1 day ago
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Note: This post contains mentions of addiction.
The amount of money you have really can change the way you experience the world, sometimes in ways you might not notice. Some things that are normal routines for one person may not even cross another person's mind.
So when user CAPTAIN_CROSSY on Reddit asked, "Rich people, what is the thing that you didn't know middle-class or poor people do on a regular basis? How did you find out?" I was intrigued to see people's honest responses:
1. "The thing I found out about that surprised me was people 'staying' places. I always had a home, and so did everyone I knew, whether it was a house, apartment, or trailer. I knew about houseless people; what I didn’t realize was the number of people who don’t have a place they call home, but aren’t what someone would think of as stereotypically 'homeless.' They simply have somewhere they are 'staying.' That’s how they would put it. If you asked whether that was their home, they would be like, 'No, I’m just staying here for the next few months.' The impermanence was something I hadn't known before."
2. "I was briefly an exchange student in a developing country and was surprised that my host family, which was solidly middle class for their country, had only three beds in their house, even though they had four kids and two parents. Their three youngest kids shared a bed, the teen had a bed, and the parents had a bed. For the month they hosted me, two kids shared a bed with the teen, and the parents had a kid in their bed."
3. "I'm a poor guy who became rich. I forgot that non-rich people avoid talking about all aspects of money. Now that I'm around it, it's not like I flaunt my wealth (it'd be nothing compared with that of many of my peers), but I still regularly talk about investments, interest rates, the Fed, etc. When I was younger, I just assumed caring about anything regarding money was for those who had a lot of it, aka millionaires."
4. "I didn't realize other people make their children contribute financially to the household once they're able to work, and they make the kids pay for their basic necessities, like food, toiletries, and clothes. I worked a couple of hours on the weekends at a family friend's business when I was 16 and 17, but my parents still paid for everything except gas."
5. "I had a friend who didn't have a home and was addicted to drugs in his 20s, but got his life together in his 30s. He got himself a very rich girlfriend. She used to say things like, 'I just can't believe you guys have never been to Europe.' She was totally out of touch with the struggles of poor men in their 20s."
6. "I’m always surprised when other people my age don’t have anything in a retirement account. But given the state of our country and how many people are burdened by student loan debt, it shouldn't be surprising. I’m not rich, but we're comfortable enough that a major expense wouldn’t hurt us."
7. "I grew up in an upper-middle-class household in a high-cost area; it was a college town. I got a job in college at a home improvement store. I didn’t realize how many people can’t do basic math — things like figuring out how many boards they needed or how many cubic feet of concrete to buy."
8. "I noticed diversity in eating, especially in rural areas where there are food deserts. I think some people are also conditioned to pick the safe options when going out to eat, even if they aren't as financially burdened anymore."
9. "When I got to college and was paired with a roommate who grew up on food stamps and such, two things shocked me: First, that her mom was constantly borrowing or stealing money from her. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that money would ever flow that direction. My parents took care of me, not the other way around. And she was struggling — so I felt like her mom was cruel for making it harder. Also, she could be short on rent, but would still choose to get a tattoo. I now understand that sometimes people need a break from being broke. Like, they aren't always going to be 100% logical in spending, because it wears you down so much mentally that sometimes you just want to say 'fuck it' and do something for yourself. But it never stopped shocking me that literally an hour after she was complaining about not getting enough hours at her job and how she was behind on payments for stuff, she'd be out spending money on totally optional things."
"This was the biggest shock when I dated a girl who grew up differently from me. Her mom was constantly texting her asking for money and had stolen from her many times before. I just couldn’t wrap my head around a parent doing that to their child. So sad. Really tough for all of those kids."
10. "I didn't know they made apartments for families outside of big cities like New York. I always assumed they were for students or single people. I genuinely thought that once you had kids, you absolutely needed a single-family home because the biggest apartments available were two-bedroom."
11. "Buying a used tire that may not even match the others on their car, which will then speed up the need to replace the other tires because they're also not getting them balanced and rotated. It's the epitome of the cycle of poverty keeping poor people poor. There are also things like paying more in interest charges for everything and having to buy lower-quality products that need to be replaced sooner. It's expensive to be poor."
12. "I was surprised to find out that a lot of people have never been on a flight."
"My kids are always shocked by this, and by people not having passports.
I have to remind them that they're growing up in a very unique situation (their dad is an airline pilot). They travel much more than many adults do. When I told them their grandma got her first passport in her 40s, they were in disbelief."
13. "Having to buy the cheaper version of something now, only to have to replace it sooner and at additional cost, rather than being able to buy the better-quality product that will last and end up being 'cheaper in the long run.'"
14. "I once had to explain to my boss at the time that if we delayed payroll until our business got paid by clients, our staff wouldn't be able to pay the bills or eat. He didn’t know that most young people live without any financial cushion to withstand not getting paid for a couple of weeks."
15. "I grew up lower-middle class. I always thought that if you worked hard enough and were willing to endure a few years of struggle, you could find the opportunities to get out of poverty. But now I see that being poor creates stress that is equivalent to losing 10-plus IQ points. And a stressed-out person struggling can face compounding struggles."
16. "Checking prices in a grocery store."
"Sometimes we go through different stores to find which one offers a better price."
17. "I lived for a while in a ski town called Whitefish, Montana, which is also about 45 minutes from Glacier National Park. At the elementary school in Whitefish, there were kids that had never, ever been up on the hill skiing. Ever. They had also never, ever been to Glacier National Park. The elementary school actually did field trips to both, and those times were the first time many of the kids had ever visited either place."
18. "I grew up solidly upper-middle class — not rich, per se. Still, I was once shocked that people tear paper towels in half to save some for the next use."
19. "Paying for a car in installments. I was shocked when I learned about this. My parents taught me that things that depreciate should be paid for in cash, like clothes, jewelry, and cars."
20. "My sister-in-law, who is wealthy, once said she didn't know everyone didn't live in big houses until she went to college. Having grown up in a trailer park, I was like, 'YIKES!'"
—awhq
21. "I'm not rich, but I didn’t realize some households told kids not to flush after using the toilet. They could flush once a day or only after taking a poo."
22. "Putting off random things like buying car tires or making home repairs."
"Home repairs can be very expensive. There is always something that needs fixing, and people will try to do the work themselves, too (at least older generations)."
23. "One bad decision when you’re poor can derail your whole life."
"This is a great lesson for those in their 20s. Hopefully, I learned it thoroughly in my 30s."
24. "Having to ask to take vacation or call out during the day, instead of just putting PTO on the calendar or OOO on the calendar and calling it a day."
25. "Poorer people like to be fed at events they're attending. I thought that was so weird. I found out by reading an analysis of upper-class and lower-class philanthropy meetings."
26. And lastly, "Hanging linens outdoors to dry. On holiday, I saw clotheslines strung across many barbecue gardens."
If you grew up wealthy, what is something you didn't know poorer people do on a daily basis? Let us know in the comments or via this anonymous form!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
English (US) 