"Honestly? The more generous someone is, the more I think they’ve likely grown up without money. The people I know who grew up rich will remind you that you owe them £2 and chase you up for it. The people who grew up broke (and still are) will give you their right arm if they felt you’d need it more."
"Not using products you have in fear of it running out. You don’t know when you can get more. then it eventually expires and becomes unusable anyway."
"Not buying things you really want, even if you have the money, because they aren't essential needs."
"Thinking very basic things are "fancy" or expensive. I always wanted to try baby bells as a kid and my mom would tell me they're way too expensive and for only wealthy families. As a teenager I was at a friend's house and his mom offered me one. I got so excited. Then after I ate it I was filled with guilt because I couldn't stop thinking about how much money they just wasted on me. Over a baby bell."
"Keeping certain "nice" boxes because "that's a really good box"."
"General anxiety around money. Always attempting to fix something instead of just throwing it away and buying a replacement."
"Saving condiment packets from restaurants."
"Checking the price for everything."
"Hoarding things to "use later." Like believing i can make use of an egg carton later. Food and clothes- it hurts me physically deep to my core to throw those things out. Even as I've gotten better with it, I have to push through that feeling. It never left."
"Never getting rid of things and holding on to literally everything."
"Cutting mold off cheese or just throwing out the moldy slices of bread."
"Reusing things like ziplock bags, paper plates etc that aren't really dirty."
"Washing hair in the sink. I still do it at 29. Didnt realise it was "odd" until exes pointed it out. We never had a shower unit until 25 as that was classed as a massive luxury we could never afford."
"Lack of Self control with spending money once you start making some."
"People from poor families often show resilience and resourcefulness, adapting creatively to challenges with limited resources."
"Constantly worrying about saving money, the next check, and putting that over everything else in life!"
"Eating food really quickly."
"My girlfriends mom fled from a communist country in the seventies and she still has some behaviors left from then. She has an allotment to grow things, all Swedes there grow strawberries, herbs, fancy stuff that's expensive to buy or that are nicer fresh. She grows regular potatoes and onions mostly. I try to explain that onions and potatoes are very cheap and it would be better to grow maybe rocket, cilantro, oregano or something, but no, potatoes is a "good base food" so she keeps at it. She is also very "economic", never any restaurant food for instance, "we have food at home". My girlfriend told me about when she was a kid and they drove for like two days to eastern Europe, and they would bring sandwiches from home and sleep in the car every summer, and then stay at relatives, pick mushrooms and berries that they brought home, and of course buy all the staple goods that where cheaper there, and really fill up their car with so much c**p. Like powdered soups and sugar and jam."
"I grew up in a very low income household. The power or water was always getting shut off, never any food in the kitchen, but we survived. Now, I’m doing quite well for myself, and I’m providing my daughter a life I couldn’t have when I was growing up. But I hate spending money. I never want to buy anything or splurge on something because I always revert back to, “I may need this for the power or water or whatever bill didn’t get paid this month” when in fact it’s not something I have to worry about anymore. I wear clothes that I’ve had for 10 years. If I want something, I convince myself I don’t need it. If there is something I really want I’ll try to find every excuse not to buy it. It’s probably not something that’s overtly apparent but I think it’s a mindset that more than just myself sits with."
"Buying cheaper versions of everything, even if you end up buying 2 or 3 in the same year.My gf wasn't as fortunate as I was growing up, and getting her to understand that it's worth spending the extra money on quality household items (pots, pans, utensils, toaster, etc) is much better down the line since they'll last you longer. She had a 30$ toaster that ended up breaking, she replaced it with the same brand twice and it broke again. I went and bought a 120$ toaster and it's been with us for over 3 years, no issues since."
"Hoarding stuff that you think you'll use, but will eventually sit in the garage for years."
"Hard working and generous."
"Cutting open the toothpaste container"
"Changing into old clothes the second you get home and hanging up your good clothes."
• Don't insult other visitors. Offensive comments will be deleted without warning.
• Comments are accepted in English only.
• No swearing words in comments, otherwise such comments will be censored.
• Your nickname and avatar are randomly selected. If you don't post comments for 7 days, they both are reset.
• To choose another avatar, click the ‘Random avatar’ link.
