We were not all born Bill Gates — and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. While it’s not shameful to have grown up poor, certain things we do scream about the financial status of the home we were born into. We stumbled into a conversation on an online forum where folks shared “dead giveaways” that a person grew up poor.
1. Hoarding Food
What other reason could you have for hoarding food, except that you grew up in an area where food is usually scarce? Some people always have the fear that they are running out of food, even when they have a month’s supply in check. You can’t blame them — it’s only a reflection of the environment in which they were raised.
2. Offering To Help People Move
Other people think jobs like this are meant for hired labor, but people who grew up poor think it is a waste of money to hire people to help you move when you can get your friends and neighbors to help you for free. From someone’s response to this, it shows that some people even find the idea very ridiculous. We won’t give them those side eyes, no. They think money spent has much better value when used for more “tangible” things.
3. Ordering The Cheapest Things on The Menu
You play blind to the expensive items on the menu, even if you can now buy the whole restaurant. You say to the waiter, “Please, I’ll have this,” pointing to the cheapest item. They stare at you like you stuttered, gauge your appearance, and wonder why you would order something so cheap. But only a few understand why you are constantly sourcing for more affordable alternatives.
4. Reusing or Repurposing Every Single Little Thing
You go out for groceries and return with a polythene bag you’re too afraid of losing. Your mind probably tells you that you might not get another one or you might need one urgently, so you keep storing them up in your cupboard for when you next need them. Well, this is one flag you fly, announcing where you came from to the world.
5. Finding an Alternative to Meat
For one contributor, purchasing meat was too expensive growing up, so their mother had to improvise with carrots. “My mother’s stew was known by my other siblings as carrot stew,” they say. “Making soup, curries and lasagne? Add carrot!” Even now that they can afford meat, this contributor states they still can’t help themselves from making carrot meals.
6. Cutting the Molds
Almost everyone who grew up in a family with barely enough can say the same. You have molds growing on your bread, for example, and you look at them and smile at the fact that it’s not going to stop you from eating it. Next, you cut the portion where they have infested, throw them away in the trash bin, and settle down to enjoy the other piece of bread. Not that you can’t afford new bread, but you can’t just afford that waste.
7. Difficulty in Letting Go of Broken Things
You keep saving those broken parts of your items, knowing full well that you won’t need them again. Even those that can no longer be fixed or reused, you throw them in the store for situations that might call for their use. You might even get in a fight with anyone who throws them away. Most times, this happens subconsciously.
8. Eating the Same Leftovers for Weeks
People who grew up in a home of plenty do not find it appealing to repeat a particular meal for days or weeks. But people who grew up in poor homes, on the other hand, even if they might not find it appealing, are likely to prefer it because of how conservative it is for them.
9. Banking on Free Foods
I’ve seen people who never want to pay for their food. They want someone else to do that. People like this don’t waste time jumping right into any opportunity that presents them with free food. You’ll find them at every party and event — they also won’t be coming alone; they’ll bring their family members and every friend they can along.
10. Adding Water to Shampoos or Drinks To Make Them Last Longer
Guilty as charged. While it might not mean that anyone who does this comes from a poor background, it gives the impression. I mean, what stops you from walking into the store to pick up a replacement when the ones you have are almost running out? Money, that’s what.
11. Saving Money
Don’t get me wrong, saving money is great! But you know what’s even better? Investing your money and letting it grow with time. Rich people know this; I can’t say the same for others. People from poor backgrounds are afraid they might lose their money, so instead of investing them into businesses that’ll help generate more money, they prefer to store them up in their banks.
12. Being Overly Conscious of How Much Gets Into Power Supply
Some people are paranoid about keeping the bills as low as possible. They warn others who live with them always to turn off the appliances that are not in use, so the bills don’t turn in those outrageous figures. Rich folks can afford to leave all the devices in their home running all day for three centuries non-stop, but it’s a waste of money doing this for lesser privileged folks.
13. Counting Vacations as Unnecessary Luxury
Before you think that people who go on vacation are extravagant, ask yourself why you think so. If you check through it all, you might find that you only have this thought because you came from a home where even going out on a picnic was unaffordable because of costs.
14. Developing a DIY Attitude
Yeah, I encourage a do-it-yourself attitude myself. Still, when it becomes too constant, and you want to do everything yourself, even the ones you surely need the expertise of a professional, then you send the notions that you’re from a poor background. If given the chance, you could conduct your surgery.
