, just so you can kind of pretend its your birthday party.

Damionstjames, Indira Tjokorda

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368points

#9

Watching your mom have to put items back as there is it not enough money to pay for everything.

Poenkel, Oleg Magni

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333points

#10

Having dinner and knowing that your Mum isn't eating, not because she isn't hungry, but because she's making sure her kids have food first.

DragonsLoveBoxes, jamie he

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327points

Bobtheglob71 noticed that there were quite a few posts expressing hatred towards people who were born into wealth and “was curious to see what everyone else thought.”

The user disclosed that they didn’t grow up poor: “This question was also partly made so that I could see others’ views on life based on what family they were born into. I’ve learned that the ‘rich kid’ doesn’t experience just about any of those things that people answered.”

#11

A lot of poor addicts are addicts because they need the escapism of it. Lifting people out of poverty is the biggest mental help you can give someone

DannyDetito

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293points

#12

When I went to school (in the '70s). At lunch time we had to stand in line in the hall before going into the cafeteria. they made those of us on 'free lunches' stand in the back of the line. It was quite humiliating.

BirdGuy64, Adrian Sampson

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282points

#13

My ex was wealthy and never understood why I don’t answer phone numbers I don’t recognize. We just never did that at my house, and now I understand it was probably to avoid debt collectors.

cmconnor2, Priscilla Du Preez

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267points

#14

Sleep for dinner.

Leeono, Daria Shevtsova

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264points

#15

Even though I am years beyond it and have a good job. I have gotten past most of it except for 2 things.

Guilt over spending anything on myself even if I need it (work clothes for example)

Food waste. I am more like,y to eat the oldest leftovers in the fridge so the don’t go bad or overeat if there is just a bit left than to throw it out. I know this is detrimental to my health but haven’t stopped because throwing something out makes me stressed.

Mueryk

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262points

#16

Clothes. You wear what you have, and you wear it out. Yes, this is the same bathing suit as last year, you judgemental b****.

I have a steady job, savings, and a closet full of clothes. I still wear everything like I did when I was 7. You wear it until it is visibly stained, or noticeably smells. And you don't ever throw anything away, because you might need it again.

Or if you do give clothes away, you give them to another neighborhood child. Every single one of your neighbors is as bad off as you, they will not turn away clothes that fit.

IamtheBoomstick

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258points

#17

Back in the Dominican Republic, my mom would lean a chair against each exit door at night and put metal cups on top of the chairs. If someone tried forcing the door open, the metal cups would fall — alarming us of the danger. That was our 'security' system for years.

JohnnyEdwrd

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254points

#18

What a luxury laundry is. Those kids i went to.school with will never understand I was so poor my family couldn't afford to use the laundry machines in our building, so often times my dad would just get a big cheap bottle of dish soap or some bars of Irish Spring, and that soap was for laundry, dishes and bathing. Also that those tv dinners were a god send. Getting 20 banquet tv dinners for 10 bucks meant eating good for a few days.

WanderingGenesis, RODNAE Productions

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241points

#19

All my gifts for Christmas and Birthdays were something I needed or would need and had to be bought anyway. Like clothes, shoes, or school supplies. Never, never anything fun or just because I wanted it. I also had to steal my first real bra because I'd outgrown my training bra. I'd even snipped the elastic all around to provide more stretch but it wasn't working anymore and people were commenting on it.

freckledjezebel, Adrian F

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231points

#20

A lot of people are mentioning being deprived of food and clothes, so I'll mention other things. People who grew up umm not poor often don't understand how come I've never been ice skating. Or roller skating. I don't know how to swim, because I didn't have any means to pay for swimming classes or pool entry (no swimming pool at my school). I could never participate in any after school activities, because even if they were funded by a nearby town, I had no way to get there. My hobbies were writing awful poems and drawing with s**tty crayons, because it was free. I didn't have any video games, except of pirated The Sims. We've never been on vacation as a family. I never went to a summer camp. If you are rich, these things are a given. They are normal. Also, so many knock offs. Knock off toys, knock off cereal, Tesco Value everything. Also, toilet paper was a luxury.

CarolynEarle

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230points

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