Money makes life easier, but even folks who don’t have it find ways to make do. That is even more true for people who grew up without money. As people often do, they take a bad situation and make the most of it.
Someone asked “People who grew up poor, what's a skill you developed that rich people don't have?” and netizens shared their examples. From all the experience any handyman could ever want to wholehearted respect towards service workers, get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below.
#1
I'm nice to service industry workers.
Gratefulness. Learn how to be grateful for everything because there are people in situations that are worse than your own.I treat my stuff with care and it stays in good shape long after I purchase it. I also perform maintenance. I take the extra few seconds to prevent damage rather than dealing with the aftermath.Determining wants from needs.I (wife) fixed our broken dishwasher today ( took me a couple of hours) I didn't even see a dishwasher in real life until I got married. My husband and I are from verrryy different backgrounds I'm from the depth of Russia and he is from Manhattan. He was very impressed and surprised ???.Coming up with meals with whatever is leftover in the pantry and fridge.Strong work ethic, when my coworkers gripe and complain over minor stuff, flashbacks of praying for a job like this comes to mind.Not being picky with food. I can eat the same food forever and never get sick of it.I automatically add groceries up in my head as I shop so I am not embarrassed by having to put things back. I do it automatically now, even if I can afford the food.My mom would brown ground beef and then she would make a batch of bisquick dough (she used bisquick almost every day). She would roll the dough out and sprinkle it with the ground beef and then roll it up lengthwise and slide it like cinnamon rolls (but with ground beef inside). She’d bake them and then pour cream of mushroom soup gravy on top. She could feed six of us on less than a pound of ground beef that way lol.To not confuse status with real happiness.The ability to respect everyone's dignity equally and never consider anyone as my servant, domestic, or slave.
I've seen rich people being street smart, eating the same low quality food all day, having excellent DIY skills... But I've yet to meet someone rich and able to realize homeless people, maids, or cashiers have the exact same amont of human dignity as they do.How to use and repair everything and run it into the ground.Resilience.
How to be more resourceful on my own since we couldn't pay people to do stuff.
How to be happy without the need for a lot of material possessions. So, even now, I still don't have a lot but it's by choice.
Finally, generosity. When you live in a hood where everyone is poor too, you learn to share what you have when you have it and vice versa,.Keeping myself entertained without spending much money when I have long periods of time off.The ability to walk for miles.I can grow food from seed to harvest. Take that, you rich bastards!Being comfortable in an ugly space. Although, I notice this more with my middle class peers.
Walls the wrong color, flooring is off, layout of a space not ideal? It's fine. I've definitely seen worse. As long as it has four walls, a roof, the toilet works, flooring isn't there, and I can afford heat and AC, I'm really happy.Being able to determine the difference between quality and marketing.
Unfortunately, a lot of poor people can't. That's why you got people buying mattresses on monthly payment plans, why Coach, Louis Vitton and others make record profits off people who make less than $50K, why terrible things like Robux exist, etc.Making food last and turning left overs into other meals. My partner tried to just eat the breast off a whole roast chicken and throw the rest away… absolutely not.Resourcefulness! We're basically the MacGyvers of everyday life.Not having an emotional connection to pretty much anything, because I know it could go anyday. I could lose it all, everything, and just start again.I’m not afraid of poverty, I know how to navigate it. In the same token because I came from poverty, I’ve set myself up to not experience it again.Entering a grocery store with a handful of coins and leaving with a combination of products that maximizes total calories and filling effect, and costs exactly what I have, without anyone noticing that's what I'm doing.Empathy!I would say caution out in public. i grew up poor. My wife grew up rich. I stay with and blend with crowds. She counts her money at ATMs.Ability to stay hungry for a long time.You learn to fix everything. Everything can be fixed, buying a new item only happens when I consider fixing it to be more of a hassle than making whatever cash the item costs new is, which isn’t often. New items just eventually wear and turn used within a week or so.I know what “enough” is.Resilience/problem solving. I can find my way out of any situation,.Getting out of bad situations by myself and my own wits.
I can create a delicious meal from whatever; my wife is stil bamboozled by how tasty my random meals are, even after 10 years pf being together.
There is nothig too terrible that cannot be fixed by a sincere excuse. Lies will only get you intoo deeper s**t.
I can repair at home any elwctrical appliances or gadgets.
I am grateful for anything that happens. Even if I find 50% discound maturated ribs. Or a parking spot in the shade.
Karma is real.Not panicking when broke.Knowing hunger. I don't think you can truly know yourself when there's a part of you that will kill for food or die. It is strangely empowering. Not facing serious adversity is a gift and a curse.
The people who don't know discomfort or hunger are the same as the person who's never been punched in the face getting into their first fight, they about to learn on the fly, and the stakes are high.Being able to see trouble brewing while it's still miles away. I believe this is called being hyper-vigilent, as if it were a negative thing.
And being like Felix the Cat when confronted with an obstacle, able to pivot on a dime when thwarted, then come at the problem with different tools and a different strategy.Not telling everyone what i have in my pockets.The ability to DIY a lot of things, even computer software or hardware problems. Saved me a lot of money in my teens. This only compounded into my 30s.
My peers think I'm a genius just because I know how to make a slow or sluggish computer fast or because of the way I can use duct tape.
Heck, I even saved my folks money when I fixed their water heater, the "fix" was to use a coin to press this black button that tripped.How to sharpen pencils with knives, attached papers together using rice or some special folding techniques, cut papers by folding, and tearing it carefully.I have a level of charm to get what I want that no amount of money could ever teach you.How to take a punch.I know that you can fill up the bathtub with water stolen from the next door neighbor’s garden hose and use a bucket to fill the toilet tank so you can flush when the water gets shut off due to nonpayment.
