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

Still hesitate to spend on anything that feels “non-essential,” even if it’s something that could save time or improve quality of life. That mindset helped me stretch every resource while building my digital projects but now I’m learning that investing in ease isn’t wasteful, it’s smart.

Old habits die slow, but growth is real.

Not wasting food. I grew up food insecure and wasting food was a cardinal sin.

Thrifting clothes. I know what brands look good on me and fit me properly as I've got a difficult figure (hourglass, busty, no bum) so I go to Poshmark, Depop, Mercari, ThredUp. Why spend $200 on a blazer when I get can get it used for $50? Obviously I buy new underwear and socks, things like that...but I thrift damn near everything else because even though I can afford to buy things brand new, why would I when I can score them for pennies on the dollar? Let someone else spend the cash up front. My kids have picked up this habit too, and they love telling their friends how much they saved on a skirt or a top by buying on Depop instead of in the store.

In the same vein, buying makeup on ebay. Buying perfume and name brand makeup/haircare(translation: expensive) on fragrancenet.com rather than full price at Sephora or whatever. Why would I pay full price for Bumble & Bumble or Verb when I can get it cheaper?

Dupes of perfume if I don't want to pay for them on fragrancenet.com. MIIM.MIIC, Dossier, Fine'ry and others have great dupes for very expensive fragrances like Baccarat Rouge, Phlur, Le Labo, and others.

Turning off the water when brushing teeth, not flushing over night if I have to pee (old habits die hard, I'm originally from Southern California and even though I'm now on the east coast and have a well so I don't pay for water other than the electricity for the well pump, I still don't waste water).

Adding water to laundry detergent, shampoo, and dishwasher soap (the sink kind) to stretch them.

Smashing together the soap sliver + new bar of soap so I don't waste soap.

Reusing Ziplock bags for the same things (like cheese).

Price shopping and buying the cheaper thing. Beans for X amount or X-10% amount. Store brands versus name brand.

Checking my bank account daily or near-daily. This came in handy the day someone got access to our bank accounts and tried draining us of $8000 in a single blow.

Shopping for things like insurance every 6-12 months. Amazing how much you can save by switching.

Calling up my TV and internet providers and threatening to leave to get discounts.

Picking up to-go food instead of paying exorbitant prices for DoorDash to have it delivered.

The unavoidable compulsion to check out anything offered up as "free".

At this very moment, I am at a salon and came for a haircut. I wanted to get highlights since more than a year and still assumed it's too costly for my short layered bob cut. While cutting my hair, the hairdresser said, if you want to go for highlights, I won't charge you for the haircut. Now, I can pay for both the services, but the relief I felt is that this high-end salon is giving one service for free. After reading the comments, I cried a little while wearing the foils and everything inna room full of strangers. And decided to share my experience. Hugs to all poor grown children who has enough to pay for stuff they want now.

I moved so much that I have trouble hanging things on walls. I can't bring myself to put a nail in the wall because my brain goes "not worth it - we're just going to have to patch it when we move soon".

I almost never had enough money to buy something for myself, so I would keep a list of things I wanted and would periodically re-evaluate its order. Things I want the most were at the top of the list. Things that turned out to be impulse buys I don't really want anymore, I'd take off the list. I still do that.

I base my meal decisions on a $2.50 a night budget. If I can stretch a dinner to enough nights to get the total cost to make it down to $2.50 a night, I'll make it.

I will not heat my house until sweaters are no longer enough, and I have all the registers closed in every room I don't use so I don't waste heat. Cooking in the winter is nice because I can leave the oven door open afterwards (after turning it off) so the heat warms up the room.

While no longer going to garage sales as we don’t need anything, I am still very careful to rotate the same few garments so most are still nearly new. The idea was from my youth to not need to buy a lot every year. Now comfortably retired, I have more clothes than I will live long enough to need to buy more. I do now throw away anything showing wear, damage, or strains and feel guilty when putting the mending in the trash.

When my turn to cook, a casserole of pasta, meat, and sauce were the go to for stretching food dollars when a child so I still make those. At the grocery store I really don’t pay much attention to prices. We are in our old age for which we saved for decades. Brand name Fritos! Big containers of delux nuts with no peanuts!

My wife grew up borderline malnourished at time and even though that was 15 years ago, she still hoards food despite having more than ample savings.