The rich lead radically different lives from the poor.
But so do the middle class––and others with even less means than they.
When you don't have any money to spare, you'll find creative ways to survive. You quickly learn that you can add cheap "bulk" to your meal by eating plenty of rice and beans. You discover that drinking water can satiate you when there's no food around to speak of.
"What is something you only know if you grew up poor?" is today's burning question from Redditor walterwhite997, and it's an eye-opener.
"Your mom..."
Giphy
Your mom having to borrow money from you to pay for food/bills.
Also the embarrassment of people comparing Christmas gifts with you when they got expensive electronics and toys. I used to hate when teachers asked the class what they got for Christmas.
"Everything..."
Giphy
Everything around you can be a toy. My action figure collection included a stick, a mason jar, an off brand Barbie given to me by an older cousin, and a bunch of melted green army men that looked like a giant. We had the best adventures.
"Going to your extended..."
Going to your extended family's houses usually resulted in leaving with bags full of tinned food.
"Knock-off brands are..."
Giphy
Knock-off brands are enjoyable when you first get them but can quickly become a point of ridicule when found out.
"A slice of bread..."
A slice of bread = hotdog buns, hamburger buns, biscuit and gravy biscuit, makes a sandwich from any meal/leftover to make it more filling, sloppy joe bun, dip in soup...
"Walmart is typically 24 hours..."
Walmart is typically 24 hours and is a good place to escape the cold and riff raff of the streets when you're a homeless kid. Also back when arcades were a thing a lot of people would drop coins under the machines so that was a good way to scrounge for food money.
Also learned how to turn the water and power on in empty houses when I was willing to risk getting thrown in jail, which honestly would have been an improvement. My brother and I grew up harsh and with no support system other than each other. We still only have each other but we made it through and the experiences made us better people.
"Making lots of friends..."
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Making lots of friends meant you could go to other kids houses and get invited to stay for dinner. I would always sneak something to eat back home for my mom. She never asked me to do that, but I knew she was hungry.
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