"I’ll never outgrow some of the feelings I had as a poor kid."
If you grew up in a household that struggled financially, there are most likely certain things that you viewed as "luxuries" because you may not have had access to them. Well, this Reddit thread asked those who were poor when they were younger: "What did you consider a luxury?"
The thread has over 20k comments of people sharing their experiences growing up poor. Here is what some of the comments read:
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
1. "Going places during school vacation. The kids would be all like, 'What!? You’ve never been to XYZ amusem*nt park!?' No, Trisha. My family doesn’t even have a car,' which is another luxury to me."
2. "Being allowed to turn on the heat during the winter. Also, being able to hire a professional to fix broken appliances, plumbing, etc."
3. "Staying at someone's house who wasn't poor, like a relative or friend. Their house was also so clean and beautiful, with pictures on the wall, knick-knacks on the counter, and carpet you could play on because it was clean. I spent my entire teenage years hiding where I lived."
4. "New clothes. I grew up pretty poor (no TV, no toys, but I had a Sears catalog). My dad got in a serious accident when I was in 4th grade and almost lost his life. He won a small settlement from the community college he was working at, and I could buy new clothes for the first time. Before this, all I ever had were hand-me-downs from my cousin and clothes donated by the church. Most were worn to the point of having patches on the knees. The worst part about getting new clothes for the first time is I felt terrible the whole time picking out new clothes because I always felt like a financial burden to my parents. I remember going to Miller’s Outpost and picking out typical '80s clothes (OP, TnC, etc.). It’s funny how growing up poor affects my everyday choices, for better or worse. I’ll never outgrow some of the feelings I had as a poor kid, and I feel for any kid who has to endure a childhood of poverty. It will affect them and their choices for the rest of their life."
5. "Going out to eat at a restaurant."
"And the big fancy restaurant was something like Red Lobster or Olive Garden. You got all dressed up and everything."