9/16/2023 0 Comments Bad habits learned growing up poorWhen said freebies are put in front of me, I take as much as I am given or can feasibly fit into a bag before I’m politely asked to leave. As an adult and a sort-of journalist, I get given free tote bags, lip balm, makeup, and other bits on a semi-regular basis. It’s certainly what got me to this point in my life. You love free stuffĪs a child, free stuff was what actually kept me alive a lot of the time. While I’d rather not have the panicked voice at the back of my head telling me I’m going to be poor again any day now, I’m grateful to have the financial skills I do. I’ve had a job consistently for eight years and through budgeting and saving, I’ve managed to do a lot of fun stuff with my money. I’ve had a savings account that I’ve kept track of since before I was 18, and as an adult I am one of my only friends with any money in one. As a child I would hoard and save every single penny I got given, write down how much I had, multiply it over time, etc. You become very good with moneyĪll what I've written so far is pretty negative, but ultimately, growing up poor has had a great effect on me and my finances. If I owe someone a couple of quid for the bus, my need to pay them back instantly is less a result of being a good person who doesn’t want to put them out, but more of me just never wanting to called a scrubber ever again. It was embarrassing, and as a result, I am very desperate to not ask for anything ever again. My friends’ parents bought me shoes, holidays, meals - everything. I am very, very used to being a charity case. The thought of owing someone money is excruciating But mostly I’m just absolutely terrified of living without it. I essentially never stop thinking or talking about money, to the point where it ends up looking like I just love it. Where it’s coming from next, what I have to spend it on, if I can manage and again, if it’ll run out. Even when I’m not spending money I’m thinking about it. I am an exceptionally obsessive person anyway, but after spending 20 years watching my mum fret and panic over every single penny and every tiny expenditure, I am fucked for life. I don’t have the same assurance, so I know I have to always find money myself. Plus, those who grow up with parents who are comfortable and have enough money to help them out in a crisis know in their heart of hearts that they will never actually end up homeless or without food. I know how poverty feels, but I also now know how earning just enough feels - and I never want to go back to the former. You always feel like money is going to run out Somebody who never had to watch their parents decide between petrol and food might be able to get into a decent job, make an OK wage, and feel pretty comfortable. Here are just a few of the ways growing up poor affects you. That mightn’t ever go away, sorry, but you’re not alone. There are good things, too, like financial lessons that most people don’t learn until later in life, but watching your parents panic over every single expense has a long-lasting effect on your mentality. I thought the constant anxieties about money would go away once I had my own, but I’ve been paying my way since the age of 16 and have learned that some things, like the sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when you check a price tag, never quite leave you. Every meal, every change of clothes, every school trip was obsessively dissected in front of me for its cost versus worth. For the first 20 years of my life I lived with a single mum on benefits as a result, nothing ever came easy. We all have money worries, but when you grow up poor, there are a lot of ingrained thoughts and behaviours that you struggle to shake off - both good and bad.
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