48 Poverty Habits That People Still Have Even Though They’re No Longer Broke

dharmattan:

Fear of spending money.

WhisperingHope44:

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, most of the time, and yet I’ll make my self sick with anxiety over if I should buy the item or if I’m buying the right one.

I still eat like I'm poor. Beans, rice, pasta, potatoes. Meat is a flavoring, not a main course.

The other issue that comes to light (now that I'm moving from a 2-bedroom apartment to a 1-bedroom apartment) is 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 ahold 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.

90% of all meals are eaten and cooked at home. Minimal processed foods

I prefer still to thrift.

I hoard sh*t like “I can afford it now but maybe not tomorrow, so I’ll buy a f**k ton of it now and then I won’t have to worry about it later”. It’s stupid but I can’t let it go

Emptying a can of tomatoes and lightly rising/soaking jar to get that lil extra bit out

Throwing away food, even if it’s a little past its expiration date. Starving is such a horrible thing. I hated eating “crumb soup” and fantasizing over food on the television.

Never throwing anything away until it’s completely empty or unusable. I had a phone for 8 years c*****d screen and never got another unit it broke.

Buying the store brand version of pretty much every food I purchase.

I still can't bring myself to waste money on purely decorative things. If it doesn't have a practical use, I can't spend money on it. My apartment has 0 wall decorations due to this mental block.

Don’t leave lights on. Water running. Knowing the cheapest gas station close to you. My husband never knows the cheapest gas station. He says “you have to get gas no matter what, who notices the prices?”

Mentally calculating the total when grocery shopping. Most of the time I'm accurate within a couple dollars. And checking my bank account total before checking out.

My poverty habit is feeling as though I'm broke regardless of how much money is in the bank. Number two is getting analysis paralysis over just about any purchase over $100.00.

Using every drop of water in a glass. Water has dust in it? I need to find a plant I can pour it into

Every last squeeze on the toothpaste.

My sister and I still like to go “shopping” where we walk around for a few hours picking everything we want and then at the end we don’t get anything and just go home. The joys of shopping without spending the money

Not seeing the opportunities and possibilities that a half-decent income has already enabled. Kind of getting used to making do with what you have when in reality, you can now afford things that bring you extra joy.

Example: I was dying to get an electric guitar as a teenager. I was passionate about guitars and memorized tons of riffs. But we couldn't afford one, let alone classes for learning to play.

Fast forward 20 years, I finally realize that thanks to my income, a guitar, amp and classes were now well within my budget, and had been for the past 10 if not 15 years already. I had literally held on to the image of guitar playing being inaccessible, then realized I can march into a store right now and buy one (or three) if I want to.

I still eat leftovers until they’re done. And make the kids eat leftovers.

Picking up pennies from the sidewalk.

Fixing everything. If it stops working, I'll pull it apart and fix/rig it up. I'm kind of known for it but if I can't fix it, I take it to my Dad, if he can't fix it, I cannibalise it and keep any parts that might come in handy later.