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. Enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote the replies that feel extremely familiar to you!

#1

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.

Image credits: stcrIight

#2

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.

Image credits: azki25

#3

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 af.

Image credits: frogsiege

#4

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.

Image credits: -exekiel-

#5

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

Image credits: MomentaryInfinity

#6

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

Image credits: Ambitious_Boat_9148

#7

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

Image credits: Specific_Image_737

#8

Calculating the items in your cart before going to checkout.

Image credits: Iorazepam

#9

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

Image credits: pineapplebriefs

#10

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.

Image credits: diamondthighs420

#11

Drive with an engine light on.

Image credits: RoseWould

#12

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

Image credits: Freedumb00

#13

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

Image credits: gingertrees

#14

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.

Image credits: SithDraven

#15

Skipping meals so their children can eat.

Image credits: Inner-Quail90

#16

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.*.

Image credits: LadySerenity

#17

Say you already ate, just to join your friends out, to feel normal for a minute, without making things awkward.

#18

Washing out and reusing (offbrand) Ziploc bags.

#19

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.

#20

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

#21

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

Image credits: Electrical-Pollution

#22

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

Image credits: kalixanthippe

#23

Keep a running tally of everything in the cart then add tax….then get to the self checkout and check thru the most needed items first checking the total to see if the $2 bag of carrots will be too much. Self checkout because it’s less embarrassing to put something back. And poor people have to good at math and adding percentages for tax.

Image credits: pink_faerie_kitten

#24

Lay awake at night worrying that things will get worse.

Image credits: MichB1

#25

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.

Image credits: Steamedcarpet

#26

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.

Image credits: CountFuckyoula

#27

Cut open the toothpaste to scrape out every last bit.

#28

Buy used tires.

#29

Getting creative with a random box of items from the food bank.

#30

My husband was raised in a different “ class” and he is always negotiating bills like home and car insurance. This would never occur to me. I get a bill, I pay it.

#31

Not being able to sleep because how hungry you are, not having a social life because you never had money, never having been out of the state your from /never traveled, calculating groceries before checkout, being frugal, thrifty and zero waste before it was trendy, I was always mortified as a kid someone I knew from school or the block would see me in the thrift store or flea market buying used clothes.

#32

Pull all the money out of your checking and put into your savings so a certain bill don’t go through so you can pay other bills.

Image credits: Alarmed_Medicine_213

#33

Pay car insurance monthly instead of every 6 months.

Image credits: AmazingProfession900

#34

Put items back at the grocery store.

Image credits: pineapplebriefs

#35

Getting threats of eviction

Getting lights cut off

Worry about where their child will go to school

Shopping for themselves.

Image credits: Radiant_Selection-

#36

Hoard non perishables in times of plenty.

#37

Go to food banks

Commuting by bus EVERY day.

Shop at thrift stores out of necessity

Don’t go to Taylor Swift concerta

Deep cleaning their house by themselves

Own the same car for over 10 years.

#38

Keeping sauces from fast food in a drawer or fridge.

#39

Choose between eating or gas to get to work.

Image credits: Senior-Trust-8609

#40

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.

#41

Be in a constant state of panic because tripping on the sidewalk and twisting your ankle could ruin your entire life when your 1/2 a paycheck away from homelessness.

Image credits: ToastyJunebugs

#42

Worry about not having a home next month.

#43

Go to Walmart to pay utility bills.

#44

Buy our clothes at the charity shops in the wealthy areas as rich people give away designer label clothing that has barely been worn.

#45

Buying something often means sacrificing the opportunity to buy something else you’d like.

#46

How much poor people truly despise rich people, even the ones sucking up to them and playing nice.

#47

Portion your food out so that they last all week. You can bet that every potato or carrot is designated for something.

#48

Nap for dinner .

#49

Living off meatless spaghetti and microwave popcorn.

#50

Sleep on an uncomfortable mattress or the floor. .

#51

Saving plastic bags from the grocery store.

#52

Only buying certain grocery items when they’re on sale e.g. chocolate.

#53

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

#54

– 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.

Image credits: Dippycat149

#55

Know what gas costs at several stations on your regular route so you always pay the least.

Image credits: Purlz1st

#56

Im not going out because it costs money not because I dont wanr to.

#57

Keep their living quarters at 55F all winter.

#58

Sell our blood for money.

#59

Leaving the oven door open after using it.

#60

Have back up plans for back up plans for back up plans.

Not feeling comfortable spending money on yourself OR conversely, spending any little bit of money you get on things for yourself.

#61

Pay excessive overdraft fees.

#62

Searching for discount codes for websites before checking out. Saved $100 this christmas and it took all of 3 minutes of my time.