If you were poor as a child, tell us one thing that shows how poor you were.

[Varvara Spiros Gelashvili]

My parents made me choose between nintendo and sega. They wouldn't buy me both.

I still don't own a sega dreamcast till this day feels bad man.

[Radio]

What is rice and mince? It actually sounds pretty yummy.

Just white rice and the cheapest bulk beef mince you can find. If you splurge out on some packet seasoning for the mince you can get some flavour going.

Then you just serve it bowled like any other rice + meat + sauce/flavour/whatever dish that you're used to.

[Atrea]

It wasn't until I was in school that I learned you were supposed to put milk in your cereal.

[Zantos]

Just white rice and the cheapest bulk beef mince you can find. If you splurge out on some packet seasoning for the mince you can get some flavour going.

Then you just serve it bowled like any other rice + meat + sauce/flavour/whatever dish that you're used to.

Dang. My mom did that too then. Rice + meat + ketchup and mustard. She called it hamburger rice. If we had some money, she would put cheese in and call it cheeseburger rice.

[Airlick]

Can't say I've ever been REALLY poor, when things were going good for my family, we were middle class (mother was an accountant, father a police officer, somewhat respectable and decently paid jobs). Things started getting rough when I was in middle school, never got better. Still I've never experienced real problems, always had as much food as I wanted, clothing and bills were never an issue, but any luxuries were mostly out of the question. So I wasn't poor as in POOR, but all of my friends definitely had a lot more money.

[Deleted]

We were out of toilet paper once, so I had to secretly take "steal" rolls from school. They were always around so yah. Rough times!

[Unhinged]

I didn't go to the best private school in my city. Had to slum it with the other second best private school plebs.

[Deleted]

My dad bought me an iphone 3 for April Fools Day

[Deleted]

I was poor, i had those cheap trousers that after 1-2 use you get knee bulges, i used to steal fruit with my dudes cos i liked them, instead of buying. Mother and grandmother had to sell some properties to keep us fed.

This is despite my father earning a substantial amount of money (good load better than average) in the 90s. On top of that he condescendtly lessoned me throughout the years.

But if a far right man has the power he will bring them all to justice. And my father will pay now, as im the head of my family when it comes to income, and as i evolve and ascend.

Somewhere in this year ill assume the name of my mother and start spawning children (5 of them in the course of 5-6 years, and if liberals make me mad ill make 6, far right indoctrinated). My father doesnt have much income now, but he has a piece of land that is worth a decent amount of money and he thinks to sell it to share with us.

And to that ill say NO!, want to look him in the eyes as i deny his gift and tell him ill change my name, ill break his neck and break his back. And ill do my best so my brother does the same, despite the temptation. For if he does not,he is a traitor and he is my enemy. Mother grew him, his loyalties are to mother.


As a man of far right, justice and principles are sacred. Thats why its dangerous to have men like me in power, dangerous for traitors and thieves.

[mikeakanice]

When I was a kid I was so poor I couldn't even spell it because I couldn't afford to buy the vowels.

[Noogai131]

Wore my sneakers until my socks would poke out of the toes, due to the sole and roof of the toe of the shoe separating. And then I'd wear them for a few months more until my dad decided I needed new ones. Took a bag to school that was fashionable in the 70's and that my dad used as a high school bag (my dad was in his late thirties when I hit high school age). High school uniform shirt was so short my midriff showed all the time. Ramen noodles and PBJ sandwhiches were my dinners.

My mum, on the other hand, when I lived with her had me well fed and well clothed.

[Fonduset]

I was so poor as a child at times, we sometimes had to resort to Caspian Beluga Caviar instead of the usual Caviar Royal Beluga!

[Deleted]

Poor? What is this word? Is this some lifestyle going on outside of Scandinavia?

[Rotted]

Christmas time, my folks tried to make sure I had something "nice" for Christmas,

I had to watch my mother break down two Christmas days on the trott because all they could afford to get me was a token, like a box of chocolates or a small lego set. The second one was especially bad, as the months previous, I had to borrow them 4k (my only savings I had and inheritance combined) to pay off two months worth of the mortgage.

They were devastated at the time, and in hindsight what didn't help was I used to get 30 quid a week from the government to go to college, the 2nd christmas fell on my first year in college, I spent the money on a) transport to get to college, b) food and drink in town instead of packed lunches, I didn't appreciate at the time, that money was more than what my parents got, every penny went back into the business, the house and the left overs for food. My mother was slightly resentful because she thought I was pissing it up the wall. Truth is, I had only been pissing about 50% of it up the wall and saving the rest, come Christmas dad had a brand new PS3, mum had her favorite perfume she had never been able to afford to buy (seriously, it's like 20ml for 100 quid) and a few other bits and bobs. I didn't realise it at the time, but that must of been pretty soul destroying.

The following year, they finally started seeing the hard work pay off and money was coming in, in the green. Not much, but needless to say that Christmas I got spoilt, like I was a 10 year old kid at christmas!

Another example, in college to get that 30 a week, you had to do full time. At the end of first year I knew chemistry wasn't for me due to the failing grades. So I dropped out in my 2nd year. That was when I found out my mother and father get tax credits and cash in for me being in full time employment, when I came home and said I dropped it and I only had to go in two days a week, she dropped her cup of coffee and nearly broke down / panic attack. The tiny proportion of cash she was getting in from being in education was actually what was paying for the majority of the food we had in the house.

[Ermelloth]

I've bought my first PC when I was 18, after getting my first job, back in 1999. Nearly all my friends have already got one at that point, bought by their parents. My mom couldn't afford one, so I had to earn the money myself.

[Rotted]

I was never born poor, however I did live in poverty as an adult.

There was a year where I lived off nothing but lentils and rice

Been there too as a student away from home a few years down the line. When I decided to move away from home to go to a new college to pursue what I wanted to do, I got a new scheme called the ALG, when I worked out costs after rent (which I got lucky, 30 a week with a friend who lived up that way) I had 10 to live on a week.

Since the payments would come in in two big payments. I'd go shopping and stock up on months worth of rice, pasta and tinned goods, then straight to the butchers that let me buy his family special pack in bulk to freeze it (He used to do single mums or poor stricken families amazing packages for 20, but if you were well off, you couldn't get it basically). Oh, but it wasn't enough to travel, I used to have to walk in and out of college every day of the week, hour and a half both ways.

What annoyed me one day, we were doing group work and our first meeting, the group said can we get in for 9, which I said sure, but if you want me to pick up these supplies it might be 9 20 ish.

So that day I paid for a single bus ticket, got off in town at 8 30, got the supplies out of my own pocket, got back on the bus and got to the college for 9 10. Walked in, only one member of the group there. Insert massive rant at me for being late and the rest of the group decided they couldn't be arsed waiting if I was going to be late, and they had decided they would do the work without me being in the group. Not only did they cost me the material cash, they also caused me to fail the module as it was a core segment to do the group work. I wouldn't of cared as much but I was the youngest in that group / course at 23 as it was a mature student only course. This guy who ranted was a year older, I can't tell you how close I came to throwing all that hard work away just to put him on his arse in the libary

[Medusa Cascade]

There were a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road.

[zenkai]

We were so poor that my grandfather used to get ketchup from his company for us, and we would make "tomato soup" with ketchup and milk mixed, and heated up. We would also have ketchup on crackers for dinner.

My father use to but powdered milk into milk to make it go further, it tasted like shit.

[Shinra1]

some of these stories sound like child abuse. This thread illustrates good reasons for why poor parents shouldn't breed until they are financially stable. Also having large families is so endemic of particular poor areas.

[Racthoh]

always got made fun of for wearing the same clothes too often