34 everyday habits people only have because they grew up poor

Bored Panda · Jun 30, 2026 11:45 · 8 min read

34 Everyday Habits People Only Have Because They Grew Up Poor

Some people don't even check the price before putting an item in their shopping cart. Meanwhile, others are frantically calculating their total while shopping to ensure their card won't be declined at checkout.

If you grew up in a low-income household, you probably learned from a very young age how to spot the best deals in the grocery store. You also might be used to eating much less fresh produce towards the end of the month and being extremely kind to your landlord to ensure that they won't evict you if your rent arrives a few days late.

There are plenty of “poor person habits” that are perfectly normal when you’re used to them, but the reality is that wealthy people live in a parallel universe where they never have to worry about these things. Reddit users have recently been discussing some of their own experiences that the rich wouldn’t be able to relate to, so we’ve gathered their thoughts below. Keep reading to also find conversations with the person who started this thread and Johnny "FD" Jen, and be sure to upvote the replies that feel extremely familiar to you!

#1

Wait. For everything. Wait for the bus to arrive, bc it’s always late. Take longer to travel farther to the cheaper store. Wait at the laundromat for your clothes to finish. Not only that, but the frequency of these waits is also higher, because you don’t have a car or money to be able to buy things in bulk or transport large amounts of clothing. It is time consuming [very].

#2

Calculating the items in your cart before going to checkout.

#3

Putting up with insanely horrible work conditions and harassment, knowing quitting is not an option.

To find out how this conversation started in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user Gotwire, who posed the question: "What is something that poor people do that rich people are oblivious to?" They were kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and explain why this thread began.

"With the disparity between the haves and have nots coming more into public light recently, I thought about how disconnected the rich must be from the rest of us," they shared. "But how exactly? What’s the reality - how little do the rich not understand the plight of the poor? How so?"

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#4

Don’t travel. The amount of people who are amazed when I say I haven’t flown on a plane blows my mind. People do not realize how much money/privilege it takes to travel at all, let alone on a yearly basis.

#5

Make or turn down plans based around the cost of restaurants/activities/cover.

#6

Saw a tweet shared that I can't ever forget discussing this very thing. The gist:

People that don't keep fast food napkins in the glove box to use as tissues are in a totally different tax bracket.

We also asked the author about some things they do that rich people don't have to worry about "Thinking about the price before doing/ordering/buying anything," they noted. "Price being a factor in activities, meals, purchases."

But Gotwire says that they wouldn't necessarily live any differently even if they had more money. "Personally, I wouldn’t be able to shake my habits if I were to become rich. And that’s what separates some of the rich out there from others," they shared. "Those who didn’t come from money, I suppose."

#7

Adding potatoes to meals not because it belongs in a recipe, but because it's very filling and can stretch the meal to more portions.

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#8

Being aware of the cost of milk, bread & cheese.

#9

Live with f****d up teeth because they have high copays and low annual maximums and can barely afford to even get cavities filled.

Rich people get extremely competitive health, vision, and dental plans, so they don’t have to think twice. They need care? They get it.

I have a rotten tooth that needs to be surgically extracted, need several root canals and crowns, need tons of cavity fillings, and have congenitally missing teeth. I can get the extraction (+bone graft and implant) and handle one cavity before I hit my annual maximum.

I floss and brush twice a day, I just have weak enamel and haven’t been able to afford dental care in a while. And the missing teeth? Sorry. It’s congenital/pre-existing so they don’t have to cover it.

No, Karen, I’m not doing d***s. God, people lose interest in talking to me the instant they notice my teeth (especially hiring managers). I start to smile as the conversation gets good and suddenly the light just leaves their eyes. It’s *humiliating.*.

As far as what the OP thought of the replies to their post, Gotwire said they were overwhelming and eye opening. "I was most surprised to see how many people have trouble meeting regular bills on a monthly basis - shuffling around whatever they could," they told Bored Panda. "But most of all, how many people's eating is impacted by poverty. Grocery shopping. Meals. Basic nutrition."

#10

Rich people seem to confuse not having money to do something with not wanting to waste money on something.

No, it's not that I don't want to order pizza because I'm stingy, I literally don't have the money.

#11

Choosing to put up with pain and not going to the doctor because you can't afford the bill.

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#12

Shop at different groceries for different items because they are cheaper at other places.

"I cannot fathom being rich and not wanting to elevate and help those with less," the author continued. "Greed, the need for more and more, is just astounding. How much wealth does one really need at the end of the day?"

Finally, Gotwire added that the definition of poor has changed. "While there are truly poor people, even middle class can feel poor now. Due to the high cost of living, and stagnant wages."

#13

Save grocery store plastic bags to use as a trash can liner.

#14

Leaving the oven door open after using it.

#15

Skipping meals so their children can eat.

To gain even more insight into this topic, we also got in touch with Johnny "FD" Jen, an entrepreneur and blogger who has experienced life on multiple points across the financial spectrum. First, we wanted to know how his lifestyle was different when he was struggling to make ends meet.

"I started living as a minimalist, keeping my expenses low," he shared with Bored Panda. "I moved into a small 35sqm/375sqm apartment, started to cook at home and ate local food, and started to take public transport, walk, or scooter everywhere instead of owning a car. I still do all of those things today, but now enjoy the luxury of eating at nice restaurants, taking Uber, etc on occasion."

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#16

When buying anything or paying a bill I automatically convert to how many hours of work it took to pay for it.

#17

Hoard non perishables in times of plenty.

#18

Skipping on insulin to ration it. Mental health issues that go unchecked cause therapy is expensive. Turning down the heaters to save on heating costs.

So would Johnny recommend changing your habits if you find yourself with more money? "It's best to slowly increase your lifestyle budget as you earn more money, it's a reward," he noted.

"However, you should keep the percentage of earned income low. For an example, when I was earning $1,000 a month living in Thailand, I only spent $250 a month on rent," he explained. "When I started an online business that started earning $10,000 a month, I upgraded to a much nicer condo, which increased my rent to $450 a month, but it was still a small percentage of my income."

"Now that I'm financially secure, I should allow myself to spend more and stop being so frugal," Johnny continued. "As after having $1M invested, it can just grow on its own, even if you don't ever penny pinch to add to the pot each month."

#19

Lay awake at night worrying that things will get worse.

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#20

Decide which bill(s) to ignore because no money.

#21

Having a bad month or pay period and having to sell off home appliances to make rent/mortgage. (happened growing up).

Finally, we asked Johnny if he believes wealthy people can ever truly understand what it's like to be poor. "No, they can't learn something that they've only seen on TV or read about. I think everyone should feel what it's like to live on a strict budget for at least a period in their lives, as it creates an appreciation for money, discipline, and empathy for those without it," he shared.

#22

It’s really difficult to get rid of clothes you don’t wear often or other stuff in a store room because if you don’t have much money you may need them in the future.

#23

Adding water to the last bit of dish soap to make it last longer.

This woman I worked with who clearly never struggled was yelling about how gross that was.

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#24

Ignoring random calls from numbers you don't recognize knowing there's a high chance they are debt collectors.

Googling these numbers, confirming them then adding their whole range of numbers to your block list because you don't have any money to offer and aren't in the position to even loose $10pw to pay them.

But that doesn't mean that people of a lower socioeconomic status have to stay there forever. "The opposite is also true. Poor people can't understand why rich people don't just give away their money either," Johnny added. "We're lucky to live in an age where anyone with access to information, the internet, and technology can create their own paths. Similar to how I have, from going up in a poor immigrant family, to starting an online business while living frugally, to now having over $1 million in retirement savings."

#25

Put items back at the grocery store.

#26

Drive with an engine light on.

#27

- The amount of time you'll take to decide which expensive thing to buy, because you only get one chance at this, and it'll only happen once in your life, most likely.

- The amount of s**t you'll save (boxes, soap, bubblewrap, bags, freebie-whatevers) just because it's easier to save it, than buy it.

- You learn a LOT about how to fix your own s**t, when you can't afford to pay someone to fix it for you.

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#28

Getting threats of eviction

Getting lights cut off

Worry about where their child will go to school

Shopping for themselves.

#29

Sleep on an uncomfortable mattress or the floor. .

#30

Turn off the lights whenever you leave a room. Turn down the heat in winter, and up the AC in summer ….

#31

Taking less than your prescribed dosage of meds to try to ration them and save money

Once I had no money and I had to go to the urgent care to get some stitches removed, but remembering the $20 copay I opted to just take them out myself.

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