The 5 Stupidest Habits You Develop Growing Up Poor
Remember that time you were cleaning out your wallet and found an extra $5 bill stuffed inside one of the pockets? Poor people are laughing their asses off right now because I might as well be asking if they remember the time they found an extra minotaur in the kitchen. When you’re living check to check, there is no amount of money that isn’t accounted for, right down to the last penny. You don’t have “about 70 bucks” in the bank. You have $68.17.
You think in exact numbers because, at any given point, you have to know if swiping the debit card for gas will put you into overdraft territory. You have to be able to figure on the spot how much you can spend versus how much you need to survive until the next payday, and even the numbers after the decimal point are important. The simplest miscalculation could mean the difference between an actual dinner or a bowl of McDonald’s ketchup packets at the end of the week.
Interesting. I feel like for many of these the majority could also be true. Like, I think about the long-term and I couldn’t imagine spending all of my money as soon as I get it. But, I suppose it’s because I’ve watched my parents fail in those departments and I don’t want to be like them, and also that although things were difficult I was “privileged” enough in having 2 parents who worked (although we saw, and still see, very little of my father’s income) and having parents who made enough for us to get by sans government assistance. My parents poor spending makes it seem like the earn much less, but I’m grateful that they earn enough so that even though they are horrible with their money I’m able to be sitting in a warm room typing on a laptop (although, I did buy this laptop with my own hard-earned/saved money).
And with the food, I think I benefit a lot from having immigrant parents. Yes, I’ve had tons of canned vegetables and fish. But, I’ve also had extremely flavorful things because that’s the way they cook in Jamaica, with very little money, and so that’s how they cook here.
(via regazzadilupoinverno)
